Glasgow – Five years after the release of their critically acclaimed debut album, Scottish indie duo Caezar return with 'HOME', their musically adventurous and highly anticipated new release. Caezar will kick off the new album with a live show at Glasgow's CCA on February 22. Tickets are now available.
Recorded over five weeks in a remote studio in the Outer Hebrides, HOME is a deeply personal love letter to the band's origins, delivered through powerful songwriting and complex but anthemic musical arrangements. It has been produced by Pete Fletcher (Escapologists) and mastered by Miles Showell (The Beatles, Sting, The Police and many more from Abbey Road Studios), along with a half-speed cut for the vinyl press. It will be released on vinyl, CD and digital courtesy of Vertere Records from February 22, 2024. Up On Satellites, the first single from HOME is now available to stream on all major platforms.
Caezar is the creative brainchild of renowned musicians Joe Donnelly and JJ Gilmour. Early in their careers, both Joe and JJ enjoyed successful stints in legendary Scottish rock group The Silencers. Although their band membership never overlapped, Joe and JJ eventually met at a benefit concert in Glasgow, organized to raise money for Silencers co-founder and guitarist Cha Burns, who was living with cancer at the time. Sadly, Cha passed away shortly after. Bonded through grief, Joe and JJ began writing songs together, and a remarkably intuitive musical connection quickly revealed itself.
This is where Caezar was born: Joe and JJ's first collaborations became 'TIME', Caezar's much-admired debut release. Cut and released by vinyl specialists Vertere Records, TIME was nominated for Scottish Album of the Year in 2019. Tour dates with Simple Minds, Pretenders, Deacon Blue and Big Country soon followed, and an organic and dedicated fanbase grew steadily.
Caezar's style certainly has echoes of his time on The Silencers. It begins with Donnelly's hypnotic bass parts, parts that manage to transcend the simple rhythm and instead begin to feed into the deeper melodic flow of the music. It gives Caezar a real signature sound, one that is wonderfully reminiscent of early U2. There is also a distinctive and pleasing maturity to Caezar's sound. Gilmour's lyrics are aching, with poetic honesty delivered with a touch of stadium rock swagger, and performed with the giddy confidence of a vocalist who has expertly honed his craft.
HOME: Looking back and forward: A five-year gap between albums represents a long time in the modern music industry. But there's a timeless quality to a lot of what Caezar does, and Joe and JJ certainly weren't afraid to practice patience and make sure their follow-up record came to life in the right way.
Caezar tried various studio spaces in search of the right location to make his second album and finally opted for Black Bay Studio on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Living at opposite ends of the British Isles, Joe and JJ enjoyed spending five weeks together in relative isolation. While they reveled in the solitude this beautiful, secluded creative venue afforded them, Donnelly and Gilmour were still able to draw on a remarkable wealth of musical talent to perform at HOME. Musical contributors include trumpets by Joseph Fletcher, keyboards and programming by producer Pete Fletcher, drums by Darren Lackie, backing vocals by Louise Connell, strings by David Crichton and many more. These contributions combine to make HOME an audibly complex record with a huge, expansive soundscape. It seems reminiscent of Pink Floyd or even early psychedelic rock; however, this complexity never comes at the expense of melody or lyrics.
His deep dive into the creative process has made HOME a joyful journey of musical discovery that, while nodding to avant-garde influences like Mogwai and Eno, never loses focus on the power of thoughtful craftsmanship. This powerfully honest songwriting approach is perfectly distilled into Up On Satellites, the first single from HOME, available to stream now. A song about trying to escape the monotony of everyday life, there is a longing search for truth at its heart, a search reflected and eagerly pursued throughout the entire album.
Speaking about the album's release, Vertere Records CEO Touraj Moghaddam said: “In many ways, HOME is an album that is stronger than an incredibly strong debut, and that is all credit to the band and the efforts they have gone to to create such a detailed and beautiful sounding record.”
After an impressive mix by Nick Davis, the record was handed over to revered mastering engineer Miles Showell. Once mastered, Miles gave the record an exquisite half-speed vinyl cut on his own custom-made Neumann lathe, preparing it for its February 22 release. Miles uses a unique cutting process that ensures an unparalleled level of sonic performance and clarity in the final product. Your custom mastering system is powered and wired extensively using high-power signal cables and Vertere mains power cables, specifically designed for maximum resolution, clarity, dynamics and total absence of noise. All of this adds up to obtain the best sound experience possible through analog listening.
The record will be pressed in London by The Vinyl Factory and will represent the first time Vertere Records has used the company to produce its vinyl. Speaking about this new collaboration, Touraj Moghaddam said: “It is really impressive. The quality of the pressings is among the best I have found. “They've preserved a lot of the musicality of the master on the test presses… they've done an incredible job.”. HOME will be printed on 200g black vinyl, “Some of the quietest black vinyl I've ever heard”Moghaddam said.
'Home can be anywhere: it's a universal idea that applies to everyone and everyone. We hope that means this album connects with everyone who wants to listen to it and enjoy it. This is a record we are immensely proud of and feels like a huge creative step forward for us as a band. “We are very excited to share it with the world.” CÉZAR, ABOUT THE PREMIERE OF 'HOME'.
Half Speed Cut for Vinyl Release by Miles Showell, HOME Out Now Pour Records starting February 22, 2024.
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