Out now is multi-national progressive rockers Big Big Train in-concert film A Flare On The Lens that’s available through InsideOutMusic, as is a new single and video from it for ‘The Connection Plan’ that you can check out here at RAMzine.
Lead vocalist Alberto Bravin commented: “We’re delighted to unveil A Flare On The Lens, which captures our two shows last September at Cadogan Hall perfectly in my view. It was the end of a pretty arduous and intense tour. But we gelled better and better every single night and there was amazing energy in the hall for both our London performances.”
Drummer Nick D’Virgilio also added: “Before last year, the longest consecutive run of shows that Big Big Train had ever performed was six. By undertaking the 17 shows last August and September, we really bonded closer than ever before, both musically and personally, and that comes across with this release. And now we get to do it all again from next week!”
This new concert film package includes every song performed by the band over those two evenings and is available as a limited 3CD+Blu-ray media book, with the concert film audio mixed in 5.1 surround sound and stereo. A gatefold 180g 2LP vinyl version is also available, that features a carefully selected range of material from the Cadogan Hall shows.
The new live release comes ahead of the band’s latest headline tour of the UK that begins on Tuesday 17th September at the Wyvern Theatre in Swindon. Full dates are listed below.
Big Big Train has released a number of single video released ahead of A Flare On The Lens. Most recently was ‘Love Is The Light’, about which bassist Gregory Spawton commented: “Before last year’s tour we had already recorded Love Is The Light in the studio and were confident that it would translate well to live performance. What we underestimated was just how well it would come across at our shows, despite being a song that no one had previously heard before the tour.”
Lead vocalist Alberto Bravin added: “When I put forward ‘Love Is The Light’ for The Likes Of Us studio album, I told the rest of the band that it was an intensely personal song about a challenging period in my life. I am so pleased about how the fans have embraced it and the way that it has connected with people – after all, the song’s message is universal.”
While Drummer Nick D’Virgilio said: “I knew we were onto something significant when Alberto first shared his demo of ‘Love Is The Light’ with the rest of the band. The song just seems to keep evolving and it’s super cool to have the audience participate acapella every night. It was one of the real high points of the show.”
Before that came ‘A Boy In Darkness’, with Bravin commenting: ’”’A Boy In Darkness’ is one of the most emotional and difficult Big Big Train songs to sing and interpret. It’s amazing how the mood of the song changes completely from a very dark place to a crowd-pleasing clapping section that leads to a tragic and powerful finale.”
While Spawton said: “’A Boy In Darkness’ takes the listener – and the band – on a historical and musical journey. We had never played it live until last year and it was a bit overlooked within our back catalogue. I always thought that it was one of David Longdon’s most accomplished songs and deserved greater prominence. The audience reaction every time we performed it reinforced that view.”
Violinist Clare Lindley also added: “There is a weight to ‘A Boy in Darkness’, a held tension, which is there right from the start and builds throughout the song to the magnificent final chorus. It’s a tremendous song to play live, full of interesting lines and melodies and, for me, an exciting instrumental section where I play all the violin and flute solos. I think the music carries the subject matter perfectly.”
A Flare On The Lens features the band’s full show at Cadogan Hall from the second of their two nights there last year and also includes seven songs which were played only on the first night. It is the sight and sound of Big Big Train back on an upwards curve and re-establishing itself as one of the rock music scene’s most compelling live bands.
Tracks featured are: ‘Folklore’*, ‘The Connection Plan’*, ‘Curator Of Butterflies’*, ‘Summoned by Bells’*, ‘Drums & Brass 2023’*, ‘Love Is The Light’*, ‘A Boy In Darkness’*, Apollo’*, ‘Acoustic Medley’, East Coast Racer’*, ‘Victorian Brickwork’*, ‘Oblivion’, ‘Swan Hunter’, ‘Keeper Of Abbeys’, ‘Brooklands’, ‘Hedgerow’, ‘Telling The Bees’ and ‘Judas Unrepentant’ (NB: *included on 2LP vinyl release).
You can order A Flare On The Lens and stream ‘A Boy in Darkness’ here.
For more about Big Big Train and their forthcoming UK at RAMzine click here.
