On the home stretch

The Big Big Train album which will be out early next year started life in a museum in August 2023. I was at the museum with BBT lead singer Alberto Bravin. We’d stepped into the place during one of our pre-gig walks. We had become intrigued by the contents of a temporary exhibition and started feeling inspired by what we were seeing. Our eyes met over a cabinet as we realised we’d stumbled upon the idea which, it turned out, was going to take over much of our lives for the next couple of years.

The rest of the band shared our enthusiasm and we all started working on the album. By the Spring of 2025, we had pretty much all of the music written and, in April, we spent a week at Sweetwater Studios recording parts for the album. During those sessions, we got down all the drums and bass, most of the electric guitars, a lot of keyboards (grand piano, Hammond organ, Rhodes, Clavinet and Moog) and most of the solo violin.

What we weren’t able to do was any vocals because we hadn’t had time to finish off the lyrics in advance of the Sweetwater sessions.

So, whilst the last few weeks have appeared to be very quiet in terms of Big Big Train activity, there has been considerable scratching of heads and scribbling of pencils as we worked to get lyrics ready in time for the second (and final) week of recording sessions which took place at Aubitt Studios in Southampton over the last few days.

Aubitt has been our main studio for many years. One of the many nice things about it is the constant presence of cats:

Alongside cats, Rob Aubrey has an array of top line microphones and recording equipment to ensure we get the best quality sounds into ProTools. Once the chosen mics were selected, Alberto started work on tackling the lead vocals for an album which will feature 65 minutes or so of new songs and instrumentals.

For rock music, vocal performances are the most direct route to the heart of the listener. Whilst sometimes (especially in prog rock), instrumental sections provide the essential tingle-factor moments, more often than not it’s the combination of chords, melody, words and vocal delivery that gets the hairs on the back of the neck standing up.

So, when recording vocals, alongside the essential requirement of the singing being in tune, our ears in the studio are on the alert for the weight of emotion that a vocal performance does (or does not) carry. Having now had a chance to review the recordings away from the studio, it’s fair to say that Alberto nailed it in every respect.

With Alby’s vocals done, BBT violinist Clare Lindley and cellist Brian Mullan traveled down to Aubitt for a day’s recording of string parts (and also vocals from Clare). Orchestral samples these days are very accurate, but nothing beats the feel and emotion that proper string players and arrangements can deliver and we had a terrific session capturing beautiful performances from Clare and Brian.

Finally, no BBT album would sound complete without brass. At some stage we will work again with Dave Desmond and a full brass section, but for the new album, brass is provided by BBT’s ace trumpet player Paul Mitchell. As always, Paul turned in an impeccable performance at Aubitt on trumpet, piccolo trumpet and on vocals.

Paul also brought to the studio a special guest, Maddie Wegg, who recorded parts on two instruments which have never before been heard on a BBT album. These instruments are a clarinet and an alto flute (the latter being a flute of Ginormous Proportions). Maddie threaded her parts beautifully through the complicated arrangements of the songs.

Speaking of complicated arrangements, the forthcoming BBT album is, without doubt, the most musically complex album we have ever attempted. Listeners who enjoy the prog rock elements of the band’s sound will not be disappointed.

So, what happens now? There are a few backing vocal parts which need finishing and those will be done in the next couple of weeks at home studios. Then it’s time for Rob and Alberto to mix the album. After that, there’s an Atmos mix to prepare before it, and the artwork we have commissioned, go to Inside Out for manufacturing.

We are looking forward to sharing news on our new album later this year. In the meantime, we have just announced a warmup show for next year’s Cruise To The Edge. The warmup is in Southampton on March 1st and will be our only show in Europe before September 2026. We’ll be debuting a couple of tracks from the new album at the gig. Ticket links and information on the show can be found here.