Now that we are halfway through November, it is likely at this stage that the next album has been pushed back.
As of yet, nothing has been officially stated, but my thoughts in regards to its release is that it won’t hit stores until December or January 2010 at the earliest. Seeing that Unearthed and Cartographer were released at the start of 2001 and 2008 respectively, there could be a similar pattern with the upcoming album. It seems like the Vonlichtens have a knack for releasing projects into the new year. Either that, or it’s just a case of good timing.
A launch around that timeframe however puts it closer in line with other new albums by groups like Two Steps From Hell and Globus, which also have large fan followings, as well as the newly formed Human Experimente project by Immediate Music co-founder Jeffrey Fayman. It’s going to be crowded over the next few months.
Even if mixing and mastering of the new E.S. Posthumus album was to be completed right now, a short amount of time needs to be allocated to produce an initial amount of copies and promote the new work; reasons why a November release would be very tight. If there’s something to learn from the Paradigm interview, quite obviously, the process of editing their tracks is incredibly laborious.
“The trick is knowing when to stop working with a track…”
Helmut Vonlichten
In hindsight, one of the wonderful things with independent music of this nature is that the competitive vibe is not as apparent as the mainstream music industry. The primary objective is always to sell as many copies as possible (physical and digital distribution), though it does not matter that so many albums will be coming out in a short window. Fans of Globus will probably enjoy what E.S. Posthumus has to offer and vice-versa.
Comparisons will be made, favourites will be drawn and the merits of each style will be discussed, but most fusion-based orchestral listeners will be open to the innovative and experimental ideas that all of these different composers provide, even if some of the music will raise some eyebrows (e.g., rap or pop inspired vocals).
The composers involved have their own unique styles for composing, recording and mixing music, and as long as they keep pumping out fresh tunes, there’s something for any fan and they are willing to spend the money to listen to it.