Haken are pleased to announce therelease of 'Affinity', their fourth full-length studio album and the follow-upto their acclaimed 2013 album 'The Mountain', on the29thApril 2016.Head overto the band's website todiscover a teaser for the album:
https://hakenmusic.com/haken-album-four-press-release
Since releasing their highly praised EP'Restoration' in 2014, Haken have been making waves on the live circuit, includingappearances at high-profile festivals such as Hellfest, Ramblin' Man Fair, BeProg! My Friend and Cruise to the Edge as well as supporting the likes ofBetween The Buried & Me and The Neal Morse Band, a double headline UK tourwith Leprous, and their first NorthAmerican headline tour.
Recorded during the winter months of 2015,'Affinity' marks a new approach to the song-writing process for Haken, asvocalist Ross Jennings explains;"It is the most collaborative we have everbeen on an album. We wanted to develop and expand our sound by having everymember contribute initial ideas from the very beginning of the process. Itnaturally takes longer to filter throughthe mass of material and fit it alltogether coherently, but this approach has helped to create somethingcompletely fresh whilst maintaining the core elements of Haken's sound."
The band once again called upon Jens Bogren atFascination Street Studios (Opeth, Devin Townsend, Between The Buried And Me)for mixing and mastering duties."He is a wizard in thisdepartment! We arealways confident his mix will bring out the best from our performance and thisis no exception,"remarks keyboardist Diego Tejeida.
Like much of Haken's previous music, 'Affinity' isfull of surprises and 'The Architect', the album's centrepiece, is noexception. Blasting through a dizzying array of instrumental insanity coupledwith down-tempo atmospheric tenuity, Haken welcomes friend and Leprous frontmanEinar Solberg mid-song for a spot of guest vocals! Just one of many twists andturns throughout this 60-minute musical lobotomy, Haken's 'Affinity' will openup a new dimension in this UK sextet's trajectory.
'Affinity' will arrive as a Limited Edition MediaBook (incl. bonus disc with instrumentals), 180g Gatefold 2 LP Edition (incl.album on CD), Standard CD Jewel Case, Digital Download and DeluxeDigitalDownload (incl. instrumental version of the album as bonus).
The fulltrack-listing for the album is as follows:
"Affinity" Track Listing:
1. affinity.exe [1:24]
2. Initiate [4:16]
3. 1985 [9:09]
4. Lapse [4:44]
5. The Architect [15:40]
6. Earthrise [4:48]
7. Red Giant [6:06]
8. The Endless Knot [5:50]
9. Bound By Gravity [9:29]
The band hasalso confirmed theirfirst European tour dates, and you can find those below:
European Tour 2016:
26.05.16London, The Garage
[UK]27.05.16Zoetermeer, Boerderij [NL]
29.05.16Paris, Divan du monde [FR]
30.05.16Pratteln, Z7 [CH]
31.05.16Lyon, Marché Gare [FR]
02.06.16Barcelona, Razz 2 [ESP]
03.06.16Madrid, Caracol [ESP]
04.06.16Minnuendo Festival [ESP]
06.06.16Milan, Legend Club
[ITA]07.06.16Munich, Backstage [GER]
08.06.16Karlsruhe, Substage [GER]
09.06.16Aschaffenburg, Colos Saal [GER]
10.06.16Berlin, Maschinenhaus [GER]
11.06.16Warsaw, Progresija [POL]
14.06.16Stockholm, Bryggarsalen [SWE]
15.06.16Oslo, John Dee [NOR]
16.06.16Copenhagen, Spillestedet Stengade [DEN]
17.06.16Hamburg, Logo [GER]
18.06.16Cologne, Gebäude 9 [GER]
19.06.16Stone Free Festival
[UK]
