Richard Barbieri releases artful video for atmospheric Flare 2

Japan and Porcupine Tree keyboard player Richard Barbieri releases his brand new solo album Under A Spell though Kscope Records today, February 26.

To celebrate he's released an epic eight-minute plus video for Flare 2, an evolving soundscape of synths, trumpets and intriguing classical instrumentation with an equally enthralling visualiser courtesy of animator Matthew Entecott.

Under A Spell was originally intended as Barbieri’s fourth solo album and a direct follow up to its predecessor, 2016’s Planets + Persona. That record, made in different studios across Europe and heavily incorporating live performances from a range of musicians, was adventurous and bold, showcasing Barbieri’s endlessly inventive song writing and mastery of electronic music. The follow-up would pick up where it left off, journeying further into the expansive terrain he mapped out on the previous record. And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and everything changed.

“I wrote and recorded it in my studio at home, with all this strangeness going on outside,” says Barbieri of Under A Spell. “It became something completely different: this weird, self-contained dream-state album.”

Under A Spell is out now on CD, gatefold double black vinyl LP, limited edition gatefold double red vinyl LP (exclusive to the Kscope store) and digitally.

Get Under A Spell.

Artists

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.