InsideOut MusicFormer Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett has given fans a preview of his forthcoming solo acoustic album, Under a Mediterranean Sky, by making available one of the record’s tracks, “Andalusian Heart,” as a digital single.
A companion music video for the instrumental also has premiered at the InsideOut Music label’s official YouTube channel. The clip features scenes of Hackett playing the song on a nylon string guitar, as well as photos and footage of the beautiful scenery and sites of the Andalusia region of southern Spain. Steve also appears in some of the outdoor segments, walking through various Andalusian locales.
Hackett says of the song’s inspiration, “The beauty of Andalusia with its Moorish and Gypsy magic and the strains of distant guitars echoing through its ornate archways has to be experienced at least once in a lifetime. So many of the things that have inspired me about Spain are embodied in this romantic track, featuring Roger King‘s orchestral arrangement, Franck Avril on oboe, Christine Townsend on violin and viola, and myself on classical guitar.”
As previously reported, Under a Mediterranean Sky will be released on January 22, 2021, and features a collection of acoustic songs inspired by Hackett’s travels around the Mediterranean region with his wife, Jo.
Under a Mediterranean Sky was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown. In addition to “Andalusian Heart,” the album includes tunes inspired by visits to Malta, France, Italy, Greece, Croatia and Egypt.
The record, which you can pre-order now, will be released on CD, as a two-LP/CD set and digitally. Signed copies of the album, including a limited-edition blue-vinyl version, are available to order exclusively at HackettSongs.com.
Here’s the Under a Mediterranean Sky track list:
“Mdina — The Walled City”
“Adriatic Blue”
“Sirocco”
“Joie de Vivre”
“The Memory of Myth”
“Scarlatti Sonata”
“Casa del Fauno”
“The Dervish and the Djin”
“Lorato”
“Andalusian Heart”
“The Call of the Sea”
By Matt Friedlander
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