'Alone In The Dark': Time To Shed Some Light

With the CD copies of the new album being produced as I type, this feels like a good time for me to announce to you a few things about the upcoming release of 'Alone In The Dark'!

This live mini-album, consisting of seven tracks, is due for official release on 5th October and will be available to pre-order from this website on 19th August. Released in CD and digital format, AITD will be available from my website and at gigs only. Your first chance to get your hands on a copy of the CD will be at the album's launch concert on 6th September at Dunster Castle in Somerset. Tickets for this special evening are selling well but they are still available from the Shop. (£12). Those of you who were there for the launch of Somewhere Between back in 2016, or who have visited the property at another time, will know what a remarkable place it is and what a stunning venue it makes for an occasion such as this... I do hope many of you will be able to join me. (Places are limited though so please don't leave it too late to book!)*

As for the album itself, the front cover is included here and features a photograph taken by Peter Graves, used with his kind permission. The artwork has once again been designed by yours truly - something I rather enjoy doing - and whilst the packaging is a little simpler than previous releases, I'm very pleased with how it's come together and am looking forward to seeing the finished product.

So then, the track listing for AITD is as follows:

1) Friends & Fathers...  2) Back To The Beginning...  3) The Parable Of Intent...  4) I Spat Fire...  5) Me & The Silence...  6) Creation Is Laughing...  7) Matches In The Wind.

It was recorded last November 2018 when I performed as part of two events organised by my very good friend and some-time collaborator, Nigel Neill, down in Somerset. (I can say that now that I live 'up here' in the North East!) We had planned to record both evenings but due to a gremlin on the second night, we only managed to catch the first set. Both evenings were very special and a real privilege to be a part of but I wasn't convinced at the time that I'd managed to produce a performance worthy of preservation. Having therefore lowered my expectations accordingly, when we sat down to listen to the recordings back in April, I was pleasantly surprised to find that we'd actually managed to capture something not altogether without merit. (This is why I shy away from the role of self-publicist: 'Not altogether without merit' is not the kind of phrase one ought to be attaching to a product one is trying to convince people to purchase. But that aside...) We listened; chatted; listened some more; mixed 'n' mastered and ended up with what I believe gives a good representation of what took place that night, and moreover, what it is I do live generally.

What I'm especially pleased about is that it isn't trying to be anything other than what it is: a live performance. (Inasmuch as such a thing exists at all after the event.) It's real, honest, passionate, flawed, heartfelt, and gives a better account of what actually took place that night than my staunch inner-critic had allowed me to take away at the time. Above all, if somebody were to ask me now what it is that I do when I'm playing live, I'd happily suggest listening to AITD because I feel that it answers the question well. What they chose to make of that answer would be up to them, of course, but I believe that if they liked the album then they'd enjoy a gig, and if they didn't... they wouldn't. And in a strange, low-key kinda way, that's probably the most I could and should have ever hoped to come away with from this. I guess that means I must be... happy with it. (Well, what d'ya know!)

I'm grateful beyond words to Nigel who has put so much energy and enthusiasm into bringing this project together; from its inception through to the end result. Immeasurable thanks and love for this and more, my friend.

There it is then! You can pre-order here from 19th August onward; book tickets here now for the launch concert in Somerset on 6th September* and it will be released officially from this website on 5th October. I suppose that's just about all there is to say about it right now. I hope I'll see many of you at the launch and/or another gig somewhere soon (full listing here) and I hope that you like the album when it comes out. 

Thank you so very much.... SPxx

*Tickets for the launch concert are available IN ADVANCE ONLY from this website. Due to the special setting and nature of the venue, tickets will not be available on the door.