Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia

Hannah Peel's third album, originally released in September 2017, is a seven-movement odyssey composed for analogue synthesizers and traditional 29-piece colliery brass band. 

Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia is re-issued via Real World Records, explores one person's journey to outer space, by recounting the story of an unknown, elderly, pioneering, electronic musical stargazer and her lifelong dream to leave her terraced home in the mining town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, to see Cassiopeia for herself.

The brass band and rhythm section – ‘Tubular Brass’ - features the top UK championship brass band players who were recorded live on location in The Barnsley Civic Theatre with Peter Gabriel’s Real World studio team. These recordings were then expertly combined with Peel’s detailed, analogue synth layered production to create a wholly unique, collaborative sound; a first of its kind both live and on record. 

The re-issue comes with updated artwork by original designer, Grammy award winning, Jonathan Barnbrook (David Bowie collaborator on albums ‘Blackstar’ and ‘The Next Day’) and remastered audio on Berry-coloured vinyl. 

During her teenage years in Yorkshire, Peel played trombone in brass bands: marching at weekends and wearing ‘dickie bows’ at competitions and so naturally the ‘brass’ sound has become very much a part of her creative DNA. This love has recently come full circle once again, as Peel is the presenter of the series ‘Brass Banding with Hannah Peel’ for BBC Radio 3.

Mary Casio explores two very different worlds – the power of the brass band players combined with the sub-bass impact and air resonating force of the synths but Peel also creates a very human and intimate, at times fragile sounding record through her collection of ‘breathing’ vintage electronics, found sounds, the nuances of the individual brass instruments and the subtle ambience of her voice combining with the real and raw breathing, shuffling and ‘spit’ of the players themselves.