Anathema return in April with Weather Systems, their brand new studio album.

Weather Systems is the follow-up 2010’s We’re Here Because We’re Here. That album featured prominently in numerous end-of-year polls and the producer, Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), has described it as ‘definitely among the best albums I’ve ever had the pleasure to work on.’

The bar for Weather Systems has been set pretty high then but Daniel Cavanagh from the band is certain that the album will exceed these lofty expectations, ‘it feels like we are at a creative peak right now, and this album reflects that. Everything from the production to the writing to the performances are a step up from our last album.’ He continues, ‘This is not background music for parties. The music is written to deeply move the listener, to uplift or take the listener to the coldest depths of the soul.’

The intertwining melodic structures of these profoundly beautiful songs are intensely powerful, yet simple. These are songs that will transport the listener closer to the heart of life, that is to say, to the heart of themselves.
It is also an album of polarity. The play of opposites; light and shade, birth and death, love and fear. The simple truths of life and loss, hope and strength and darker internal themes are all explored here. 

The album was recorded in Liverpool, North Wales and Oslo, each place significant to Anathema past, present and future. The record was produced and mastered by five times Norwegian Grammy nominated Christer-André Cederberg (Animal Alpha, In the Woods…, Drawn), who Daniel has described as ‘a revelation. His calmness and brilliance has helped to bring about the greatest inter-band chemistry that Anathema have experienced together in their career.’ This career stretches back to 1990 when the band formed in Liverpool. Since then the band have embarked on a remarkable musical journey, initially emerging as pioneers of melodic heavy music and continually evolving over the ensuing years, always remaining true to their original goal of creating forward thinking, meaningful, passionate and honest music.

Anathema are a collective of two families; brothers and childhood friends. This album will please fans who call for more of Lee Douglas’s vocals, as her role within Anathema’s brand of alternative, melodic rock has matured to become an integral energy. In this way and more, Weather Systems is the sound of a band finding their voice and growing in stature, moving further along their artistic path with a truly stunning musical vision.

Their best ever work? ‘Not yet’ says Daniel, but he does believe that with Weather Systems they have surpassed previous glories; ‘we are pleased and proud of the record and we feel that, alongside the best moments of WHBWH, this record contains our very best work so far in what is becoming a long career.’

The band will be touring Europe in April and May to promote the new album, check their website for info and ticket links: www.anathema.ws/tour.cfm

Weather Systems will be available on Kscope from April 16th 2012.

www.kscopemusic.com/anathema

To listen to previous podcasts, visit the podcast page at www.kscopemusic.com/podcast

Tracks featured:
Mothlite – ‘Something in the Sky’ (from Dark Age)
Steve Hogarth and Richard Barbieri - ‘Naked’ (from Not The Weapon But The Hand)
North Atlantic Oscillation – ‘Soft Coda’ (from Fog Electric)
Gazpacho – ‘What Did I Do?’ (from March of Ghosts)
Gavin Harrison and O5Ric - ‘The Man Who Sold Himself’ (from The Man Who Sold Himself)

While this podcast looks forward to what we have coming up over the next few months, the latest edition of Classic Rock Prog looked back at 2011 and there were three Kscope albums in their critics top 15 albums of the year. Steven Wilson’s Grace for Drowning was voted number 2 in the poll ahead of Falling Deeper by Anathema at #10 and Blackfield’s Welcome To My DNA at #11 (see below).

(click image for larger version)

For artist’s mini-sites, click below;
Mothlite
Gavin Harrison & 05Ric
Steve Hogarth & Richard Barbieri
Gazpacho
North Atlantic Oscillation
Steven Wilson
Blackfield
Anathema

Gazpacho return with their new album, March Of Ghosts, which will be released on Kscope in March 2012.

Formed in Oslo in 1996 by childhood friends Jon-Arne Vilbo and Thomas Andersen along with Jan-Henrik Ohme (later joined by Mikael Krømer, Lars Erik Asp and Kristian Torp), Gazpacho have honed their unique sound over a string of critically acclaimed albums and numerous tours, including several with long-time supporters Marillion.

March Of Ghosts is the band’s follow-up to Missa Atropos, which was released on Kscope in 2011 along with the live album, London. London was recorded on the band’s recent European tour and the success of this tour helped provide the genesis for March Of Ghosts, as Jon-Arne explains: ‘the previous tour gave us lots of inspiration. So, the week after returning we went straight into the studio to capture whatever came. As a result, the majority of the album was written in a day writing orgy where Mikael, Thomas and I got together and jammed for a full day and night… “March of Ghosts” was surprisingly easy to write.’

Such was the success of these early sessions that a lot of the material that can be heard on the final album comes from this original jam session. This material was then honed, dissected and refined throughout the summer and autumn of 2011 to create a coherent whole.

While Missa Atropos can be viewed as a concept album, following the story of one person leaving everything behind, Thomas sees March Of Ghosts is much more as a collection of short tales; ‘The idea was to have the lead character spend a night where all these ghosts (dead and alive) would march past him to tell their stories.’

Characters include Haitian war criminals, the crew of the Marie Celeste, a returning American WWI soldier who finds himself in 2012 and the ghost of an English comedy writer who was wrongly accused of treason and who will sit for eternity listening to gramophone recordings of the broadcasts he did on enemy radio. As lead singer Jan-Henrik explains, ‘They are short stories. They are a march of ghosts. They are tales that need to be told.’

These tales can be heard from March 12th 2012. The band will also be on tour during March and April.

Kscope is pleased to announce the release of ‘Not The Weapon But The Hand’, the debut album from Steve Hogarth and Richard Barbieri. The album will be available from February 27th 2012.

Hogarth is best known as the frontman of Marillion, the progressive rock legends that he joined in 1989, following spells in The Europeans and How We Live. In addition to the 12 albums Marillion have released in this time he has also recorded and toured as a solo artist, under the name h.

In recent years Richard Barbieri has been a core member of Porcupine Tree playing keyboards on all the band’s albums since 1993 as well as releasing two solo albums, Things Buried and Stranger Inside. Prior to this, it was in the new-wave pioneers Japan that he originally came to prominence, helping to create the groundbreaking synthesiser sound that defined the band and influenced the likes of The Human League, Duran Duran, Gary Numan, Talk Talk, Kate Bush and a whole raft of artists to follow.

The band also influenced Hogarth, at that point playing keyboards in The Europeans; ‘when I was in my mid-twenties Japan’s ‘Tin Drum’ album was a firm favourite and truly a groundbreaking work… Japan were one of those rare bands where each musician seemed to have reinvented his instrument overnight. Central to this sound was the unmistakable synthesiser programming/playing of my, now, chum Mr B.’

Many years later Porcupine Tree played some shows with Marillion and Steve invited Richard to be part of The H band on his ‘Ice Cream Genius’ album and subsequent tour (‘I asked him “Can you make me a sound which starts off like a gong and turns into a jet engine?” – it took him roughly 2 minutes…’) and this association developed into what Hogarth describes as ‘an easy working relationship which rapidly became an understanding beyond music.’

It wasn’t surprising then that the duo decided to collaborate on a joint project, a venture initiated by Barbieri as Hogarth recalls; ‘I remember where I was when the email from Richard arrived airing the possibility of a collaboration. I was in Starbucks in Leeds on tour a few years back. From that day forward it was on my mind fairly constantly. The only problem was finding the time to collaborate in between my Marillion schedule and his Porcupine Tree schedule. This year – a week here and a week there – we have managed to do it. Richard has sent me a number of beautiful and unusual instrumentals and I have found lyric ideas to create sometimes songs, sometimes narratives against his musical landscapes. 

‘It also goes beyond what you might expect from the two of us… The album consists of music which is at times moving, complex, multilayered (both instrumentally and vocally) spooky, goofy and of course, very personal to me.

‘I am now as excited about this album as I was at the prospect of the collaboration in the first-place.  Ain’t it great when a plan comes together?!…’

Not The Weapon But The Hand was completed in late 2011 and features occasional appearances from Danny Thompson on double bass, Arran Ahmun (John Martyn) and Chris Maitland (ex-Porcupine Tree, No-Man, Blackfield) on drums and guitar and string arrangement contributions from Dave Gregory (XTC).

The Man Who Sold Himself is the third album from the collaboration between Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison and 05Ric, the multi-instrumentalist, singer songwriter . The album will be released on Kscope on February 27th 2012 as a 2 disc set which, alongside the stereo mix of the album on CD, features a 5.1 mix on DVD, allowing fans to enjoy the intricate complexities of the album in full surround glory. A montage of the tracks can be heard on The Man Who Sold Himself mini-site

In addition to being voted Best Progressive Drummer four years in a row in the Modern Drummer Magazine’s readers poll. He was also recently invited to perform on the David Letterman show as part of his Drum Solo week.

Best known for his work with Porcupine Tree, Gavin has also played extensively with King Crimson as well as providing session drumming for a host of respected artists but his work with 05Ric has allowed him to develop some of the work that he has created outside these projects.

05Ric uses his voice, extended range bass and guitars to turn his love of sound into sonic tapestries. His vocals, virtuoso playing and a chance meeting between the two has led to one of the most interesting and complex musical collaborations in recent years.
The union of 05Ric’s distinctive style with Gavin’s extraordinary drumming has already produced some unique results but Gavin has stated that with The Man Who Sold Himself , ‘we have continued to push the boundaries of our rhythmic and harmonic possibilities, I believe these are some of the wildest rhythmic concepts that I have ever conjured and 05Ric has snaked his bass around.’

05Ric goes on to explain that lyrically the album deals with themes “based on the greed of the financial global crisis, the empty shallowness of goal seeking without passion or for its own sake and the destructive force left behind by selfish behaviour – but the central character through heightened awareness and right action discovers his true calling.”

The album, which was written over the last two years and recorded in mid-2011, is the duo’s first release since Circles in 2009. Circles was described by Classic Rock Prog as ‘bristling with instrumental technique and firepower… it is peppered with a pulsating, muscular funk that pushes through generic barriers to create its own unique space.’

The Man Who Sold Himself looks set to push these barriers even further.

The set can now be pre-ordered from The Man Who Sold Himself mini-site. In addition to the montage, the site also features a free MP3, downloads and more.

Release Date 27th February 2012

Click here to order your copy from the Kscope store

At the end of September Kscope hosted a special night at the Union Chapel in London. Nosound, Engineers, Bruce from The Pineapple Thief and Anathema all performed stripped back sets in this breath-taking venue.

Live recordings of the artists involved along with interviews, recorded at sound-check, backstage and aftershow, are featured in the latest Kscope podcast which is now online.

The Union Chapel in north London; arguably London’s nicest venue. It’s a working church, built in the Victorian gothic revival style in the 1870s, it’s also a centre for the arts. It’s unspoiled inside, the audience sit in pews, it’s gorgeous. We invited four of the Kscope family to perform unique versions of some of their repertoire: you’ll hear tunes from Nosound, Engineers, Bruce Soord from The Pineapple Thief (with Alx Leeks) and Anathema. PLUS pre-show, backstage and aftershow interviews with all the artistes as we were (very kindly) allowed to go running around with a microphone.

A gallery of photographs from the night by Anne-Marie Arpin is now online at www.kscopemusic.com/union-chapel and Classic Rock Prog’s review of the evening can be read here.

Podcast content:
Interviews with Giancarlo Erra (Nosound), Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief), Mark Peters (Engineers), Vinny and Danny Cavanagh (Anathema)
Tracks featured:
Nosound – Lightdark (original from ‘Lightdark’)
Engineers – What it’s Worth (original from ‘In Praise of More’)
Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief) – My Debt to You (original from ‘Tightly Unwound’)
Anathema – A Natural Disaster (original from ‘A Natural Disaster’)

Click here to download the podcast as an mp3

A new edition of the podcast will be available at the end of every month.

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]]> http://www.kscopemusic.com/2011/11/24/the-new-kscope-podcast-is-now-online-and-its-a-union-chapel-special/feed/ 0 http://www.kscopemusic.com/2011/11/08/steven-wilson-%e2%80%93-grace-for-drowning-north-american-tour-%e2%80%93-three-tracks-recorded-live-in-london-now-online/ http://www.kscopemusic.com/2011/11/08/steven-wilson-%e2%80%93-grace-for-drowning-north-american-tour-%e2%80%93-three-tracks-recorded-live-in-london-now-online/#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:29:42 +0000 Kscope http://www.kscopemusic.com/?p=1565

Steven Wilson’s first ever solo tour of North America starts tonight (November 8th) in Orlando. The gig is the first of eight dates which will also see him visit Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, Toronto and Chicago (click here for full details and ticket links). On the dates Steven will be playing material from his new album Grace for Drowning, as well as selections from his first solo album, Insurgentes.

Grace for Drowning entered the US Billboard Rock album chart at #19 (#13 in independent chart), the UK top 40 album chart at #34, both the Dutch and German national charts at #22 and debuted at #7 in the Polish national charts. The album has been critically acclaimed too, having been described by Mojo as ‘an immersive, ambitious project that demands repeated spins’ (4 stars), by Terrorizer as ‘a dense yet extremely coherent album, Grace for Drowning succeeds brilliantly… Prog album of the year, no less’ (5/5) and by Classic Rock Prog as ‘ a magnificent step up; he simply can’t stopped.’

For the Grace for Drowning tour, Wilson has worked extensively with Lasse Hoile, his long time visual collaborator, to create a show unlike nothing else that has ever done with his other bands, Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, No-Man or Bass Communion.

The shows submerge fans in a rich sensory experience: rear speakers provide surround-sound effects, giant screens show off Lasse’s films made specifically to accompany these songs, and cutting-edge lighting designs give texture to each song. The heart of the performance is Wilson (on keys, guitar, and vocals) and his virtuoso band: Marco Minnemann (drums), Nick Beggs (bass), Theo Travis (flute and sax), Adam Holzman (keys), and John Wesley on guitars. John is replacing Aziz Ibrahim who played on the successful European tour. Three tracks recorded in London’s Shepherd Bush Empire as part of that tour are now available on the Grace for Drowning to the mini-site. The tracks soundtrack short videos made by Lasse featuring pictures taken on the tour.

These tracks have just been added to the mini-site, previously have been available on the official Steven Wilson iphone and ipad app. The free app features exclusive music, videos and photos, plus up-to-the minute news and tour info, and can be downloaded from here.

Here is the video for Index:

Visit the mini-site to watch videos for Sectarian and No Part of Me

In addition to the tour dates, Steven has booked three in-store appearances including a special rare acoustic performance in NYC, dates are as follows;
Nov 11th – NYC – 12:30pm
J&R Music World, 23 Park Row – signing and special acoustic performance
Nov 12th – Boston – 1pm
Newbury Comics, 1 North Marketplace, Faneuil Hall – signing
Nov 18th – Chicago – 12:30pm
FYE, 26 East Randolph Street – signing

Steven recently partnered with Guitar World and Spector Bass Guitars to giveaway a Legend 5 Classic Bass valued at $1100. This is the same bass that was used on the recording of the album, and you can enter to win it here: http://bit.ly/oz013G

Grace for Drowning North American Tour
Nov. 8 – Orlando, FL, House of Blues
Nov. 10 – Baltimore, MD, Ram’s Head
Nov. 11 – New York, NY, Best Buy Theater
Nov. 12 – Philadelphia, PA, Temple PAC
Nov. 13 – Boston, MA, Berklee Performance Center
Nov. 14 – Montreal, QC, Corona
Nov. 16 – Toronto, ON, Opera House
Nov. 18 – Chicago, IL, Park West
Click here for links to buy tickets for the tour

‘An album that can’t really be described but it urgently calls to be heard’
CLASSIC ROCK

‘Wilson’s ability to create music so prodigiously and to such consistent standards remains a mystery. With his second solo album, the Porcupine Tree leader has done it again.’
METAL HAMMER

‘an immersive, ambitious project that demands repeated spins’
MOJO (4 stars)

‘A dense yet extremely coherent album Grace For Drowning succeeds brilliantly… Prog album of the year’
TERRORIZER (5 stars)

‘A majestic soundscape created by an innovative, forward-looking musician immersed in the history of music’
RECORD COLLECTOR

‘This is a magnificent step up; he simply can’t be stopped.’
CLASSIC ROCK PROG

Grace for Drowing mini-site

Ulver returned earlier this year with their new album Wars of the Roses. Early pioneers of Norwegian black metal, the band have continually evolved throughout their career and now stand as living legends of the dark music industry, blending rock, electronica, symphonic and chamber traditions along with noise and experimental music to create ground- breaking material.

Until recently however the band had remained exclusively within the studio. This changed in May 2009 when the band accepted an invitation to appear at the Norwegian Festival of Literature. The success of this gig lead to them embarking on a string of other gigs in 2009 and 2010, selling out prestigious venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Volksbühne in Berlin and La Cigale in Paris before they returned to their homeland for this landmark gig at The Norwegian Opera House.

The 2 hour concert married tracks from throughout the band’s catalogue to stunning visuals to create a spectacle fitting for such a grand venue. This landmark show was recorded and will now be released as a limited edition 32 page rigid digibook 2 disc set (Blu-ray and DVD).

The set can be pre-ordered now from the Ulver mini-site. The site also features a trailer for the DVD, downloads and more.

Ulver are on tour during November, check them out at the following dates;
10th -Espace Torino Italy
11th – Circolo Degli Artisti Roma Italy
12th – Teatro Regio Parma Italy
17th – Razzmatazz 2 Barcelona Spain
18th – Caracol Madrid Spain
19th – Musicbox Lisboa Portugal
21st – Cidade Da Cultura Santiago de Compostela Spain
26th – Fuzz Club Athenai Greece
17th December 2011 – Mega Club Katowice Poland
14th January 2012 – Movistar Arena

Ulver mini-site.

Gazpacho was formed in Oslo in 1996 by childhood friends Jon-Arne Vilbo and Thomas Andersen along with Jan-Henrik Ohme (later joined by Mikael Krømer, Robert R Johansen and Kristian Torp). The band have honed their unique sound, and a substantial international fan-base, over a string of critically acclaimed albums and numerous tours, including several with long-time supporters Marillion.

Missa Atropos, the latest album from Gazpacho, was released earlier this year on Kscope. The album was described by Classic Rock as ‘finely crafted, darkly atmospheric stuff’ and following its release the band embarked on a European tour.

As part of this tour the band played at the legendary Dingwalls venue in Camden. Classic Rock Prog described the evening as ‘sublime’ going on to state, ‘with new album Missa Atropos to draw from as well as a catalogue of songs that draw favourable comparison with both Radiohead and a more sedate Muse, they fill the best part of two hours with invention and brio.’

London is a 2CD set which captures the gig. The set is out now and can be ordered from the Kscope store or downloaded from all major download stores.

Go to the London mini-site to order the 2CD set or for download links. The mini-site also features a montage of tracks from the gig, downloads and more, click here to check it out.

Impressions is the new album from Lunatic Soul is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store. Lunatic Soul is the solo project from Riverside creative force and lead singer, Mariusz Duda.

Impressions, the third album from Lunatic Soul, follows 2010’s acclaimed II (White Album) and features a number of tracks written in the sessions for both that and the self titled (Black Album) debut in 2008.

Mariusz felt that the compositions completed the theme set out on I & II and decided to return to the studio earlier this year to record the final instalment in the trilogy.

‘Impressions is a collection of instrumental compositions, which act as an addition to the story told on the black and white Lunatic Soul albums. These songs without lyrics, with scarce vocal parts are more ambient in style, resembling a soundtrack to a film or a video game.‘
Mariusz Duda

There is a mini-site for Impressions which features more info, a free download, audio samples from the album, downloads and more, check it out at: www.kscopemusic.com/lunaticsoul

Impressions will be released on CD and gatefold vinyl, pre-order from the Kscope store

On 14th October, Burning Shed, the online store / label that host and fulfil the Kscope store, will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special event at the Leamington Spa Assembly, featuring Kscope artists No-Man and Bruce Soord & Jon Sykes (from The Pineapple Thief), as well as Theo Travis, Memories of Machines and The Resonance Association.

No-Man will play a 45 minute set, including some pieces never before performed live. This will be the band’s first performance since its successful 2008 Mixtaped shows.

The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord & Jon Sykes will be performing as an acoustic duo.

Tickets can be obtained from the Assembly box office

Grace for Drowning is the second album released under Wilson’s own name, and builds on the artistic inroads he forged with 2009’s exceptionally well-received Insurgentes. A double album (‘two 40-45 minute albums in the same package’) Wilson has described it as “my biggest project to date”.

Grace for Drowning, looks set to be equally well-received. Terrorizer have described it as ‘a dense yet extremely coherent album, Grace For Drowning succeeds brilliantly… Prog album of the year, no less.’ (5/5), Classic Rock have proclaimed ‘Grace For Drowning is an album that can’t really be described but it urgently calls to be heard’ while Record Collector stated: ‘there is an overwhelming sense of awe, a majestic soundscape created by an innovative, forward-looking musician immersed in the history of music… its epic vision will always reward revisits.’

Grace for Drowning, is available on CD, vinyl, and download along with a Blu-ray edition of the album. The Blu-ray disc contains the album in 5.1 surround sound with accompanying video content. The video content, created by long-term collaborator Lasse Hoile, as well as photo galleries, hand written notes and lyrics. Watch the trailer for the Blu-ray here.

Order your copy here

For the most avid collectors there is also a deluxe edition of the album. Limited to 5000 copies worldwide, the deluxe edition features 3 CDs, the Blu-ray Disc and a 120-page book. In addition to the album on 2CDs, the third CD features out-takes and demo material. All 4 discs will be packaged in a hard back book which features 120 pages of artwork and notes.

Check out the Grace for Drowning mini-site for order links for all editions of the album including the digital edition which features two bonus tracks. Digital links are: UK itunes / US itunes / German itunes

An 8 minute edit of Raider II, the 23 minute epic that is part of the album, is now streaming on the mini-site and the Kscope soundcloud profile. A new video of Wilson in the studio recording the track has also been added to the site.

The mini-site also features Lasse’s videos for Remainder The Black Dog, Index and Track One along with a free download, tour dates, album info and artwork.
www.gracefordrowning.com

Order your copy of Grace for Drowning here

Falling Deeper, the new release from Anathema was released last week. The album, recorded with a full 26 piece string section, features brand new arrangements of songs from the band’s earliest days as pioneers of heavy music. Classic Rock Prog have described the album as, ‘a more than worthy addition to Anathema’s fine body of work.’

The album entered the UK indie chart at #30 and #8 in the Alternative chart in Holland.

A fresh musical and lyrical approach has transformed songs such as Crestfallen, Kingdom, Sunset of Age and Everwake, which features the incredible voice of Anneke van Giersbergen.

The record has been produced by Daniel Cavanagh and was recorded and mixed by Andrea Wright at the legendary Parr St Studios, Liverpool (where the likes of Elbow, Coldplay and Echo and the Bunnymen have also recorded albums). The orchestral arrangements are from Dave Stewart who worked so successfully with Anathema on We’re Here Because We’re Here.

An extensive video interview with Danny Cavanagh where he discusses the album, the songs on it and plays excerpts on the piano is now on the Falling Deeper mini-site.

Anathema are playing at the A Night at the Union Chapel, a special Kscope evening that takes place on Friday September 30th (full details here)

TRACKLIST
Crestfallen 
Sleep In Sanity
Kingdom
They Die
Everwake
J’ai Fait Une Promesse
Alone
We The Gods
Sunset of Age

Order the CD / Vinyl / Download from iTunes UK / Germany

Anathema’s Falling Deeper mini-site
Buy Anathema albums from the Kscope store

The series of re-mastered reissues from The Pineapple Thief’s back catalogue continues in October with a new 2CD edition of Variations On A Dream.

Variations On A Dream was the band’s third studio album and was originally released in 2004 on the Cyclops label. Bruce has re-mixed and re-mastered the album for this Kscope edition. It is also presented in the same way as the originally limited double album release with the 8 Days album (limited to 1000 copies and never released separately) on CD2.

Variations On A Dream is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store. It follows the recent reissue of the band’s 2005 album, 10 Stories Down. A video of Bruce and Steve from TPT discussing 10 Stories Down is also now online.

Steve and Bruce were also filmed at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios while the band recorded a cover of Money by Pink Floyd for a recent Mojo covermount CD, watch the video below.

Bruce will be performing a solo set at A Night in the Union Chapel, a special Kscope evening that takes place on Friday September 30th full details here).

Pre-order the CD

Buy The Pineapple Thief albums from the Kscope store

Kscope presents… ‘A Night At The Union Chapel’ featuring Anathema , The Pineapple Thief, Engineers and Nosound – 7.30pm, Friday 30th September 2011

On Friday 30th September Kscope will be hosting a one-off night at the Union Chapel in London, with a number of acts from the roster performing special stripped back sets in this breathtaking venue.

Anathema will headline the show, performing a special acoustic show comprising of members Vincent, Danny and Lee. They will be joined by Engineers, Bruce Soord from The Pineapple Thief and Nosound (solo set).

Click here for tickets, for what promises to be a very special night, are available from the Union Chapel costing £18 (plus booking fee). Get in quick.

Union Chapel

Anathema
Engineers
The Pineapple Thief
Nosound

Watch the show here

Gavin, who is Porcupine Tree’s drummer as well as a respected solo artist, was performing as part of Letterman’s second ‘drum-solo week’. Other artists that are appearing this week include Stewart Copeland (The Police) and Neil Peart (Rush) who also played on the show during the first ‘drum-solo week’.

Circles, Gavin’s recent album with 05Ric, was released last year on Kscope. He will be returning with a new album next year.

Click here to visit Gavin Harrison’s Circles mini-site

Kscope is pleased to announce Falling Deeper, the stunning new album from Anathema. Falling Deeper continues where the acclaimed 2008 album Hindsight left off. The album features brand new arrangements of songs with full 26 piece string section and haunting melodies from the band’s earliest days as pioneers of heavy music.

This is an album which will excite old and new Anathema fans equally. A fresh musical and lyrical approach has transformed songs such as Crestfallen, Kingdom, Sunset of Age and Everwake, which features the incredible voice of Anneke van Giersbergen.

The record has been produced by Daniel Cavanagh and was recorded and mixed by Andrea Wright at the legendary Parr St Studios, Liverpool (where the likes of Elbow, Coldplay and Echo and the Bunnymen have also recorded albums). The orchestral arrangements are from Dave Stewart who worked so successfully with Anathema on We’re Here Because We’re Here.

Released in 2010, We’re Here Because We’re Here was awarded Classic Rock’s Prog ‘Album of the Year’ in 2010 as well as a host of other accolades.

Tracklist
Crestfallen / Sleep in Sanity 7.21
Kingdom 4.23
They Die 2.10
Everwake 3.06
J’ai Fait une Promesse 4.22
Alone 7.15
We The Gods 3.01
Sunset of Age 7.39

Falling Deeper will be packaged in a deluxe digibook, click here to pre-order
click here to pre-order the vinyl edition, due for release a week before the CD.

For more info, audio samples, a FREE track from the album, downloads and more, go to: www.kscopemusic.com/anathema

The Northern Religion of Things was recorded by Giancarlo Erra during the rehearsal process for a special one-off ‘Nosound solo’ gig that took place in London in August 2010. Giancarlo explains: ‘Last year I was asked to perform Nosound songs on my own in a small club, in a more intimate setting. I immediately liked the idea and welcomed the challenge to create a completely new live setup’

For the gig Giancarlo had to create new arrangements for all the tracks along with the new live setup that allowed him to play keyboards and/or acoustic guitar while singing as well as using and recreating all the original sounds and effects from the original studio albums. No backtracks were used, only loops/tapes and real live played instruments.

He was so pleased with the way the results that the rehearsals were recorded and a selection from the best takes and the songs are presented here. The tracks were recorded straight from stereo outputs with no overdubs or edits involved resulting in unique interpretations of tracks from throughout the band’s catalogue, which Giancarlo has described as ‘a very personal take on the Nosound music that I really felt inside, and I hope everyone listening to this will share similar feelings.”

Giancarlo also created a promo recently for the Tender Claim track, watch it below or on our Vimeo channel.

Pre-order the album here
www.nosound.net

Anathema are to release a new single, Dreaming Light, on Kscope on July 4th. The single will be available digitally along with Engineers’ new remix of the track Universal and the video for Dreaming Light by the award winning director, Christopher Kenworthy.

Watch the video here:

Dreaming Light is the second single to be lifted from last year’s album, We’re Here Because We’re Here. Awarded Classic Rock’s Prog Album of the Year as well as a host of other accolades, the album was the band’s first collection of new material band since the 2003 album, A Natural Disaster. A multi-coloured, multi-layered work of unbridled emotion, passion, and intensity, the new album was embraced by their legions of fans and the worldwide press. We’re Here Because We’re Here was mixed by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), who described it as “definitely among the best albums I’ve ever had the pleasure to work on.”

Danny and Vincent from the band have just completed a tour of the USA & Canada with Steven Wilson’s Blackfield performing special acoustic Anathema sets and the full band will be performing at a host of festivals this summer. For full live dates, visit Anathema’s site

www.kscopemusic.com/anathema

To An Evergreen, the new EP from Engineers is now available to download from all key download stores (links below).

The lead track is an edit of one of the highlights of the band’s third album In Praise of More, which was released to great acclaim late last year. The EP also features a number of album tracks reworked by the likes of Portland electronica boffin Helios, German techno legend Beroshima and Engineers’ Kscope labelmates North Atlantic Oscillation. The seven tracks are completed by a cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Hey You’.

The full tracklisting is:
To An Evergreen (Edit)
What It’s Worth (Helios Remix)
Twenty Paces (Beroshima Remix)
In Praise Of More (Elika Remix)
Subtober (North Atlantic Oscillation remix)
Twenty Paces (A Shoreline Dream Remix)
Hey You

Download from these stores: iTunes Spotify Amazon 7Digital HMV Tesco Play.com Napster Nokia Ovi Store

Fan and filmmaker Robbie Stevens has also been inspired to create a new video to accompany the lead track which is now streaming here and on the Engineers mini-site.

For information, audio samples, downloads and more, go to www.kscopemusic.com/engineers

There will be a special playback of the classic Porcupine Tree album Stars Die, this Friday (27th May) at the Planetarium in Bochum, Germany.

The playback, in conjunction with Eclipsed magazine, is the part of the Under The Stars series, which allows the readers of the magazine to nominate progressive and art rock albums which they would like to hear in the spectacular surroundings of the Planetarium.

Stars Die is a collection of early recordings that Porcupine Tree made between 1991 and 1997 while on the Delerium label.

Click here for tickets

Buy Porcupine Tree albums from: the Kscope store​

Anathema are to release a new single, Dreaming Light, on Kscope on June 20th. The single will be available digitally along with Engineers new remix of the track Universal and the video by award winning director, Christopher Kenworthy.

Dreaming Light is the second single to be lifted from last year’s album, We’re Here Because We’re Here. Awarded Classic Rock’s ‘Prog Album of the Year’ in 2010 as well as a host of other accolades, the album was the band’s first collection of new material band since the 2003 album, A Natural Disaster.

A multi-coloured, multi-layered work of unbridled emotion, passion, and intensity, the new album was embraced by their legions of fans and the worldwide press. We’re Here Because We’re Here was mixed by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), who described it as “definitely among the best albums I’ve ever had the pleasure to work on.”

Danny and Vincent from the band have just returned from the USA & Canada with Steven Wilson’s Blackfield where they were performing special acoustic Anathema sets and receiving rave reviews. This summer the full band is also playing some club shows and appearing as Special Guests to Dream Theater in Europe and headlining with Anneke Van Giersbergen in Latin America:
4th July at Ippodromo Capanelle, Rome, Italy (Special Guests to Dream Theater)
5th July at Villafranca Castle, Verona, Italy (Special Guests to Dream Theater)
6th July at Komplex 457, Zurich, Switzerland (Special Guests to Dream Theater)
7th July at Colossal, Aschaffenburg, Germany (headline Anathema show)
8th July at Atak, Enschede, The Netherlands (headline Anathema show)
10th July at P60, Amstelveen, The Netherlands (headline Anathema show)
26th July at Circo Volador, DF, Mexico (with Anneke Van Giersbergen)
28th July at Teatro Colegiales, Buenos Aires, Argentina (with Anneke Van Giersbergen)
31st July at Teatro Caupolican, Santiago, Chile (with Anneke Van Giersbergen)

Anathema will also be performing at a host of festivals this summer including Wave Gotik (Germany) June 10th, Hellfest (France) June 19th, Night of the Prog Festival (Germany) July 9th, High Voltage Festival (London) July 23rd, Vagos Open Air (Portugal) August 5th and Brutal Assault (Czech Rep) August 13th.

To buy tickets for all shows please visit anathema.ws/​tour

For more info, downloads and audio samples from We’re Here Because We’re Here, visit the mini-site at: kscopemusic.com/​anathema
For more info, downloads and audio samples from Engineers, visit the mini-site at: kscopemusic.com/​engineers

Buy Anathema and Engineers albums from: the Kscope store​

anathema.ws

On 14th October Burning Shed will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special event at Leamington Spa Assembly.
The evening will include performances by artists associated with the company over the last decade. Already confirmed are Theo Travis and No-Man.

No-Man will play a 45 minute set, including some pieces never performed live before. This will be the band’s first performance since its successful 2008 Mixtaped shows. Other acts will be announced soon.

The venue is the stunning, art-deco Assembly, situated in the heart of Leamington Spa (one and a half hours from London and less than half an hour from the Birmingham and East Midlands airports.

Please note, tickets can only be obtained from the Assembly box office – www.leamingtonassembly.com/EventInfo.aspx?id=492

For No-Man album mini-sites, go to: www.kscopemusic.com/no-man/
To buy No-Man albums, go to: www.burningshed.com/store/noman/

2010 was a landmark year for The Pineapple Thief. The band released their latest album, the critically acclaimed Someone Here Is Missing (‘extremely classy and frequently mesmerising’ Classic Rock), along with the Show A Little Love EP (‘it is here that the real magic of a band like TPT shines through’ Classic Rock Prog) and followed a string of festival performances with a European tour. Their recent successful UK dates with Blackfield, ahead of forthcoming dates with Riverside and Amplifier, suggest that 2011 is already looking pretty good too

While these releases, along with 2008’s Tightly Unwound, were many people’s introduction to the band they have actually spent the past ten years quietly building up a dedicated fan base across the globe, selling over 25,000 records and nurturing their ‘bittersweet’ progressive sound. Many of these early albums have been long out of print but are now being reissued on Kscope and 10 Stories Down, the second in this series of re-mastered reissues from the band’s back catalogue will be available in June.

10 Stories Down was the band’s fourth album and was originally released in 2005 on the Cyclops label. This Kscope edition is presented in the same way as the originally limited double album release with the 8 Days Later album (which was never released separately) on CD2.

The 2CD edition of 10 Stories Down is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store and shall ship from June 6th, three weeks before it is available in stores.

Tracklist features;
Disc 1
1. Prey for Me
2. Clapham
3. Wretched Soul
4. The World I Always Dreamed Of
5. Start Your Descent
6. My Own Oblivion
7. It’s Just You and Me
8. The Answers
9. From Where You’re Standing
10. I Will Light Up Your Eyes
11. Who Will Light Up Your Eyes

Disc 2
1. Sunday: Crash
2. Monday: Sleep
3. Tuesday: Haboob
4. Wednesday: The Snail Song
5. Thursday: Fifty Four
6. Friday: 5 Minutes
7. Saturday: Reverse
8. Sunday: King Street

www.kscopemusic.com/thepineapplethief

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Engineers’ gig at ULU which was set to take place on Friday, May 13 has been postponed. The band are hoping to rearrange the date for later in the year. Full refunds for tickets are available at point of purchase.

Engineers’ new ‘To An Evergreen’ EP will now be released on June 13.

The full tracklisting of the EP is:
1. To An Evergreen (Edit)
2. What It’s Worth (Helios Remix)
3. Twenty Paces (Beroshima Remix)
4. In Praise Of More (Elika Remix)
5. Subtober (North Atlantic Oscillation remix)
6. Twenty Paces (A Shoreline Dream Remix)
7. Hey You (Pink Floyd cover)

www.kscopemusic.com/engineers

Since its formation in 2007 Record Store Day has quickly grown into an annual worldwide celebration of independent record shops and the unique culture that exists around these important institutions.

In 2010 over 1,400 stores took part, many of which reported record sales and queues round the block throughout the day as fans and collectors flocked to snap up the limited edition releases that were on sale in the shops. Last year these included Blur’s first new single since 2003, an unreleased 7″ from The Rolling Stones plus exclusive releases from The Beatles, Flaming Lips, Bruce Springsteen, LCD Soundsystem and more, many of which were on vinyl.

This year’s Record Store Day takes place on Saturday April 16th and again the day will be marked with special in-store performances and a host of incredible releases. One of these is a split 7″ featuring the tracks recorded by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Oceansize for the recent tribute to Tim Smith.

This white vinyl 7″ will be limited to 2000 copies worldwide and will only be available in the stores that are participating in Record Store Day in Europe.

The Pineapple Thief will also be involved in the Record Store Day celebrations, playing an in-store gig at Sound Knowledge in Marlborough on Sunday 18th April

For details on stores participating in Record Store Day and other exclusives that will be available go to www.recordstore.com

North Atlantic Oscillation has been announced as the support act for ten of the dates of Blackfield’s upcoming European tour.

Following their performance at the IO pages festival in Zoetermeer, Holland on April 17th they will be playing at these dates:

18th April Pratteln, Z7, Switzerland
19th April Milan, Magazzini Generali, Italy
20th April Rome, Alpheus, Italy
21st April Treviso, New Age, Italy
23rd April Karlsruhe, New Substage, Germany
24th April Frankfurt, Batschkapp, Germany
25th April Bochum, Matrix, Germany
26th April Cologne, Stollwerck, Germany
28th April Antwerp, Trix Hall, Belgium
29th April Trianon, Paris, France

NAO are about to start work on their second album but a special edition of Grappling Hooks will be released in May. This 2CD set will collect a selection of remixes of tracks from the album along with tracks recorded for a BBC 6 Music session and the band’s beautiful cover of the doo-wop classic I Only Have Eyes For You.

www.kscopemusic.com/nao

Kscope are very proud to announce that Ulver are the latest band to join the roster. Early pioneers of Norwegian black metal, the band have continually evolved throughout their career and now stand as living legends of the dark music industry, blending rock, electronica, symphonic and chamber traditions along with noise and experimental music to create ground-breaking material.

The last two years have also seen Ulver manifest into a live band. Following their first live performance in May 2009, at the Norwegian Festival of Literature, the band toured Europe in 2010 selling out prestigious venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Volksbühne in Berlin and Casa da Música in Porto, to great acclaim:

‘Ulver’s presentation is surreal and stark. A psychedelic excursion, an immersive experience, fuelled by haunting, progressive art. After such a night, you don’t want to see another band for a few days. Because anything else would pale when put alongside Ulver.’
Classic Rock Magazine

The band will be going back out on tour in March ahead of the release of their new album Wars of the Roses which will be released on Kscope on April 24th.

Full tour dates are at www.kscopemusic.com/ulver where you can also sign up to the mailing list for updates on the album.

The vinyl edition of Welcome To My DNA, the new album by Blackfield is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store. Each copy ordered from Kscope will come with a download card which features a unique code to download a digital version of the album. The vinyl edition of the album is pressed on heavyweight (180gm) vinyl in a gatefold sleeve and will be limited to 2000 numbered copies.

The Welcome To My DNA mini-site is also now online. The mini-site features album info, downloads and more along with the chance to download a free MP3 of the album’s opening track Glass House when signing up to the mailing list.

A video of Steven and Aviv in the studio recording the album and discussing the concepts behind it is now on the mini-site and the Kscope iPhone app has also been updated to include music from the album, plus Blackfield news, artwork and pictures.

Pre-order the CD digibook here
Pre-order the vinyl album here

The duo will also be touring to support the release of the album with dates in UK, Holland, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, France, USA and Canada (full tour dates are on the mini-site).

It has just been announced that The Pineapple Thief will be supporting Blackfield on the UK dates of this tour. Support acts for the other dates will be announced shortly. The Pineapple Thief are confirmed to play:
6th April Leamington Assembly
7th April Manchester Academy 2
8th April London Shepherd’s Bush Empire
10th April Amsterdam Paradiso

Click here to visit Blackfield’s mini-site
or go to Blackfield’s website for ticket links

Click below to watch the new promo for The Pineapple Thief’s Someone Here is Missing, by Neil Whitman, or click here to watch the video on Vimeo or YouTube.

Blackfield – Welcome to my DNA, new album and tour announced by Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen

Third album is to be released on March 28th, followed by live dates.

Blackfield is the acclaimed collaboration between Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Israeli artist Aviv Geffen. The duo return with their third album Welcome To My DNA which is released on Kscope in March 2011. Formed after a meeting in 2000, the partnership blossomed into a cross-cultural collaboration that has already spawned two albums (2004’s Blackfield and 2007’s Blackfield II).

The duo will also be touring to support the release of the album with dates so far confirmed in UK, Holland, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and France (full tour dates below) with American dates still to be announced. These will be the first dates they have played together as Blackfield for over three years, due to both artists’ recent hectic schedules.

Aviv describes Welcome To My DNA as ‘an album about loneliness and sadness. There are many songs about love, god… the same subjects that Blackfield have dealt with before.’ Musically the album builds on the established Blackfield sound, described by Clash as ‘a lush but soulful mix of separate cultures, deep sounds and touching lyrics,’ and the results have lead Aviv to state ‘I believe it’s our best work so far and I’m really excited about going on stage with this album.’

The digi-book and vinyl editions of the album are now available to pre-order on the Welcome To My DNA mini-site which is now online here. The mini-site features album info, downloads and more along with the chance to download a free MP3 of the album’s opening track Glass House when signing up to the mailing list.

Tour dates release so far are as follows;
6th April Leamington, Assembly, UK

7th April Manchester, Academy 2, UK

8th April London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, UK

10th April Amsterdam, Paradiso, Holland

12th April Hamburg, Markthalle, Germany

13th April Berlin, C-Club, Germany

14th April Warsaw, Progresja Club, Poland

15th April Krakow, Studio Club, Poland

17th April Munich, Ampere, Germany

18th April Pratelln, Z7, Switzerland

19th April Milan, Magazzini Generali, Italy

20th April Rome, Alpheus, Italy

21st April Treviso, New Age, Italy

23rd April Karlsruhe, New Substage, Germany

24th April Frankfurt, Batschkapp, Germany

25th April Bochum, Matrix, Germany

26th April Cologne, Stollwerck. Germany

28th April Antwerp, Trix Hall, Belgium

29th April Paris, Trianon, France

Click HERE for ticket links
Click HERE to pre-order the album from the Kscope store
Click HERE for the Welcome to My DNA mini-site

Kscope is pleased to announce the latest signing to our roster, Norwegian act Gazpacho.

Gazpacho were formed in Oslo in 1996 by childhood friends Jon-Arne Vilbo and Thomas Andersen along with Jan-Henrik Ohme (later joined by Mikael Krømer, Lars Eric Asp and Kristian Torp), and have spent the last 15 years honing their unique sound over a string of critically acclaimed albums and numerous tours, including several with long-time supporters Marillion.

Until this point all the band’s releases have either been self-released or on Marillion’s Racket Records label but the band have now signed to Kscope who are set to give an international release to the band’s latest album Missa Atropos, which has previously only been available in Germany.

Front man Jan Henrik Ohme has explained that the band have made the decision to ’get our music out to our fans around the world, and we’re all looking forward to working with such an excellent group of people’.

Jon-Arne Vilbo adds, ‘we will be joining bands such as Porcupine Tree, Anathema, Blackfield, to mention a few, which is the perfect fit for Gazpacho while staying true to the term: “different music”. We believe Kscope understand who our fans are and understand how to reach out to them. So… while they’re phoning their bank to borrow gazillions for their promo budget, we hope our new friends will help us in bringing you the music that you crave.’

The Kscope edition of Missa Atropos will be available in February 2011 and will come packaged in a deluxe digibook. The album is now available to pre-order on the Missa Atropos mini-site which is now online.

The Missa Atropos mini-site features album info, downloads and more along with the chance to download a free MP3 of the track River when signing up to the mailing list. The mini-site also contains details on the bands forthcoming European tour which kicks off in Berlin on January 22nd before visiting Switzerland, Holland, the UK and Belgium.

We have 2 pairs of tickets for both the UK shows. To stand a chance of winning these tickets all you have to do is email the answer to this simple question to competitions@kscopemusic.com:

What was the name of Gazpacho’s previous album?

Make sure to include contact details and which of the gigs you would want to go. Winners will be notified by January 20th.

Gazpacho are playing live in January and February across Europe, dates are as follows:
22/01/2011 GER Berlin Maschinenhaus
23/01/2011 GER Stuttgart Röhre
24/01/2011 CH Pratteln Z7
26/01/2011 GER Aschaffenburg Colossaal
27/01/2011 NED Hengelo Metropol
29/01/2011 UK Leamington Spa The Assembly
30/01/2011 UK London Dingwalls
01/02/2011 GER Köln Live Music Hall
02/02/2011 GER Hamburg Fabrik
04/02/2011 BEL Verviers Spirit of 66
05/02/2011 NED Zoetermeer De Boerderij
06/02/2011 NED Den Bosch W2 (Matinee Show at 15.00)

Sign up to the Gazpacho mailing list for a FREE mp3 from Missa Atropos here, or visit the mini-site for more details on the album.

Anesthetize by Porcupine Tree has been named DVD of the year in the Critics Choice poll in the end of year issue of Classic Rock Presents Prog.

It was one of three Kscope releases in the top five ahead of Insurgentes by Steven Wilson at number 3 and Mixtaped by No-Man at number 5.

Click here to buy the Blu-Ray/DVD

There were also three Kscope releases in the top five of the Prog Albums of the Year poll with Grappling Hooks by North Atlantic Oscillation (#5), Someone Here is Missing by The Pineapple Thief (#3) finishing behind Anathema’s We’re Here Because We’re Here, which has done the double after also being declared Classic Rock magazine’s favourite Prog album.

We’re Here Because We’re Here, the latest album from Anathema, has just been named Classic Rock’s Prog Album of the Year. The award caps a triumphant year for the band which has seen them finally release the long-awaited album and embark on a succession of several successful tours.


They finish the year with a short tour of Ireland before playing their first gig in their hometown of Liverpool for almost fifteen years on December 21st. The gig, which takes place at the legendary Cavern Club, is in aid of Alder Hey Children’s Hospital’s Imagine Appeal. In addition to the Anathema’s special set there will also be a live auction of rock memorabilia donated by the band and friends. Click here to buy tickets for the show, or if you can’t make it but would still like to donate to the Imagine Appeal, go to Anathema’s website.

The band are going to be back out on tour in February with a series of days around the UK and in France (full details below). They will be joined on the UK and Irish dates by their Kscope label mates North Atlantic Oscillation.NAO also scored high in the Classic Rock’s critic’s poll with their debut album being named #6 in the Prog album of the year poll just behind Someone Here is Missing by The Pineapple Thief which was at #3.

Anathema – We’re Here Because We’re Here Tour from Kscope on Vimeo.

Tour dates
2010
17th December An Cruscian Lan, Cork, Ireland
18th December The Village, Dublin, Ireland
19th December Spring and Airbrake, Belfast, UK
21st December The Cavern Club, Liverpool, UK

2011
9th February Live Lounge, Durham, UK
10th February Cathouse, Glasgow, UK
11th February Academy 2, Sheffield, UK
12th February Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, UK
14th February The Assembly, Leamington, UK
15th February Academy 3, Manchester, UK
16th February Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, UK
17th February Scala, London, UK
19th February Le Splendid, Lille, France
20th February La Laiterie, Strasbourg, France
21st February Ninkasy, Lyon, France
22nd February Cooperative de Mai, Clermont Ferrand, France
23rd February Bikini, Toulouse, France
24th February Theatre Barbey, Bordeaux, France
25th February Le Cargo, Caen, France
26th February LE 106, Rouen, France
27th February L’Antipode, Rennes, France

Two classic Anathema albums, A Fine Day To Exit and A Natural Disaster, are also to be reissued on double heavyweight vinyl on Kscope’s sister label, Peaceville.
Click here to buy from the Kscope store.
Click here for the Peaceville store.

For more information and downloads from We’re Here Because We’re Here, go to the mini-site at www.kscopemusic.com/anathema

To buy Anathema albums, go to the Kscope store

North Atlantic Oscillation have announced that they will shortly be going into the studio to start work on the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut Grappling Hooks, which was released earlier this year on Kscope.

Before they return to the studio they are playing some more live dates with label-mates Anathema, having just completed a tour with Engineers.

In addition to this they will be playing at the London Calling festival at the Paradiso in Amsterdam on November 12th. They hope to return to Europe for some more dates as well as embarking on their first tour of the US.

Dates are as follows:

Touring with Anathema in the UK and Ireland
17th December An Cruscian Lan // Cork
18th December The Village // Dublin
19th December Spring and Airbrake // Belfast

The band have also recently made some live recordings that they made for a recent BBC session, as well as new remix available. The remix (By Brazilian act Worldengine) is available for free in exchange for re-tweeting the link through the tweet for a track site while the BBC tracks can be downloaded from the band’s site in exchange for a small donation to a charity of your choice. Go to www.naoband.com/charity for more details.

For more info on the album, downloads, a free MP3 from Grappling Hooks, go to the mini-site at: www.kscopemusic.com/northatlanticoscillation

Lunatic Soul II, the second solo album from Mariusz Duda, the lead singer and creative force behind the post-progressive band Riverside, will be released on Kscope on October 25th but is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store. The first Lunatic Soul album was released to critical acclaim in 2008 and Duda has described the project as ‘a double album divided into two single ones by the period of two years’ anticipation.’

Lunatic Soul 2 is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store.

Tracklist

The In-Between Kingdom
Otherwhere

Suspended In Whiteness

Asoulum
Limbo
Escape from ParadIce

Transition
Gravestone Hill

Wanderings

A new mini-site featuring info on the album, downloads, a free MP3 of the track Wanderings and more is now online at www.kscopemusic.com/lunaticsoul

At the start of the summer Someone Here is Missing, the new album from The Pineapple Thief was released on Kscope. Following several successful festival appearances over the past few months, the band are now about to embark on a European tour and release Show A Little Love, a new EP. The EP is now available to order from the Kscope store and features 4 brand new tracks (part of a sixteen minute piece) along with a single edit of the lead track and alternate versions of another three tracks from Someone Here is Missing (acoustic versions of two tracks plus a rousing remix of Dead In The Water).

The new video for Show A Little Love is now on the band’s mini-site and below.

OCTOBER TOUR DATES:

20 – Colos-saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany
21 – Substage, Karlsruhe, Germany
22 – Zeche Carl, Essen, Germany
23 – De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands
24 – De Pul, Uden , The Netherlands
25 – Logo, Hamburg, Germany
26 – C-Club, Berlin, Germany
28 – Spirit of 66, Verviers, Belgium

Click here to buy tickets from The Pineapple Thief’s website

Tracklist:
1. Show A Little Love (single edit)
2. To Live And Die To The Familiar Sound Of…
- I Can Only See the Lights
- A Million Miles off Course
- Counting the Cost
- To Live and Die to…
3. Wake Up The Dead (acoustic)
4. Someone Here is Missing (acoustic)
5. Dead In The Water (Worldengine remix)

For more information, downloads and audio samples from Someone Here is Missing, visit the mini-site at: www.kscopemusic.com/thepineapplethief

A new webpage for the Kscope edition of Circles, the second album from Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison and the multi-instrumentalist, singer and extended range bass player 05Ric, is now online at: www.kscopemusic.com/gavinharrison. The site features info about the album along with audio samples of some of the tracks.

For this Kscope edition the album has been extended to a 2CD set that includes the original album plus a 5.1 surround mix. It is available in stores now, as well the Kscope store. Click here to order your copy.

The project is the result of a chance meeting between the two which led to one of the most interesting and complex musical collaborations in recent years. 05Ric has developed a fresh, exciting, style of singing and virtuoso playing, which blended with the extraordinary drumming of Gavin Harrison has produced some unique results.

Circles picks up from where their debut Drop left off. The 10 songs feature Ric’s amazing extended range bass and haunting vocals – along with Gavin’s mind bending rhythmic designs and unusual expressions on the drums.

Tracklist
Disc 1 CD / Disc 2 DVD-A
1. Circles
2. Source
3. Last Call
4. Crisis
5. Faith
6. Scar
7. Break
8. Beyond The ‘A’
9. Eye
10. Goodbye

For more information and audio samples from Circles, visit the web page at: www.kscopemusic.com/gavinharrison

The new album – 2CD special edition
 
Three Fact Fader, Engineers’ second album was released last year on Kscope to widespread critical acclaim. The band now return with In Praise of More, their new album and their first with their new line-up.Mark Peters has moved to guitar and has been replaced by Daniel Land on bass and Matthew Linley has joined on drums. In addition to this respected solo artist Ulrich Schnauss, who had previously played keyboards live with the band has joined as full time member.
 
Although the majority of the songs on In Praise of More were recorded by Mark, with the assistance of Dave Potter, Ulrich was on hand to offer advice and point out ways to make what were essentially home recordings sound as stately and elegant as they do. Taking in everything from the synth-heavy krautpop of To An Evergreen to the autumnal acoustic folk of There Will Be Time and the wintery piano instrumental Nach Hause, the album strips back the layers of sound that characterised the band’s previous releases, but remains just as powerful. One of the highlights, the beautifully understated Twenty Paces, which blends The Blue Nile with almost jazz-like rhythms, is the first track that Mark and Ulrich co-produced.
 
The 2CD set also features an instrumental version of the album and is available from the Kscope store now.
 
Here is the promo for ‘In Praise of More’, the first single taken from the new album, filmed and edited by Peter Breen in 2 days!
www.peterbreen.tumblr.com/

The In Praise of More mini-site is now online at www.kscopemusic.com/engineers.
The mini-site features album info, downloads and more along with the chance to download a free MP3 of the title track.

Critical acclaim for In Praise of More:

This is an album damp with tears, slightly shaken by angst and should be given to most UK bands around at the moment to use as an example in making an album that is a joy to behold.

8/10

Words by Chris Todd

for the full review, read this web page

New documentary starring Porcupine Tree front-man Steven Wilson
Special screenings with Q&A in London (2nd Sept) and New York (21st Sept). Available as 2 DVD set from 27th September – pre-order now.

Insurgentes, Lasse Hoile’s film about Steven Wilson, is released on DVD by Kscope on 27th September and is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store. The first 2000 come with an exclusive free gift if you order it online via Kscope/Burning Shed.
Click here to pre-order the DVD set

Prior to the DVD release there will be a special screenings of the film in the Prince Charles Cinema at London’s Leicester Square on September 2nd and at the IFC Center in New York on September 21st. Steven will be at both screenings and will be available to answer questions from the audience about the film during a Q&A session which will follow the film. He will be joined by Lasse at the New York screening.

A limited number of tickets for these special evenings are available to purchase from www.princecharlescinema.com (London) and Burning Shed (New York). Tickets for London cost £10 (+75p booking fee) and tickets for New York cost $15.

The 2 disc set comes packaged in a digibook with a 65 page booklet featuring photography by Lasse and Carl Glover, Steven’s long-time art collaborator, in a hard slip case. The second disc features a host of extras including a 31 minute film of Bass Communion and Pig live in Mexico City, the promo video for Harmony Korine, two trailers, 6 audio out-takes from the album recording sessions and more. The film is subtitled in Spanish, French, German, and English and the sound mixed is in stereo and 5.1 surround sound. 

Insurgentes is a musical road movie that follows the making of the solo record of the same name, and is a portrait of an increasingly rare artist who works with music and media out of love and not for fame and fortune, persisting in making art on his own terms in a world where ‘throw-away’ mentality is increasingly becoming the norm.

Hoile has described the project as ‘starting out as a small side project to Steven Wilson’s solo album’ yet ‘as the project developed and more and more people got involved, we realised that we had the potential to create a great documentary that could stand on its own feet.’

Insurgentes explores music and the album as art form, and applying the same aesthetic vision through the writing, performance, production, artwork, lyrics, videos and beyond. The film looks into the issues of creating, packaging and marketing music in an era when iPods, mp3′s and download culture are changing and eroding perceptions of exactly what an album is supposed to sound and look like.

“My fear is that the current generation of kids who’re being born into this information revolution, growing up with the Internet, cell phones, iPods, this download culture, ‘American Idol,’ reality TV, prescription drugs, PlayStations — all of these things kind of distract people from what’s important about life, which is to develop a sense of curiosity about what’s out there.”
(Steven Wilson, MTV News)

It’s this curiosity that takes the artist around the world to find inspiration to create and record his music.

Through travels to different cultures and continents we meet with other personalities in the industry, including Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth, the Israeli superstar Aviv Geffen and the legendary producer Trevor Horn, and hear different opinions on the current and future state of music. The result, as Lasse remarks, is ‘both a portrait of Steven as an artist but also a look at today’s download culture and the effects it has on the artists trying to create and share what is truly in their hearts and minds.’

Insurgentes also follows Steven back to his roots and upbringing and what led to him becoming a musician, from humble beginnings in the suburbs of London to touring the world as a successful artist, working with many other established artists, and creating a lasting legacy of recorded work.

www.insurgentesfilm.com

The long awaited reissue of Nosound’s 2005 debut album Sol29 will be available on Kscope from August 16th 2010 and to celebrate there will be a special Nosound performance at the BlagClub in Notting Hill in London on Friday 13th August.



The gig will feature a special stripped down set in an intimate setting and promises to be a special occasion. A limited amount of tickets are available for only £5 for the gig and these can be reserved by emailing unplugged@nosound.net. Signed copies of the album along with other Nosound merchandise will also be available at the gig for people who sign up to this list. There is also a Facebook event page here.

 Sol29 has been out of print for almost two years, during which time it has become a collectable (and much requested!) piece. The album will be expanded to a 2disc set (CD + DVD) and will be packaged in a super jewel case with slipcase and feature new and revised artwork as well as the original photographic booklet.



The audio CD will feature completely new digitally restored and analogue mastered audio from the original 2005 album, plus three extra re-mastered tracks (clocking in at 78 minutes of music!).

 The DVD features a brand new 10 minute video for Sol29, plus the original three ambient/experimental audio video tracks included on The World Is Outside DVD-R. As an extra for fans who missed the first release, the Kscope edition will also include all the original mixes of Sol29 as they were released on 2005 album version. This will be the final and official Sol29 release, collecting all the Nosound early studio material in one single release.

 Go to www.sol29.com for more details and to check out the video for Sol29 or go to the Kscope store to pre-order your copy.

An extensive interview with Giancarlo from Nosound will also feature in the next Kscope podcast which can be listened to, or downloaded from the podcast page.

Anesthetize is a 2 disc set (DVD + Blu-Ray) which captures the power of band’s live show. Recorded in high definition on multi-cameras over two nights at 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland in October 2008, the concerts featured tracks from throughout the band’s career until that point. Anesthetize collects the highlights from the two shows and presents them on both DVD and on Blu-Ray. The last remaining copies of the limited digi-book edition of the DVD and Blu-Ray set are now available to order from the Kscope store. Once this edition sells out, a super jewel case edition of the set will be available.

Buy Porcupine Tree albums
www.kscopemusic.com/porcupinetree

Buy Steven Wilson albums
www.kscopemusic.com/stevenwilson

Someone Here Is Missing, the new album from The Pineapple Thief, is now in stores and available to download from iTunes, Amazon, eMusic and all other major sites.

The album is the follow up to Tightly Unwound, the critically acclaimed album which launched the Kscope label In April 2008. Bruce Soord, the band’s frontman has described it as ‘a record of dark edges, full of love and regret, my life in the last eighteen months pretty much.’ The nine tracks mark another step forward in the bands progression, as Bruce’s songwriting continues to evolve and the band grow ever tighter.

Someone Here is Missing features artwork created by the legendary designer Storm Thorgerson, famous for creating some of the most recognisable artwork of the last 30 years including albums by Pink Floyd (Dark Side Of The Moon, Division Bell, Pulse), Muse, Led Zeppelin, Biffy Clyro and many more.

The artwork for Someone Here is Missing features a man covered in hundreds of post-it notes and to celebrate the art, as well as the post-it note’s 30th birthday, we have set up an online gallery to show off your favourite album covers, as (re)drawn by you. We are asking you to draw your favourite album artwork on a post-it note, scan it and email it to us at this email address so we can add it to the gallery on the mini-site. Click here to see the gallery

The first efforts from the band, the Kscope staff and friends are already in the gallery along with the entries from Glastonbury festival founder Michael Eavis, Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson and Danny Cavanagh from Anathema. Full details are on the web site which also features an album trailer, a free mp3, downloads, info and more.

Copies of both the special CD and vinyl editions are now available from the Kscope store. The limited special edition CD of the album comes packaged in a luxurious rigid digibook format and features two bonus tracks.

Limited to 2000 numbered units, the vinyl edition of the album come on 180gms black vinyl in a heavyweight gatefold sleeve with an art print on 250gms Tintoretto Gesso Paper and is supplied in a PVC wallet. The vinyl edition also comes with a special ‘drop card’ with a link to a digital download of the album. Click here to go to the store.

Go to the Someone Here Is Missing mini-site for more info on the new album. The site also offers a free mp3 from the new album, downloads featuring Storm Thorgeson’s artwork, audio samples and more.

You can hear also a track from the new album on the latest edition of the Kscope podcast.

Click here to buy Someone Here is Missing

Click here for The Someone Here is Missing mini-site

Nosound have announced that the long awaited reissue of their 2005 debut album Sol29 will be available on Kscope from August 2nd 2010. The album has been out of print for almost two years, during which time it has become a collectible (and much requested!) piece. The album will be expanded to a 2disc set (CD + DVD) and will be packaged in a super jewel case with slipcase and feature new and revised artwork as well as the original photographic booklet.

The audio CD will feature completely new digitally restored and analogue mastered audio from the original 2005 album, plus three extra re-mastered tracks (clocking in at 78 minutes of music!).

The DVD features a brand new 10 minute video for Sol29, plus the original three ambient/experimental audio video tracks included on The World Is Outside DVD-R. As an extra for fans that missed the first release, the Kscope edition will also include all the original mixes of Sol29 as they were released on 2005 album version. This will be the final and official Sol29 release, collecting all the Nosound early studio material in one single release.

Before this release the band will be returning to the stage starting with a special homecoming gig on May 29th. Following the success of their recent gig at the famous CrossRoads venue in Rome where they were joined on stage by a full wooden string quartet to play the whole of the A Sense of Loss album, the band return to Rome on May 29th for another gig which promises to be an equally special night.

For this gig, a headline slot for one of the Unprogged.com nights, Nosound will return to their original five piece rock band formation playing a 90 minute set featuring a selection of their favourite tracks from their three albums at the small and intimate Dissesto Musicale venue in a rural village near Rome. More information can be found at the band’s official website www.nosound.net

The band has already started work on their fourth studio album which will be released in 2011. Writing and recording sessions already started in UK, and will continue during the summer with the whole band recording in their brand new recording studio located on the hills around Rome.

Click here to order Nosound albums

Get your tickets here… be quick to avoid disappointment

NEW SINGLE…The new single Nothing At Best, the first to be taken from the new album Someone Here Is Missing, will be available to download from itunes from May 17th. The b-side to the single Open Waters is an exclusive digital only track written during the album sessions and only recently completed for the Nothing at Best single.

NEW VIDEO…The new video for Nothing At Best directed by Arnfinn Moseng & Negar Bagheri is now premiering on the album mini-site. Combining 2D animation techniques with live action special effects, Arnfinn and Negar have created a beautiful film noir-esque video which captures the mood of Nothing at Best perfectly.

ORDER YOUR COPY OF THE ALBUM…

Someone Here is Missing is available now to pre-order from the Kscope store on CD & Limited Edition Vinyl. Limited to 2000 numbered units, the vinyl edition of the album come on 180gms black vinyl in a heavyweight gatefold sleeve with an art print on 250gms Tintoretto Gesso Paper and is supplied in a PVC wallet. The vinyl edition also comes with a special ‘drop card’ with a link to a digital download of the album.

The first 250 orders will also come with a pad of exclusive Someone Here is Missing post-it notes which echo the album’s artwork.Both editions are also available as part of album + t-shirt bundles (long or short sleeve).

“The Pineapple Thief are primed to become an overnight success” CLASSIC ROCK PROG

For more information, audio samples, videos, downloads and more, go to the mini-site at www.kscopemusic.com/thepineapplethief

North Atlantic Oscillation return in June with Ceiling Poem, the second single to be taken from the debut album, Grappling Hooks. The track was described as ‘a gentle dreambeat that explodes into a technicolour psych-out’ by Classic Rock and by The Quietus as ‘inverted, unexpectedly Byrds-inflected folktronica’.

Kscope commissioned Stephen Ong, a young animator from Norwich to create an animated promo for the single, which you can see above.

Grappling Hooks, the debut album, was released earlier this year. The record immediately received rave reviews across the board, including being named Zane Lowe’s record of the week, and their first UK headline tour confirmed their status as one of the most exciting new bands to emerge in 2010.

“Super exciting new Rock n Roll for a new decade” Zane Lowe, BBC Radio One

“something a bit special” Classic Rock Prog

“Intriguing oddness from Scotland” Uncut



They will also be embarking on a short UK tour in May ahead of festival appearances this summer.
Playing live at the following dates:

May 14th – Great Escape, BRIGHTON (Levi’s Ones To Watch)

May 15th – BE @ Proud Galleries, LONDON

May 16th – Southampton Joiners, SOUTHAMPTON

May 17th – Oxford Jericho, OXFORD

May 18th – Barfly, CARDIFF

May 19th – BBC Introducing @ Oakford Social, READING

May 20th – Liverpool Sound City, LIVERPOOL

May 21st – Stag & Dagger, LONDON

May 22nd – Stag & Dagger, GLASGOW

July 14th – Pistoia Festival (supporting Porcupine Tree), ITALY

July 30th – Y Not Festival, Matlock, DERBYSHIRE

August 7th – Standon Calling, HERTS

September 10th – Bestival, ISLE OF WIGHT

For more information, audio samples, videos, downloads and more, go to the mini-site at www.kscopemusic.com/northatlanticoscillation

Someone Here Is Missing, the new album from The Pineapple Thief, is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store and the album mini-site which also features a free mp3, downloads, info and more.

Someone Here Is Missing is the follow up to Tightly Unwound, the critically acclaimed album which launched the Kscope label In April 2008. Bruce Soord, the band’s frontman has described it as ‘a record of dark edges, full of love and regret, my life in the last eighteen months pretty much.’ The nine tracks mark another step forward in the band’s progression, as Bruce’s songwriting continues to evolve and the band grow ever tighter.

The album features artwork created by the legendary designer Storm Thorgerson, famous for creating some of the most recognisable artwork of the last 30 years including albums by Pink Floyd (Dark Side Of The Moon, Division Bell, Pulse), Muse, Led Zeppelin, Biffy Clyro and many more.

The limited special edition CD of the album comes packaged in a luxurious rigid digibook format and features two bonus tracks.

Limited to 2000 numbered units, the vinyl edition of the album come on 180gms black vinyl in a heavyweight gatefold sleeve with an art print on 250gms Tintoretto Gesso Paper and is supplied in a PVC wallet. The vinyl edition also comes with a special ‘drop card’ with a link to a digital download of the album.

The first 250 orders will also come with a pad of exclusive Someone Here is Missing post-it notes which echo the album’s artwork.

Both editions are also available as part of album + t-shirt bundles (long or short sleeve).

New podcast now online

You can hear a track from the new album on the latest edition of the Kscope podcast which is now online and also features interviews with Tim Bowness (No-Man) and Engineers.

“The Pineapple Thief are primed to become an overnight success”
CLASSIC ROCK PROG

For more information, audio samples, videos, downloads and more, go to the mini-site at www.kscopemusic.com/tpt

Click here to order your copy of Someone Here is Missing