January 3rd 2010

The year behind & the year ahead...

Well another year, another decade has drawn to a close. 2009 saw my focus much the same as 2008 caring for seriously ill family members and many visits to hospitals. These testing times look set to continue into the coming year but come what may listening to and making music will continue to be a place where I find strength, purpose and optimism…

What happened on the music front in 2009?

A new album was released in January titled RA RISING, this was a compilation of unreleased solo tracks by Ra members and new versions of previously released music. I have two solo tracks on the album - OVER THE EDGE which was recorded during the CONVERGENCE album sessions in 1998. Also, a new edit of 1991’s EYES OF JANUS featuring a lengthy guitar workout by myself.

A third album (working title UTOPIA) is well and firmly up the pipeline and will be the first to feature vocals courtesy of Shrewsburian Richard Benjamin. Several demos were recorded and Richard’s AGAIN is currently up on the player. I contribute the flute, strings, harpsichord & brass to the arrangement. More demos will surface in 2010! For up to date info etc. please visit the Ra MySpace: www.myspace.com/robandrewsra

June saw the long overdue CD-R release on the Ethericom label of my debut album - 1983’s FROM DISTANT SHORES featuring several bonus tracks. More info at www.myspace.com/stevehillmansethericom & www.stevehillman.net　　
　
As a means of obtaining some sort of solace during the whirlwind that was 2009 I spent a short while revisiting some of my compositions from the early 80’s. These were basically a series of etudes I knocked together when I was studying compositional techniques. Several have been posted up on MySpace.

As well as Terry Hawke being a DJ he has also written several sc-fi narratives and in 2007 he put forward the idea to me that I could incorporate some of them into one of my musical projects. Inspired by this concept, earlier in 2009 during a brief respite from health matters, I sketched out several tracks and the basis for a new space-rock album was conceived! Terry hopes that Miss Angel, the principal dancer for the space-rock band Space Ritual (which features former members of the legendary Hawkwind), will choreograph a "visual" interpretation of the narratives combined with music & imagery. Hopefully 2010 will see the project developed further!