A NEW RE-MASTERED 4CD CLAMSHELL BOX ANTHOLOGY FEATURING THE BEST OF TIM BLAKE

INCLUDING TRACKS BY GONG, SARATOGA SPACE MESSENGERS & HAWKWIND ALONG WITH SOLO TRACKS

FEATURING 8 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKS INCLUDING “THE BIRTH OF CRYSTAL MACHINE” DEMOS

ALSO INCLUDES A DVD (NTSC – REGION FREE) OF A PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED FRENCH TV PERFORMANCE FROM APRIL ’79

NEWLY REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES

BOOKLET INCLUDES A NEW ESSAY

Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a new re-mastered 3CD and DVD clamshell boxed set anthology celebrating the career of celebrated synthesiser and electronic ambient music pioneer TIM BLAKE. Tim first came to prominence as a member of Gong where his synthesiser experimentation and mastery was demonstrated on albums such as “Flying Teapot”, “Angel’s Egg” and “You”. He would also join Hawkwind from 1979 – 1980 and from November 2007. After departing Gong in 1975 he teamed up with French lighting designer Patrice Warrener to form Crystal Machine, pioneering the use of lasers and synthesisers in a live setting.

Blake’s debut album, “Crystal Machine”, was originally released in 1977 on the French experimental label Egg and featured two pieces recorded live in the UK and in France. This work was followed by arguably his finest work, “Blake’s New Jerusalem” in 1978. Unlike his previous work, the album featured songs and the lengthy title-track would dominate the album’s second side. “New Jerusalem” also featured the guest appearance of Jean-Philippe Rykiel on mini-moog. Tim Blake would later perform both “Lighthouse” and “New Jerusalem” as a member of Hawkwind when he joined the band the following year. He remained with the group for just over a year before returning to France and moving away from music.

Tim returned to the music scene with the album “Magick” in 1991, recorded at his home studio in a windmill in Brittany. Although he made occasional live appearances, it would be nine years before he would return with a new album, “The Tide of the Century”. Recorded once again at his Windmill studio, the album featured a host of fine songs and music. In 2002 Tim recorded and released “Caldea Music II”, a work especially commissioned by the Caldea Spa centre in Andorra. The album saw Tim return to his purely instrumental roots, cited by some as a modern equivalent of his classic “Crystal Machine” album. Recorded once again at his Windmill studio, the album featured wonderfully evocative music and guest appearances by Christian Boule (Glassando Guitar) and Konan Mevel (Catalan Bagpipes, Flute). Joining Hawkwind once more in 2007, Tim recorded his most recent solo album “Noggi Tar” in 2012, an album which he described as “A digital theses on virtual lead guitar”.

This new anthology celebrates Tim’s work both as a member of Gong and Hawkwind and as a solo artist and includes tracks from all stages of his career. Most interestingly, Lighthouse also features eight previously unreleased recordings, including three from “The Birth of Crystal Machine” in the 1970s, along with three recordings from the so-called “Forgotten Tapes” and two tracks recorded live in Amsterdam and Exeter in 2006 and 2009 respectively. As a final highlight, the anthology includes a bonus DVD featuring a previously unreleased recording of Tim Blake’s appearance on French television in April 1979 performing ‘Generator (Laser Beam)’, ‘Passage Pour La Cité Des Révélations’, ‘Lighthouse’ and ‘New Jerusalem’. “Lighthouse” is a fine celebration of a fine musician.

DISC ONE:
1. THE OCTAVE DOCTORS AND THE CRYSTAL MACHINE – Gong
2. OTHER SIDE OF THE SKY – Gong
3. A SPRINKLING OF CLOUDS – Gong
4. SURF – Saratoga Space Messengers 5. MIDNIGHT – Tim Blake
6. SYNTHESE INTEMPOREL – Tim Blake
7. PASSAGE SUR LA CITE (DES REVELATIONS) – Tim Blake
8. NEW JERUSALEM – Tim Blake 9. LIGHTHOUSE – Hawkwind

DISC TWO:
1. PRELUDE – Hawkwind
2. WHO’S GONNA WIN THE WAR – Hawkwind
3. A RETURN TO THE CLOUDS – Tim Blake
4. WAITING FOR NATI – Tim Blake
5. THE TIDE OF THE CENTURY – Tim Blake
6. BYZANTIUM DANCING – Tim Blake
7. JACUZZI SURFING – Tim Blake
8. FLOATING – Tim Blake
9. ABSENT FRIENDS – Tim Blake
10.BYZANCE (LIVE IN EXETER 2009 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED) – Tim Blake

DISC THREE:
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ARCHIVE RECORDINGS:
1. IONIC CLOUDS 2 (“THE BIRTH OF CRYSTAL MACHINE” – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
2. PSYCHEDELIC SPRINGS (“THE BIRTH OF CRYSTAL MACHINE” – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
3. FORTERESSE / CRYSTAL MIRRORS TO INFINITY (“THE BIRTH OF CRYSTAL MACHINE” – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
4. FORGOTTEN TAPES 1 (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
5. FORGOTTEN TAPES 2 (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
6. FORGOTTEN TAPES 3 (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
7. THE TIDE OF THE CENTURY (LIVE IN AMSTERDAM 2006 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED) TIM BLAKE – LES MUSICIENS THE FRENCH TV PERFORMANCE 20th APRIL 1979

DISC FOUR: DVD
NTSC – REGION FREE
1. GENERATOR (LASER BEAM) (FRENCH TV 20TH APRIL 1979 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
2. PASSAGE POUR LA CITÉ DES RÉVÉLATIONS (FRENCH TV 20TH APRIL 1979 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
3. LIGHTHOUSE (FRENCH TV 20TH APRIL 1979 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
4. NEW JERUSALEM (FRENCH TV 20TH APRIL 1979 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)