MANDALABAND III:

BC – Ancestors

LegendCD01

Release: 19 October 2009

A strange thing has happened. More than thirty years after Mandalaband I and II were released by Chrysalis in the 1970s, two new Mandalaband albums are about to appear, like a miraculous mirage on the Eastern Desert horizon. 

Four of the principal musicians from that original era are still very much a part of the new Mandalaband project: Ashley Mulford (guitars; Mandalaband I & Sad Café); Woolly Wolstenholme (keyboards; Mandalaband II, Barclay James Harvest & Maestoso); Kim Turner (drums/ percussion; Mandalaband II & Maestoso); and David Rohl (writer, engineer, producer and keyboards for both albums). This third incarnation of the band now includes Troy Donockley (Uilleann pipes, whistles and guitars; Iona & the Bad Shepherds), Jose Manuel Medina (keyboards; Last Knight), Marc Atkinson (vocals; Gabriel & Riversea), Geoffrey Richardson (violin, viola, flute, clarinet and guitars; Caravan, The Penguin Café Orchestra & the Murray Head band), Craig Fletcher (bass guitar; Maestoso & John Lees’ BJH), and Barbara & Briony Macanas (vocals; Limehouse & Afriko).

The first album, BC – Ancestors, takes you back to legendary times when heroes walked the Earth and great civilisations rose and fell in the ancient lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Setting out from Eden, you will hear of Nimrod who built the first empire on Earth and the infamous Tower of Babel; Hammurabi of Babylon who gave us the first great Law Code; Moses and his stubborn opponent Dudimose (‘Tutimaos’) – the unfortunate Pharaoh of the Exodus; Akhenaten who worshipped the Aten sun-god; Ramesses II – Egypt’s greatest pharaoh, commemorated in Shelley’s famous poem Ozymandias; the sage-like wisdom and wealth of King Solomon; Agamemnon of Mycenae whose greed and ambition launched a thousand ships to destroy Troy; Aeneas and Dido whose tragic love story ended in her suicide and his death in battle – an event which marked the birth of Roman civilisation.

The band writers have created majestic themes for this unreservedly symphonic rock album, with touches of Celtic and ambient atmosphere to reflect the ancient-world subject matter. The orchestrations are complex and full of depth, whilst the rhythm patterns are richly textured, drawing from Middle Eastern, African and Celtic cultures. Even so, as you will discover, the tunes are simple, melodic and memorable. 

BC – Ancestors was produced in Legend’s studio atop a Spanish mountain, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We hope you like what you hear.

1.      Ancestors (Medina/Rohl)

2.      Eden (Rohl)

3.      Nimrod (Wolstenholme)

4.      Shemsu-Har (Medina/Rohl)

5.      Karum Kanesh (Rohl)

6.      Beautiful Babylon (Rohl)

7.      The Sons of Anak (Rohl)

8.      Aten (Medina/Rohl)

9.      Ozymandias (Rohl/Turner)

10.  Solomon the Wise (Rohl/Turner)

11.  Akhiyawa (Rohl)

12.  The Wine Dark Sea (Donockley/Rohl)

13.  Elissa (Macanas/Rohl/Turner)

14.  Roots (Wolstenholme)

The fourth Mandalaband album AD – SANGREAL will be released in Summer 2010.

For further information please contact:

Barbara Macanas

Legend Music Limited

PO Box XX, London SW17 XXX, UK

email: mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]

telephone: +44 (0) 20 3411 5373

www.legendrecords.co.uk

www.mandalaband.co.uk

Legend Records is a trading name of Legend Music Limited