Sananda Maitreya - The Pegasus Project : Pegasus & The Swan [2CD]

TreeHouse Publishing

£23.40

Format: 2 x CD
Catalogue No.: THP113
Barcode: 08033237281135
Release Date: 11 May 2024
Genre: Pop / Rock / Soul

Double CD packaged in a DVD transparent Box

Sananda Maitreya should feel proud both of the mesmerising journey his music has taken since Introducing The Hardline brought him to an unsuspecting world in 1987. Originally conceived as a 13-song guitar-led record staying on bass, drums and two guitars, the full album now features 41 tracks presented as two sides - ‘Pegasus’ and ‘The Swan’ - that are summarised as “A Horse that flies & a Swan that never dies”. Two years in the making The Pegasus Project: Pegasus & The Swan completes the arc started with his Prometheus & Pandora album in 2017 and continued on 2021’s beautiful Pandora’s PlayHouse. All three ‘Seasons’ show the magical, mystical, freewheeling adventures he now has in music.

To generalise, the original guitar-based genesis is on the Pegasus side, featuring the rolling funk of Ben Downs, the multi-layered psych-pop of Life Will Go On, Nice Things’ raucous energy, the hypnotic carnival of Camden Town and opening with The Birthday Song. Meanwhile, the gracious Swan ushers us into a realm featuring The Archimia String Quartet from Sananda’s longtime hometown, Milan, and The Budapest National Art Orchestra with conductor Diego Basso, an admirer of Sananda who had asked to collaborate with him for some years. “It felt like nature was telling me to work with Diego,” says Sananda.

Co-producers on the album include Andy Wright (Pet Shop Boys/Massive Attack) and Gavin Goldberg on Love Is Blind, Bunny Hearts & The Rugged associate Jellybean Johnson on Walk On and composer Oscar Deric Brown, who helped on The Last Word and I Have A Dream. Johnson was drummer in The Time, the early proteges of Prince – a friend of Sananda’s who long helped guide him. There’s a hat-tip to his mentor in the playful interlude BDSM, which features the saturnine presence of Mr Correcto. Italian singers Beatrice Baldaccini and Luisa Corna, both returning vocalists in Sananda’s cast, feature - Luisa fronts the lush Hiawatha, while Beatrice suits the flamboyance of fresh versions of New World Forming and Nice Things.