PRAS Newsletter Winter 2019
A Warning To The Curious!!!
I've just returned from Italy where I played a great little gig with my new semi-electric band and began recording my most challenging and ambitious album to date – ‘A Warning To The Curious – Extended Narrative Songs based on the ghost stories by M.R. James.’
I had written all the songs for the album and orchestrated it about four years ago around the time of ‘White Zombie’, but have only now had the opportunity to recreate that demo and flesh it out at Elfo Studios in Piacenza. It is not only a significant development musically for me, but it will also be one of my most important releases as it looks likely to be released on Manticore, the label founded by Emerson, Lake and Palmer back in the early 70s. It will also feature many special guests from classic Italian prog rock bands and cult British figures such as John Greaves from Henry Cow and possibly Fred Frith and Peter Hammill as well as an international soprano and a small chamber ensemble featuring members of the Orchestra of La Scala in Milan.
Musically, it marks a major step forward in my musical journey as I have had to create a new genre of song-writing to tell short stories in a longer and more cinematic form than before. Most of the ‘songs’ are 10 minutes or so in length and are composed of contrasting segments linked by brief interludes to serve as transitions between ‘scenes’. I had to learn new unusual chords in order to expand my musical vocabulary, so to speak, as simple major and minor chords could not evoke the sinister and disquieting atmosphere setting for the stories. Playing through these lengthy and more complex ‘songs’ was not too difficult in my home studio, but playing them again alone in the studio without a click track (metronome) was quite challenging! Once the other instruments are added it will be in the words of my friend and producer Alberto Callegari “very beautiful” and I might add, beautifully strange!
UNRELEASED SONGS CD + LYRIC BOOK
I returned with the last remaining copies of the 'Selected Lyrics' book and am awaiting delivery of a second SMALL run of the 21 track 'Unreleased Songs' CD to be paired with them. If you missed this special release the first time, now is your second chance to grab a copy. Price is £15/15 euros including postage to be paid via paypal to Rolandtowers77@yahoo.com But by the time you read this I expect most of them will have gone, so please check that we still have one and if so, we’ll set it aside for you. First come, first served! [In the event that the book is sold out, we should still have a few spare copies of the CD which can be bought for £8/10 euros]
https://www.discogs.com/Paul-Roland-Unreleased-Songs/release/13772592?fbclid=IwAR3ZqOflD_3fDPu8Lz8fxp4Z35YhdLz-s80lNosN8s0QjiIRK1n_sf93V7Y
Future Releases!
While in Italy I had a very productive and extremely pleasant discussion with my label Dark Companion regarding future releases and we now have an agreement that will see future albums released on PRAS/Gaslight in deluxe packaging and available direct from the PRAS. A small quantity will go to the Italian distributor MaRaCash, but the PRAS will be the primary source of these releases (which will include albums recorded with my English band, collections of rarities, radio sessions and unreleased recordings and other limited edition releases). Dark Companion/Manticore will record and release my special projects and all vinyl versions. This ensures that I retain control over what is released and when, but also more important, it means the PRAS can keep prices as low as possible, absorb excessive postage costs and guarantee that all orders are fulfilled and any that are lost in the post are immediately replaced.
And on that happy note, I’ll end by saying a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to everyone who came to the concert on Saturday (some of whom came a long way). And I promise that next time I shall tell my inter-song jokes in Italian!
Love P
A Warning To The Curious!!!
I've just returned from Italy where I played a great little gig with my new semi-electric band and began recording my most challenging and ambitious album to date – ‘A Warning To The Curious – Extended Narrative Songs based on the ghost stories by M.R. James.’
I had written all the songs for the album and orchestrated it about four years ago around the time of ‘White Zombie’, but have only now had the opportunity to recreate that demo and flesh it out at Elfo Studios in Piacenza. It is not only a significant development musically for me, but it will also be one of my most important releases as it looks likely to be released on Manticore, the label founded by Emerson, Lake and Palmer back in the early 70s. It will also feature many special guests from classic Italian prog rock bands and cult British figures such as John Greaves from Henry Cow and possibly Fred Frith and Peter Hammill as well as an international soprano and a small chamber ensemble featuring members of the Orchestra of La Scala in Milan.
Musically, it marks a major step forward in my musical journey as I have had to create a new genre of song-writing to tell short stories in a longer and more cinematic form than before. Most of the ‘songs’ are 10 minutes or so in length and are composed of contrasting segments linked by brief interludes to serve as transitions between ‘scenes’. I had to learn new unusual chords in order to expand my musical vocabulary, so to speak, as simple major and minor chords could not evoke the sinister and disquieting atmosphere setting for the stories. Playing through these lengthy and more complex ‘songs’ was not too difficult in my home studio, but playing them again alone in the studio without a click track (metronome) was quite challenging! Once the other instruments are added it will be in the words of my friend and producer Alberto Callegari “very beautiful” and I might add, beautifully strange!
UNRELEASED SONGS CD + LYRIC BOOK
I returned with the last remaining copies of the 'Selected Lyrics' book and am awaiting delivery of a second SMALL run of the 21 track 'Unreleased Songs' CD to be paired with them. If you missed this special release the first time, now is your second chance to grab a copy. Price is £15/15 euros including postage to be paid via paypal to Rolandtowers77@yahoo.com But by the time you read this I expect most of them will have gone, so please check that we still have one and if so, we’ll set it aside for you. First come, first served! [In the event that the book is sold out, we should still have a few spare copies of the CD which can be bought for £8/10 euros]
https://www.discogs.com/Paul-Roland-Unreleased-Songs/release/13772592?fbclid=IwAR3ZqOflD_3fDPu8Lz8fxp4Z35YhdLz-s80lNosN8s0QjiIRK1n_sf93V7Y
Future Releases!
While in Italy I had a very productive and extremely pleasant discussion with my label Dark Companion regarding future releases and we now have an agreement that will see future albums released on PRAS/Gaslight in deluxe packaging and available direct from the PRAS. A small quantity will go to the Italian distributor MaRaCash, but the PRAS will be the primary source of these releases (which will include albums recorded with my English band, collections of rarities, radio sessions and unreleased recordings and other limited edition releases). Dark Companion/Manticore will record and release my special projects and all vinyl versions. This ensures that I retain control over what is released and when, but also more important, it means the PRAS can keep prices as low as possible, absorb excessive postage costs and guarantee that all orders are fulfilled and any that are lost in the post are immediately replaced.
And on that happy note, I’ll end by saying a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to everyone who came to the concert on Saturday (some of whom came a long way). And I promise that next time I shall tell my inter-song jokes in Italian!
Love P
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