Esoteric Recordings is proud to announce the release of a remastered 4 CD clamshell boxed set which gathers together Volumes IX to XI of the Private Parts & Pieces albums (Dragonfly Dreams, Soirée and City of Dreams) along with Private Parts and Extra Pieces III, an additional 18-track CD of previously unreleased material, featuring recordings made between 1990 and 2012. Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI is the definitive statement on these classic albums. The set includes a lavish booklet with an essay by Jonathan Dann and fully restores the artwork of the original releases.

Originally released in 1996, Dragonfly Dreams drew upon a mixture of newly-written and previously recorded material.  The album features a number of tracks co-written and recorded by Ant with Quique Berro Garcia as well as Chinese Walls, a 17-minute piece for 12-string guitar.  Soirée was the second album in the Private Parts & Pieces series to feature a collection of pieces for solo piano.  The newly-composed material featured on the album is complimented by a freshly arranged version of Creation, which was written in 1968.  City of Dreams is the eleventh and to date the most recent release in the Private Parts and Pieces series.  It draws upon keyboard-based material to take the listener through a number of moods ranging from the epic to the reflective via atmospheric soundscapes to create a rich and ultimately rewarding journey for the imagination.

Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI is out now and is available to order now from Cherry Red and Amazon.  The complete track listing for the set can be seen here.

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2016, the Harmony for Elephants fine art book about elephants and elephant conservation to support the charity Elephants for Africa was published.  The book was accompanied by a CD of music specially written for this project, which is now receiving a wider release to help support the on-going work of the charity.

Ant has contributed two new solo pieces to the CD (Sunset Trail and The Elephant's Tale) and in addition has teamed up with Steve Hackett and Roger King to produce In A Perfect World, a new collaborative track.  Other artists who have contributed tracks to the CD include Nick Magnus, Nad Sylvan, Tony Patterson, Rob Townsend, Amanda Lehmann, Andy Neve, Andy Tillison, Brendan Eyre, Dale Newman, Brian Coombes and Anna Madsen.

Harmony for Elephants is released on 25th May 2018 and is available to pre-order now from Cherry Red and Amazon

The name and voice of Dale Newman will no doubt be familiar from his vocal contribution to Ant's album Sides, mostly notably on the epic Bleak House.  Dale started working as a guitar roadie for Genesis in 1975 and after several years of touring with the band, he accepted the challenge of finding a property suitable for their private studio, which became known as The Farm in Surrey.  There Dale contributed to the setup and maintenance of recording sessions and found time to write and record three albums of his own material.  After his time working with Genesis, Dale built his own studio and has continued to write and record music, recently completing a new studio album which he has co-produced with Brian Coombes.  

You can find out more about Dale and hear extracts from the new album on his recently launched website, where copies of his new album can also be ordered. Dale also has a Facebook page and can be followed on Twitter.