Further to our news earlier about the availability of Roger Waters' two new songs, we now have the full press release which announces the release, and includes comments from Roger himself about the tracks and releasing them for download on the internet. Here's the release in full:

TWO NEW ROGER WATERS SONGS, "TO KILL THE CHILD" & "LEAVING BEIRUT,"
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AS DOWNLOADS BEGINNING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
Essential New Tracks Penned In Response to the Invasion of Iraq

Roger Waters, the co-founder and primary songwriter of the legendary rock band Pink Floyd, has written and recorded two important new songs, "To Kill The Child" and "Leaving Beirut," the artist's first new studio recordings since a pair of rarities--a demo of his composition "Flickering Flame" and his cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"--appeared on an international compilation album, Flickering Flame: The Solo Years, Vol.1, in 2002. The last new album featuring original Roger Waters compositions to be released in the U.S. was his critically-acclaimed solo outing, Amused To Death, in 1992.

The two new Roger Waters songs--"To Kill The Child" and "Leaving Beirut"--will be made available on a variety of digital music stores--including SonyConnect, iTunes, BuyMusic, MusicMatch, MusicNet, MusicNow, Napster, Real/Rhapsody, and Walmart.com--beginning Tuesday, September 7.

Roger Waters fans may hear streaming versions of "To Kill The Child" and "Leaving Beirut" on Waters website, www.roger-waters.com, beginning at 12noon (ET) on Friday, September 3.

Original artwork and lyrics for the songs may be found on the website in addition to Real Audio, QuickTime, and Windows Media stream links to the songs.

According to Waters, he began work on his new songs "immediately after the invasion of Iraq, which is now fifteen months ago. It seems apposite to throw them out there on the Net, before the election.

Historically, there have always been people within the artistic community who have spoken out about things they believe in and they should continue to do so. I shall certainly continue to do so, whether it has any effect or not, because I feel I have a responsibility to myself to do that."

The two new songs represent a significant addition to Waters' groundbreaking oeuvre, itself an ongoing work-in-progress. For these studio versions of his latest compositions, Waters assembled a small band consisting of stalwarts from his touring ensemble--Graham Broad (drums), Andy Fairweather-Low (guitar), Katie Kissoon (vocals), PP Arnold (vocals)--and Carol Kenyon (vocals). Waters himself plays guitar, bass and keyboards on the tracks in addition to performing the primary vocals. "To Kill The Child" and "Leaving Beirut" were produced by Roger Waters and Nick Griffiths.

Roger Waters co-founded the groundbreaking Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett in 1966. When Barrett left the group, Roger went on to create such classics as Dark Side Of The Moon (which spent nearly 15 years on the Billboard 200 album chart), The Wall (which has been certified 23x RIAA platinum), Animals, Wish You Were Here, and The Final Cut. Following the release of The Final Cut, Roger Waters left Pink Floyd.

His first solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, was released in April 1984, to great critical and popular acclaim, generating his first solo tour. June 1987's Radio K.A.O.S. continued the path of solo success, bringing Roger back to the stage. His last solo album, the darkly ironic Amused to Death--considered by many fans and critics alike to be an achievement comparable to Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall--was released in August 1992.

Source: Columbia Records, September 3rd 2004