Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI - a four disc deluxe set which gathered together three albums in the Private Parts & Pieces series (Dragonfly Dreams, Soirée and City of Dreams) - was released in 2018 as part of the Esoteric Recordings re-issue series of Ant's back catalogue.  The set also included Private Parts & Extra Pieces III, an 18-track 55 minute CD which featured a carefully curated collection of previously unreleased material designed to complement the music on the three albums.  An illustrated booklet with detailed notes and essay chronicling the recording of each of the albums was also included.

The tracks on the extra CD include an acoustic instrumental version of Roads In Between, some previously unheard tracks recorded in collaboration with Quique Berro Garcia and two Movements of the extended piece Piano Drama.

Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI has been out of print for some time and now a new pressing of the set is being made available.  Due for release on 7th February 2025, it is available to pre-order from Cherry Red.

It is now the tenth anniversary of the release of the five CD boxed set Harvest of the Heart and in turn this also marks ten years to date of Ant's association with Cherry Red Records through the Esoteric Recordings label.  Our photo here shows the various titles from Ant's back catalogue along with the two new albums (Strings of Light and Private Parts & Pieces XII: The Golden Hour) that have been released to date.

We'd like to thank everyone at Esoteric and Cherry Red for all their work over the last decade in making Ant's catalogue available in a re-mastered and expanded form.  Thanks are also due to everyone who has bought any (or indeed all) of the releases - your support in doing this is sincerely appreciated.

Esoteric Antenna are pleased to announce the release of Ant's new album Private Parts & Pieces XII: The Golden Hour.

The Golden Hour is the first new volume in the long-running Private Parts & Pieces series since City of Dreams in 2012 and Ant's first new solo album release in five years.  The album features some beautiful and evocative pieces including the four-part 'Wychmore Hill Suite' and a vocal version of 'Roads In Between'.  It also includes guest appearances on two tracks by guitarist Quique Berro Garcia, who has contributed to previous volumes in the Private Parts & Pieces series including Antiques, Slow Waves Soft Stars and Dragonfly Dreams.

Ant describes The Golden Hour as "a very traditional Private Parts & Pieces album of old, a collection of pieces of disparate background hopefully constituting a cohesive whole".  The track listing for the album can be seen here.

The Golden Hour is out now and is available to order from Cherry Red and Amazon.  The album is also available on Bandcamp.

"The latest instalment of this occasional series is arguably the best yet" (Prog)

"Pure musical magic" (Progressive Rock Central)

October 2019 saw the release of Strings of Light, Ant's first solo album release in seven years which featured twenty four pieces of music across two CDs.  The tracks on the album saw Ant utilisting the many beautiful and rare guitars in his collection to make Strings of Light one of the finest instrumental guitar albums in his long and acclaimed career as a musician and composer.

The original release of the album was as a 2 CD & 1 DVD digipak which has sold out and now a 2 CD Jewel Case Edition of the album is being released to make Strings of Light available once more.  The audio content of this new Edition is the same as the 2 CDs from the original release.

The 2 CD Jewel Case Edition of Strings of Light is available to order now from Cherry Red and Amazon.

Update: A review of the 2 CD edition has been published in Issue 149 of Prog and can be read here.

First released in September 1990, Ant's two-part instrumental suite Slow Dance has gone on to become one of his most highly regarded album releases.

In June 2017 Esoteric Recordings released an Expanded and Re-mastered edition of the album, which went out of print some time ago.  Now a new 2 CD Jewel Case Edition of the album is being released to make Slow Dance available once more.  The audio content of the Jewel Case Edition is the same as the 2 CDs first released in the Expanded Edition, with the first CD featuring the original stereo mix of the album re-mastered for the first time since the original release by co-producer Simon Heyworth.  The second disc contains a selection of 'Slow Dance Vignettes', which includes alternate mixes and variations of themes from the album.

The 2 CD Jewel Case Edition of Slow Dance is available to order now from Cherry Red and Amazon. 

Update: Reviews of the 2 CD Edition have now been published on Progradar and The Second Disc.

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of an expanded and re-mastered edition of Gypsy Suite by Anthony Phillips and Harry Williamson.

Ant and Harry first met in 1968 but it was not until the summer of 1971 that they had the opportunity to spend time together to write new material based on their joint exploration of unusual guitar tunings.  The first three Movements of Gypsy Suite were the result of these sessions, with a fourth Movement being composed in late 1975 before the Suite was recorded in March 1978.

Gypsy Suite also includes the demo recordings of Movements I and II of Ant and Harry's other major collaborative work Tarka from 1975 and 1976 respectively.  On this new edition they are complemented by a previously unreleased solo piano demo of Tarka Movement III: The Hunt recorded during the 1976 sessions, which has been newly mixed from the original multi-track masters.

Originally released in 1995 and unavailable for a number of years, this new edition of Gypsy Suite has been re-mastered for the first time since the original release and features new liner notes by Jon Dann.

Gypsy Suite is available to order now from Cherry Red and Amazon.

Update: A review of the re-mastered and Expanded Edition of Gypsy Suite is included in issue 147 of Prog and can be read here.