The new album, produced by Steve Hillage and Tatsuki Masuko, is entitled “PHOENIX RISING” and will be released on Monday 23 September, followed by two UK concerts in March 2014.
UK dates include Manchester Ritz (Friday 7 March) and London o2 Shepherd's Bush Empire (Saturday 8 March). Tickets are available Wednesday 29 May via Music Glue. Fans will receive a free mp3 download of the 5-track "Hinotori" EP when they order tickets.
The "Hinotori" EP will also be available as a digital download on Monday 3 June from from iTunes and Bandcamp. A limited edition collectors’ CD of the EP is available at: www.planetgong.co.uk.
ROVO are a Japanese progressive rock/jam band featuring two drummers, bass and keyboards, led by guitarist Seichi Yamamoto and electric violinist Yuji Katsui. SYSTEM 7 is the dance music project of Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy, presenting a unique combination of tech-house beats and live playing, who have had a strong influence on the development of psychedelic ambient and electronica.
The “PHOENIX RISING” concert will highlight a sophisticated blend of electronic beats and live instrumentation, made possible by the skilled musicianship of eight players, including two live drummers. Hillage fans can be assured that, in the format of “PHOENIX RISING”, his masterful electric guitar style will be fully unleashed, with extensive soloing and duets with the electric violin of Rovo's Yuji Katsui.
“PHOENIX RISING” live is a combined show of Rovo and System 7 playing together, sometimes using the techno beats as the rhythmic basic and sometimes using the live drums, seamlessly morphing from one to the other.
The Album:
After a groundbreaking tour of Japan in 2011 and a successful Tokyo show at O-East, Rovo and System 7 decided to take the project further by recording a "Phoenix Rising" studio album.
The album was recorded in Tokyo in September 2012, and was completed in January and February 2013 with overdubs in Steve Hillage’s London studio, with final mixing in Tokyo.
The album will be released on 23rd September 2013. The first single, "Hinotori", will be out on 3rd June 2013 as a digital download (on iTunes etc) and as a Ltd Edition CD/EP.
"Phoenix Rising" features original collaborations from Rovo and System 7. It also includes a new arrangement of "Meeting of the Spirits" by the Mahavishnu Orchestra – a perfect showcase for the album’s astonishing blend of guitar and electric violin.
Track by track:
1. Hinotori (Album Version) - A reworking of the brilliant Rovo live rock adaptation of System 7’s “Hinotori”, fully based on the live band with soaring guitar and violin solos.
2. Love for the Phoenix - A techno tour de force loosely based on the classic System 7 track “Habibi” from the first System 7 album (1991) but made with a completely new beat and overlayed with live playing and violin. A powerful emotion is employed that evokes the suffering and spirit of rebirth in Japan’s recent national tragedy, and the heart-based symbolism of the Phoenix.
3. Meeting of the Spirits - A simplified cover version of the iconic Mahavishnu Orchestra track, showcasing the fantastic blend of lead guitar and electric violin, and also displaying the extraordinary beats of the two Rovo drummers.
4. Cisco (Phoenix Rising) - An epic live Rovo track in the “Krautrock” spirit of Can and Neu, with one of the trippiest tempo changes of all time, and featuring an intricate middle section composed by Steve Hillage.
5. Unbroken - An electro/breakbeat track composed by System 7 that starts completely programmed and switches to completely live playing around the same theme, with another Mahavishnu-style guitar and electric violin melody
6. Sino Dub (Phoenix Rising) - Another live Rovo track combined for Phoenix Rising with a techno trance programmed beat in typical System 7 style.
7. Unseen Onsen - A floating ambient track with lush live playing, composed by Miquette Giraudy in the Mirror System style.
The Phoenix (in its Asian equivalent) is a national symbol of Japan. It’s a universal concept of the Bird of Fire that rises again and it has particular resonance after the terrible events in March 2011 that continue to place a dark shadow over Japan.
This project promotes Japan’s rebirth, and is supported by Rumiko Tezuka whose father Osamu Tezuka created the iconic manga series Hi No Tori (literally Bird of Fire in Japanese), and also features elaborate artwork and video visuals created by Mood Magic (who made the System 7 videos) and video animator and artist Koji Morimoto (Animatrix).
Musicians:
Steve Hillage [Guitar – Programming]
Miquette Giraudy [Synthesiser]
Yuji Katsui [Electric Violin]
Seiichi Yamamoto [Guitar]
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki [Drums]
Yoichi Okabe [Drums – Percussion]
Jin Harada [Bass Guitar]
Masuko Tatsuki [Keyboards]
Live Dates:
Manchester Ritz
Friday 7th March 2014
Tickets: £20.00 plus booking fee
Doors: 18.30
London o2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Saturday 8th March 2014
Tickets: £25.00 standing, £27.00 seated plus booking fee
Doors: 19.00
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