For those of you that would like to immerse yourselves in an afternoon and evening of Magenta related excitement, we have a double-bill of events on July 3rd.

Christina - Broken Lives and Bleeding Hearts launched.

Christina’s album – already receiving rave reviews – will be launched and performed in its entirety at Acapella in Pentyrch, Cardiff. This beautiful converted chapel has amazing acoustics and will be the ideal setting to showcase Christina's stunning album.
http://acapela.co.uk/
Doors open at 7.30. Expect one or two guests and other surprises on the night!

Magenta – The Cinematic Experience

To coincide with Christina’s launch party for ‘Broken Lives and Bleeding Hearts', we are pleased to announce the Magenta Cinematic Experience. Thanks to our good friend Matt Bebb, we are fortunate to have secured the services of the cinema at the stunning Atrium in Cardiff.

The Atrium is a state-of-the-art media, design and arts centre located right in the center of the capital.
http://cci.glam.ac.uk/campus/

So what will the Magenta Cinematic Experience entail?
With the imminent release of the Real World concert could it be some footage from Magenta's acoustic performance at Peter Gabriel's studio, rare never before seen footage from the Magenta archive, or excerpts from Magenta’s previously released concert DVDs to be seen on the big screen for the first time? Well, maybe all of the above!
This one-off screening will take place on the Saturday afternoon (a 2 hour slot between 2pm - 5pm is being negotiated) to ensure everyone has time to explore Cardiff and travel to Pentyrch for the evening’s launch party.

Entrance to both events will be £5 each.
Confirmed timings for the Cinema showing during the afternoon and details of how to buy tickets will be posted in the next 7 days, but in the meantime keep that date free!

Useful links-
http://www.magenta-web.com/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=686276330
http://www.travelrepublic.co.uk/hotels/st-fagans-cardiff-united-kingdom.html?mkid=48126052&aid=1&gclid=CKjGgNeLhqICFQc9lAodOSpDVw
http://www.gwaelodinn.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/TheAtrium-UniversityofGlamorgan.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1v6QYgdXPE

Christina has co-written all 10 tracks with long-time collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Rob Reed (Magenta, Trippa, ChimpanA) who also mixed and produced the album. Other guests on the album include John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost), Steve Balsamo (The Storys, ChimpanA), Troy Donockley (Barbara Dickson, the Bad Shepherds) and Chris Fry (Magenta), with a wonderful remix of “Deep Ocean” by Jem Godfrey (Frost).

Says Christina of the album:
“ Although it’s not Prog, it’s pretty varied and I hope that Magenta fans will find plenty to like. It’s certainly been a labour of love, and I really believe it’s the finest set of songs I’ve ever written.”

Varied it certainly is, from the acoustic, gospel-tinged opener “Free” to the progressive pop of “Immortality”, and the dramatic balladry of “Tales of Tales of Broken Hearts”, not to mention the bluesy swagger of “Do or die” or the smooth, jazzy “Deep Ocean”. These are songs that are immediate yet full of depth, beautifully performed by the Cardiff-based singer songwriter.

Christina also talks about the heartfelt subject matter of the album:
“All of the songs look at the up and downs of human relationships. Inevitably, there’s a lot of heartbreak involved, but I’ve also tried to show how resilient the human heart can be, so there’s an upbeat message too. “

She laughs. “So I guess, it’s a bit of a concept album!”

A five minute sampler of the album can be heard at the Christina Myspace page:
www.myspace.com/christinaboothmusic and a website will also be available shortly at www.christinabooth.net (it currently points at the Myspace site) as well as a facebook page at www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Christina-Booth/92505481597

The opening song “Free” can be downloaded at http://christinabooth.bandcamp.com and a video for the song is now available on the Myspace page or on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XybyzbMCpak

Watch out for news of a launch gig, coming very soon!

Rob Reed explains
"We are excited about this site because it gives the band and the fans benefits beyond normal MP3 outlets. From the fans side, it gives them the option to download better quality MP3s than are usually offered and in several formats as well.
At the moment we have many titles available, from instrumental tracks and live recordings, to completely new mixes and currently unavailable tracks.
We plan to keep updating and customizing the content over the coming months and welcome feedback back regarding the site."

The site is now live at

http://magenta.bandcamp.com/

The Magenta - Live at Real World CD/DVD is almost finished and we hope to have more information regarding the release dates in a few weeks.

Best wishes

Magenta

01/05 Zoetermeer, De Boerderij
02/05 Den Bosch, W2

This isn't a decision we took lightly, and can only apologies to our Dutch fans. We can assure you that we were really looking forward to these shows.

However this has given focus to some other issues that need addressing, as Rob Reed explains:

“I am acutely aware that Metamorphosis was released two years ago, and that what fans want most is another Magenta studio album.I have therefore decided that the best thing to do would be to go on hiatus as a live entity, while we concentrate on the next Magenta album, and various other projects in the pipeline, including, of course, the Real World performance and Christina’s solo album. Playing live is something we all love and it is an important part of what we do, so we will return sooner rather than later!”

"Dan has been a fantastic servant to Magenta during his 4 ½ year tenure with the band. Both his playing skill and his onstage enthusiasm have, quite rightly, made him a favourite with the fans and have helped build Magenta’s considerable reputation as a live act. However, Dan now wants time to pursue his own musical projects outside of Prog and we respect that. While his departure is a huge disappointment to us all, he remains a great friend to the band and we can’t thank him enough for his remarkable contribution. He certainly will be a hard act to follow. We are currently holding auditions for Dan’s replacement so if you’d like to throw you hat into the ring (so to speak) we’d love to hear from you"

In the meantime, we hope to see as many of you as possible at Winters End to give Dan the send off he deserves.

Many thanks for all your continued support, and sorry for any inconvenience caused by this. We’ll see you again sooner than you think!

Best wishes

Magenta

Though it's been a little quiet in the Magenta camp for the last couple of months, we haven't been idle:

Home Reissue

We are pleased to announce that we will re-release our third studio album Home on March 20th. For the first time the album will be available as a two disc set with the tracks re-arranged into their originally intended running order, with all the music from Home and New York Suite back together in chronological sequence.

I always regretted not releasing the album as a 2 disc set, as it was originally written and recorded. At the time I was concerned that it may be too long, and so came up with the idea of releasing it as 2 discs, one containing most of the shorter pieces and the 2nd, the New York Suite, with the majority of the longer songs. These pieces worked together thematically as they all came from the middle of the story. However, I now believe that this took the heart out of the album, so when the time came to press the CD again, it was an ideal opportunity to put it all back together and present the whole album as it was intended.

The album will be available from the Magenta shop on March 13th at www.magenta-web.com and will officially be re-released on March 20th.

Real World Acoustic gig

Work on the Acoustic gig recorded at Real World studios is coming on nicely. I have cut most of the video and nearly finished the audio. It looks and sounds great, and really does capture what was a special night for both the band and the audience. A release date will follow soon.

Christina - Broken Lives and Bleeding Hearts

We've also finished Christina's solo CD which will be called “Broken Lives and Bleeding Hearts” .The album has been a long time coming, but it will be well worth the wait. Stylistically, it's very varied and sounds very different to Magenta giving Christina a great chance to shine as a vocalist. I believe is a great collection of songs and we are both very proud of them. There are some great guests on the album too. We are currently finishing the artwork, so expect a release date very soon!

Magenta 5

Amongst all of this a new Magenta CD is brewing nicely. It's just at the demo stage at the moment, but there some great bits already. It's hard to pinpoint a style at the moment as the demos are very varied in both style and length. I would like to have a few shorter tracks in there, if only because they are easier to play live. Having said that, they always seem to grow during the demo stage, so who knows?

So far I have about 8 starting points in demo form. Some are just a few minutes long, two are almost finished, with one being about 12 minutes long, and very much in the Metamorphosis style. The other is a shorter, more direct song. It may all change, of course, as I don't want to repeat myself, especially as Metamorphosis was such an intense album.

We'll be announcing some live dates very soon and we’ve also got a new Magenta Mp3 download website in the pipeline.

I also have a few more projects and ideas brewing which should make 2010 a very busy year indeed.

Rob

Within a couple of weeks of each other, there have been two more poll successes for the band.

In the current issue of Classic Rock Presents Prog, the band features well in a variety of categories in the Magazines inaugural readers poll:
Christina winner - Best Female Singer
Best Band – 4th place
Best keyboardist Rob – 5th
Best reissue – Seven- 3rd

The current also features an interview with Magenta head honcho Rob Reed.

At the Classic Rock Society Awards in Wath on January 16th, Christina won Best Female Singer yet again, with excellent placings for Dan (2nd – bass) Chris (4th – guitar) and the band (3rd). Magenta were also 2nd in the best CRS gig category. The awards were presented by legendary guitarist Gordon Giltrap, and both Rob and Chris were seen on stage, Chris picking up Christina’s Award (she was in Bolivia with Caamora) and Rob picking up an award for Troy Donockley.

More news about 2010 in the next couple of weeks. Don’t forget the band’s next gig at Winters End in Stroud on March 13th, where tickets are selling very well, we’re told!

Just a quick note to let you know that our first gig of 2010 will be headlining the Saturday night of the brand new Winters End Festival, at The Space in Stroud, Gloucestershire on March 13th. This is a spin off from the Summers End Festival, in conjunction with the Classic Rock Society. Tickets go on sale in the next few days via www.winters-end.co.uk or www.classicrocksociety.co.uk (for CRS members).

We’ll have more news about our plans for 2010 in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

Magenta

As well as Itunes worldwide, all 3 mixes are available using the following links. This list is NOT exhaustive, and all normal download sites ought to have it. For most of you outside the UK, Itunes is your best option.

http://www.amazon.co.uk:80/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=magenta+wonderous+&x=0&y=0

http://hmv.com:80/hmvweb/simpleMultiSearch.do?searchUID=&pGroupID=0&adultFlag=false&primaryID=0&simpleSearchString=magenta+wonderous+stories&btnSubmitSearch.x=31&btnSubmitSearch.y=4

http://www.play.com:80/Search.aspx?searchtype=downloadall&searchstring=magenta+wonderous+stories&page=search&pa=search&go.x=32&go.y=13

http://www.ibs.it:80/musica/album/U05060153430159/magenta/wonderous-stories.html?shop=45

http://www.7digital.com/artists/magenta/wonderous-stories/

The full video for the song will be posted shortly

The song, which will come in three alternative versions, will be available to download from all normal download sites – including Amazon and Itunes worldwide. Rob Reed talks about the bands reasons for the release:

“We are often compared favourably to Yes, and many of our fans have been asking us to have a go at a Yes piece for a while. We have been playing Wonderous Stories as part of our set during our recent run of acoustic gigs, and it was great fun to do and really well received, so we thought we’d take it into the studio and give it the full-band Magenta treatment. We think that we’ve brought something new to the song while maintaining total respect for the original, and we really hope people enjoy it.”

Wonderous Stories, from the Going For the One album, was Yes’ biggest UK hit, reaching number 7 in September 1977.

The three versions of the song will be:

1.Wonderous Stories : Full Mix
2.Wonderous Stories : Instrumental Mix
3.Wonderous Stories : Acoustic Mix

The band have also produced a video for the song, and an excerpt can be seen below. The complete video will be made available on the day of release.

As well as the November 21st Acoustic album recording at Real world studios, the band will make a couple of other acoustic appearances in the run up to Christmas. On November 8th, we will play the Globe in Cardiff as guests of Jem Godfrey and John Mitchell www.theglobecardiff.com , and on December 20th we will be special guests of It Bites at their special Christmas concert at South Street, Reading www.readingarts.com/southstreet/

See you there!

Don't forget, the day before the Reading gig, the electric double header with Touchstone at the Peel in Kingston. Don't be late, the band will be on stage at 7.30!

Magenta

The concert will be recorded for a future CD, and possible DVD, release.

Rob Reed says “After performing several acoustic concerts over the past few years, it seems that the logical progression would be to record an acoustic album, and where better than at Peter Gabriel’s amazing studio complex.”

After former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett became a fan of the band earlier in the year, Peter Gabriel must surely be next!

“If Mr. Gabriel were to pop in to see what was going on we would welcome and encourage him to join us as I’m sure we could rustle up a Genesis track or two” quipped guitar maestro Chris Fry.

From 70s legends Deep Purple, Robert Plant and King Crimson to contemporary artists like Robbie Williams, Massive Attack and the Arctic Monkeys, clients of Real World Studios comprise a who’s who of the music industry.

Rob continues “If we’re going to record at such a prestigious venue we might as well pull out all the stops. Real World’s ‘Wooden Room’ as well as having amazing acoustics, has a stunning grand piano which I can’t wait to get to grips with. I will also be using a harpsichord and we will be joined by a string quartet which will compliment Magenta’s music beautifully.”

Magenta intend to play classic songs from all four of their studio albums as well as many of their shorter pieces, some seldom played songs and perhaps a few surprises.

“The prospect of performing at such a legendary studio is incredibly exciting and I can’t wait for November 21st” says Magenta vocalist Christina Booth “and although there is only a limited amount of space in the Wooden Room for the audience, we’re really looking forward to playing in front of many of our fans and friends”.

As well as an audience of press and VIPs, we are offering 40 fans the opportunity to attend this unique event. To apply for tickets please email Magenta on music@magenta-web.fsnet.co.uk and we’ll email back full details very soon.

The Special Edition features:

Disc 1 - CD. 78.54
The entire album completely remixed by Rob Reed and re-mastered by the legendary Bob Katz, who did such an amazing job on Metamorphosis. Included are a complete version of Pride and an enhanced version of Greed. Some tracks have been remixed extensively, while others only have minor tweaks. The album also features new sleeve notes by Stephen Lambe.

Disc 2 - DVD. 4 hours of material including:
-A brand new 5.1 mix of the album by Rob Reed based on the brand new stereo remix.
-Extensive interviews with Rob Reed and lyricist Steve Reed, discussing each track from a musical and lyrical point of view, the artwork and guest musicians, and also reflecting on the impact of the CD 5 years on.
-Behind the mix. Rob Reed discusses and dissects the multi-tracks of the original 2004 mix.
-Rare DV camera footage of songs from Seven being rehearsed and performed live.

Rob Reed talks about the thinking behind the remix:
“The plan had always been to do a 5.1 mix of the album, as we did with Metamorphosis. However, when I went through the multi-tracks I realised that there was loads of great musical parts that hadn’t been used in the original mix, so I decided to also attempt new stereo mixes utilising the great new equipment I have now, and the results were amazing. As the CD had been out of print for a while anyway, we took this opportunity to release the new mixes, which represent, to me, a genuine enhancement on the quality of the original.”

The Double disc Special Edition, which will be limited to a run of 2000 copies, before the album reverts to a single disc, will retail at £14 and is available to pre-order immediately via the Magenta shop at www.magenta-web.com and will despatch in August.

Just a quick update with news of Magenta live activity over the next few months.

Special Performance of Seven at the Peel in December

Firstly, we will be making a welcome return to the Peel in Kingston on December 19th for a very special one-off Christmas double-header with our old friends Touchstone, where both bands will be playing 90 minute sets. Our set will include a complete performance of our 2004 album Seven, recently included in Classic Rock Presents Prog’s Top 50 Album’s of all time. We’ll be onstage at 7.30 so get there early! http://www.houseofprogression.webeden.co.uk/

New Gig at the CRS

Just prior to our trip to Canada for the FMPM Festival, we will be playing for the Classic Rock Society in Wath on September 5th. Doors at 7pm. http://theclassicrocksociety.blogspot.com/

Magenta coming to a living room near you this Summer...

Christina, Chris and Rob are currently rehearsing an acoustic set for a series of Magenta House Concerts planned for July and possibly August. The set includes some old favourites and several surprises, so if you are interested in hosting a concert, then email us via magenta.web@btinternet.com

Best wishes

Magenta

It’s been a few weeks since our last update, so we thought we’d bring you up to date with current activity in the Magenta camp.

First of all, we are immensely proud that our second album “Seve”n was voted by readers of ClassicRock Presents Prog – whose send edition was published on May 20th – as 46th in the Top 50 Prog albums of all time. This list was, as you’d expect, dominated by the great albums of the 1970s and 80s (we were sandwiched between Trilogy by ELP in 45th and Nursery Cryme by Genesis in 47th) so to be one of only a handful of modern-era albums in the list is, obviously, thrilling and a huge honour. We’d like to thank all those of you that voted for us!

Secondly, a quick reminder of what will be a busy weekend for the band in a few days time, when we play Parc Hall, Cwmparc (Nr Treorchy) on Friday 29th. Special Guest will be guitarist Nathan Treadgold www.myspace.com/nathantreadgold . We also play The Peel in Kingston on Saturday 30th and Mr Kyps in Poole on Sunday 31st. We’re really looking forward to getting out and playing live again, so we hope to see you all at one or more of the gigs.

Thirdly, a quick note to say that the Magenta Facebook page is now fully up and running, so do come and say hello here .

Finally, a quick note that our friend Henri Strik’s reviews of the new live DVD and our performance at Zoetermeer can be seen online at www.backgroundmagazine.nl.

More news very soon!

Magenta

Recorded at the band’s home venue the Point in Cardiff at the end of 2007, the DVD marked an end of an era for the band. Not only was it the last concert in support of their third album Home, but it also marked the last performance of that line up of the band. Full of Magenta’s usual passion and energy, the DVD features a set list largely different from the Gathering, released in 2005. As well as a suite of songs from Home, the DVD also features Envy and a rare performance of Sloth from Seven, as well as the bands show-stopping new arrangement of Anger. Material from the Revolutions album includes a stunning new arrangement of Man the Machine, plus fan-favourite The Warning. The show kicks off with an incendiary version of single Speechless.

As well as the concert footage, the DVD also features a concert documentary, tech-talk interviews with Chris Fry, Martin Rosser and recording engineer Tim Lewis, plus the Speechless video and a photo gallery. In NTSC format with fantastic 5.1 and stereo mixes by Rob Reed, this is a DVD no Magenta fan can be without.

The DVD will begin pre-ordering from the Magenta shop at www.magenta-web.com on March 30th, with advanced shipping from April 3rd. Official release date will be May 1st.

Tracklisting and contents:
147min DVD total length
5.1 mix /stereo mix
NTSC format

Opus Three
Speechless
Envy
Hurt
Moving On
The Journey
Towers Of Hope
Demons
Morning Sunlight
The Dream
The Visionary
Anger
Man The Machine
Genetesis /The Warning
Sloth
The White Witch (extract)

Speechless (video)
Concert Documentary
Tech-talk Interviews with Chris fry, Martin Rosser and Tim Lewis
Photo Gallery

Cardiff gig moved to Treorchy Many of you will already know about the immensely sad closure of The Point in Cardiff Bay a few weeks ago. As a result, Magenta's planned gig there on May 29th has move to Parc Hall, Cwymparc, Nr Treorchy (Phone: 01443 776920)

The full live schedule so far for 2009 now looks like this:

14th March – Montgomery Hall, Wath www.classicrocksociety.net
28th March – The Borderline, London www.ticketmaster.co.uk/venue/254010
29th March – The Robin, Bilston www.therobin.co.uk

10th April - Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands (IO Pages Festival with RPWL and PBII) www.cultuurpodiumboerderij.nl
11th April - The Rock Temple, Kerkrade, Netherlands www.therocktemple.nl (with RPWL and PBII)

29th May – Parc Hall, Cwmparc, Nr Treorchy, www.myspace.com/parchall
30th May – The Peel, Kingston www.myspace.com/houseofprogression
31st May – Mr Kyps, Poole www.mrkyps.net

12/13th September – FMPM Festival, Montreal www.fmpm.net

29th May – The Point, Cardiff, 30th May– The Peel, Kingston, 31st May – Mr Kyps, Poole

In addition, we are sorry to report that Frost* have had to pull out of out two April dates in the Netherlands. However, every cloud has a silver lining and we are delighted to say that the superb German band RPWL have stepped in to play the gigs with us.

The full live schedule so far for 2009 now looks like this:

14th March – Montgomery Hall, Wath www.classicrocksociety.net
28th March – The Borderline, London www.ticketmaster.co.uk/venue/254010
29th March – The Robin, Bilston www.therobin.co.uk

10th April - Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands (IO Pages Festival with RPWL and PBII) www.cultuurpodiumboerderij.nl
11th April - The Rock Temple, Kerkrade, Netherlands www.therocktemple.nl (with RPWL and PBII)

29th May – The Point, Cardiff www.thepointcardiffbay.com
30th May – The Peel, Kingston www.myspace.com/houseofprogression
31st May – Mr Kyps, Poole www.mrkyps.net

12/13th September – FMPM Festival, Montreal www.fmpm.net

More news very soon.
Magenta

Best Band
Best Female singer - Christina
Best guitarist - Chris
Best album artwork for Metamorphosis
Best CRS gig

The band was also well featured in a number of categories:
CRS Musician of the Year: Rob 2nd (winner John Mitchell - It Bites)
Best bassist: Dan 3rd (winner John Jowitt of IQ)
Best album: Metamorphosis 2nd (winner Pure by Pendragon)
Best track: Metamorphosis 2nd (winner This is England by It Bites)

Thanks to everyone that voted for the band - who are all dead chuffed!

Stay tuned for lots more exciting Magenta news very soon!

Firstly, we're thrilled to announce that the band will headline the FMPM festival in Montreal, Canada, which takes place on September 12th and 13th 2009. The band have built up a strong following in North America following the release of Metamorphosis on Lasers Edge, so we're really looking forward to playing this brilliant festival for the first time. Full details can be found at www.fmpm.net

The band will play 3 gigs in March. These will be full 2 hour sets featuring a selection from all of our albums. The dates are:
14th March - The Montgomery Hall, Wath for the CRS www.classicrocksociety.net
28th March - The Borderline, London
29th March - The Robin, Bilston www.therobin.co.uk

We are immensely excited to announce that Magenta will team up with the superb Frost* (www.frostmusic.net) to play some dates during the spring. These are co-headlining gigs, with both bands playing equal-length sets and alternating the running order. There will be a series of European dates in April, and some UK dates later on towards the end of May. So far, we can announce two dates with more to follow, both in Holland:
10th April - Boerderij, Zoetermeer
11th April - The Rock Temple, Kerkrade

Finally, a reminder that the band will be performing all of the current album Metamorphosis at the Classic Rock Society BOTY awards on 10th January. The band will be on stage soon after the doors open, so get there early!

Further details on our live gigs page and watch out for more exciting news from the band very soon!

Best wishes

Magenta

We are delighted to say that we have made the Collection album available for FREE DOWNLOAD. The album includes edits and full tracks from all the bands studio albums to date, and you can also download Speechless - a different mix to those available anywhere else - in the standard 128 kbs format or in a higher quality 320 kbs version.

To download click on the links below to download each track. To download, right click on the link, and click on "save target as"

1.Speechless (edit)(From "The Singles")[4:06] Download
2.Metamorphosis (edit)(From "Metamorphosis")[9:38] Download
3.Visionary (From "Home")[6:04] Download
4.Gluttony (excerpt)(From "Seven")[4:46] Download
5.I'm Alive (From "The Singles")[4:55] Download
6.Anger (From "The Singles")[5:53] Download
7.Demons (From "Home")[5:17] Download
8.Blind Faith(From "Metamorphosis")[5:50] Download
9.The White Witch (excerpt)(From "Revolutions")[4:26] Download
Bonus! Speechless (edit) 320 kbs high quality version (From "The Singles") [4.06] Download