CD/DVD Releases: Rob Reed Releases "Sanctuary"
Rob Reed (Magenta, Kompendium) released Sanctuary back in July. Sanctuary is the fulfilment of a lifetime's dream and ambition in music Rob Reed has held since first hearing Tubular Bells in 1973 at the age of seven. Last year, he decided to focus his abilities on creating his own one-man project.
The album is played, produced, mixed and engineered by Reed and he's brought in Oldfield collaborators Tom Newman and Simon Heyworth, who respectively co-produced and mastered the new work.
Reed learned to play all the instruments used on the record - grand piano, guitars, bass, mandolin, glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, timpani, banjo, recorders, organ – and... tubular bells! The Synergy Vocals choir, singer Anghared Brinn and some extra percussion by Tom Newman, completed the picture.
Rob says: "I wanted to play all the instruments, and for them all to be real – no synthesisers. The next four weeks were a bit of a blur as the music just came out. It turned out to be the most enjoyable album I've made." Conscious of the need to be inspired by Mike Oldfield's iconic album, rather than just copying it, Reed adds "I worked hard to make the melodies stand on their own."
And the result has reaped dividends, with Rob noting Heyworth's reactions: "He told me that when he heard it, he closed his eyes and he was back in Manor Studios in 1973."
Rob is hopeful that the two-part piece can be performed live with a 12-piece band soon.
Sanctuary was released on July 21 via Tigermoth Records on CD and DVD 5.1. A 180g vinyl is available via Plane Groovy, and each copy comes with a download coupon.
[Source: We Do Band Stuff]