VELVET THUNDER

Yesterday, slide guitarist and singer-songwriter, Troy Redfern, dubbed as Britain’s “King of Slide Guitar”, releases the official music video for his haunting new single Ghosts. Watch the breath-taking cinematic video below.

Ghosts is the second single taken from his forthcoming album The Fire Cosmic released by RED7 Records on Friday August 6th. The song is playlisted on Planet Rock and any other radio stations including The Max, MMH Radio, ERB Radio, HRH Radio, and many more.

Written on a beat up 1929 National Triolian Resonator, the new single Ghosts from the forthcoming album The Fire Cosmic follows a character that first appeared in the song The Line from Troy’s previous album Dirt Blues Ritual.

Troy states, “To me this song is part two to an old song of mine called The Line. It’s the same woman in the narrative of that song. She’s escaped from a destructive, violent relationship, and is riding into the sunset, never once looking back.”

One word that keeps coming up when people describe Troy‘s music and guitar playing is “authentic”, and with Ghosts this couldn’t be more apparent. From the layers of weaving acoustic resonator guitars to the blistering slide guitar solo, Ghosts takes you on a musical journey deep into the Wild West.

This brand-new video for Ghosts captures the essence of the songs vintage, Appalachian feel. Filmed at a rustic cabin on the banks of the River Wye in Hereford, Troy’s performance encapsulates the sense of urgency and the striving for resolution that can be heard echoing throughout his big sky cinematic soundscape. The new album, The Fire Cosmic, follows five unprecedented albums that Troy released in 2020. It was recorded at the legendary Rockfield Studios in North Wales, the same studio where Queen recorded all their early albums including Sheer Heart Attack (1974) followed by A Night At The Opera (1975) – the latter featuring the legendary Bohemian Rhapsody.  

For the new album, Troy enlisted one of the best rhythm sections in the UK, including the legendary Darby Todd on drums (The Darkness, Paul Gilbert), and bass guitarist Dave Marks (Hans Zimmer). Guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal (Guns ‘N Roses, Asia, Sons of Apollo), plays guitar on the song On Fire.

Troy describes the contributors on the album as “the ultimate dream team” on what is arguably the British guitarist’s most distinctive and powerful release to date.

“I chose Rockfield Studios because so much of the music I grew up listening to was recorded at this legendary studio (Queen, Black Sabbath),” says Troy. “The studio has a timeless reputation for all the iconic, classic albums that have been produced there.”

“It was important for me to capture the raw energy of three guys playing live in the same place, at the same time. That’s something that you just can’t get if you’re sending files from different locations, it doesn’t have the same vibe or feel if you do it that way.”

As soon as we arrived at Rockfield, everyone, including Darby and Dave who’ve recorded all over the world, were excited to be there,” continues Troy. “It’s that kind of place. It has that effect on every musician who records there. Even before we started recording, the energy and vibe was there, which definitely set the tone for the entire album.”

Troy cut his teeth and refined his style over the last few years, playing festival main stages and blazing a trail across Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia. He’s also become a well-known draw on the UK Blues Rock festival circuit, playing alongside rock luminaries including Robert Plant.

The forthcoming studio album is a culmination everything Troy has learnt so far on his musical journey, and, more importantly, brings into sharp focus a much tighter song-writing and more visceral, muscular production style.

For production duties, Troy enlisted the Brighton- based producer Paul ‘Win’ Winstanley, best known for his epic rock production style, and whom Troy met and had worked with previously on the 2019 RHR album, Hotel Toledo. Troy and Win bonded immediately, and shared the same musical aesthetic, no nonsense work ethic and dry sense of humour.

Rockfield‘s vintage mics, mixing desk, and analogue outboard gear gave Win options to capture the dynamic performances on the album. “It was like being a kid in a candy store,” says Win.

“It was important for the album to sound massive,” says Troy. “It was a much bigger sound than anything that I’ve released before. As soon as we heard the first takes in the control, we were blown away. We knew that we captured something special. It sounded fantastic.”

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MUSICIANS

TROY REDFERN – VOCALS, GUITARS
RON ‘BUMBLEFOOT’ THAL – GUITARS (TRACK 5)
DARBY TODD – DRUMS
DAVE MARKS – BASS, PIANO, KEYS, PERCUSSION
RECORDED & MIXED AT ROCKFIELD STUDIOS BY PAUL ‘WIN’ WINSTANLEY
ASSISTANT ENGINEER – JOE JONES
MASTERED BY FRANK ARKWRIGHT AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

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TROY REDFERN online:

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