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I Am The Manic Whale are unashamedly a progressive rock band. Whilst inspired by the sounds of many of the great progressive artists, particularly Genesis, Big Big Train, Spock’s Beard and Neal Morse, I Am The Manic Whale hopes to be able to bring something new to the table. Their intelligent thoughtful lyrics touch on a range of unusual and interesting subjects from a fresh modern perspective; from science fiction to the history of printing, from the decay of a derelict swimming pool to the British engineering marvel that is the Intercity 125 high speed train or the joy of interlocking block construction toys.
Members
Ben Hartley: drum kit, percussion, vocals
Michael Whiteman: bass guitar, bass pedals, 12 strings guitars, vocals
John Murphy: keyboards, murphatron, vocals
David Addis: acoustic, classical and electric guitars, vocals
I Am The Manic Whale announce new album release – Bumper Book Of Mystery Stories, on July 7th 2023
* Featuring special guests Ryo Okumoto (Spock’s Beard) and Sally Minnear (Dave Bainbridge/Celestial Fire) *
* Order now from iamthemanicwhale.bandcamp.com * * Maniacal Mystery Tour coming in November 2023 *
Following the success of 2020’s Things Unseen, I Am The Manic Whale have been hard at work back in the studio writing and recording their next release, the Bumper Book of Mystery Stories. The album, mixed by Rob Aubrey, is an independent release and is available now on CD and digital download .
Michael Whiteman (bass guitar/vocals) says “The idea for this album came from a dusty old book I discovered in a creepy second-hand bookshop many years ago. We have drawn inspiration for each piece of music from various mysterious stories and circumstances, some from real life, some pure invention, some based on folklore, some based on other works of fiction. Will you join us? Climb aboard the Ghost Train and let us take you on an extraordinary journey of mystery, wonderment, excitement and adventure!”
David Addis (guitar) says “The CD will be packaged in an unusual cross shaped digipak, with new original artwork by Sarah Joy, who has worked on all our releases. It’s looking amazing and we think fans will really enjoy the physical product. Alongside the CD we are also releasing a limited edition book; a collection of original short mystery stories written by members of the band, which will be available exclusively from our bandcamp page or our merch desk at gigs.”
Ben Hartley (drums) says “We are running a crowd-funding campaign to raise the funds for production of the physical CDs. Fans can support us simply by pre-ordering the CD album now from our bandcamp page, but there are a bunch of other treats available, including tee shirts, drum sticks and heads, music lessons, cover songs and even an acoustic house concert!”
John Murphy (keyboards) says “We are also extremely excited to announce that we will be doing a run of gigs in November to promote the album. We’re calling it the Maniacal Mystery Tour! We will be at the Musician (Leicester) on the 2nd and the Fiddler’s Elbow (Camden) on the 6th and are have also announced several other dates. We have been trying out some of the songs in recent gigs and I think people are really going to enjoy hearing them live.”
Michael added “Working with Ryo Okumoto on his album over the last few years has been amazing and I’m delighted that he offered to return the favour! He has added his inimitable Hammond organ, minimoog and piano playing to one of the songs on our new album. Nautilus is inspired by the Jules Verne book Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, and is a 14 minute epic that is going to prog your face off!”
With songs about such diverse subjects as vintage funfair rides, inexplicable medical cases, regional folk tales, children’s adventure books, and complex mathematical puzzles, I am The Manic Whale’s Bumper Book of Mystery Stories is set to befuddle your mind, startle your face, and take the prog world by storm. Climb aboard… if you dare!
Tracklist
1: Ghost Train (part 1)
2: Patient AB
3: Dream Fortune
4: Secret Passage
5: The Incredible David (featuring Sally Minnear)
6: Nautilus (featuring Ryo Okumoto)
7: Ernő’s Magic Cube
8: We Interrupt This Broadcast…
Michael and David met at school and have been making music together in various guises for over 20 years. They met Ben a few years later and John relatively recently. The first album, Everything Beautiful In Time was released in December 2015. Since then the band has undertaken a string of live performances with ever growing confidence and these have been very well received. Their second album, Gathering The Waters was released in October 2017. In February 2019 I Am The Manic Whale released their first live album, New Forms Of Life. Things Unseen was released in April 2020 and the Christmas Selection Box in December of the same year. Their fourth album, the Bumper Book of Mystery Stories was released in July 2023.
All our albums are unashamedly progressive rock. The band is inspired by many of the great progressive artists (Neal Morse, Genesis, the Flower Kings and Big Big Train) but hopefully is also able to bring something new to the table as well.
Things Unseen
(April 2020)
Tracklist
1. Billionaire
2. The Deplorable Word
3. Into The Blue
4. Celebrity
5. Smile
6. Build It Up Again
7. Halcyon Day
8. Valenta Scream
Gathering the Waters
(October 2017)
Tracklist
1. The Man with Many Faces 1. Billionaire
2. The Milgram Experiment 2. The Deplorable Word
3. The Lifeboatmen 3. Into The Blue
4. Strandbeest 4. Celebrity
5. I’ll Interlude You In A Minute 5. Smile
6. Stand Up 6. Build It Up Again
7. One (Hopeful Song)
Debut album
Everything Beautiful In Time
(December 2015)
Tracklist
1. Open Your Eyes – A song about how we can sometimes miss the beauty that is right in front of us.
2. Pages – A song about the history of the printed word
3. Princess Strange – A song about the dangers of cyber-bullying
4. Circles (Show Love) – A song about the abuse of media
5. Clock of the Long Now – A song about the 10,000 year clock
6. The Mess – A song about making the most of childhood
7. Derelict – A song about an abandoned swimming pool
