Steve Hackett and Steve Rothery (credit: Anne-Marie Forker)
Steve Hackett and Steve Rothery have released “The Black Sea”, the first single from their collaborative album The Roaring Waves, due on 28 August via InsideOutMusic.
Hackett, best known for his work with Genesis, and Rothery, guitarist with Marillion, worked on the album intermittently over close to a decade, recording sessions in each other’s home studios. The seven instrumental tracks grew out of jams and shared ideas rather than pre-written parts.
“It’s not the kind of album that guitarists normally make together,” Hackett says.
Rothery says the pair were aiming for atmosphere rather than technical display. “You’re trying to create an atmosphere… like painting a picture,” he says. “Taking people on a journey.”
“The Black Sea” was recorded with Ricardo Rommano, who co-wrote and mixed the track and plays keyboards and bass on it, and drummer Leon Parr. Its video, directed by Tim Sidwell, features all four musicians performing together.
“I think The Black Sea is the perfect introduction to the sonic world we’ve created between us,” Rothery says. “We have a very special chemistry.”
Hackett says the guitar and keyboard interplay on the track creates “a strong vibe of intrigue along with a sense of a musical dark sea adventure.”
The Roaring Waves will be released as a standard CD, a limited CD+Blu-ray mediabook with a Dolby Atmos mix by Andy Bradfield and high resolution stereo mixes, and a gatefold 180g vinyl LP cut at half speed at Abbey Road by Miles Showell. Artwork across all formats is by Simon Ward.
The album is available to pre-order now.
