ChimpanA to release new EP next month

(Image credit: Nineteen73)

ChimpanA, Rob Reed's side-project with Welsh vocalist Steve Balsamo, will release a new EP, The Secret Wish 2019, on November 22. The new EP revisits the song The Secret Wish, from ChimpanA's sole self-titled debut album from 2006. You can watch the duo's new video below.

“I always thought that we rushed the mix of The Secret Wish which appeared on the first album, but finally, over a decade later, it’s great to be able to revisit the track and bring out its full potential," says Reed. "We were very lucky to have obtained clearance to use a sample from Mike Oldfield (which I’m sure everyone’s familiar with) and we also recently approached Tubular Bells producer Tom Newman who agreed to do a special remix of the track for us”.

“I can’t believe we’ve taken over 12 years to make that ‘difficult’ second album," adds Balsamo, who has also worked with Eric Woolfson, Jon Lord and sang on Reed's Kompendium project. "What it does mean though is that we’ve been able to live with these tracks and let them nature and evolve. We’re looking forward to finally be able to let people hear the new album; it really is something very special. The EP’s are a great opportunity to re-introduce The Chimp to people, and each EP has various remixes, new songs and re working of older songs”.

The EP also features the brand new track Stars which is taken from the forthcoming new ChimpanA album The Empathy Machine. The new EP is the first of two that will precede the new album, which will be released early in 2020.

The Secret Wish 2019 is available to buy here.

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.