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Into warp drive - August 11

Life has been really busy these past weeks, but in a good way, preparing for the album release amongst other things...

Last week at EMI I joined Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Ray Shulman of Gentle Giant, Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings and Transatlantic and Mark Kelley of Marillion for a Prog Rock "roundtable" discussion organised by Jerry Ewing for Prog Magazine. It's good to share thoughts and ideas with other musos, and we then realise just how many feelings and ideas we all share.

Then this week as the band (Roger, Nick, Amanda, Gary and Rob and me) we recorded a few minutes of music for Bob Harris' 40th Anniversary of The Old Grey Whistle Test which will be heard on Radio 2 soon (info of exact time and date will be on the website). It was a great atmosphere and I really enjoyed the interview with Bob too - worth looking out for!

I'm doing a ton of interviews right now for the new album Beyond the Shrouded Horizon, which is getting extremely positive reactions. I can't wait to share it with everybody else! It continues with the same energy as Out of the Tunnel's Mouth, whilst also taking that spirit out on a new virtual voyage of discovery, beyond the known and hidden horizon. It has the same team of the band as well as Chris Squire's bass on four of the tracks and the addition of shamanically powerful drumming from both Gary O'Toole and Simon Phillips. It also involves an extra orchestral dimension, thanks to the beautiful playing of string masters Dick Driver, Richard Stewart and Christine Townsend. The new album has a free pan-genre spirit plus increased needle time. From the first phrases I feel that it doesn't belong to any known category. Diversity is its calling card thanks to a brilliantly versatile team.

Sane? I hope not. Passionate? Yes, I live for this stuff. Out there? Certainly and proudly!