Steve Hackett brings his 31 date Seconds Out + More Tour to Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on 17th September. Steve’s new studio album Surrender of Silence is out on 10th September.
The album features 11 new songs as Steve has been working hard through Lockdown and, for the first time, has completed two studio albums for release within the same year!
The new album also feature’s Steve’s latest single, Natalia.
Steve comments: “The weight of the Russian nation – my music at its most Slavic, inspired by all those stunning Russian classical composers and telling the story of that emergent nation with its struggles for power. Natalia is a Russian Everywoman, constantly thwarted by a series of oppressive regimes.”
Surrender Of Silence Explores Steve Hackett’s Love of World Music
Hot on the heels of his classical-acoustic travelogue Under A Mediterranean Sky, which was released in January and hit Number 2 in the UK Classical Album Chart, Surrender of Silence is a further exploration of Hackett’s love of world music, discovering different sounds, moods and textures to deliver a rock album of extraordinary variety, power and beauty.
As with Under A Mediterranean Sky, Surrender of Silence was also recorded during Lockdown and, again, Steve has called upon some of his musical friends from across the world to contribute. His regular touring band of Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax, clarinet), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals) and Craig Blundell (drums) are supplemented by Phil Ehart and Nick D’Virgilio (drums), the vocal talents of Amanda Lehmann, Durga and Lorelei McBroom, Christine Townsend (violin, viola), Malik Mansurov (tar) and Sodirkhon Ubaidulloev (dutar).
“Lockdown cobwebs are blown away in one fell-swoop here!” says Steve. “With the monster rhythm section of Jonas, Craig, Nick and Phil along with Rob’s soaring sax and bass clarinet, Nad, Amanda and myself on vocals, Roger’s darkly powerful organ and my guitar, we plunge full-pelt into that wild release of energy.”
Steve Hackett’s “No Holds Barred” Album
Steve’s duet with Amanda Lehmann adds emotion to Scorched Earth a lament for the environmental horrors facing our planet.
“It’s a ‘no holds barred’ album,” adds Steve, “riding that wave, unleashing those demons, dreams and nightmares, all crashing together over the shore.
“I enjoyed the power of this album allowing my guitar to scream in joy and rage… and once again flying across those oceans to distant lands. It’s terrific to connect creatively with musicians from far flung places, particularly when we’ve all been unable to meet. We all have a voice in our cacophony of sound and we cry out together in the Surrender of Silence!”