The youngest founding member of Genesis turns 70. Even if he left the band more than 50 years ago, he will of course always remain connected to Genesis. But Anthony Phillips has produced his own music until recently and has shown a high degree of versatility in the process. Many demos and sketches that Anthony Phillips made over the years remained unfinished and some were packed as bonus tracks on re-releases. And this is where a project comes in, the origin of which lies in the Anthony Phillips Event 2014 (the event was organized by the German Genesis Fanclub it at the time):
On the occasion of his 70th birthday, some of the musicians who presented Ant‘s music live during the event, reinforced by other musicians, recorded an album. This band is called The Ant Band. In contrast to Rocking Horse Music Club with their project Which Way The Wind Blows, they have primarily made unfinished or unpublished tracks (demos, sketches, etc.) and recorded them as band versions. A Light On The Hill is the name of the album, which can be pre-ordered from today and will be released on January 03, 2022. It contains a total of 14 tracks – Steve Hackett even contributed a solo for one track:
01. Sistine
02. F Sharp (feat. Steve Hackett)
03. Sanctuary
04. God If I Saw Her Now
05. She’ll Be Waiting
06. Study No.1 in E Maj (excerpt)
07. Unheard Cry
08. Salmon Leap
09. Postlude: End Of The Season
10. Stranger
11. Lucy: An Illusion
12. Moon’s Lament For The Sun
13. Master Of Time
14. Slow Dance (excerpt from Part I)
The German Genesis Fanclub it was happy to support the project. On the occasion of the publication, we have put together a website special. In addition to general information and ordering options, you will also find a detailed album review by Thomas Jesse, who was not involved in the project, as well as detailed background information on the individual tracks (selection criteria, instruments used, etc.) and an interview with Tom Morgenstern, the drove and managed the project.
Recorded at home in various places all over Germany (and in the case of Mr. Hackett: in England) between February and October 2021, except “Slow Dance” recorded on April 13, 2014.
Mixed and mastered at Autarkstudio, Bergisch Gladbach.
Conception, coordination and production: Tom Morgenstern.
Cover artwork: Helmut Janisch
Lineup:
Martin Brilla – Synthesizer (7, 8, 10, 14), Piano (10, 14), Organ (14)
Jan-Peer Hartmann / Classical Guitar (4), Electric Guitar (5)
Damian Krebs / Drums (2, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13)
Sascha Krieger / 12string Guitar (1, 2, 11, 13, 14), Acoustic Guitar (3, 12), Electric Guitar (1, 3), Classical Guitar (14), Bass (1, 2, 3, 8, 11), Cymbals (12), Synthesizer (14), Mellotron (14)
Andreas Lauer / Accordion (3, 4, 10, 11)
Thomas Lehr / Synthesizer (1, 5, 10, 11), Piano (1, 10, 11), Organ (5, 10, 11), Mellotron (1, 10, 11)
Kirsten Middeke / Flute (4)
Nina Morgenstern / Lead Vocals (4, 7, 12), Backing Vocals: (10)
Robin Morgenstern / Lead vocals (1, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13), Backing vocals (1, 3, 10)
Tom Morgenstern / 12string Guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13), Acoustic Guitar (3, 11), Electric Guitar (1, 3, 4, 8), Classical Guitar (14), Bass (4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14), Synthesizer (1, 5, 7, 14), Mellotron (10), Backing Vocals (3, 4, 5, 11, 13), Drum Programming (1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, 14)
Peter Musto / Synthesizer (7, 13), Organ (13), Mellotron (1, 13), Flute (7), Glockenspiel (1), Chimes (7)
Gereon Schoplick / Classical Guitar (2, 5, 6, 13), 12string Guitar (9)
Thomas Waltner / Synthesizer (14), Flute (14), Recorder (14), Mellotron (14), Glockenspiel (14)
Bert Wenndorff / Piano (3, 10, 12), Organ (2, 12), Synthesizer (10, 12, 13), Mellotron (2, 3, 4, 13), Backing Vocals (4)
Special Guest:
Steve Hackett / Electric Guitar (2)
Cover artwork partly created by using images from Freepik.com. Landscape photo: Stephanie Dobmeier. Photo of “Castle ANTrax“ (aka Doune Castle, Scotland): Wikifan75.
Special thanks to: Walter Brühn, Jonathan Dann, David Dunnington, Peter Gabriel, Christian Gerhardts, Steffen Gerlach, Steve Hackett, Roger King, Nina Morgenstern, Stefan Störmer, Bernd Vormwald.