Tony Banks 5 2LP (Vinyl)

Classical Album On Double LP!
Etching On 4th Side!

Tony Banks revisits his 'other' life – that of an orchestral composer, as opposed to keyboardist, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and a founding member of rock band Genesis – with the new project '5'. A Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee as a member of Genesis (2010), '5' is Banks' tenth album outside of the band and his third orchestral album following the releases of 'Seven: A Suite for Orchestra' (2004) and 'Six Pieces for Orchestra' (2012).

'5' is a collection of five compositions written by Tony Banks and was produced by long-time collaborator Nick Davis. Nick Ingman, renowned orchestrator and conductor, agreed to be involved in the project immediately after hearing the demos played to him personally by Banks. Ingman has worked with a plethora of artists and musicians from David Bowie and Oasis to the London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The recording was built up over various sessions, the first in London's Angel Studios where solos and percussion were recorded before a transfer to Prague for a week where concentrated sets of three sessions a day with the orchestra and choir. Recording section by section is a more rock/pop method and seen as unorthodox for an orchestral album, but this method allowed Banks, who also played all of the piano parts, to use his vast musical experience and give himself greater creative control.

The impetus for '5' was a commission for the 70th Cheltenham Music Festival in 2014, for which Banks composed the original version of what now appears as the opening track, "Prelude to a Million Years". Then it was entitled "Arpegg" and received its world première on Saturday July 5, 2014, with Maxime Tortelier conducting the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Following some consideration, Banks and Davis worked on four further pieces to join "Arpegg" and form this new album. Feeling incomplete as an album of four compositions, Banks pulled inspiration from an earlier piece composed during his Genesis days and named it "Renaissance" which completed the album.

"This really shows his deep connection with his instrument and both is knowledge and love of the music." - Classic Rock Revisited

Features:
• Double LP
• Gatefold jacket
• Etched 4th Side

Musicians:
Czech National Symphony Orchestra and Choir
Nick Ingman, conductor

Selections:
Side One:
1. Prelude To A Million Years
Side Two:
2. Reveille
3. Ebb And Flow
Side Three:
4. Autumn Sonata
5. Renaissance
Side Four:
Etching