Studio Album

[Jon Jarrett]

On Fri, 11 Oct 2002, Chris Raymond wrote:

> I copied this from MC:
> -------------
> FUTURE PLANS: Our current project is ‘ Destruction of The Death Generator’
> which is being written in conjunction with Michael Moorcock. We have been
> working in conjunction with both Mike Moorcock and Mike Butterworth, and we
> are now in the process of rehearsing the material, which will hopefully be
> recorded in the spring. Following rehearsals of the stage show, the band
> will tour late summer. The line up will contain the current nucleus, coupled
> with some past members who have featured in the band during the past 30
> years, similar to the highly successful Y2k Hawkestra event at the Brixton
> Academy. We are also currently reviewing plans to do another tour of
> Australia & New Zealand, maybe later in the year......
> ---------------

        Colin Allen will of course be best placed to answer this, but that
announcement on MC predates Nik's attempt at a second Hawkestra and I
think the involving of old members odea has gone by the bye now. Half of
them were supposed to be suing for royalties not so long ago if we
believe hawkethos, after all, which I'm not saying we do. But Harvey and
Simon seem to be keeping their distance at the moment.

> So does this mean that here is a studio album that has already been recorded
> and about to be released, and then the Death Generator to be released later
> in 2003? Sorry to sound unhappy, but I have gotten fat, old and grey since
> In your Area was released. Finally, I hope that when there is a new album to
> buy, that it will available in stores instead of just by mailorder.

        That last will definitely be down to Colin but I don't think we
can criticise him if he's unable to cut into the big distributors'
networks. If the band wanted that they shouldn't have fired Doug Smith;
whatever else it got them in tems of artistic freedom, it cost them that.

        I believe, and would love to be corrected, that the new album
which was recently said to be finished, is going to be what's left of the
Death Generator concept album from 1998, but since _Spacebrock_ and
_Family Tree_ emerged in that time I don't suppose much material existed
until quite recently. I await its final emergence, once artwork,
mastering, mixing, pressing and finally distribution have finally been
sorted out, with very little idea of what to expect because everything
that we've seen other than `Strange Fruit' rather relied in Ron on
vocals... Whatever it is it will be unexpected. Yours,
                                                       Jon

--
"I recognise that I have transgressed many of the precepts of the divine
law, and that I am subjected by various vices and iniquities, disobedient
to the words of the divine mystery brought unto me and a worshipper of the
delights of this military age." Marquis Borrell of Barcelona, 955 A.D.

             (Jonathan Jarrett, Birkbeck College London)