SA rockers Prime Circle launch ‘deluxe’ album ahead of European tour

10 mai 2016 - 15:31

Published under the Creative Commons Licence

One of South Africa’s biggest rock bands of the past decade, Prime Circle are releasing a 'deluxe' edition of their acclaimed 2014 album Let the Night In to coincide with their upcoming European tour

South African band Prime Circle will rock some of the biggest stages in Germany and Austria.

Let the Night In – Deluxe Edition is the band’s first official European release, and went on sale globally on Friday 13 May ahead of their tour of Germany and Austria, while will include festival appearances alongside rock royalty Iron Maiden, Garbage, Slayer and Iggy Pop.

The new album features the 13 tracks from the two-time South African Music Award-winning album Let the Night In, originally released in 2014, including the singles ‘Gone’ and ‘Doors', as well as four new original songs and a live, unplugged version of the title track.

The first single, ‘Ghosts’, was released on radio on 6 May 2016, accompanied by a haunting music video that marks the co-directorial debut of Prime Circle frontman Ross Learmonth.

Learmonth said there is a ghostly element to the music video, which was shot on 4K ultra-high definition digital film and features a beautiful pas de deux between two of South Africa’s top female ballet dancers, in addition to a dynamic performance by the band members themselves. “I worked alongside Gavin Davis, who is my partner in the concept studio MadHouse,” he explained. “Sometimes other people don’t ‘get’ you, so we decided to just do it ourselves. The song is about how people get over things like a bad relationship or depression, and stand up and move on again.”

The release of the 18-track Let the Night In – Deluxe Edition sees a further progression of the band’s ever-evolving rock sound, which has ventured into bold new territories since Prime Circle was formed 15 years ago. “The album marked a change of style for the band, and the extra tracks add a little more grit,” says Learmonth. “They are certainly not B-sides – they take the album to another level!”

Fans who already own the original Let the Night In album have the option to purchase the new tracks individually online, but Learmonth says the principal aim of the deluxe edition is to make a strong impression on the European market. The band has been making steady inroads in Europe, touring regularly over the past few years, but is now hoping to reach new audiences during their upcoming appearances on the 2016 European summer festival circuit.

Highlights of the upcoming tour include performances at two major German rock festivals - Rock im Revier in Dortmund on 26 May and Rockavaria in Munich on 28 May – before they head to Austria for Rock in Vienna on 4 June. Aside from appearing on the bill at these massive rock festivals, the band will also perform smaller club gigs in Hannover, Dresden, Leipzig, Flensburg, Hamburg, Freiburg, Saarbrücken and Mannheim during May and June.

The band has also been invited by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to perform live at the Champions Festival on 27 May at the Piazza del Duomo in the centre of Milan, Italy ahead of Europe's largest football event, the UEFA Champions League Final, at Milan's Stadio San Siro the following day. According to frontman Learmonth, “Prime Circle is very proud to participate in this mega-event and guarantee the football fans a top-class rock performance!”

Prime Circle played a ‘farewell’ gig at the Centurion Teater in Gauteng on Saturday 14 May before jetting off to Europe.

Confirmed dates and venues for the tour are as follows: