'MY PRIVATE COSMOS' :THE STORY SO FAR...

How are things coming along with this mammoth project Bill?

I think it's fantastic you chose to opt for the 'full-fat' six disc earbook, it should be absolutely gorgeous...an 'event' really, something very special....a huge amount of hard work, dedication and love, required.

Not to add another level to the skyscraper, but this thought has passed through my mind a few times recently, while trying to imagine the finished and released product. I can't help but think how nice it would be to have an A3 (ish) sized poster of the front cover artwork, included as part of the package. For such a landmark release, it would be great for fans to (possibly frame up) and hang such a poster in a suitable place of honour at home...I know, more work involved, time, hassle etc, not to mention cost , but you will have the hi-res artwork files, so a poster wouldn't need a massive tweak.

Anyway, just a thought...a nice one at that😉

Hope things are going well.

..'Darkness, you are my priestess'

Funny reading this thread for the first time just now, watching the cd count go up and up and up. 6 disc's worth is a nice number. Viva la Noise Candy v.2021 . I remember so long ago snooping around the internet about 20 years ago, or so, finding, and then waiting for NC. Now, mostly on the outside looking in again, this feels similar.

these are indeed dark times, but the light still shines, truth is the best pursuance of these times, when lies are abound from those who are supposed to be governing? love on you bill, and god bless you and your many friends and fans, we will prevail in these pervading moments.

Looking forward to your recent creations !!!

waiting lovingly for the official release notice. emphasis on lovingly.

Just a brief update on this album: The 'earbook' design is coming along nicely and looking beautiful, a dark and rich visual experience. It will also incorporate a few snippets of lyrics woven into the design. The album is quite dark in some ways, reflecting the dark times I was experiencing during the many months during which it was being worked on, quite a few minor key songs and slow, melancholy tempos.

It's an honest, if sometimes shadowy, reflection of my moods under lockdown, along with the loss of my wonderful mother and dear friend Harold Budd. It may prove to be a difficult listen for some fans who might be expecting something more upbeat and 'rocky'. Nevertheless, it has its lighter moments, here and there. It will take a while to sink in, 94 track constitutes a a heck of a lot of listening time, so take it in small doses until you get to grips with the whole package. I hope it will chime with some of you.

Bill well i didn't know until now. Initially when i saw Bostock, this came to mind automatically, uncertain if it went through your thoughts, i know there is no relation

but initially couldn't stop thinking of Thick As A Brick with Gerald Bostock & Mr. & Mrs. Bostock on the front cover.

I'm up for it Bill. No reason not to be. Consider it preordered already!

Yes, yes, yes! x 2

I will definitely purchase this great work by the wondrous harmonies of Bill Nelson, yeah!!!!!!!! too right.

Beautiful and informative post! As @jostmo stated, the price sounds very fair for all the work that has and will go into this project. Very interesting to have read about the work as it has been moving toward realization. Personally, I'd love to see all six discs rather than 5 and a download.

The Cubase mixes so far released do sound good on my fairly decent home hi-fi, certainly to my ears a step up from the Mackie, very impressed.

i think you should round it up to 100 tracks !!!! LOL £70-£80 seems fair enough for something so epic.

Last Tuesday, (17th August,) I took all the tracks for 'My Private Cosmos' over to Fairview Studio, just outside of Hull, to transfer them to Fairview's computer in readiness for mastering by John Spence. I had the opportunity to hear a few of the tracks played back through Fairview's high-end monitor speakers and was relieved to hear that they sounded very good indeed. This was the first time I'd been able to check the sound of my Cubase mixes outside the confines of my own studio, (the previous two albums, due to lockdown restrictions, were sent to Fairview via the internet rather than me being able to take them to the studio in person.)

I've also added a further three tracks to the set, though their inclusion will depend on there being enough space on the discs to take them. John will gradually assemble each disc and will then be able to judge if there is room to add the three extra tracks. If there is room the total track count will be 94 songs.

I'm still awaiting costings for a possible 'ear book' package and am thinking of all six discs being included, rather than five and a stand alone download.

I'm also attempting to put some images together for the package but this is slow work. An ambitious project like this is far more time consuming than a standard single disc product, both from the viewpoint of packaging design plus the hundreds of hours of creative musical work that went into writing recording and producing the finished 94 tracks. It's been a hell of a ride and still has some distance to cover before it can be made available to fans. But at least it's on its way.

Pricing is still uncertain but if all six discs and the ear-book are to be manufactured, plus a modest profit for all the work and time I've put into it, I can't imagine the price being less than £70, perhaps a little more, but we'll take a look at that as costs of production come in. So, that's the state of play at the moment, I'll update you as things progress.

Thank you!

Whilst this massive box set album seemed settled a few days ago, I'm already contemplating a few changes to the track list with at least a couple of newer numbers eligible for including. This means though, for reasons of space, that one or two of the previously mentioned tracks may have to bow out to make room for the new ones. It's going to be a tough decision as I'm due to take all the tracks over to Fairview for mastering this coming Tuesday, so a final decision has to be made very soon. Also a new track just finished tonight but awaiting mixing tomorrow is a good contender for the album...Sometimes it would be easier to run out of ideas and inspiration, but thankfully, I've never had that happen to me so far. It feels like a never ending fountain of music...

Bill, when can we pre-order? My wallet is open! Hoping to get a few for my friends as Holiday gifts.

Had a crazy dream where Bill announced a six CD set of all new music! 😉

A six CD ear book sounds fantastic and, if it’s not pre-orders only, there’s a good chance I could convince myself to splurge on it, but the price tag is daunting. Breaking it down to three separate two-disc volumes might be more cost-effective, and the price would be less intimidating if it could be spread over a couple of orders. The down side is that the artwork would suffer and it would feel like less of an event. A six-disc box is a STATEMENT.

Will purchase in any format, Bill!

It's the sixer for me 🙂 really looking forward to this one.

I, too, lean toward the 6 CD version (however ultimately formatted). Especially if the package features more of Mr Nelson's own photos and artwork.

Burning Shed also handles downloads. Maybe, if the 5CD version is more cost effective, when people preorder the box set they get a discount on the purchase (and immediate download) of the bonus tracks. A sort of 'preview' to tide us over until the box arrives.

Later, when the CDs are sold out, all of the set would then be placed on Bandcamp at the usual price.

Ready for this beauty, a six CD 'earbook' plus artwork sounds fantastic Bill

I love physical cd's, so I'm up for the six cd set.

Ready to place a pre-order.

I’m for preordering two copies of the six CD Edition. Tell me where to place my preorder.😃

Here’s how things stand at the moment: I’ve added three tracks to three of the discs in the five CD ‘My Private Cosmos’ set, making each CD contain 15 tracks. The ‘left over’ tracks, (of which there are 16,) will possibly make a sixth disc.

Now, my first idea is to make this sixth disc a stand alone, download only album, a kind of bonus item. I’m, thinking of giving it the title ‘The Listening Station, (My Private Cosmos Sector Six.)’ This way people have the option of downloading an extra 16 tracks or to just stick with the five physical CD box set.

The other option is to include the 16 bonus tracks as a physical CD, as part of the main set, basically expanding it from five CDs to six. Costs, of course, enter into the equation, both in terms of manufacturing and selling price.

Also, we’re looking at another packaging option, an alternative to the DVD style box. This new style of packaging is known as an ‘Earbook’, a 10” hardback book which contains all the discs and has lots of pages for text and images. It’s an interesting option as it greatly expands the visual appeal of the set allowing much larger images than would be possible with the other formats. Again, manufacturing costs will need to be taken into account against retail sales but we will make a decision as soon as we’ve got the pricing together.

In this case, pre-orders will play a large part in deciding which way to go. We will manufacture according to the numbers of pre-orders we receive. An item like this cannot be randomly manufactured as it means a huge outlay for a product that might end up sitting on a shelf for years, (as did some of the early 1,000 copy albums which took years to sell.) No use manufacturing 1,000 copies if only 250 people are willing to pay the price for a six cd set. Of course, when a larger quantity are pressed and printed, the manufacturing cost per item comes down slightly, but it’s a ‘swings and roundabouts’ situation and we really need to know the strength of the interest in this set to judge which way to go with it. I think a six CD set in an Earbook format would need to retail at around the £70 mark, but at this stage that’s not backed up by the realities of costs. Until we’ve a better idea of advance orders and the manufacturing cost, plus the percentage of royalty deductions to Burning Shed versus the download option, it’s hard for me to be more specific. But we’ll see how things develop from here...

Meanwhile, here is the revised running order for the five disc set plus the extra 16 track ‘bonus’ album. 91 TRACKS IN TOTAL!!

BILL NELSON ALBUM: ‘MY PRIVATE COSMOS.’ (DISC 1.)

1:‘ARE YOU LISTENING?’

.

2:‘MY PRIVATE COSMOS.’

3:‘I DREAM OF GIANT TELESCOPES.’

4:‘LIGHTNING STRIKES THE STEEPLE.’

5:‘HANG THIS MOMENT ON A SIGH.’

.

6:‘THEY TELL YOU THIS, THEY TELL YOU THAT.’

7:‘DRIVING THROUGH ENGLAND.’

8:‘LIGHT RAIN.’

9:‘SET YOUR DIALS FOR DREAMING.’

10:‘KINGDOM OF THE SKY.’

11:‘KIRKELLA BELLS’

12:‘LIVING ON THE MOON TONIGHT.’

13:‘THE DUSK BEFORE THE DARK.’

14:‘GLITTERING FIGURES. (A GNOSTIC LULLABY.)’

15:‘DAYS OF WONDER.’

BILL NELSON ALBUM: ‘MY PRIVATE COSMOS’. DISC 2.

1:‘THUNDER, PERFECT MIND.’

2:‘WITH ALL THE WILL IN THE WORLD.’ =

3:‘THE CRYSTAL GAZING ROOM. (NO SLEEP FOR THE ALCHEMIST.)’

4:‘THE ASTRONOMY OF THE HEART.’

5:‘ON AN OCEAN OF DREAMS.'

’

6:‘THIS LAND IS HAUNTED.’

7:‘FRIDAY IN THE FUTURE.’

8:‘MISTS OF TIME.’

9:‘IN THE CHAPEL OF HER SPARKLES.’

10:‘THE TREES ARE FULL OF WHISTLING BIRDS.’

11:‘DREAMING OF ANOTHER WORLD.’

12:‘TIMES TIDE. (THE DREAMS THAT ESCAPE ME.)’

13:‘YOUR SECRET SIGN.'

14:‘UNDER FADING STARS.’

15:‘FOREVER AGO.’

BILL NELSON ‘MY PRIVATE COSMOS’ ALBUM. DISC 3.

1:‘I WATCH THE WORLD.’

2:‘THROUGH MY WINDOW.’

3:‘ANOTHER RAINY DAY.’

4:‘WHEN THE WIND BLOWS ALL AWAY.’

5:‘TIME STOPS RIGHT HERE.’(REVERSES AND ADVANCES.)'

6:‘I WAS SPEAKING WITH ORSON WELLES.’

7:‘TECHNO PUNK GETS RHYTHM.’

8:‘MERRY AND BRIGHT.’

9:‘OLD BROWN TOWN.’

10:‘LANTERNS ARE LIGHTING.’

11:’‘THE UNIVERSE IS FAST ASLEEP.’

12:‘SEVEN KEYS TO THIS CITY.’

13:‘OSRAM DIADEM.’

14:‘FANTASICO.’

15:‘THE PARADOX MACHINE.’

BILL NELSON: ‘MY PRIVATE COSMOS’ ALBUM, DISC 4.

1:‘SILVER SPARKS AND COLOURED STARS.’

2:’HELIOS IN MEMORYLAND.’

3:‘GAZING THROUGH GOLDEN WINDOWS.’

4:’THE NAVIGATOR.’

5:‘AN ACRE OF SUNSHINE.’

6:‘THE LIGHT IN THE MIRROR. (THE BONE BENEATH THE SKIN.)’

7:’GHOSTS DANCE IN GHOSTLAND.’

8:‘THE MEMORY MUSEUM. (ROOM ONE.)’

9:‘SILVER STARS WILL SHINE.’

10:‘GHOST TRAINS TRAVEL ON PHANTOM TRACKS.’

11:‘I RECALL JETS AT DAWN.’

12:‘THERE’S A STAR SOMEWHERE.’

13:‘THE SPECTRAL WALTZ OF VENUS.’

14:‘MY PRIVATE COSMOS. (CURTAIN CLOSER.)’

-

15: ‘CURIOSITY’S DOMAIN.’

BILL NELSON ‘MY PRIVATE COSMOS.’ ALBUM.

DISC FIVE TRACK LIST.

1:‘A DIP IN THE SPARKLE JAR.’

2:‘THIS CLOCKWORK WORLD.’

3:‘WHEN WE WERE BEAUTIFUL.’

4:‘ HI-TONE SATURDAY.’

5:‘MECHANICAL CITY ONE.’

6:‘DREAMLIKE WORLD.’

7:‘COASTING.’

8:‘SOME DAYS IT’S ORANGE, SOMEDAYS IT’S BLUE.’

9:‘IN THE LAND OF NOTHING DOING.’

10:‘MAGIC AND MYSTERY.’

11: ‘THE SUPER SENSUALIST.’

12:‘WHITE FALCON TWO.’

13:‘FAR SIDE OF NOWHERE.’

14:‘THE TV’S ON THE BLINK.’

15:‘AND ALL THE WORLD WAS OURS.’

‘THE LISTENING STATION.

(MY PRIVATE COSMOS SECTOR SIX.) ‘

FOR DIGITAL DOWNLOAD OR PHYSICAL DISC SIX.

1:‘MOONLIGHT RIDER.’

2:‘ANCIENT ANGELS WATCHING ME.’

3:‘THE LONG LOST SUMMER.’

4:‘THE ROY ROGERS RADIO RANCH.’

5:‘SPACE COWBOYS.’

6:‘WHITE FALCON ONE.’

7:‘WONDER KID.’

8:‘PUZZLEPOP.’

9:‘MY CATALOGUE OF DREAMS.’

10:‘THE INFERNAL MACHINE.’

11:‘UNTIL TOMORROW.’

12:‘COMIC CUTS.’

13:‘THE LISTENING STATION.’

14:‘THERE ARE STARS BEYOND THE NIGHT.’

15:‘CELLULOID GOSTS.’

16:‘HEY HO, THERE YOU GO.’

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes & not downloads only, we like the Full Monty! CD's with great packaging 😃❤️

Hey Mr Nelson,

I'm looking forward to this multi-disc set!

But don't neglect all those unreleased recordings (10-12 discs?) you made with your previous system!

Utter madness embraced😀

Love it!!!

😃

Further developments: We're now looking at another packaging option, an 'ear-book' or 'art-book.' This might be the way to go but we're waiting to find out how the costs work out. Obviously, there's a balance to be struck between manufacturing costs and retail price of the finished object.

But, (and here's the news,) the 'left over' tracks from the five CD set are more than enough for a further sixth disc. There are 16 extra tracks that I want to release from these sessions so, what I'm hoping to do is to create a sixth 'virtual' disc and release it under its own steam as a digital download only. I'll be posting revised track lists later. Utter madness indeed!🤣

Instinct should always trump reason, just saying 🙂❤️

Now about that sixth disc.....😛

I've now added some extra songs to the five discs, making it 15 tracks per disc. That's 75 tracks on the five cd set in total. I do, however, still have several tracks left over from these sessions so will gather them together to form a mini album which I'll make available as a digital download 'annexe' to 'My Private Cosmos' on Bandcamp. This entire project is insane, a mad folly, but I'm going to ignore reason and get it all out there intact...😉

This is going to put the noses out of joint of the other dozen albums awaiting release. Bloody queue jumpers!😀

Blimey, you've been busy Bill! I'm in.. 😊

I'm looking forward to taking the rest of the year off in my own private cosmos, once I get this "5CDs + book DVD-shaped digital box" to listen to. Ah, the pleasures of retirement! I don't know how the rest of you will ever get to grips with it. Fantastic news Bill.

The important thing is to get the music out there. I will take it in whichever format you choose to release it on. This has been some good news after a long period of not so good news. I'm definitely looking forward to this release. Thanks a million for the updates.

Go Bill Go! In for whatever, and thank you!

It’s fascinating to read the July 16 post titled “In The Studio Still…” and then to read this July 19 follow up and see how quickly and wonderfully this project has grown. To the extent there might be an advantage to you in taking pre-orders, I am all for that. I can think of few musicians/artists who can successfully release multiple volumes of music that remain fresh and exciting. Truly impressive.

Also interesting in the July 16 post is Bill’s concern about COVID restrictions being lifted too early, the possibility of getting sick even if you’ve had both shots of the vaccine, and the wisdom of continuing to wear masks even after restrictions are lifted. Those observations seem prescient as news of the Delta variant grows more ominous. I guess the future lies in the hands of science and personal responsibility. In the meantime, I am thankful for an abundance of new music on the horizon!

~ Walter

It just gets better and better.

Thanks Bill

Now considering adding one more track to the box set, making it a 73 track collection. The track is titled 'Forever Ago' and is one of the more 'rocky' tracks on the album. I'll finish mixing it tomorrow and try to fit it onto one of the discs, probably disc two or three.

Wow! That's a heck of a lot of music to get your heads around! 😉😁

Just read the final few posts and a 5 CD set it is then. Great decision!!

Apologies if I have missed a communication on this but is this (5? CD set) a mix of vocal and instrumental pieces?

btw a 5 cd box would be my preference for what it's worth as long as the economics of the project does not become an issue for you.

Whatever you finally decide will be the right decision.

A 5 disc release, I am up for this, Noise Candy....esque,

😃👍

Something to sit next to Noise Candy. Looking forward to the artwork on this one.

its worth it Bill..believe me its worth it !!

I've decided to release the complete set of five CDs in a DVD shaped digital-box with a connected, (not loose,) book inside containing all the relevant info and images. I've also now copied the 72 songs to a flash drive ready to take to Fairview for mastering.

Next step is to book a day or so to transfer the tracks to Fairview's computer so that John Spence can make inroads into the mastering process. With five album's worth of tracks, this is not going to be a casual job.

Meanwhile, a template has to be obtained for the digital-box so that Martin Bostock has a 'map' for the artwork layout. I have to create the images for the entire package and get them over to Martin for laying out and adding the typography.

This is, in total, a mammoth work. Months of recording, mixing and sorting running orders out to get to this stage, but more work yet to be done. Sometimes I wonder if projects as epic as this one are worth it. Well, it's what it is, an architectural monolith of an album.

Whatever works for you, Bill. Always ready for new additions to the ongoing soundtrack.

I am up for whatever is finally decided. I promised forever ago, put it out, I will buy it.

Bill, have you considered splitting the album into two, Vol one & Vol two ? That might work & would certainly be more manageable, two 3 disc CD's 👍

I am in. Well, how can I resist such an epic release?

I love the way you can read the titles of disc 3 and it all sounds VERY poetic! 😎

5 CD please, Evey fan will want this 🙂

Yes, release the material you have been working on through the covid lock down. Makes complete, sense. We all look forward to your creations during this period of time. Certainly will be a rollercoaster ride of peaks and valleys.

I'd buy !!

My personal preference is for a solid artefact (CD), but obviously, I don't want to miss out on an album's worth of material. Nor do I want to pay for the boxed set in both formats to get the bonus album. Perhaps have the bonus download album available to purchase separately as well as part of the full download 'boxed' set.

From my personal (and very primitive) standpoint, the more physical products that are “out there” allow for a more likely rescue of the a/v content in the event that future civilizations reduce everything we know to ashes.

Count me in for this......

LATEST UPDATE: SUNDAY 25th JUNE, 9:45 PM.

I've now chosen the extra tracks that I'm contemplating adding to the digital download only version of 'My Private Cosmos.' They constitute another 15 tracks, (or another CD in physical terms.) This would bring the total track count to 72 songs.

I'm in a quandary about how to deal with this...On one hand the tracks add an extra element and dimension to the album. They're all worthy of being part of the physical box set.

On the other hand, making them a fifth physical CD adds even more manufacturing costs to the album. So...what to do? Something to ponder...

Meanwhile, here's the running order for those extra tracks:

Possible 5th CD or digital download extra:

1:‘A DIP IN THE SPARKLE JAR.’

2:‘THIS CLOCKWORK WORLD.’

3:‘WHEN WE WERE BEAUTIFUL.’

4:‘ HI-TONE SATURDAY.’

5:‘MECHANICAL CITY ONE.’

6:‘DREAMLIKE WORLD.’ .

7:‘COASTING.’

8:‘SOME DAYS IT’S ORANGE, SOMEDAYS IT’S BLUE.’

.

9:‘IN THE LAND OF NOTHING DOING.’

10:‘MAGIC AND MYSTERY.’

11: ‘THE SUPER SENSUALIST.’

12:‘WHITE FALCON TWO.’

13:‘FAR SIDE OF NOWHERE.’.

14:‘THE TV’S ON THE BLINK.’

15:‘AND ALL THE WORLD WAS OURS.’

I already like it😊 Now to hear it and see it. It sounds like much time has already been expended and, from this point forward, I’m guessing that if all goes pretty much as expected, this “cute little oversized CD box of a fellow” may see the light of day in three to four months(?).

After a lot of hard work I've now settled on the final track list / running order for 'My Private Cosmos' and have decided to make it a FOUR disc set comprising 57 tracks. There are still several tracks left over but I might add these to the digital download version as physical space isn't an issue with downloads. Next task is to get the tracks out of the computer and onto a memory stick, which I will then take to Fairview for mastering with John Spence. It will be good to hear the tracks on the big studio monitors there, something I haven't been able to do since the Cubase system was first installed at my home studio. The pandemic put in person mastering at Fairview on hold for a while, so I have no idea how the Cubase mixes sound outside of my own studio.

Once the tracks are mastered the next step is to decide the packaging format. There will be different options for a four CD set and the final choice will have to involve cost considerations. Mastering will also be more expensive than for a single CD. Artwork will have to be prepared once the packaging format is decided and the layout and typography design created. Then the whole thing will have to go off to the pressing plant for manufacture and printing, all of which will be more expensive than a single CD / jewel case job.

Depending on all these costs, a final price will have to be fixed, probably around the £50 mark if we factor in all the practical costs and the royalty share that Burning Shed will take on a four disc set. Plus, of course, the months and months of time and effort I've put into creating the music in the first place. So...a lot still to do and to think about.

Anyway, here's the running order for each of the four discs:

DISC ONE:

1:‘ARE YOU LISTENING?’

2:‘MY PRIVATE COSMOS.’.

3:‘I DREAM OF GIANT TELESCOPES.’

4:‘LIGHTNING STRIKES THE STEEPLE.’

5:‘HANG THIS MOMENT ON A SIGH.’

6:‘THEY TELL YOU THIS, THEY TELL YOU THAT.’

7:‘DRIVING THROUGH ENGLAND.’

8:‘LIGHT RAIN.’

9:‘SET YOUR DIALS FOR DREAMING.’

10:‘KINGDOM OF THE SKY.’

11:‘KIRKELLA BELLS’

12:‘LIVING ON THE MOON TONIGHT.’

13:‘THE DUSK BEFORE THE DARK.’

14:‘GLITTERING FIGURES. (A GNOSTIC LULLABY.)’

15:‘DAYS OF WONDER.’

DISC 2:

1:‘THUNDER, PERFECT MIND.’

2:‘WITH ALL THE WILL IN THE WORLD.’

3:‘THE CRYSTAL GAZING ROOM. (NO SLEEP FOR THE ALCHEMIST.)’

4:‘THE ASTRONOMY OF THE HEART.’

5:‘ON AN OCEAN OF DREAMS.’

6:‘THIS LAND IS HAUNTED.’

7:‘FRIDAY IN THE FUTURE.’

8:‘MISTS OF TIME.’

9:‘IN THE CHAPEL OF HER SPARKLES.’.

10:‘THE TREES ARE FULL OF WHISTLING BIRDS.’

11:‘DREAMING OF ANOTHER WORLD.’

12:‘TIMES TIDE. (THE DREAMS THAT ESCAPE ME.)’.

13:‘YOUR SECRET SIGN.’

14:‘UNDER FADING STARS’

DISC THREE:

1:‘I WATCH THE WORLD.’

2:‘THROUGH MY WINDOW.’

3:‘ANOTHER RAINY DAY.’

4:‘WHEN THE WIND BLOWS ALL AWAY.’

5:‘TIME STOPS RIGHT HERE.’

6:‘I WAS SPEAKING WITH ORSON WELLES.’

7:‘TECHNO PUNK GETS RHYTHM.’

8:‘MERRY AND BRIGHT.’

9:‘OLD BROWN TOWN.’

10:‘LANTERNS ARE LIGHTING.’ .

11:’‘THE UNIVERSE IS FAST ASLEEP.’

12:‘SEVEN KEYS TO THIS CITY.’

13:‘OSRAM DIADEM.’

14:‘FANTASICO.’

DISC FOUR:

1:‘SILVER SPARKS AND COLOURED STARS.’

2:’HELIOS IN MEMORYLAND.’

3:‘GAZING THROUGH GOLDEN WINDOWS.’

4:’THE NAVIGATOR.’ .

5:‘AN ACRE OF SUNSHINE.’

6:‘THE LIGHT IN THE MIRROR. (THE BONE BENEATH THE SKIN.)’

7:’GHOSTS DANCE IN GHOSTLAND.’

8:‘THE MEMORY MUSEUM. (ROOM ONE.)’

9:‘SILVER STARS WILL SHINE.’

10:‘GHOST TRAINS TRAVEL ON PHANTOM TRACKS.’

11:‘I RECALL JETS AT DAWN.’

12:‘THERE’S A STAR SOMEWHERE.’

13:‘THE SPECTRAL WALTZ OF VENUS.’

14:‘MY PRIVATE COSMOS 2. (CURTAIN CLOSER.)’

All of the above amounts to a heady and heavy listening experience which needs to be taken in a little at a time. There are no 'instant' hits but the songs will reveal their charms with repeated listening. As I've mentioned before, whilst there is a lot of guitar on the album, it's not really a rock styled affair so may prove bewildering to more conservative ears. In many ways it's a strange album, full of distressed sounds and melancholy themes, a reflection, I guess, of the effect of the last two years of dark times, the loss of family and friends and the pandemic's oppressive weight. Having said that, it's also full of rusty beauty, Wabi-Sabi as the Japanese say. It's perfectly imperfect and deliciously decadent. Who knows? You might even like it! 😉😀

Not been around the "new" format forum much recently (other musical interests have pushed themselves to the fore) I am (I think) still up to date with the releases :)

A long overdue return this morning and read this thread, BANG, this is excellent news.

The Bill albums I go back to for repeated and long listening pleasure tend to be the large multi disc sets.

A four disc set sounds the way to go. Sign me up - as always.

btw is there a plan for the many albums "in the can" to be released? Maybe a Noise Candy type mega box.

kinds regards to all.

Sounds good! Yep, a 4 CD boxset a la Secret Studio .....

Just the 4 - and the rest please Bill!

There must be enough tunes stored digitally for an A to Z -

"Cornucopia Nelsonica" and every household should have ONE on the shelf

I am sure the artwork and packaging will be amazing as usual and let's get this rolling with perhaps a mini taster package from that 'unreleased' catalogue.

Stylus on vinyl would be VERY special or a summery 'single GIN-gle' download as an aperitif for the main course

Cannot wait - looks like a few late night Bill

Sounds super cool, I'm up up for the quadruple edition or whatever version you release.

Sounds like just what the doctor ordered. Sign me up.😃

Deffo me, too.

Yes! Count me in, whether triple or quadruple (or quintuple or sextuple)... Can't wait to hear, whatever fantastic form it eventually takes. 😎

Count me in for a quadruple CD box. I’d pay in advance (better get me now while I actually can!). I hope I am not leaving this message for a second time. If so, I apologize for my ever increasing redundancy😉

Well, I'm considering a bold step: I've now already worked out a running order for three discs, (a triple album,) but still have other tracks I'd like to include. As a result of that, I'm thinking about the possibility of making it a quadruple album, perhaps in a box. I've never done this with my 'cottage industry' releases before, so not sure what the manufacturing costs would be for a relatively small run of pressings, nor how many fans would support such a Quixotic adventure.

Most of the tracks on the set are not particularly rock music friendly, though some are of course. But the overall feel is one of melancholy and a baroque strangeness with elements of noise mixed in with melodic, poetic threads. Hard to describe as I think, perhaps, it doesn't fit in with popular taste at all. It's a very idiosyncratic, personal beast. I'm wondering how my less esoterically inclined fans will take to it. It's a somewhat rich and heavy listen. Perhaps a little raw at times, emotionally.

But I just might ignore the concerns I have a damn the torpedoes, let it be what it needs to be. If no one likes it, then that's ok. It's an honest statement of the last couple of difficult years and, as such, is a record of the things that have concerned me: Old age, the shortness of life, the passage of time and the fractured reflections of memory. Dare I release this in it's fullest form? Who is up for this?

There's harmony on the horizon. Will be perfect listening for long walks with headphones 😊. This covid weight needs to leave my body.

This is exciting news! I'm hoping for a triple CD release, but will be happy whether it ends up being released as an ep or a massive boxed set.

Walter