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Camel guitarist and singer Andrew Latimer has shared a new suite of music through his Bandcamp page, featuring his current and past Camel colleagues.
From The Vault is a suite of eight pieces written by Latimer along with his Camel colleagues Colin Bass and keyboardist Peter Jones, also of Tiger Moth Tales, and also featuring Ton Scherpenzeel, the Kayak keyboardist who was a member of Camel from 1983 to 1991, and who has toured with the band since, most recently from 2014 to 2016.
Speaking about the new release, Jones says, "Hopefully this may be one of a series. The suite is comprised of eight songs, some by Andy and some co-written by Colin Bass, myself and others. I'm excited and so happy that these songs are seeing the light of day.
"One of the tracks Andy and I wrote is Dingley Dell. Those who saw the early shows of the legendary 2018 tour, would have seen us play this one live. Perhaps more obvious to English listeners, the lyric is based around Dickens' Pickwick Papers, which appeals to my sense of English eccentricity. It's one of the proggy pieces I'm most proud of.
"While the opening track called Those Times, was written about our experiences on that wonderful tour, which remains one of the best experiences of my life. Heaven is the other song on there that Andy and I wrote, and that's just a good old love song. Haha.
"The other pieces in the suite are fantastic. It's true that these songs have a demo feel about them, but demos often have a way of capturing something in the moment. Personally, I love the feel of this collection, and as always, I'm deeply honoured to be involved in all matters Camel. As this album features work from three current band members and also contributions from Ton Scherpanzeel, it feels like a Camel band effort. Once again, I'm so happy these songs are out there, and I hope Andy has more that he wants to dig out of them there vaults."
Camel last performed live back in 2018, and a proposed tour for 2023 was cancelled when Laterminer required surgery. A 32-disc super deluxe box set, Air Born: The MCA & Decca Years 1973-1984, was released in 2023.
From The Vault is available from Latimer's Bandcamp page here.
