ALBUM NOTES:

Electric Atlas is a vocal album issued in a one-off print run of 500 copies issued on the Sonoluxe label.

With seven songs in the can, Nelson revealed plans for the album (which was then untitled) on the Dreamsville forum in March 2015.  By early April the album had a working title of Bright Magic, and was completed in May.  The album title was changed to Electric Atlas in August, and was released on 16 November 2015.  After just five days of being on sale Electric Atlas was taken off sale with the remaining copies sold through email enquiries.


CURRENT AVAILABILITY:

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Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store.

IF YOU LIKED THIS ALBUM, YOU'LL PROBABLY ENJOY:
Dream Transmission Pavilion, Special Metal, Blip 2, Swoons and Levitations, Perfect Monsters,
Modern Moods for Mighty Atoms, Shining Reflector, Clocks & Dials, Dreamshire Chronicles


BILL'S THOUGHTS:

"It's been a while since I've released a vocal album so I think that needs to be addressed.  I have one vocal album in the queue, as mentioned elsewhere in these threads.  Its title is Bright Magic, but I've kind of gone off that as an album title.  So, I've now decided to re-title it Electric Atlas.  It contains the same songs and even has a track titled "Bright Magic" so there's really no change other than the album title itself.

One of the reasons for that change is that Bright Magic suggests similar artwork to that used on Swoons and Levitations.  Ie: some sort of magical/conjuring image.  I don't really feel I want to repeat that, so the title Electric Atlas sends things off in a different visual direction.  I'm not sure quite what direction yet but we'll see what turns up."
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"The meaning of the title of the album, in case anyone is wondering, is a two-fold thing: An atlas, as in a book of maps, which we can use to chart the world and our path through it whilst we inhabit this mortal coil, but brought into a contemporary context with the 'electric', (ie: digital), connotation suggesting something more akin to a sat-nav unit.  And 'Atlas', as in the mythological giant, holding the world on his shoulders, as we all must do whilst incarnate, ie: Man as the creature who must carry the weight of the world by the electrical virtue of global communication and shared information."
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"Well, I know very little about music in the 'traditional' sense, (if there is such a thing).  I have no understanding of music theory, am unable to read or write music down, have given up of ever understanding much about it in an academic sense.  So, does that put me in the 'non-musician' category I wonder?  Well, I guess I'm on the side of non-musicians when it comes down to it.

I believe there is such a thing as 'the talented listener', people who can hear good music and appreciate it fully without having a formal background in music at all.  Music is, ultimately, in the soul, not on paper nor in the head...it comes from deep in the heart and travels to other hearts without the need for explanation or mediation.  It just is.  And those of us capable of recognising this can appreciate and enjoy our music without ever needing to make a single sound of our own."


FAN THOUGHTS:

Mayor of Dreamsville:

"I was sitting in my little home studio, headphones in position, deeply engrossed in Electric Atlas, when my little boy Zac trots in (he's 2 at the end of this month), he saw me with the headphones on and was dying to have a go, so I sat him down and let him listen to the track that was playing ("Mind is a Harbour From Which Dreams Set Sail").  After listening and smiling away for a while, he removed the headphones, looked at me and said, "Nice!"

So, there you have it, Electric Atlas has had its first official review and it is NICE.

On a personal note - this CD is an absolute gem, right up my street and highly recommended!"


Peter:

"From the get-go, this one just grabs you and shakes you.  It is a well-named album, as it is like a tour through the Bill Nelson world.  From snarling rockers, to dreamy soundscapes, Bill's in good form on this one (as always!).  "Mind is a Harbour From Which Dreams Set Sail" stands out for me...along with "Drift of Narcissus", though there are a bunch of gems here.  Superb, Bill!"


Tourist in Wonderland:

"Always great to hear a vocal album from Bill and to be honest, I think he strikes a very good balance between instrumental and vocal output, in the fact that there are obviously more instrumental only recordings released, which is fine...but, when a vocal offering does eventually surface, it's a real treat and met with rare anticipation and excitement...it's all good stuff!

Seriously, I think Electric Atlas is right up there with Bill's best recordings..Stereo Star Maps, Alchemical Adventures, Gleaming, Golden Melodies, Return to Jazz of Lights, Theatre of Falling Leaves, to name a few...Yes, I think Electric Atlas can easily sit at the same table as this exalted company!..."


fricker:

"Wow!  Great album Bill, lovely to hear you singing.  Full of lots of surprises is this album and I am loving it.  Well done especially with your health probs of late, to listen you would never know.  Thanks."


Dar:

"If I had to pick a favorite thing, it would be the uncanny ability to keep pouring out the well-articulated melodies.  Guitar tone would be a close second.  Along with impeccable groovesmanship, well, we're most of the way to nearly-guaranteed sonic bliss."


TheMikeN:

"There's no one theme or approach: some songs just rock while others are edgy and rhythmic but with guitar that finds so much room to move and explore that there is time for jazz to glow brightly from the disc.  The moods, styles and genres flow in and out of each other because Bill has placed himself in easy reach and total control of all of them.  Let's face it, if you are going to record and release new music for 45 years, what you're going to gain is the ability to be completely at ease within any rhythmic, melodic and lyrical structure that feels good at the time you invent it."


alec:

Bill Nelson Album of the Year?:  "I'm tempted to say Electric Atlas at this point because all the luxurious feelings I get listening to "Tonight Picasso Dreams", and for Bill satisfying my Nelson/Foxx collaboration fantasy with the first track, "Atoms and Electrons."


Quinault:

"It certainly does live up to the glowing comments.  I waited in anticipation, not knowing what to expect, and yet when it finally came - it exceeded my expectations!  And my Bill music meter is set pretty high!"


Merikan1:

"Electric Atlas is simply fantastic.  It has all of the elements that I love in your music.  It's all there in one package...
It would be a great introduction to your recent music."

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