Legendary Rock guitarist Steve Hackett is set to release his new studio album “The Circus And The Nightwhale” on February 16, 2024, via InsideOut Music. A rite-of-passage concept album with a young character called Travla at the centre of it, The Circus And The Nightwhale‘s 13 tracks have an autobiographical angle for the musician who says about his 30th solo release: “I love this album. It says the things Ive been wanting to say for a very long time.“
Today a brand new track is revealed, titled “Wherever You Are,” and you can watch the video now here:
Of the track, Steve comments: “Wherever You Are is a song of love winning through, shattering the chains of the physical world… Light obliterating darkness. A new universe has opened up with the hope that such a strong love could even survive death. The dreams of childhood realised, there is a sense of everything coming around full circle… Even the three part harmony guitar at the end of Genesis’ The Musical Box is revisited in spirit with the joy of celebration during this song.“
The albums opening track “People of the Smoke” was released in December. Watch the video here:
The albums opening track “People of the Smoke” was released in December. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_iujNWzPL0
The new album is available to pre-order on several different formats, including a Limited CD+Blu-ray mediabook (including 5.1 Surround Sound & 24bit high resolution stereo mixes), Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g Vinyl LP & as Digital Album. All feature the stunning cover painting by Denise Marsh. Pre-order now here: https://stevehackett.lnk.to/TheCircusAndTheNightwhale
Steve will celebrate the release of his new album with two HMV instore events in London & Birmingham, where he will be taking part in a Q&A and signing albums. Find out more details on those here: https://ow.ly/HUaT50Q7paJ
“The Circus And The Nightwhale” is Steve‘s first new music in over two years. Recorded between tours in 2022 and 2023 at Siren Studio in the UK – with guest parts beamed in from Sweden, Austria, the US, Azerbaijan and Denmark. The line-up for “The Circus And The Nightwhale” includes some familiar faces alongside Steve on electric and acoustic guitars, 12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass and vocals. Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D’Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt return as guests on the drumstool, engineer extraordinaire Benedict Fenner appears on keyboards and Malik Mansurov is back with the tar. Finally, Steve‘s brother John Hackett is present once more on flute.
Tracklist:
- People Of The Smoke
- These Passing Clouds
- Taking You Down
- Found And Lost
- Enter The Ring
- Get Me Out!
- Ghost Moon and Living Love
- Circo Inferno
- Breakout
- All At Sea
- Into The Nightwhale
- Wherever You Are
- White Dove
Summing up “The Circus And The Nightwhale,” Steve says: “It’s a lovely journey that starts dirty, scratchy and smoky and becomes heavenly and divine. How can you resist it?“
Steve is currently on tour in North America, continuing his “Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights” run. Next year he will tour the world extensively, including a brand-new UK tour under the name “Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo,” and that will see him return to the legendary Royal Albert Hall. For the full list of dates, head to: http://hackettsongs.com/tour.html