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Red Institution
£12.00
Red Institution reflects a band that has grown together over the last decade. Very different influences, playing and writing styles blend in an album of broad strokes; an eclectic, characterful album that offers hope among so many modern concerns. As is the hallmark of progressive music, classical, jazz, rock, funk, pop and folk all have their say. At once anthemic and elegiac, informative and playful, reflective and impressionistic, the album very much echoes the live experience of the band – from gentle, tender moments to the driving, urgent and purposeful.
Track List:
- Stella (Richardson/Parsons)
- Theme and Rondo (Hackett)
- Who Let the Rain In? (Richardson)
- Clare’s Tango (Parsons/Fletcher)
- MDLXXXIX (Parsons/Fletcher/Hackett/Richardson)
- I Talk to the Wind (Fripp/Giles/Lake/McDonald/Sinfield)
- Too Easy (Hackett/Fletcher/Richardson/Parsons)
- The Committee (Parsons)
- Brotherhood (Hackett)
- Butterfly Banshee (Richardson)
- A County Gentleman (Hackett)
- Red Institution (Richardson)
Amy Birks – guest vocal on I Talk to the Wind
In stock
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"a must have for the lover of complex prog rock (98/100)"
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Across the tracks there are appearances from the likes of Leland Sklar, Steve Hackett, John Helliwell, Gary Boyle, Nick Fletcher, Ton Scherpenzeel, Raul D'Oliveira, Clare Lindley, Bill Bruford, and others
Released October 6, 2023
was it for this…?
'—Was it for this
That one, the fairest of all Rivers, lov'd
To blend his murmurs with my Nurse's song,
And from his alder shades and rocky falls,
And from his fords and shallows, sent a voice
That flow'd along my dreams?'
William Wordsworth, The Prelude 1799
‘There can't be many of us who haven't at some point wondered what the sum total of our lives is going to be; all the good and poor choices, the happy and not-so-happy accidents, the healthy and toxic relationships, the influences that enrich or deplete.
I was very fortunate to have met Danny Chang (of The Kentish Spires) around 2004. He took me under his wing, opened his studio to my mad ideas, and suggested I do an album. It was recorded in Autumn/Winter 2006/07. Dan produced, John Fraser engineered and played some beautiful (at times brutal) piano. Then there was Ryan on drums, Colin on keys, Peter and Susie on harmonies. To be honest I was out of my depth, slightly unhinged and somewhat over-adrenalised, but I was managed with grace, kindness and pragmatism and I'll be eternally grateful for that.
For Will Wordsworth it started with the rushing of the river Derwent and the sweet simplicity of lullabies, surging towards the heady prospect of a new enlightenment in revolutionary France. My staging posts were mostly musical. From Salvation Army brass bands and choirs, to the tribal punk of Adam & The Ants, the jazz hands and Broadway babies of musical theatre and the sweeping possibilities of progressive music where sentiment can bleed beyond those three magic minutes. Here were songs about dying movie stars, parallel universes, off-kilter romance, Dad dancing, David Lynch and the von Trapp family. As Danny reassured me, I was never going to have to worry about my chart position...
So was it? For this, I mean. The answer can only ever be yes. For all of us. Only you can bring what you bring to the table. What you are and what has shaped you are unique to you, and the contribution you make is singular. What a wonderful gift. What a responsibility. What an opportunity.’
Jeremy, December 2020