Just over a year ago, Signal To Noise, the excellent album from twice Grammy nominated Pink Floyd engineer Andy Jackson was released. Today (January 29th) sees the release of his new album, again on the Esoteric Antenna label.

As we mentioned previously, when the album was announced, it is called 73 Days At Sea, and features guest appearances from former Van der Graaf Generator saxophonist David Jackson and Panic Room's lead singer Anne Marie Helder. Andy said of the album: "I spent some time travelling back and forth to the sea – the edge of the world - while I was working on projects for others. I noticed in myself a sense of nostalgia each time I went there, as if revisiting a childhood home. I have never lived near the sea and I've scarcely been to this particular place before. Still, the false nostalgia persisted. I resolved that I would write a suite of songs concerning the sea. It seems to occupy a pivotal place in our subconscious. Eventually it became clear that the entire album was to be the 'sea suite', albeit that direct mention was sometimes fleeting."

The CD also features a DVD with what is bound to be a stunning 5.1 Surround Sound Mix and a 96 kHz / 24-bit stereo mix. You can order it through the following direct links, all resulting in a small but vital contribution toward our site running costs:

You can also order it from Cherry Red's UK store. For more information on Andy and his music, visit AndyJacksonMusic.com.

All of us here at Brain Damage offer our very best wishes to Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, who celebrates the very special occasion of his birthday today, January 27th. Hope you are having a great day, Nick!

The cornerstone of the band, he had his first drum kit at the tender age of 13. A member of Pink Floyd since the earliest iterations, he is the only one to have appeared on every one of their albums. Thanks to his late father Bill, he has been a "petrol head" from a young boy, and cars have been - and remain - one of his major passions in life. His most recent book, Passion for Speed, is worth checking out, as is the DVD of the same name focusing on his Ferrari Enzo car (with Nick heavily involved). Of course, for those who haven't read it, Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd is an absolute essential read, and available in a variety of editions: hardback, softback (paperback) and audiobook, read by Nick himself...

Nick has contributed to a number of magazines on motoring issues over the years (including a fascinating monthly column in Octane Magazine), and quite recently became president of the Guild of Motoring Writers. He is a trustee of the Beaulieu National Motor Museum, and a life member and Guardian of the BRDC (British Racing Drivers Club). He has been involved in motor racing since the early 1970s and has entered Le Mans five times.

Obviously more recently there has been the release of The Endless River, which has had Nick back on the drums in David Gilmour's south coast studio, augmenting the existing recordings with some new drumwork.

Many happy returns, Nick! To finish, here's a video - released yesterday - of Nick taking his LaFerrari for a spin...

This morning, full details of David Gilmour's concert in Poland on June 25th, 2016, have been released, including the link to tickets, which have just gone on sale coinciding with the official announcement.

In a change to where the concert was originally said to be sited, it is being held in Plac Wolności (Freedom Square) in Wrocław, and promises to be a very special event. The concert will form part of the city's celebrations as European Capital of Culture 2016.

It will be the first show on David's Rattle That Lock tour to include a 30-piece orchestra conducted by long term Gilmour collaborator Zbigniew Preisner and will also include a special guest appearance by Polish pianist Leszek Mozdzer. The special one-off event, located on Freedom Square in front of the National Forum of Music, will be filmed by Aubrey 'Po' Powell and broadcast live on Polish TV. Nearer to the day of the show, we will hopefully have more details of that for those who cannot attend the concert in person.

Tickets are available now from ebilet.pl, priced from PLN 120 - 195.

For the Democracy Now website, Roger Waters - accompanied by cellist Alexander Rohatyn - has just performed the classic protest song We Shall Overcome, and the video of it is available to watch now: