“Searching For The Spark” is a 22-disc box set celebrating the work of award-winning guitarist, Steve Hillage.
Since he began playing guitar in the early 1960s, through his time with Gong and beyond as a solo artist and one half of System 7, Steve Hillage has embodied what it means to be a truly progressive musician.
One of the most respected and beloved players arising from the Canterbury Scene, “Searching For The Spark” shines a spotlight on his solo work, chronicling his very first recording in 1969 through to 1991's self-titled debut with System 7.
In addition to gathering his eight solo albums, “Searching For The Spark” also houses seven albums of live material and no less than four discs of demos and archive recordings, many previously unreleased, direct from Steve's own personal collection.
Brimming with rare photos, press clippings, reviews and commentary from Hillage himself, the box set includes a lavish, hardback 188 page book documenting Steve’s life and times written, with Steve's full co-operation, by acknowledged Gong expert, Jonny Greene.
Musical Highlights from “Searching For The Spark” include:
* Over 40 minutes of previously unavailable material from 1972's Khan mkII line-up.
* Numerous rarities from Hillage's archive of demo recordings ranging from pre-“Fish Rising” through to post- “For To Next”.
* Unfinished tracks from the '80s and numerous demos leading up to System 7 also shed new light on Hillage's pioneering work as a composer and ambient musician.
“Searching For The Spark” is an ambitious, immensely detailed retrospective.
For existing fans, it offers unprecedented access to the guitarist's archives. For the new generations coming to Hillage through his ongoing work with System 7, it provides everything needed to explore Steve's unique musical universe. For old and new admirers alike, everything from his formative years to his mature work as an unflinchingly forward-looking musician is gathered together in one truly encyclopaedic collection.
“Searching For The Spark” is nothing less than the definitive statement upon an impressively rich and diverse career.
The set includes:
• Arzachel.
• Khan's Space Shanty, 1972.
• All eight of Hillage's classic Virgin Records solo albums – Fish Rising, L, Motivation Radio, Green, Open (and Studio Herald), Rainbow Dome Music, Open, For To Next (and its companion And Not Or) – plus bonus tracks.
• System 7 (first album).
• Live in Deeply Vale, 1978.
• Two BBC performances from The Paris Theatre recorded in December 1976 and November 1979.
• Eight CDs featuring recordings taken from Steve's personal archive, including four superb concert performances (Brighton Dome November 1977, Munich April 1979, Hammersmith Odeon November 1979, The Steve Hillage Band Live At The Gong Family Unconvention 2006) and four discs (Sparks Volumes 1-4) packed with previously unheard and unreleased tracks, demos and alternate takes.
Accompanying the recordings is a magnificent 188 page 32,000 word coffee table book. Written and assembled by Steve Hillage and Gong family expert Jonny Greene, the book contains hundreds of rare and previously unseen photographs and cuttings.
In addition there are three reproduction promo posters, two lyric booklets, a high quality enamel badge, a 60 page scrap book containing more photographs and cuttings, and a certificate of authenticity signed by Steve Hillage and his creative partner Miquette Giraudy.
