Van Der Graaf Generator unveil art project

Van Der Graaf Generator have teamed up with artist Vladislave Shabalin for an art venture titled the Earlybird Project.

The title comes from the the band’s track of the same name which appeared on their 2012 album ALT.

Artist Shabalin, who works with fossils, constructed the installation using 200 million-year-old petrified wood along with birdhouses housing speakers playing the Van Der Graaf Generator track Earlybird.

The non-profit project was devised to appeal for the preservation of the planet and will appear at national parks across the world. The first to display the artwork is the Bantak Petrified Forest, Thailand.

For more, visit the Earlybird Project’s website.

Hammill released his latest solo album …All That Might Have Been last year while Van Der Graaf Generator launched live record Merlin Atmos earlier this month. It was recorded during their 2013 European tour.

Van Der Graaf Generator feature in the latest edition of Prog magazine which is on sale now (opens in new tab). In an interview with Hammill, he reflects on his groundbreaking solo album Nadir’s Big Chance which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Merlin Atmos tracklist

CD1

  1. Flight 2. Lifetime 3. All That Before 4. Bunsho 5. A Plague Of Lighthouse Keeper 6. Gog

CD2

  1. Interference Patterns 2. Over The Hill 3. Your Time Starts Now 4. Scorched Earth 5. Meurglys III, The Songwriter’s Guild 6. Man-Erg 7. Childlike Faith In Childhood’s End
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Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.