Elite September 2019

Jean-François Dandrieu was born in August or September 1682 on rue Saint-Louis, Île de la Cité, Paris. He was the eldest of at least four children and showed such musical precocity that it is reported he played the harpsichord for Louis XIV and his court at the age of five. It can be assumed that his reputation led to great demand for his services as a performer, since he travelled outside Paris as a musician on several occasions. He was not the first musical Dandrieu: his uncle, Pierre, trained as a priest and organist in Angers. It is possible that it was he who organised Jean-François’s studies with the harpsichordist and composer Jean-Baptiste Moreau, a fellow Angevin and near contemporary.

Ingenious Devices consists of new versions of East Coast Racer, Brooklands and Voyager, which feature an elite 17-piece string section recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London.

With the band currently in the early stages of working on a new studio album for release in 2024, Ingenious Devices features new versions of a trilogy of revered Big Big Train epic tracks - 'East Coast Racer', 'Brooklands' and 'Voyager' - about how mankind has used it's ingenuity to extend it's reach by the development and deployment of technology. The new versions feature an elite 17 piece string section recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. Apart from the late David Longdon's lead vocals, which have been compiled from the original album sessions, East Coast Racer is a completely new studio version recorded by the line-up of the band as it was in 2019. 'Brooklands' features newly recorded drums, bass and bass pedals, while 'Voyager' includes additional guitar and violin. All three songs have been re-mixed for this release. Ingenious Devices also includes a previously unreleased orchestral piece called The Book of Ingenious Devices, which links East Coast Racer and Brooklands.