Marillion With Friends From the Orchestra 180g 2LP

Recorded at The Racket Club and Real World Studios, and with a running time of almost 80 minutes, "With Friends From The Orchestra" features nine classic Marillion tracks re-imagined and accompanied by the In Praise Of Folly String Quartet with Sam Morris (French Horn) and Emma Halnan (Flute).

You may not have heard of Marillion but either directly or indirectly, however, you have almost certainly felt the influence of one of the UK music scene's best-kept secrets.

Marillion's music is, by its nature, tough to sum-up but perhaps can be approximately described as musically-experimental-yet-emotional Rock, married to thought provoking, soulful lyrics - a powerful and moving cocktail which, for those who "get it", elicits extraordinary devotion. Its global fan base is impressive and hyper-engaged, with fans often traveling thousands of miles to attend live shows. Little wonder then, that the band was well-placed to harness this faith and trust to provide an alternative way of operating.

After over thirty years, the band shows no signs of slowing down and new generations of young fans are discovering the music for themselves. And there's plenty of it. With a catalogue of 18 albums behind them, having written music that draws on every genre Marillion can be considered Progressive not just musically, but in just about every sense.

The band has evolved into a vibrant and international musical force. To those who already love Marillion, the band is something special. To the uninitiated, it's a potential love affair waiting to happen.

In September 2017 Marillion won 'Band Of The Year' at the UK Prog Awards.

Today, any musician, artist, writer, or budding entrepreneur can quickly set up a crowdfunding campaign using established specialist companies like PledgeMusic and Kickstarter. Of course, this wasn't always the case and previously, artists in need of finance and exposure had little choice but to sign their rights away in often exploitative and one-sided business deals. It can be argued that every artist today owes Marillion a debt of gratitude because now there is another way forward.

As far back as the late 1990s, Marillion's fans sponsored an entire US tour responding to an appeal posted on the fledgling Internet, donating $60,000. In 1997 the band responded creating its own website (the first rock 'n' roll website in the UK) and began what was to change the landscape of music. With the support of its passionate fans, Marillion bypassed the conventional music industry, took control of its future, and forged its own path, naming their album marillion.com, banishing the spectre of record company pressure and influence once and for all. Marillion launched its own record label, the aptly named Intact imprint. In so doing, the band freed itself up to produce some of the finest music of its career.

In 2001, Anoraknophobia saw Marillion take the groundbreaking step of asking fans to pre-order an album a full 12 months before release. Anyone doing so would receive a specially packaged CD, which would include their name in the "Thanks" list. An amazing 12,000 people signed up, helping not only to finance the recording, but also to create a budget to launch the album. In doing so, the band invented "Crowdfunding". This was anything but a one-time event and the band has since funded a number of albums this way. The crowd-funded business model has since been embraced globally to finance music, film and art which otherwise might never have existed.