Anathema let music take control

Anathema's Daniel Cavanagh says the band let their music dictate its own direction on upcoming album Distant Satellites – and one of their only deliberate moves was to introduce more electronic sounds to their tracks.

Their tenth studio record is due for release on June 9 via Kscope – view the video for The Lost Song Part 3 below, which will be released as a single on June 2.

Cavanagh says in a documentary clip, also below: “What we try to do is be intuitive about it all. If a melody comes down from wherever, we try to let the music guide us, rather than the other way round.

“Sometimes we’ll have to take the music in a certain direction – but more often you’re listening rather than guiding; you’re listening to where the music wants to go.”

He hails bandmates John Douglas and Vincent Cavanagh for their “penchant and talent for electronica,” adding: “It’s something they’ve done really well.”

Douglas says of the follow-up to 2012’s Weather Systems: “We haven’t changed so much musically; it’s a natural progression. We’ve involved a little more electronics – something we’ve been interested in for years.”

Distant Satellites is available for pre-order in a range of formats, including three-disc deluxe version with a 44-page book.

Anathema play an acoustic set at the last-ever Celebr8 festival in London at the weekend, followed by a brief UK tour as part of a wider European trek:

Jun 12: Leamington Spa Assembly (acoustic)

Jun 13: Download festival

Jun 15: Gloucester Cathedral (acoustic)

Sep 18: Belfast Limelight

Sep 19: Dublin Button Factory

Anathema interview clip

Anathema: The Lost Song Part 3

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Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.