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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.
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 βTHE BIRTH OF CRYSTAL MACHINEβ DEMOS
ALSO INCLUDES A DVD (NTSC β REGION FREE) OF A PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED FRENCH TV PERFORMANCE FROM APRIL β79
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 βFlying Teapotβ, βAngelβs Eggβ and βYouβ. He would also join Hawkwind from 1979 β 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.
Blakeβs debut album, βCrystal Machineβ, 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, βBlakeβs New Jerusalemβ in 1978. Unlike his previous work, the album featured songs and the lengthy title-track would dominate the albumβs second side. βNew Jerusalemβ also featured the guest appearance of Jean-Philippe Rykiel on mini-moog. Tim Blake would later perform both βLighthouseβ and βNew Jerusalemβ 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 βMagickβ 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, βThe Tide of the Centuryβ. Recorded once again at his Windmill studio, the album featured a host of fine songs and music. In 2002 Tim recorded and released βCaldea Music IIβ, 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 βCrystal Machineβ 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 βNoggi Tarβ in 2012, an album which he described as βA digital theses on virtual lead guitarβ.
This new anthology celebrates Timβs 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 βThe Birth of Crystal Machineβ in the 1970s, along with three recordings from the so-called βForgotten Tapesβ 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 Blakeβs appearance on French television in April 1979 performing βGenerator (Laser Beam)β, βPassage Pour La CiteΜ Des ReΜveΜlationsβ, βLighthouseβ and βNew Jerusalemβ. βLighthouseβ 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 β Tim Blake
6. SYNTHESE INTEMPOREL β Tim Blake
7. PASSAGE SUR LA CITE (DES REVELATIONS) β Tim Blake
8. NEW JERUSALEM β Tim Blake 9. LIGHTHOUSE – Hawkwind
DISC TWO:
1. PRELUDE – Hawkwind
2. WHOβS GONNA WIN THE WAR – Hawkwind
3. A RETURN TO THE CLOUDS β Tim Blake
4. WAITING FOR NATI β Tim Blake
5. THE TIDE OF THE CENTURY β Tim Blake
6. BYZANTIUM DANCING β Tim Blake
7. JACUZZI SURFING β Tim Blake
8. FLOATING β Tim Blake
9. ABSENT FRIENDS β Tim Blake
10.BYZANCE (LIVE IN EXETER 2009 β PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED) β Tim Blake
DISC THREE:
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ARCHIVE RECORDINGS:
1. IONIC CLOUDS 2 (βTHE BIRTH OF CRYSTAL MACHINEβ β PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
2. PSYCHEDELIC SPRINGS (βTHE BIRTH OF CRYSTAL MACHINEβ β PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
3. FORTERESSE / CRYSTAL MIRRORS TO INFINITY (βTHE BIRTH OF CRYSTAL MACHINEβ β 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 β PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED) TIM BLAKE β LES MUSICIENS THE FRENCH TV PERFORMANCE 20th APRIL 1979
DISC FOUR: DVD
NTSC β REGION FREE
1. GENERATOR (LASER BEAM) (FRENCH TV 20TH APRIL 1979 β PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
2. PASSAGE POUR LA CITEΜ DES REΜVEΜLATIONS (FRENCH TV 20TH APRIL 1979 β PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
3. LIGHTHOUSE (FRENCH TV 20TH APRIL 1979 β PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
4. NEW JERUSALEM (FRENCH TV 20TH APRIL 1979 β PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
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