This year is the 20th anniversary of the release of Last Train to Lhasa. (You know, the one with the train on it).
To celebrate I am planning a very special 20th anniversary edition of the album this summer, and to kick-start the celebrations I asked Ukraine’s Astropilot and Dublin’s Silinder to add some 21st Century flavour to the title track.
Don’t panic! I have no intention of ruining the track by trying to make it hip and getting dubstep or electro house remixes done. I asked these guys because I knew they would be sympathetic to the original while adding their own vibe. I have shared many a stage with Dmitry Redko, the producer behind Astropilot, over the years and he has consistently impressed me with his approach and style. Likewise Gavin Mulhall, AKA Silinder, did such a good job with his unofficial remix of Heliopolis that I used last year for Maya’s 20th, that it seemed foolish not to ask him to create an official remix using the actual parts.
The ‘Last Train to Lhasa’ EP comes out via all mainstream download stores on Monday 30th March, but I have released it now for pre-orders via Bandcamp. As well as the original and the two remixes, the new EP was originally programmed to include a very extended, previously unreleased eighteen minute ambient mix as well, but iTunes’ arcane style rules have prevented that from happening, so this mix will only be available from Bandcamp.
Somehow I also found the time to edit the original video to sync up with the Radio Edit that we have been sending out to stations worldwide, and you can check this out on YouTube.
As one final act of celebration this year I have also been rehearsing a new 3-piece live band for gigs this summer. It’s great to be playing with other people again and I’ll announce more about that soon.