July 2006
New World Music release new 'Belly Dance' album

The album has been compiled by 'Amira' and features tracks from 'Eternal Egypt', 'Immortal Egypt' and 'Enchanted Egypt'.

New World Music have also just launched a new 'download' web site called newworldtunes

all my current NWM releases and most of my NWM back catalogue are available for download from here.

please watch this space for news of 'The Buddha Experience' and 'Spiritual Vitamins' becoming available on download.

myspace I have recently been spending more time on my profile at myspace, which is proving to be a fantastic way to meet fan's of the music as well as other artist's and musician's from around the World. Please feel free to use this link and drop by - Phil's Myspace ! while you are there please have a look at the new Expandis Myspace !

May 2006
New World Music re-release two milestone albums

Edge of Dreams and Shaman have both been digitally remastered and repackaged with new sleeve notes.

Edge of Dreams was my first album for NWM, released in 1986 it topped the NME 'New Age' chart and became my best selling album for many years.

Shaman was released in 1995 marking my first album to fully explore ethnic / esoteric soundscapes in the context of a modern production.

I have two small video's (mpeg4 format) available on my Downloads page - 'The Healing Circle' is a 3.30min edit taken from the 1st track on my recently re-released album Shaman featuring footage from a traditional Sussex bonfire. 'Master of the Universe' was recorded by Expandis back in 1981.

February 2006
New Releases -This year is shaping up to be an important time for me with a wide range of album releases planned. The first of which is a new album released on the 14th february called 'EASTERN MOMENTS' and is for now an 'online' only release !

The album is a collection of my favourite tracks from the 'BUDDHA EXPERIENCE' chill out compilations plus an exclusive new track called 'Afterglow' and will be available on the karmadownload
web site.

(I have been working on getting this material released for the last couple of years and I would highly recommend giving it a listen !)

I will be posting news on other releases here throughout the year - expect the unexpected !!

November 2005
Asher Quinn - I have just finished recording a new album with Asher called 'HIGH PLANES MUSIC' featuring 17 re-worked tracks with the focus on simplified arrangements and new vocal performances. The album also features Hungarian Gypsy singer Lila Mayi. Asher is looking for a distribution deal for this album.

I've also been busy Recording 3 new tracks for'EAST OF EAST', another release by Asher (more acoustic and mainstream singer/song-writer style, less of a 'new-age' sound than his previous albums !) This album along with 4 re-mastered back catalogue albums... THIS LOVE, STARDANCE, OPEN SECRET and SKETCHES OF INNOCENCE are available on GOOD HEART RECORDS in the Netherlands. Have a look at Asher's web site
for more details.

Poland - I spent most of September helping my partner Kay Sobolewska create an instalation in a gallery in 'Gorlice' a small town in Poland near the Slovakian border. Kay's work formed part of the towns 650th aniversary celebrations featuring documents and artwork centered on her family history.( Her father was a Polish refugee after WW2 )

The instalation also featured audio statements in English,Polish and German created for the event. The presentation to the local TV and media went very well with my 'Illusions' album providing a suitable musical backdrop !!

August 2005
Earthdance - Resident Earthdance film director Nick Cope is spending a month in Tibet filming material for a DVD project based around my 2003 album Tibetan Meditation.

Our re-mix of the Baghdaddies track 'I like it' is featured on a new compilation by Phil Meadley called 'Balkan Beats' due for release in September on the 'Manteca' label.

Simon Williams and I have been working on new and re-mix material, most notably from the album 'Turquise' by Dalinda on ARC music. In the next few weeks Simon will be travelling to India and Ireland while I will be in Poland gathering material for a new project.

Expandis - After a 20 year break new material is in the pipe line with Dave Miller making a rare visit to the UK next month. - The new 'Expandis' web site has been put on hold while resident artist John Wilde is off-line.

April 2005
New Web sites - As well as the new Earthdance web site work has started on a new site dedicated to all things 'Expandis' which will include a photo gallery, more free downloads, a few suprises along the way and shopping info. We are also developing DVD material for both new sites, including an educational video based on Simon Williams trip to the Gambia and a video of 'I'm not waving I'm drowning'. This is a screen shot from the 'Expandis' video.

Asher Quinn - Asher and I have been busy recording new versions of some of his old songs. They will be featured on his new back catalogue compilation albums due for release later this year on Good Heart records. We have also just finished putting the final touches to his new album 'East of East' due for release on the 1st May. Have a look at his web site
for more details.

February 2005
Coming soon - Simon Williams and I are launching a new site dedicated to promoting our 'Earthdance' productions. The new site will feature up to date news as well as shopping facilities for Earthdance related albums and DVD's.

Enchanted Egypt - My recent collaboration with Hossam Ramzy is receiving a warm welcome from all who hear it, which is much appreciated. Reviews are pencilled in for Wave magazine and Vision as well as the Creative link magazine, while a recent interview with New World Music about the album is available to read here.

November 2004
Enchanted Egypt - the long awaited follow up to Immortal Egypt - is now available from New World Music. You can get more info by going to my discography page.

And as a taster, special versions of two tracks from the album can be downloaded from here!

New World Music recently interviewed me about the new album for their magazine, a transcript of which will be available here, soon.
 
Albums now available on-line
All my current New World Music albums are now available as either complete albums or individual tracks on the web from two legal download sites - iTunes and Emusic.

Itunes is the Apple music download shop specialising in tracks formatted for the iPod. Tibetan Meditation is currently No. 9 in their New Age chart.

Emusic.com specialises in less mainstream music and artists, selling music in high end MP3 format. You don't need to have any additional software installed to browser their site or download the tracks you want.

 
May 2004
Enchanted Egypt - Hossam Ramzy and I have been putting the finishing touches to the song arrangements of the new album, our long awaited follow up to 'Immortal Egypt'. A wide range of instruments will be featured including the Magrouna, Kawala and Rebaba, as well as the Qanun (as shown right) played by Professor Maged Serour for the Enchanted Egypt sessions.

Earthdance
We will be making our fist live appearance under the name 'Earthdance' this year at the Glastonbury Festival (Friday 25th June at the Avalon Cafe). Film producer Nick Cope will be providing a live video show based on his film of 'Pollen' and the 'Zen Beats', and 'Buddha Experience' DVD's Simon Williams has been busy recording an album for 'Connecting Cultures' with new band Jokka Adda as well as producing French band OLEN'K's debut album.
 
Mandragora
Simon and I have recently appeared as characters in a new Sci Fi novel by Stephen Palmer titled 'Hallucinating' under our old bands name 'Mandragora', published by Cosmos Books (Wildside Press U.S.) have a look at his website for more details.
 
Poland
Maybe a little late, I know, but a big POZDROWIENIA to everyone in Poland - Happy May Day !!

Earlier news from January 2004
Zen Beats DVD - The original release date of this new dance compilation was put back from October last year as it was felt that it was too close to Christmas. The new release date is February 23rd, 2004. The sound track has been upgraded to include an enhanced 5.1 surround mix which sounds fantastic! The album is being distributed in the UK by 'Proper Music Distribution' - priced £21.99. See the discography for furhter details.

Enchanting Egypt - Work continues on the follow up to 'Immortal Egypt'. Hossam Ramzy and I have had a very productive trip to Cairo recording a wide range of instruments including performances of the magrouna, qanun, rebaba and oud.

Zen Connection 2 - 'One World Music' in Australia have now released their new chill out compilation, a follow up to their successful 1st release 'Zen Connection'. The new album includes an exclusive version of a track from my latest album 'Tibetan Meditation', have a look at their site for more details

Earlier news from September 2003

Zen Beats DVD - a new compilation of world/chill out influenced dance music is being released on October 23rd on DVD the visuals are being created by Libra (the same people who were responsible for the Buddha Experience DVD) the disc will also feature 5 extra video's including for the first time a video produced by Earthdance.

Immortal Egypt 3 - I have started working on a follow up to Immortal Egypt with Hossam Ramzy, as before we will be collaborating with Egyptian musicians in Cairo! We are planning on filming all the sessions so hopefully we will be able to create a great DVD version of the album.

Tibetan Meditation - is now available on New World Music - go to my Discography page for more details or the New World web site for purchase.

A special version of one of the tracks from 'Tibetan Meditation' is available for free on my Downloads page, and another exclusive version of one of the tracks will be featured on 'Zen Connection 2' released by One World Music in Australia. Have a look at their web site for more details.

Web Site offline! - for the last few weeks I have been having problems with the philthornton.com address, so much apologies all round if you have had trouble reaching the site or sending e-mails!

Earlier news from June 2003
Tibetan Meditation - my next album for New World Music - will be released at the end of the month. Originally conceived as a follow up to 'Tibetan Horn' my 1993 collaboration with Stephen Cragg (with the working title 'Visions of Tibet' ) for more details go to my discography page.

The album has now undergone a radical transformation, emerging as a much more Meditational sound while still retaining most of its original vision.

A special version of one of the tracks from 'Tibetan Meditation' is available for free on my downloads page.

Beyond The Buddha Experience - The Buddha Experience DVD is available at last from Disky Direct for £6.99 and should soon be online at Amazon.com, etc. The visuals range from moody slow motion footage through to hypnotic animated 'mandala' type effects.

At a running time of nearly 74 minutes this new compilation represents great value for money! For more details go to my discography page.

After Five - a new collection of 5 compilation albums has been released by Disky. 34 tracks from the Buddha Experience project are featured creating a fresh 'Lounge' atmosphere in this new context.

Zen Dance - a new album of up tempo dance music will be released later in the year! Watch this space for more details.
 

Earlier news from February 2003
2003 looks like being a very busy year with quite a few releases in the pipeline.
 
Visions of Tibet - my next album for New World Music should be released in a few weeks time - go to the downloads page for a sneak preview.
 
Zen Moods - a compilation of the most atmospheric tracks from the Buddha Experience Project is being released on DVD at the end of this month.
 
Zen Dance - a double album featuring 7 new tracks and 13 of the most up-tempo tracks from the Buddha Experience will be released a month later. A 14 track DVD of 'Zen Dance' will be released at the same time. Look out for more details in the next few weeks.
 
Studio Gambia Project - Simon Williams (my partner in the Earthdance production team) has successfully set up the new studio in the Gambia and is now recording traditional songs from the Karodinke, Susu, Jolla, Sarholley and Mandinke tribes. Hopefully this will lead to an album with a similar concept to last years Earthdance album 'Capoeira'.
 
Pictured right are 'Balanbata Society' - one of the first groups to use the new studio in the Gambia.
 
Bathtime Bliss - A re-release of my 1988 album 'From another sky' is now available from W.H. Smiths in Great Britain - for more details go to my discography page.
 
Meanwhile my most recent solo album 'Dreamscapes' - continues to gain valuable exposure in the U.S.A. most recently achieving 14th place in the Echoes top 25 albums for 2002.

Earlier news from October 2002
'Visions of Tibet' my new album for New World Music is almost finished and is scheduled for release early in 2003. Exotic soundscapes with a 'far east' flavour combined with chilled out grooves into a 'Journey' narrative. A three minute edit taken from the first track on the album is now available for free on the downloads page.

'Dreamscapes' has been receiving some very welcome exposure in the U.S.A. entering the NAV (New Age Voice Magazine) chart at No 5 as well as airplay on the Echoes syndicated radio show. I recently recorded an in depth interview for Echoes that was broadcast on the 19th September. Many thanks to all concerned for your help and enthusiasm !

'The Buddha Experience' project has now been included on the discography page. Thanks to all the DJ's who have been playing the promotional 12" single and providing valuable feedback. Keep up the good work ! The 'Earthdance' team have been playing this material out live featuring Moosa Mboob (master Gambian drummer) this has been very well received where ever we have appeared leading to plans for a new album and a permanent studio link with the Gambia.

Earlier news from June 2002
All 5 Buddha Experience compilation albums are now available from record shops in the UK and Europe. They can also be obtained from DISKY DIRECT by phoning 44 (0) 870 556 1165.

These double albums are being promoted with the release of a white label 12'' single featuring 4 tracks. This will be available to DJ's and radio stations able to help in the promotion. Please get in touch via email if you would like a copy.

The new album for New World Music ( working title 'Tibetan Horn 2' ) is progressing well and will hopefully be finished in time for a release later this year.

Earlier news from April 2002
Details of the new albums Capoeira and Native American Chants can now be found in the discography. Both albums are part of a series called 'Spiritual Vitamins' released in Europe by the new label Balance and Harmony.

My collaboration with Simon Williams continues to go from strength to strength. Under the name 'Earthdance' we have just finished our 13th compilation album of 'chill out' music. The first 10 albums are just about to be released under the heading 'The Buddha Experience' with the format of 5 double albums - zen meditation, zen dreams, zen chill out, zen trance and zen lounge. With the help of a wide range of musicians we have created a very appealing new sound influenced by our previous work as well as recent releases such as the 'Buddha Bar' albums by Claude Challe. Watch this space for details!

I have just started working on my next album for New World Music which will be a long awaited follow up to my 1993 album 'Tibetan Horn'.

Earlier news from December 2001
'Dreamscapes', my new album for New World Music, is released this month. A collection of eight tracks exploring my ideas on the subject, taking up my current musical narrative where my previous album 'Solstice' leaves off. Click here to go to the discography for more details and here for a preview of the cd artwork.

My new project Earthdance - a collaboration with Simon Williams - has its first release later this month. The album is called 'Capoeira' - a collection of tracks which take traditional Capoeira songs as the starting point and gives them a new perspective.

More details on this and other new Earthdance projects early in the new year.

Earlier news from July 2001
Work on the 'Dreams' album for New World Music continues to go well. Its shaping up to be a very interesting album which I am hoping to have ready for release by September.

The music from the 'Native American Medicines' video is being released on C.D. in October alongside a new album of music inspired by the Brazilian martial art 'Capoeira'. This is being released under the name 'Earthdance' a new production team featuring myself and Simon Williams from Mandragora. Both albums are coming out on a new label called 'Oracle', I will put up more info on this as details are finalised.

Thanks to everyone who has been in touch via the web site, your support and feedback is much appreciated! The site is undergoing its first update and now includes an open links page, an interview for a russian web site, more free downloads and new 'Bubble' pages, plus a site map on the way!

Earlier news from March 2001
New World Music re-release the 'Illusions' album this month. With a new cover and informative booklet, this new version also features a bonus track and makes a great introduction to my early New World Music albums. Click here for more information on the 'Discography' page.

Since the release of 'Solstice' in 1999, I have been working on many projects - from my next album for New World Music (with the working title of 'Dreams') to developing new sounds including the 'saz' (a type of turkish guitar), programming and experimenting in the studio, and working on new ways of performing and improvising. There's more information about the latter on the 'Apostles of the Interface' page.

I have been busy recording the music for a t.v. documentary - 'Native American Medicines and Cures' to be shown on the Discovery Channel in the U.S.A. and released on video by Talking Pictures, distributed by Outpost.

Also, I have been collaborating with other musicians, including Pete Zeldman (Steve Vai, Funkadelic, etc.) with a view to producing an album of 'progressive rock'. Go to the 'Glow Pony' page for more info.

And finally, I have finished re-mastering one of my early recordings - 'The Complete Home Expandis' (the master tapes for which had been lost since 1985!) See the 'Expandis' page for more information.

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