Neil Releases new CD 'Through the Looking Glass (Remixed, Remastered & Expanded)'

A new remixed, remastered and expanded version of Neil's 2003 solo guitar CD 'Through the Looking Glass' has just freshly returned from the pressing plant and is available for purchase via his myspace sites. The new CD sounds much brighter, punchier and warmer than the original version and contains 20+ minutes of new tracks. These extra eight tracks include new recordings of 'In and Out of Day, Out and Into Night' and 'Terra Firma'. The CD has 20 tracks in total and is over an hour long. For purchases before 28th Feb there is a special price of £8.00 (including postage and packing). You can pay for the album securely via Paypal at www.myspace.com/neilcampbellguitarist

Neil Campbell Solo Concerts at Unity Theatre, Liverpool

At 8pm on Thursday and Friday 4th and 5th February 2010, Neil will play his first solo concerts of the year at the Unity Theatre. A mainstay on the Liverpool music scene as a solo guitarist for many years, Neil will now perform two intimate concerts for solo guitar to include special guests adding cello and soprano for particular performances.

In 2009 Neil staged a series of high profile performance events including 'Ghost Stories - A Night Opera' at Liverpool's St Luke’s (Bombed Out) Church (July 2009), St Georges Hall Concert Room (October 2009) and Birkenhead Priory, as part of the Wirral International Guitar Festival (November 2009). He also introduced, at St George's Hall, a new composition 'Frankenstein' for The Neil Campbell Collective and Sense of Sound Choir. These new large scale works married grand concepts with great architecture and stunning visuals, and will continue to be developed and staged at national and international levels throughout 2010.

Neil is very much looking forward to these solo concerts. He says: "Playing solo brings me back to the source of my music - to the state it is in when it is first composed and before layers of other instrumentation, visuals and other concepts are added. It is about picking up an instrument - in this case the classical guitar - and using it to create a more intimate, more direct communication between myself and the audience”.

Tickets are £8 (concessions £6). To purchase tickets visit Unity Theatre, Hope Place, Liverpool, L1 9BG or call the Box Office on 0151 709 4988 or online at The Unity Theatre web site.

Ghost Stories Performances at Birkenhead Priory

Along with soprano Anne Taft, Neil will be performing his atmospheric composition 'Ghost Stories' at Birkenhead Priory as part of the Wirral International Guitar Festival on Wednesday and Thursday 18th and 19th November.

The concerts, one of which will be presented on Wednesday (at 7.30pm) and the other two on Thursday (at 7.30pm and 9.30pm) will be in the Priory's intimate Benedictine Chapel.

For more details about the concerts and to buy tickets you should visit The Guitar Festival Web Site.

For more information about 'Ghost Stories' and to hear music from the album you should visit The Ghost Stories Myspace Page

Neil Campbell's 'Frankenstein' Premieres at St George's Hall

Neil's new composition 'Frankenstein' received its first performance on Friday 30th October at Liverpool's St George's Hall Concert Room.

The evening began with a performance of 'Ghost Stories' and then, following an interval, The Neil Campbell Collective, featuring Neil on guitar (and sound cues), Mark Brocklesby (drums), Nicole Collarbone (cello), Anne Taft (soprano), Chris Bradshaw (keys) and Andy Maslivec (bass) along with the fantastic Sense of Sound Choir, led by Perry Alleyne-Hughes, performed the new 45 minute composition.

Visual projections by Valeria Di Matteo featuring art by George Jones were projected behind the ensemble.

After the performance of the new piece the audience of around 300 were given an encore of the NCC's ten minute epic 'Rainstorm 2', specially arranged to include additional keyboards, soprano and choir.

Your Move magazine called the show "An electric synergy of music and imagery, with haunting vocals and some of the best new classical guitar work around". You can read a review of the perfomance at the music-news web site and see further photos from the event by David Munn at www.myspace.com/theneilcampbellcollective

Neil Talks About the New Frankenstein Event at a Recent NCC Rehearsal

Here is a short film made during a recent rehearsal for Frankenstein.... Neil and the other musicians and artists are continuing to work away pulling together the ingredients that should make for a spectacular experience at St George's Hall on 30th October:

Neil Campbell and Sense of Sound Choir to collaborate on FRANKENSTEIN composition

Liverpool’s own spectacular Sense of Sound Choir has been confirmed to perform as part of the new electrifying classical rock production FRANKENSTEIN composed by Neil Campbell. FRANKENSTEIN will have its world-premiered performance as part of a thrilling Halloween Double-Bill at the beautiful neo-classical Concert Room at Liverpool’s St. Georges Hall on Friday 30th October 2009.

The new multimedia work written by Liverpool composer Neil Campbell is based on the famous Mary Shelley novel. The composition has been scored to be performed by an expanded version of the Neil Campbell Collective (Neil’s band), One of the aims of The Neil Campbell Collective is to explore ever new instrumental textures and increase the symphonic scope of its music.

Having worked with several guests both live and in the recording studio - adding soprano, cello, electronics and other instruments along the way - it seems natural that for a piece of this scale (FRANKENSTEIN) a choir should now be added to the mix. Who better than Liverpool’s own Sense of Sound Choir to join the list of musicians?

Neil Campbell said “As a composer, using a choir allows one to amplify emotions within the piece, making sections perhaps more ethereal, sentimental or dramatic for instance. This music, drawing largely from progressive rock and minimal music, makes certain technical demands on the choir. Given their world class reputation I am certain that Sense of Sound will rise very well to these challenges”.

Neil Campbell and Jennifer John (Artistic Director and Choir Manager of Sense of Sound) have been eager to work on an artistic collaboration for many years. Now, with this project, the opportunity has arisen to present a musical collaboration on a large scale, which is planned to hopefully open doors for further performances nationally and internationally and also a recorded version of the piece planned for release in 2010.

Neil Campbell’s FRANKENSTEIN is being produced by the team that brought Liverpool ‘Ghost Stories – A Night Opera’, a spectacular performance which took place at St. Luke’s (Bombed Out) Church on Thursday 16th July. In the spirit of a Halloween Monster Double Bill ‘Ghost Stories’ will also be performed in the first half of the concert before concluding after an interval with the world premiere of the exciting new 50 minute classical rock tour de force Neil Campbell’s FRANKENSTEIN, which takes the audience on a musical journey through the Frankenstein story.

As with the St. Luke’s Church performance earlier this year the choice of venue is crucial. Built in the 1840s, St. George’s Hall is widely regarded as one of the finest neo-classical buildings in the world and is a Grade I listed building. The opulent Victorian Concert Room surroundings will make for an unrepeatable experience and an unforgettable Halloween event.

Image of the NCC by Matt Ford, used with thanks

Razing Lives - Thursday 24th September

Neil has contributed a musical soundscape to 'Razing Lives', a visual installation by photographer/artist Alicia Rose. This will be presented at Liverpool Hope's Cornerstone Campus (The Cornerstone, Liverpool Hope University, 1 Haigh Street, Liverpool L3 8QB) as part of Liverpool's City wide "Long Night" programme of exhibitions and private views in all of the City's public and private art galleries on Thursday 24th September.

'Razing Lives' is a new work being piloted on 24th in the form of an installation, prior to a photographic exhibition planned for later in the year. A deeply autobiographical piece of work, through hundreds of photographic images taken over the course of around 4 years it records the gradual demolition of people's homes in a neighbourhood in Wavertree, Liverpool.

The installation will take place from 5.30-10pm on the evening of the 24th. Also at the Cornerstone that evening, running concurrently there will be a Private View for a new exhibition of work in the Cornerstone Gallery. Admission will be free and refreshments provided.