“After two years of writing mostly rubbish, quite suddenly the music, themes and visuals fell into place”: this is how Richard Barbieri describes the road to his forthcoming record, the British soundmeister’s first offering in half a decade that passed since "Under A Spell" saw the light of day. Its follow-up “On High” wasn’t a full-fledged album – issued solely through Bandcamp, those eight cuts emerged from the cracks they fell through during earlier sessions – which would plug the gap in the musician’s discography, so the eleven numbers forming “Hauntings” are more than welcome.
Arriving on April 10th, it will find Barbieri in the company of such kindred spirits as bassist Percy Jones and trumpeter Luca Calabrese, who played on his previous platter, doing what Richard does best: weaving psyche-gripping tunes out of pure ether and tethering them to earth. That’s why, while compact-disc and vinyl versions of the album seem alluring enough, the mediabook with CD and Blu-ray, the latter including Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and hi-res stereo mixes, looks like the one to grab and savor.
Hauntings
1. Snakes & Ladders
2. Anemoia
3. Victorian Wraith
4. 1890
5. Artificial Obsession
6. Paris Sketch
7. Perfect Toys
8. Traveler
9. Reveille
10. Last Post
11. A New Simulation
