Richard Barbieri Shares New Single and 360-Video For “Serpentine”
Richard Barbieri has shared a new single “Serpentine” – the first single from his upcoming solo album “Under A Spell” released through Kscope.
Boasting a ground-breaking career that began in the late 70’s with synth-pop visionaries Japan and more recently as a member of influential art-rock band Porcupine Tree, “Under A Spell” is the first full length solo record from Richard Barbieri since 2017’s “Planets + Persona”.
The first song to be heard from “Under A Spell”, “Serpentine” is a winding and expansive six-minute soundscape that weaves through multiple genres and ideas. Complex, calming, engrossing and experimental, “Serpentine” is the perfect primer for “Under a Spell” – the work of a visionary musician working at his creative height.
The song is accompanied by a new 360 video created by Miles Skarin, allowing the viewer to travel along the floor of a foreboding forest, inspired by a nightmare Richard experienced and explained to the filmmaker.
Barbieri didn’t plan to make an album like “Under A Spell”, originally intending his fourth solo album to be a direct follow from its predecessor. 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 songwriting 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.’
Barbieri’s willingness to constantly redefine his own musical boundaries are never more evident than on the brilliant, hypnotic “Under A Spell”– the latest milestone on this utterly unique journey.
Richard Barbieri says: ‘Miles Skarin has created an amazing 360 degree video for the track “Serpentine” from my new album “Under A Spell.” It’s based on a vivid nightmare I experienced from the perspective of a snake. He has created this dense forest where past spells and rituals are glimpsed, strange voices are heard and where danger lies ahead. Don’t keep to the path! The track features a masterful bass arrangement from Percy Jones and the ‘hidden’ voices of Lisen Rylander Love and Steve Hogarth.’
