New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Following its release in March, the Eno brothers' debut Deutsche Grammophon album, Mixing Colours caught the imagination of critics and listeners alike with its eighteen meditations on the slow, shifting nature of sound and time. Mixing Colours Expanded, set for full digital release on July 17 adds six new pieces along with "Pewter", previously issued only as a bonus track in Japan.
Again the evocative titles are colour-based - "Moss", "Violet", "Manganese", "
Vermilion", "Marble", "Pewter" and "Malachite". And again, the pared-down beauty and meditative qualities of these new miniatures mean that every hearing is rewarded with fresh discoveries. "Manganese" leads as a digital single, acting as a perfect introduction to the Enos' latest work.
A 12" EP - Luminous - containing all seven new tracks will be released on August 14. As with the album, the artist Dom Theobald has supplied the original cover artwork, and to support smaller retailers as they reopen with the easing of lockdown measures, a special version of the EP on sun yellow vinyl and with a different version of the cover artwork will also be available. Following this, a deluxe 2CD edition of the complete Mixing Colours Expanded will be released internationally on October 23.
"As the world collapses, it's hard to imagine a better way to self-soothe than immersing yourself in Mixing Colours," observed The Times (London) in its five-star review. The recording was described as "a balm for these anxious times" by the Observer (London) and by NPR as a "steadying sound in the age of social distancing, soothing and transfixing at the same time".
Since the end of March, Mixing Colours has received over 10 million streams and inspired many music lovers to contribute to an inspiring online video project launched by
Roger and Brian on www.mixing-colours.com. There have been almost 1800 submissions of quiet scenes inspired by the album and these videos have taken on a greater sense of poignancy for being filmed in a lockdown world. On July 1, coinciding with the release of "Manganese", the website will be updated to introduce a selection of these very special pieces.
"We were overwhelmed by both the quality and quantity of films we received," note the brothers. "There's so much creativity and originality! One of the pleasures of looking at these pieces of work is noticing how each film draws out something different from the music it accompanies."
