“The Life of The Honey Bee, And Other Moments of Clarity“ is the eagerly and long-awaited new album from Scottish prog maestros Abel Ganz. A concept album comprising of six thematically linked pieces exploring our relationship with memory and loss. The liminal space between a fading ‘what was’ and an anticipated ‘what is to come’.
The album recalls the hazy technicolour of long remembered summers and the sepia of a love forgotten. A place where we blur the boundaries of returning and renewal. The lyrics chart the course through recollection to premonition. These words are both deeply personal and universal, hope for what is next and a lament for what we have lost.
The new album has taken six years to realise and follows on from the self-titled 2014 opus Abel Ganz which was both critically acclaimed [topping several ‘best of’ lists for that year], and universally acknowledged as the band’s best, most mature album to date.
The influences on the new album continue in a similar vein – further developing their eclectic mix of folk, rock, metal and Celtic styles. The album’s trajectory shifts between crunching guitars, subtle acoustic instruments, strings, soaring Hammond and emotive grand piano all connected by lyrical storytelling and timeless vocals and harmonies.
Produced by Denis Smith, mixed by the legendary Simon Vinestock [Texas, Blur, Robert Plant, Simple Minds] and mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo [White Willow / Opium Cartel] the album also includes a beautiful guest performance from multi-award-winning, former ‘Scots Singer of the Year’, and acclaimed solo artist Emily Smith.
NB! Since the global outrbreak of coronovirus, we have been struggling with the dilemma over what to do. Should we press ahead with our pre-sale – or shelve the whole thing for a couple of months? As you can no doubt appreciate, we have been working incredibly hard on this project [literally for years!] and we are itching to get it out – but we do recognize that we are living through an uncertain period and that, for some, right now might not be an ideal time for us to ask for help with a fundraiser / pre-sale.
As I say – we have been struggling with this a great deal and after much deliberation and soul searching, we have finally made the decision to press ahead!
However, given there is a question mark at the moment when manufacturers and suppliers will be able to take [and process] any orders from us we have decided to push back the actual release date [we had been planning an early May release] of the album to June 15th and make this a very, very long pre-sale indeed! We hope that by then the situation will allow deliveries to be made safely.
The Life of the Honeybee and other Moments of Clarity
Davie Mitchell: Electric guitar, Nashville acoustic guitars, Lead guitar,
Jack Webb: Piano, Hammond B3, Electric piano
Mick Macfarlane: Vocals, Electric guitars, Bouzouki
David King: Acoustic guitar, Electric guitars, Additional keyboards
Stephen Donnelly: Bass guitars,
Denis Smith: Drums
Alan Hearton: Minimoog
Fiona Cuthill: Fiddles, Recorders
Alex Paclin: Harmonica
Snake Davis: Saxophone
One Small Soul
Jack Webb: Pianos, Hammond B3
Mick Macfarlane: Vocals, Acoustic guitars,
Emily Smith: Vocals
David King: Electric guitars, Lead guitar,
Stephen Donnelly: Double bass
Denis Smith: Drums
Arran Shores
David King: Acoustic guitar
Summerlong
Jack Webb: Yamaha C3 grand piano, Hammond B3
Mick Macfarlane: Vocals
Stephen Donnelly: Bass gtr
Denis Smith: Drums
All strings arranged and performed by Frank van Essen*
Sepia and White
Davie Mitchell: Electric gtr
Jack Webb: Piano, Hammond B3, Electric piano, Synth keyboards
Alan Hearton: Moog synthesizer, Vibraphone, Additional keyboards
Mick Macfarlane: Vocals, Electric guitars,
David King: Electric guitars, Lead guitar,
Stephen Donnelly: Electric bass guitar, Acoustic double bass guitar
Denis Smith: Drums
The Light Shines Out
David King: Keyboards, Drum Programming, Guitars
Alan Hearton: Grand piano, Minimoog, String synthesizer
Denis Smith: Vocals
Stevie Lawrence: Low whistles
Signy Jakobsdottir: Congas, Percussion
French horns arranged and performed by Marc Papaghin*
Recorded at: Ganz Mansions, Gorbals Sound Studios, Maybank Studios, Toy Town Studios.
Engineers: Denis Smith, David King, Matt Harvey, Gordon McNeil
Mixed by Simon Vinestock at Mixfarm Studio
Mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo at Dude Ranch Studio
Art direction and design by Stephen Donnelly, front cover painting by Vvildr, internal illustrations by Katy Levin.
Produced by Denis Smith
All music written and arranged by Abel Ganz except* © 2020 Abel Records
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https://www.facebook.com/abelganzband/
Listen to the new Abel Ganz HoneyBee Promo below