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 due for release on 23rd February 2024 and is available to pre-order now from Cherry Red.

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 Eosteric Records 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 due for release on 26th January 2024 and is available to pre-order from Cherry Red and Amazon.

Dale Newman - vocalist on Ant's album Sides and latterly his "Guitar Tsar" (maintaining Ant's collection of stringed instruments) - has just released Wild Flowers, an EP of six new songs which is now available exclusively on Bandcamp.

His second EP release for 2023, the songs on Wild Flowers are drawn from the large amount of material Dale has written over the last few years and see him continue to develop his artistic vision. 

Wild Flowers is available now on Bandcamp where you can also find Dale's previous EP release Somewhere Down The Road and his 2018 album release Dale Newman.  All three releases are now also available as a bundle at a discounted price.

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of an expanded and remastered edition of Wildlife by Anthony Phillips and Joji Hirota.

First released in Japan in December 2007 with a worldwide release following in April 2008, Wildlife featured music written and recorded for programmes in the long-running television series Survival and The Natural World and was a wonderful collection of beautifully evocative music.  From the forests of the Amazon to the huge expanses of the Serengeti; from the cold wastes of Kamchatka in Russia to the peaceful tranquillity of the Norfolk countryside - the music of Wildlife reflects these habitats and the amazingly diverse range of creatures that populate them.

Released in part as a tribute to wildlife filmmaker the late Nick Gordon, the album has now been newly remastered and expanded to a two CD set featuring an additional disc of soundtrack and library music pieces recorded by Ant both in collaboration with Joji and on his own.  The selection on the second CD includes the previously unreleased soundtrack for the documentary Hoi Ha Wan - Bay Beneath The Sea and The Victors, a collaboration between Ant and Mike Rutherford recorded for the TVS series Horse Trials in 1991.

This expanded and re-mastered Esoteric Recordings edition features an illustrated booklet with liner notes from Anthony Phillips and Jonathan Dann together with some of Nick Gordon's original photography from the Amazon and is a welcome re-issue of a wonderful collection of music by two imaginative and respected musicians.

Wildlife is out now and is available to order from Cherry Red and Amazon. 

Update: Reviews of the Expanded Edition of Wildlife has now been published on Velvet Thunder and Music Street Journal.  A review also appeared in the print edition of issue 136 of Prog.

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of a newly re-mastered five CD clamshell boxed set of Archive Collection Volume One and Two.

In March 1998 Ant issued the first volume of The Archive Collection, which featured previously unreleased recordings including demos recorded with Mike Rutherford in September 1969.  Due to the popularity of the first release, the double CD release Archive Collection Volume Two followed in May 2004, which gathered together further previously unheard tracks and variations made over the years.

Ant has now worked with his archivist Jon Dann to prepare this new boxed set edition of this wonderful music, compiling a new expanded version which features an additional 27 tracks of previously unreleased and rare archive material.  Archive Collection Volume One was originally released with an EP length CD of additional recordings, which has now been expanded to a full length CD (including a 1966 demo by the pre-Genesis band Anon) and the set also includes an additional CD of 'The Masquerade Tapes', featuring music inspired by the illustrated book by Kit Williams.

This new boxed set edition of Archive Collection Volumes One and Two features liner notes by Jon Dann and is a fine collection of music by one of Britain's most imaginative and respected musicians. It is sure to appeal to aficionados of Anthony Phillips' highly respected work.

Archive Collection Volume I & II is out now and is available to order from Cherry Red and Amazon.

Update: Reviews of the set have now been published on Velvet Thunder, The Spirit of Progressive Rock, At The Barrier, Goldmine, Sea of Tranquility and The Second Disc as well as appearing in the print issues of Prog and Classic Rock.