Invocation is the name of the exhilarating new 11-track album from slide guitar virtuoso Troy Redfern. The album, released by RED7 Records on May 17, 2024, will be available in limited edition coloured vinyl, black vinyl, plus two different CD artwork designs. All formats are available to pre-order from TroyRedfern.com.
The third single from the album “The Strange” is available to stream here. The video can be enjoyed below.
Says Troy, “'The Strange' is about the realisation that a relationship is falling apart in slow motion. Despite how difficult it may seem to break away, it’s about the sense that life is slipping by is an ever-present feeling.”
“The Strange” explodes with bold, powerful guitars and a slide guitar melody that suggests we’re not in Kansas anymore. This is blues rock, but not as we know it. Troy is known for taking his disparate array of influences and throwing them into his fiery musical furnace to forge something that is both authentic and unique. “The Strange” is no exception! Sure, there are elements of blues, glam, and hard rock but the result is a sound that is unmistakeably his own. Everything recorded is organic. No drum samples or studio trickery, just pure, unadulterated rock ‘n’ roll.
Troy has proved time and time again that his cup of inspiration is not only full, but runneth over, writing and release albums at an unprecedented pace and judging by the strength of “The Strange” and the two previous singles “Getaway” and “The Fever”, the new album Invocation, promises to be his best yet.
Over the course of his last two albums The Fire Cosmic (2021) and Wings Of Salvation (2022) Troy found his true voice stylistically in terms of writing and playing, but with Invocation he created a collection of outstanding new songs that carves out his own identity as to who he really is an artist.
Troy headed to the west Wales coast with his trusty 1929 National Triolian resonator guitar for a week of solitude in a remote Sheppard’s hut to sketch the initial song ideas for the new album.
“It was important for me to really clear my mind of all distractions so I could really focus on what I wanted to write on this album and the direction I wanted to take it in,” says Troy. “I tried some unorthodox approaches to song writing that included meditation where I would imagine hearing a song in my mind, as complete as possible including visualising the performance live. Next, I would pick up the guitar and capture the idea on my phone. That way I wasn’t led by what I would usually do when I pick up the guitar. It was a very freeing, powerful experience, and a discipline that I’ll use again to write more songs in the future.”
For the new album, Troy decided that he’d bring back the production team that worked on The Wings of Salvation. Dave Marks was brought back again for production duties, along with Jo Webb for mixing and mastering. Lee Russel’s Dulcitone Studios in Kettering was again the logical choice to record Paul Stewart’s (The Feeling) drum tracks as the converted chapel has the perfect ambience for huge sounding rock drums.
Due to the streamlined process that Troy and producer Dave Marks employed on the previous album, Invocation was written, recorded, and mixed in just under six weeks.
“It really was great to be able to realise and bring to fruition these songs as quickly as we did,” recalls Troy. “It kept the ideas fresh and stopped them from becoming overworked and tired.”
With Invocation, Troy explores fresh musical territory, from the heavy, bone crushing slide riffs and big sing along choruses on “Van Helsing” and “Getaway” to the evocative, wind-swept western landscapes of “The Native” and “Blind Me”. After three albums in three years Troy continues to expand his musical horizons and keep his creative fire burning.
Tracklisting:
"The Strange"
"Getaway"
"Van Helsing"
"The Calling"
"Native"
"The Fever"
"All Night Long"
"Blind Me"
"Voodoo Priestess"
"Take Me High"
"The Last Stand"
"Getaway":
"The Fever":
