Legendary rock guitarist Steve Hackett will release his new studio album, “The Circus And The Nightwhale”, via InsideOutMusic. A rite-of-passage concept album with a young character called Travla at the centre of it, the album’s 13 tracks have an autobiographical angle for the musician who says about his 30th solo release: “I love this album. It says the things I’ve been wanting to say for a very long time.”
“The Circus And The Nightwhale” is Steve’s first new music in over two years. It follows the beautiful acoustic “Under A Mediterranean Sky” from January 2021 – which rose to #2 in the UK Classical chart and in September of that year, his metallic masterpiece “Surrender Of Silence”, which hit the UK Top 40. His 2023 live album, “Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live In Brighton”, reached #2 in the Rock & Metal Chart. Steve’s new album promises ballads, blues, blistering progressive rock … and healthy measures of theatre and fantasia. Recorded between tours in 2022 and 2023 at Siren studio in the UK – with guest parts beamed in from Sweden, Austria, the US, Azerbaijan and Denmark, the line-up for “The Circus And The Nightwhale” includes some familiar faces alongside Steve on electric and acoustic guitars, 12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass and vocals; Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D’Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt return as guests on the drumstool, engineer extraordinaire Benedict Fenner appears on keyboards and Malik Mansurov is back with the tar. Finally, Steve’s brother John Hackett is present once more on flute. Release date: February 16, 2024
1. People Of The Smoke
2. These Passing Clouds
3. Taking You Down
4. Found And Lost
5. Enter The Ring
6. Get Me Out!
7. Ghost Moon And Living Love
8. Circo Inferno
9. Breakout
10. All At Sea
11. Into The Nightwhale
12. Wherever You Are
13. White Dove
Steve Hackett (g, 12stg, ma, ha, p, b, v)
Roger King (k, pr, orcar)
Rob Townsend (s)
Jonas Reingold (b)
Nad Sylvan (v)
Craig Blundell (d)
Amanda Lehmann (v)
Nick D’Virgilio (d)
Hugo Degenhardt (d)
Benedict Fenner (k)
Malik Mansurov (tar)