Annatar at Phantasium:
Annatar has been rehearsing in a large storage space of approximately 12 x 5 metres for some time now, in the Schiehal in Delft. We shared this space with the bands Ugly Sin (featuring our former drummer Bram Quettier) and Audio Daycare. However, in July Ugly Sin have occupied a new rehearsal room. The free space this (temporarily) gives us offers us possibilities we cannot waste.
Refurbishing
In its original state, the storage is not an ideal rehearsal space: the place is very poorly insulated. The ceiling height is approximately 6 metres, but the walls (gipsum board panels on a metal frame) only reach to 4 metres. Because of this large gap, the room is almost impossible to heat in winter, draughty, and we had a lot of noise nuisance of other bands on the same floor (and vice versa). On top of that, in summer the room (on the top floor of the Schiehal, underneath a large flat roof) is even hotter than outside!
Together with Audio Daycare, a plan was made for refurbishing and insulating our rehearsal space. The 'quiet' summer months will be used to put these to practice. All our equipment has been moved aside, and with found or given materials (plastic foil and PIR insulation board) we have started closing the gap above the walls, and the ceiling itself. We will also replace the electrical system, to resolve some small inconveniences we've been having. Lots of work, but we expect it will be well worth the hassle!
New roommate
The departure of Ugly Sin also leaves room for a new occupant, which we've found in 'our' technician Dave Schinkel. Dave is now the main tenant of the rehearsal space, and will be building a fully insulated cabin which he'll be using as his studio, with a control room and a vocal booth. The rehearsal space itself will be used as a studio. On the 'roof' of the cabin a hangout will be created for the bands, as well as some storage space.
On our forum we'll keep you updated on our progress, with pictures of course! Keep a close eye on this thread!
After having be without Liesbeth for a while due to the operation on her vocal cords, we’ll now have to miss Daniel for a while too: after the semifinals of the world soccer championship in South Africa of July 7th (Netherlands – Uruguay) he has suffered some serious injuries to his right lower leg, disabling him to play drums for a while.
During a game of street soccer after the match, the ball flew onto the roof of a school and Daniel went after it to get it back down. When climbing back down, he accidentally stepped through a window that had been invisible from the rooftop, lost his grip and fell. In his fall, his leg got stuck behind the broken glass, resulting in a deep cut to the bone. A tendon and some nerves were also cut.
Daniel was taken to the AMC hospital by ambulance, where his tendon and arteries were rejoined. Right now he’s doing well, everything functions and appears to recover properly. For the time being, the feeling in the sole of his right foot is gone but this is expected to come back in time. We wish Daniel all the best and a swift recovery and rehabilitation, and hope to be back on stage together soon. Of course we will keep you informed on his recovery here.
Funny detail: the sutured wound closely resembles the capital A of the Annatar-logo... Or, as Daniel puts it: "I carved the Annatar-logo into my leg because I miss Annatar so much =)"
Obviously, this leaves us with a practical problem, with gigs and the recording of an album planned. We’re searching for a temporary replacement to help us out. Expect news soon!
This Sunday, June 20th, we will appear on the radioshow "Wouter kijkt achterom" ("Wouter looks back") on RTV Betuwe. On April 18th, Jeroen's other band The Bullfight appeared in the same show and he eagerly and shamelessly took the opportunity to plug our EP. "Reflection" was played and appreciated, resulting in an invitation which we gladly accepted.
So now it's our turn! During the full two hours, we will appear as guests and co-host the show. Host Wouter van Zandelingen will take us back into the past and history of Annatar, and will play music we requested that we like or that has inspired us. Of course a lot of attention will be given to Annatar as is NOW, our new EP "Reflection" will be played, and during the second half of the show we'll be playing some live songs acoustically! Thankfully, Liesbeth's vocal cords have completely recovered from her surgery and we're eager to share!
The show is broadcasted in the Betuwe area on cable on 91.4 MHz, and in the ether on 106.2 MHz and 105.1 MHz (for the exact area, see this link). Unfortunately, RTV Betuwe does not have an online webcast. But recordings of the show will be available for download on this webpage (keep a close eye on the 'Updates' area in the bottom left)!
As promised, today we released our brand new EP! You can listen to and even download it from the Media page! For those of you who would like to order, you can place your order in the Merchandise page. Unfortunately there was a problem at the press company, and we do not have the right CDs yet. But they will be here soon, so place your order today and be the first to get it! Besides this it will, of course, be sold at every gig from now, so join us on tour!
Apart from our EP, we have not been idle. As you can see the entire website is updated and a new photoshoot was done. New photos will soon be seen at the Media page.
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