By 2010, Ra’s lead guitarist, David Groves, had left the band. With the arrival of two new members, Brian Jones on lead guitar and Richard Benjamin on vocals, it was decided to change the band’s name to RA RISING. Work subsequently began on recording new material.
Ra Rising, April 2010: Steve, Dai, Richard, Rob and Brian.
In 2010, I signed a publishing deal with Silk & Denim Publishers in Nashville, USA, for a composition titled SAM HAIN, which was intended for use in a horror film set in rural Ireland. Unfortunately, despite the initial interest, the director ultimately decided not to use the track.
Also in 2010, as part of a remix competition, I remixed Bryan Ferry’s SHAMELESS, taken from his OLYMPIA album. My version was titled SHAMELESS (ETHERICOM SPIRIT OF ’72 MIX).
In March 2011, a newly remastered version of my 1994 album MATRIX was released as a digital download through CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon and other online retailers.
In October 2011, Silk & Denim Publishers published another of my compositions, EXCITE!, followed in February 2012 by RUNNING FREE. Both tracks were subsequently assigned to VERTICAL POLE CHALLENGE, a Las Vegas-based reality television talent show which sadly ended not being made.
On 27 February 2012, my 1996 album RIDING THE STORM was reissued as a remastered digital download. This was followed on 9 May by the digital reissue of my 1999 album CONVERGENCE.
On 16 July 2012, LAST LIGHT (ALTERNATE VERSION) was released as a download-only single, followed a week later, on 23 July, by a remastered digital reissue of OPENER OF THE WAYS.
I next turned my attention to remastering my 1980s albums and making them available again digitally.
On 23 April 2013, my debut album FROM DISTANT SHORES (1983) was released as a remastered digital download, including the five bonus tracks that had previously appeared on the limited-edition 2009 CD-R.
Also released on 23 April was a compilation album comprising selected tracks from my 1985 album EVOCATIONS and 1986 album NEW HORIZONS.
On 20 May 2013, a further compilation featuring tracks from TIMELEVELS (1987) and WORLDS BEYOND (1988) was released.
This was followed on 27 May by another collection featuring material from PHASES (1989) and LABYRINTH (1990).
The final release in this series was CONTINUUM, which appeared on 9 December 2013.
LIVE FOR TODAY
By a rather remarkable coincidence, Dai Rees, the drummer with Ra, was also a great admirer of John Barry’s music, sharing my enthusiasm for the composer’s distinctive film scores. Together, we decided to develop a follow-up to my THE WORLD OVER album, this time incorporating vocals.
Work began with me composing new material while also drawing upon my extensive archive of previously unreleased recordings. Dai contributed lyrics to several of the compositions we selected, and gradually the foundations of the new album began to take shape.
Before the eventual release of the album, two versions of TUNNEL VISION, featuring vocalist Jerri Roberts, were made available as digital downloads on 17th March 2014: an Orchestral Version and a shorter Single Edit.
The Orchestral Version of TUNNEL VISION was also included on the audiobook edition of WHY ARE YOU PRETENDING TO BE NORMAL?, written by Dave Rees and Phil Friend.
Tragically, in September 2014, my wife Linda passed away. The accumulated weight of the circumstances and difficulties she had endured over the years had taken an enormous toll on her, and ultimately led to her passing.
The events leading up to it, and the loss itself, marked the darkest period of my life. For several years afterwards, I struggled to find my way and lost much of my sense of direction and purpose. However, I knew in my heart that Linda would have wanted me to continue making music. It was my music that helped me through those incredibly difficult years, providing me with some degree of sanity, comfort and, most importantly, a continuing purpose in life.
1 November 2014: RA RISING’s SEIZE THE DAY was released as both a physical CD and a digital download. The album was produced by Max Read of The Enid.
30 March 2015: LIVE FOR TODAY was released. Alongside its collection of songs and instrumental pieces, the album also included my recording of John Barry’s SUNNY GIRL.
13 February 2016: DJ Terry James Hawke of HFM Radio dedicated the opening session of his programme to Linda and interviewed me live on air.
Also in 2016, I was contacted by the Greek synthesist Thaneco, who suggested that we collaborate on an album together. I was already familiar with the distinctive style of music he was creating and greatly admired his work, so I was more than happy to accept his invitation.
The resulting album, EMPYREAL, was released on 20 January 2017 on Thaneco’s own record label.
29 December 2017: An old, previously unreleased instrumental composition of mine, written in 1994 and titled THE NEW YEAR’S WALTZ, was released as a digital download.
THE TRANCE DIMENSIONALS
In February 2016, I met with the legendary Nik Turner, a founding member of the influential space rock group Hawkwind, and we discussed the possibility of working together on an album.
I already had sufficient material written for a new project and decided to form a band, THE TRANCE DIMENSIONALS, as a means of bringing the music to life, with Nik taking centre stage as the group’s frontman.
I composed several pieces specifically with Nik in mind, particularly THUNDER RIDER INVOCATION and SEKHMET. The latter was deliberately conceived as a musical nod to Nik’s Egyptian-themed 1978 album XITINTODAY, reflecting some of the atmosphere and influences associated with that earlier work.
Angel Flame, the dancer who had performed in Nik’s Space Ritual and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, also agreed to join the project. Soon afterwards, Dave Anderson came on board to play bass on a new version of CHILDREN OF THE SUN, which he had originally co-written with Nik for Hawkwind’s 1971 album IN SEARCH OF SPACE.
Dave had previously played with the German group Amon Düül II and the Groundhogs, as well as contributing bass to the aforementioned Hawkwind album, to name but a few of his musical associations. Mr Dibs also made a guest appearance, providing vocals on the track TAKEN TO THE LIMIT.
With two of my fellow musicians from Ra Rising, drummer Dai Rees and bassist Rob Andrews (Clog), we began recording sessions for the project.
I recorded my guitar and keyboard parts in my home studio, while Dai and Clog recorded their contributions in Salford. In April 2018, the recording sessions continued at Foel Studio in Wales, where Angel, Nik and Dave recorded their parts, with Mike Bew engineering the sessions.
Dai, Angel, Dave, Nik, Steve and Clog. Photo by Mike Bew.
Also in 2018, Sally Oldfield, sister of Mike Oldfield, contacted me to ask whether I would be interested in collaborating with her on a series of videos to accompany the forthcoming limited deluxe edition of her THE ENCHANTED WAY compilation.
I was delighted and honoured to be asked and readily agreed. Over the following few years, until 2022, we worked together to produce fifteen videos for her official YouTube channel. It was a particularly enjoyable and rewarding collaboration.
24 June 2018: I was interviewed live on air by DJ Terry Hawke during his HAWKE CHILL-OUT SESSIONS programme on Harborough FM.
14 April 2019: My previously unreleased composition TOWARDS THE PAST, recorded in 1978, was included on FROM INNER TO OUTER SPACE: A CELEBRATION OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC (VOL. 1), a compilation released by Thaneco Records.
1 June 2019: My track BEYOND THE TOR, comprising the concluding section of EVOCATIONS 2 from my 1985 recordings, appeared on FROM INNER TO OUTER SPACE: A CELEBRATION OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC (VOL. 2), also released by Thaneco Records.
June 2019 finally saw the live debut of THE TRANCE DIMENSIONALS at the Sonic Rock Solstice Festival, held at Stoke Prior in Worcestershire, England.
The line-up for this first live performance comprised:
- Nik Turner – Saxophone and Vocals
- Angel Flame – Dance and Vocals
- Steve Hillman – Guitar
- Clog – Bass Guitar
- Dai Rees – Drums
- Andy Pickford – Keyboards
- Jez Creek – Cosmic Oscillations
Nik – photo by Kim Hadley.
Steve and Angel – photo by Harry Collison.
Dai, Nik and Clog – photo by Peter Stanley.
Also in 2019, I was approached by the Sleep Fuse label, which expressed an interest in releasing my 1985 album ASHTAR. I was very happy to agree, and in August 2019 the label issued an expanded, limited-numbered CD-R edition of the album.
23 August 2019: DESTINATION VOID, a single by THE TRANCE DIMENSIONALS featuring Nik Turner, was released as a digital download. The release is now deleted.
On 3 October 2019, my second collaborative album with Thaneco, CALL OF THE ANCIENTS, was released.
This was a particularly special project for me, as we decided to incorporate previously unheard recordings that I had made in 1978. Thaneco used these early recordings as the foundations around which he developed and constructed the new compositions, bringing together musical ideas from different periods of my career in a rather unique way.
9 December 2019: CONJUNCTION, a previously unreleased demo recording left over from the CONVERGENCE album sessions, was released as a digital download.
22 December 2019: A previously unreleased instrumental, ANGEL IN THE SNOW was released as a digital download.