Abel Ganz announce new album The Life Of The Honey Bee, And Other Moments Of Clarity

(Image credit: Abel Ganz)

Scottish prog rockers Abel Ganz have announced they will release their new album The Life Of The Honey Bee, And Other Moments Of Clarity through Abel Records on July 6. It's the band's first new album since 2014's Abel Ganz.

The new album is a conceptual work comprising of six thematically linked pieces exploring our relationship with memory and loss. The liminal space between a fading ‘what was’ and an anticipated ‘what is to come’.

“We have all pushed ourselves so incredibly hard on this record in an attempt to make this the best possible ‘complete work’ we could make,' drummer and producer Denis Smith tells Prog. "Everything on the record is interconnected and is there for a reason – right down to the guests we chose to play specific parts, the spaces we chose to record in, to the artwork – everything!

"We deliberately set out to avoid simply repeating what we did last time – we hope we have taken ourselves in to new areas (amazingly - the band’s first concept album), while still retaining that ‘Ganz’ touch. On the production side of things – it’s a source of great personal pride that we have been able to collaborate and work with such skilled professionals such as Simon Vinestock and Jacob Holm-Lupo. These guys are at the very top of their game and they have helped us to raise the production values to a much higher, professional level."

Produced by Smith and mixed by the legendary Simon Vinestock [Texas, Blur, Robert Plant, Simple Minds] and mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo [White Willow/Opium Cartel] the album also includes a contributions from from multi award winning former ‘Scots Singer Of The Year’ and acclaimed solo artist Emily Smith, saxophonist Snake Davis, string arrangements by Frank Van Essen, Chromatic Harmonica by Alex Partlin, as well as regular contributors Fiona Cuthill and Stephen Lawrence from the Scottish folk-music scene.

Pre-order The Life Of The Honey Bee, And Other Moments Of Clarity.

Abel Ganz: The Life Of The Honey Bee, And Other Moments Of Clarity
1.The Life Of The Honeybee and Other Moments Of Clarity
2. One Small Soul
3. Arran Shores
4. Summerlong
5. Sepia and White
6. The Light Shines Out
7. One Small Soul [radio edit] bonus on CD only

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.