NEW MODEL ARMY have announced a new live album. With a difference.
Sinfonia was recorded by the band in July last year at Berlin's Temprodrom venue with the Sinfonia Leipzig adding orchestral backing to a raft of NMA classics.
The songs were arranged for orchestra by violinist Shir-Ran Yinon, who appeared with the band on their 2015 live album Between Wine And Blood live album and with Justin Sullivan on his 2021 solo release Surrounded.
“There have been many examples of rock bands playing with orchestras but not many good ones," says Sullivan. "We felt that the most important thing was that it must not sound or appear like a band with an added orchestra but had to be a unified 40-piece band.”
“It felt like a big responsibility," says Yinon. "When the band and I started working on this project, we immediately agreed that it should not turn into ‘Justin Sullivan with orchestral accompaniment’ but must remain New Model Army. We all thought we had a unique opportunity to create something different and saw the orchestra as an integral and crucial part of it. The connection between the band, the conductor and the orchestra worked brilliantly.”
Set for release on 15 September through earMusic as a 2xCD and 3xLP set, initial pressings will include a DVD of the whole performance. It's available to pre-order here.
Pic by Jochen Melchior