First Steps Into...

Released
album Track Listing

Allies
First Steps.....Last Stand
Holding Ground
The Electric Complement
Gaining Time
100's & 1000's
Look To Your Laurels
Down The Days
Red & Shine
What Can Be Done to Right A Wrong
Distant But Not Forgotten Shores
Writing Home
Last of Old England

Details First Steps Into...

Blue States, Memphis Industries’ first signings and mainstay of the label, return with their fourth album “First Steps Into…”.

With “First Steps Into…” Blue States return from whence they came – to being, to all intents and purposes, a one man band as they were on first album “Nothing Changes Under the Sun”. Having previously worked with vocalist Tahita on second album “Man Mountain” and turned into a fully fledged 3 piece on the third, “The Soundings”, Blue States is once again the sole work of Andy Dragazis, save for the able assistance of Sam Walker on drums and a string section. Heavily treated vocal duties are shared between Dragazis and Serena Strong.

The album was recorded in Dragazis’ studio in Whitechapel, according to a schedule based around the next door mosques’ prayer time, and interrupted frequently by angry Imams.

Beginning with “Allies” and its other worldly vocal line, it’s as melodically dense and richly textured as you’d expect from Blue States. Taking inspiration from Vangelis, Aphrodite’s Child, The Moody Blues, David Axlerod and Joe Meek, Dragazis weaves a rare subtlety through the album, climaxing in “Last of Old England” which builds from the bells of a Greek Orthodox church to an string laden climax replete with Zeppelin drums. Lovely.

In between working on “First Steps…” Dragazis found time to produce and arrange ex-label mates and new Interscope signings The Pipettes’ album “We Are the Pipettes”, record his mates, Eighteenth Day of May’s debut album and join glam/prog outfit Zan Pan (whose first single ‘Sirens of Titan’ on new imprint Pigeon Coup Records is due to drop in July).

“First Steps Into…” is all set to be released by Memphis Industries on 27 August 2007. Watch out for the single Allies, released a week earlier with b side Pale House and Time Codeesque video by Doug Schachtel.