Land Observations

Listen to the new album ‘The Grand Tour’ – out 28/29 July + Announces two London live dates.

Listen to the new album from Land Observations, The Grand Tour, here:

Land Observations (aka the musician and artist, James Brooks) will release The Grand Tour on 28 July 2014. This is the follow up to 2012’s critically acclaimed debut album, Roman Roads IV-XI and, where that was concerned with the roads of communication and conquest that stretched across the former Roman Empire and Republic, the new album creates an imaginary travelogue through Western, Central and Southern Europe with reference to the historic Grand Tour, a traditional rite of passage for University graduates & the affluent young, finding popularity in the 18th century and commencing the idea of ‘tourism’ as we know it.’

Land Observations will perform at Rough Trade East on Wednesday 30 July (stagetime: 7pm), and at The Proud Archivist, London on 26 August (full details below).

On The Grand Tour, the landscape gives inspiration to the speed, pace and momentum of the journey and on the final track, ‘Return To Ravenna’, a beginning and an end is at once signalled. It’s the end of the tour, and the beginning of the journey home – a track with an intentional reference to Land Observations’ debut, album, where Brooks celebrated ‘Via Flaminia’, the Roman road between Rome and Ravenna, once a major city in classical culture. Listen here to Return To Ravenna:

For the The Grand Tour’s artwork James Brooks has made a series of postcard drawings which utilise various found tourist and holiday postcards. Directly responding to each postcard’s unique design layout, he has produced a series of abstract, geometric drawings of only their specific surface areas and design skeleton.

Recently Brooks guested on Simon Fisher Turner’s Ivor Novello Award winning score for the BFI restoration of The Epic Of Everest (dir. Captain John Noel, 1924) and has performed the score live at the London Film Festival world premiere, Trento Film Festival in Italy and the Shanghai International Film Festival.

THE GRAND TOUR

On Leaving The Kingdom For The Well-Tempered Continent

Flatlands And The Flemish Roads

From The Heights Of The Simplon Pass

Nice To Turin

Ode To Viennese Streets

The Brenner Pass

Walking The Warm Colonnades

Return To Ravenna

LIVE DATES

30 July, Rough Trade East, London –  http://bit.ly/1u7Zq4S

26 August, The Proud Archivist, London –  http://www.thelocal.tv/events.html

Watch the video for ‘On Leaving The Kingdom For The Well Tempered Continent’ here:

Watch the trailer for the new album here: http://youtu.be/99wlQux9NCg

LAND OBSERVATIONS ONLINE

Website: http://www.landobservations.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/landobservation
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LandObservation
Instagram: http://instagram.com/landobservations