OPEN SKY

Newly remastered for its first ever vinyl release and includes 3 bonus tracks and stunning new artwork in a 2 disk gatefold sleeve format.

On the isle of Hinba, the Spirit was poured upon Columba for three days and nights. He remained alone in a bolted house throughout this time, neither eating nor drinking. Yet rays of light of immeasurable brilliance could be seen flooding out by night through chinks in the door and the keyhole. Columba was heard to sing spiritual songs and chants that had never been heard before.

"...It must be said Miss Hogg always did have a near mystical voice and in both Bainbridge and Donockley they have two musicians who know how to produce soundscapes, big, vast spaces which fill with melody and passion. If there's anything that Open Sky plugs into it’s that feeling of endless horizon and a certain mood of longing. Donockley's own near classical solo album of last year held a similar atmosphere and here it's expanded with slices of exuberant pipe reeling like Castlerigg, or the plaintive harp of guest Billy Jackson as well as Joanne's hymnal vocal that sweeps all before it in eternal waves. In fact the core of the album is a theme which tries to reconcile the natural, spiritual and actual, no small task, but producer Bainbridge along with the assured hands of Calum Malcolm and Nigel Palmer have a fair stab. All told if you've not been near Iona for a time, this is a good one to open a new account with." Simon Jones - Froots Magazine Dec 2000

"Open Sky.. shows that the band are not afraid to stretch out further and add new dimensions to the band's sound...if anything, the band are moving towards ever more ambitious pieces that are more challenging and rewarding for the listener... deeply moving..thought provoking synth atmospheres that just make your spine tingle...Iona's new music is totally uplifting and Open Sky is undoubtedly their best yet." New Horizons May 2000

“Iona’s elegant brand of Celtic rock is spiritually influenced yet imbued with Celtic mysticism, progressive yet retrospective, and a study in the fusion of traditional and modern music that will surely achieve classical status in the decades to come….Listen for the classically trained musicianship, the state of the art recording quality, the deep sincerity behind every note of every song, and the traditional Celtic sounds put to complex, layered structures … you can’t fault this music! All you can do is compare it with the rest of Iona’s discography: There’s probably more energy to Open Sky than previous albums, and it comes across as the most focused and well composed album to date….Iona remains alone in its sub-genre of Celtic rock, yet from here a certain spirituality just may spread to the rest of the world through this music.” www.seaoftranquility.org

SIDE A

1. Woven Cord
2. Wave After Wave
3. Open Sky

SIDE B

1. Castlerigg
2. A Million Stars
3. Light Reflected
4. Hinba

SIDE C

1. Songs Of Ascent - Part 1
2. Songs Of Ascent - Part 2
3. Songs Of Ascent - Part 3

SIDE D

1. Friendship’s Door
2. Glittering Surf
3. Lament For The World
4. A Dhia Gheigil

(Last three tracks taken from the Open Sky CD Companion Disk on 2020’s Iona box set ‘The Book of Iona’)

PERSONNEL:

JOANNE HOGG - Vocals, Piano, Keyboards DAVE BAINBRIDGE - Guitars, Keyboards, E-Bow & Indian Guitars, Piano, Bouzouki, Autoharp, Vocals PHIL BARKER - Bass FRANK VAN ESSEN - Drums, Percussion, Violins, Vocals TROY DONOCKLEY - Uilleann Pipes, Low Whistles, Tin Whistle, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, E- Bow Guitar, Portuguese Mandola, Harmonium

SPECIAL GUEST:

Billy Jackson - Celtic Harp, Clarsach

Recorded at Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire, Visions of Albion, Yorkshire, The Snooker Room, Northern Ireland

Recorded by Nigel Palmer & Dave Bainbridge

Billy’s harps recorded in Scotland by Calum Malcolm

Mixed by Nigel Palmer & Dave Bainbridge at Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire and Gemini Studio, Ipswich in March 2000

Mastered by Denis Blackham

Remastered for vinyl by Nigel Palmer, Lowlands Masters, 2023

Produced by: DAVE BAINBRIDGE

Project Coordination for Open Sky Records: Robin Baxter-Ayling

Project design and sleeve concepts: Dave Bainbridge

Layout and artworks: Michael Inns

Additional photography: Mary Fleeson