Phideaux new album "Infernal", latest news

hi i'm new here. i'm relatively new to phideaux but i'm hooked up instantly. seems strange that this thread went into hiatus so suddenly...
so, any news?

Edited by glass-moon - January 19 2013 at 15:13

ZOMG! Can't wait for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phideaux wrote: Hey Aussie-Byrd!  Australia is my second best friend!  (a Kath & Kim reference...) I WISH to high heaven we could release all our stuff in vinyl, but I'm skint now and the vinyl didn't sell.  I didn't do a good enough job of trying to sell it, however. But, in future, I'm hopeful that we will continue to try and get vinyl editions of future albums.  It's the older ones that might not get done.  However, when we put out our next album Infernal, we'll also do a commemorative LP edition of  "The Great Leap"/"Doomsday Afternoon"/"Infernal" as a 6 LP set (with Leap/Doom sharing three discs, Infernal on two and a bonus mystery disc of Doom related alternate mixes, live stuff and some rare bits. My hope is to do it all on vinyl ultimately.  Wish I could come to Australia, but it would cost too much to get the band down there.  And to Slartibartfast -- don't I totally agree!!!  We should have had small editions of the cardboard covers with a booklet.  It's only right and proper!  Jewel cases are evil sent from the Flying Spaghetti Monster's nemesis "Nemesis"

We just got done recording the basic tracks for the double LP.  I'm so happy it's finished and I think the tracks turned out okay!  Fingers crossed.  The vocalists have yet to do their tracks and we need a bit of electric guitar and a bit of cello/violin/flute...

From July 28 through August 4 we worked at Firehouse Studios in Pasadena, California (Pasadena being where L. Ron Hubbard and Jack Parsons - a space scientist at JPL - did a lot of their sex magick explorations...).  There, we rehearsed and recorded approximately two songs per day, concentrating mostly on the rhythm tracks.  We had our two keyboard players, Mark Sherkus and Johnny Unicorn as well as Gabriel Moffat on Electric Guitar and Dobro, Mathew Kennedy on bass and Bloody Rich Hutchins on drums.  I, Phideaux Xavier, alternated between acoustic guitar in the "walk through" room or grand piano (bosendorfer) in the iso piano room.

On Wed, August 1, we had a small film crew there to document the creation of the song "From Hydrogen To Love".  However, we went late into the night on that long form song and the film crew didn't stick around for the big finish (or late night sputter as we later came back and rerecorded the back end to find a bit more energy).

The recordings both disappoint and excite me.  Surprising things happened to the songs and the artist is rarely satisfied with the final version.  It always could be better.  However, I'm trying to learn to accept that this group of musicians on this day in this location transmitted the music as follows...   Good lesson.  Here's hoping "Infernal" takes on a life of its own and forces solutions and invention.

The new running order and song list:

Side One
1. Cast Out And Cold    5:50
2. The Error Lives On    8:15
3. C 99    9:20

Side Two
4.  Inquisitor   9:30
5.  Walk On Water     7:10
6. We Only Have Eyes For You    7:05

Side Three
7. The Order Of Protection (Part One)    4:15
8. Metro Deathfire    4:35
9. Trickle    2:15
10. In Dissonance We Play    2:40
11. The Sleepers Awaken    5:25
12. The Order Of Protection (Part Two)    2:55

Side Four
13. transitional music    2:45
14. From Hydrogen To Love    14:00
15. Eternal    5:05

All rightie, that's the news that's fit to print as of now...

Onward to finish the album!  Of course, the next stop is finalizing Mogon, but then full attention to Infernal!

Yes, the "cotton" cd sleeve within a harder cardboard cover is quite like what I'm talking about.  I just don't use the cotton sleeve, but a low scratching polythene sleeve.  Both are good for not scratching.

The Mini LP format is taller than a jewel box, but in square format, just like a shrunken down LP cover.  They are of two types:  Direct to board, which is like LPs from mid 70s on (like ELO Out Of The Blue, Yes Relayer).  The cheaper kind (to make) is the old style, which is paper over cardboard (like Beatles Sgt. Pepper, Zappa Uncle Meat in original US pressings).  This style wasn't really used in UK, more of a US style.  That is the style that costs way less to produce (at least from the printer that I've found).  This is different from the types of mini lp style things I've seen that are not to the specification, where they can be just as big as the CD itself -- ie. Beatles On Capitol box set, Simon & Garfunkel.  These are usually just the CD in the cardboard, whereas the so called "Japanese Mini LP" style shows far more care in replicating the original LP experience with an inner sleeve and inserts if they came with the original album.   The Sony multi pack releases, where you get 5 Mahavishnu Orch albums in one little box are no more than slightly thicker inner sleeves with the outer sleeve printing and no spine to speak of - these are atrocious.

My belief is that the Japanese style Mini LP editions should be standard - and have become standard for my future releases and reissues of my work.  I would prefer direct to board but it's 2x as expensive and the Mini LP format is already way more expensive than jewel cases for the limited runs that I do.

They do not fit in with other CDs in that they are taller and shallower, but I don't care because it makes the experience a bit less "plastic".  I really HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE digipacks because they are the worst of both worlds.  They have the nasty plastic and when the spindles break you can't even replace them.  Plus they are no smaller than the jewel cases. 

I would prefer to use no plastic except the disc and inner bag and digipacks still rely on plastic.  Also, I don't like the digipack dimensions which are identical to jewel case.

I also hate the cheapie "eco wallets" and whatnot that come from Disk makers and the like.  They just feel a bit like a cheat and seem somewhat disposable. 

These are my pontifications about packaging.  But, I know many people don't care that much about music packaging.  I believe it is a vital part of the whole music experience and for that reason we go the extra mile (and always have) in our artwork, booklets and production. 

My house had hard floors (no carpet) for many years and so many of those bugger jewel cases committed suicide.  I do have two that justified the plastic case: Gentle Giant - In A Glass House and Dark Matter - Seeing Strange Lights.  

Hello Phideaux,

I truly loved the vinyl edition of `Snowtorch', and it was just a wonderful and endlessly relistenable prog album! I also thought it was quite accessible to people who normally wouldn't be interested in prog - going by people in my office at work who've asked what I was listening to! :)

Did I read you correctly from a post earlier on that the vinyl copies didn't sell very well and that you've had a heap left over?!

So my question is, do you feel it will be worth your time, effort, and most importantly money, to release future albums/reissues on the vinyl format?

Of course I hope you do, as I prefer getting my prog albums on that format, but I don't know if that's a realistic request from your point of view!

By the way, I would say please come down to Australia and play some shows, what with Australia being the prog capital of the world - note obvious sarcasm! Wishful thinking to see your band live!

Not exactly.  I'm saying that in the future I will house my compact disc editions in "mini LP sleeves" of a high quality with an insert that contains the pertinent information, but the cover will be a shrunken version of the LP sleeve.

This assumes there will be a vinyl edition of all the albums, which I hope there will be.  There will, at least, be a design for what those vinyl LP editions would look like.

therefore, in a perfect world, we would put out a CD and an LP...  Downloads will be available via piracy sites and places like itunez and bandclap

Reminds me of one of my favorite Jen Sorensen cartoons: