Nearly eighteen years in the making, the music on the brand new Big Blue Ball release grew from three amazing recording weeks at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, two hours from London near Bath, Wiltshire, UK in the summers of 1991, 1992 and 1995. They came and made music news, as a response to a problem that became a great creative idea. The recording weeks were organized to open a space between studio bookings by New Order so that Real World artists with the time for just a day or two of recording could come together en masse to deliver their own albums and work on some side projects. The atmosphere and spirit of it was very important. The location of the studios, the café space that was open day and night. Each room had a different atmosphere for getting down all types of collaborations and experiments.
Hossam Ramzy, who had been invited to the Recording Week by Peter while touring Page and Plant's No Quarter (purchase here) remembers it being "like Christmas, Eid, Byram and my Birthday thrown into one. To co-write with Peter, Natacha and my musicians was like another gear shift upwards. I found myself with my musicians experiencing something new. Something that opened their eyes to a style of collaboration they had never experienced before."
Among the UN of performers who made their way to Real World studios to work with Gabriel during those weeks were drummer Billy Cobham, Papa Wemba, Hossam Ramzy and The Egyptian String Ensemble, Sinead O'Connor, Natacha Atlas, flamenco guitarist Juan Canizares, American singer Joseph Arthur, Afro Celt Sound System's James McNally and Iarla Ó Lionáird, Japanese percussionist Joji Hirota, Jah Wobble, gospel group The Holmes Brothers, Justin Adams, Francis Bebey, Tim Finn, Marta Sebestyen, guitarist Vernon Reid, Chinese flute player Guo Yue.
And those are just some those who made the final cut. But the party also included Nigel Kennedy, Remmy Ongala, Dan Lanois, legendary Van Morrison (singing Sam Cooke's That's Where It's At with The Holmes Brothers), and the amazing Terem Quartet of balalaika players (reportedly once members of the same tank crew). And then there was Joe Strummer's impromptu entrance-hall encampment with drapes and candles and a four-track tape machine. Iggy Pop dropped by, followed by celebrity couple of the day, Johnny Depp and Kate Moss.
Produced by Peter Gabriel, Karl Wallinger (of World Party, Waterboys) and Stephen Hague (Pet Shop Boys, OMD), there are over 75 performers from over 20 countries.
Says Peter Gabriel, "It s a fine wine ready to be drunk. It was the most fun music making I ve ever had. I'd love to do it again."
Available June, 24, 2008 and you can purchase a copy, HERE.
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