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Marc Hadley tells me that this album was made here in Cornwall, and because so much of its success owes to the skills/expertise of the Cornwall-based producers and musicians, it seemed natural for the live tour to be organised and planned here too; using the peninsula as the launch-pad to start taking on the UK as a whole. Read on for full details and press release... 

The Relatives: “Virtually” on tour, November 2013:

• Friday 1st - St Austell Brewery Centre


• Saturday 2nd - The Poly, Falmouth


• Sunday 3rd - South Devon Arts Centre, Totnes.

The Relatives play music which, when they were young, was called “Jazz-Rock.” Perhaps the equivalent term now is “Fusion”, but that doesn’t paint the right picture, because a big part of the left-field pop heard from Robert Wyatt and Syd Barrett (to whom the Relatives are directly connected) and the music of this Anglo-Dutch band is the element of singing and song-writing.

Formed in 1988, they were joined in 2011 by the guitarist Phil Miller, who is a seminal figure in English music as it developed out of 1960’s blues into the “Underground” (leading lights: The Pink Floyd, The Soft Machine, Led Zep) and beyond into the electronics associated with Robert Fripp, Phil Manzanera and Alan Holdsworth.

The distinguished Jazz critic Brian Morton recently reviewed their new album, “Virtually”, and said:

‘If there was any common thread through the “Canterbury Scene” bands…it was surely a strange mix of improvised whimsy and “progressive seriousness”. This [album] has those two components in pretty even proportion… anything that features Phil Miller’s guitar is worth hearing. His solos fit in neatly and they cut through with that strange day-glo intensity he brought to Delivery, Hatfield & the North and Matching Mole.’

The Relatives are not a tribute band. Expect new music, influenced by English folk and pop, but also by American Jazz. Join Stuart Maconie, Jonathan Coe, Chris Evans and many others in loving their songs. Be prepared for something ‘strangely strange but oddly normal.’

All Relatives info at: www.relativesrecords.com
CDs by The Relatives and other ‘Canterbury Scene’ bands are available at www.burningshed.com

• Phil Miller- guitar: (Matching Mole, (Robert Wyatt’s post-Soft Machine band), Hatfield & The North, National Health, “In Cahoots”)


• Jack Monck - bass, vocals: (Syd Barrett, Global Village Trucking Co., Chris Cutler of Henry Cow)


• Marc Hadley- sax, flute, vocals: (The Neville Brothers, Flo-ing (formed from entourage of Fela Kuti)


• Damian Rodd- drums: (Lamb, Tricky)


• Willemjan Droog- keyboards


• Robin Pengilley- trumpet & flugelhorn


• Angeline Morrison- backing vocals: (The Ambassadors of Sorrow)

What the critics said:

‘Virtually’ is played with great skill and precision, and produced with crystal clarity. Of course, there are influences from the Canterbury scene, but fans of Steely Dan will also find their ears drawn here…great attention has been paid to each detail, but you can really hear the band enjoying their work on this project, which displays so much successful ambition.”
Wim Koevoet, “Platomania” mag, Holland.

Hadley is a bit of a revelation. The music soars whenever he’s foregrounded and he makes a perfect foil to Monck’s attractively plain and almost naïve delivery. The flute part on Spaghetti is plain gorgeous… there is a slightly stitched together feel, like a pair of paisley-patched jeans. Lovely.
Brian Morton, Jazz Journal UK (co-author of ‘The Penguin guide to Jazz’

This is fresh and invigorating music. And these times cry out for it. “
Vincenzo Giorgio for “www.Wonderous Stories.it” Italy.

Quirky and melodic yet still with that groove underneath, this is something unique…"Spaghetti", is another highlight, a flute-driven Camel-esque ditty...But when Richard Sinclair opens "On My Mind", you immediately feel that tingling down your spine and know that this is what you're here for. Six minutes of pure and perfect Canterbury pop!
Michael Bjorn, “Strange Days” mag, Japan.