England is in disarray. The City of London has hoarded all the resources, walled itself off and cut off power to the outside world. Nikolas used to live in the City, but he was in the North East when the walls finally closed and the power went off. Now, separated from his family and finding himself among a community of rebels, he’s trying to get back home – whatever home looks like now.

This is the story of The City: Revolution, a ninety-minute epic music adventure crafted by Marcus Brown, keyboard player, programmer and composer and his team of writers and musicians. After two-decades as a top session player in LA, several world tours as Madonna’s principle keyboard player (including Drowned World, Re-Invention and Confessions in the 2000s) and working as SEAL’s live keyboard player and bass player (2008-2016), Marcus has returned home to the North East of England to work on his own music for the first time.

Marcus says, "I've had the opportunity to travel the world many times over, working with some of the best musicians and artists in the world. It's a different feeling entirely being back in the place I was raised, sat at the piano my grandad bought me, writing music for The City: Revolution - my own music, for my own project. This is the first time I've felt comfortable taking the lead and releasing something myself, instead of helping to realise the vision of others. It feels really special to be back home in the North East, feeling the ambition for the creative sectors here, while exploring new ambitions for myself."

He joins writer, Vikki Price, as the creative force behind the story, which was inspired by current events: “Many of us are frustrated at a whole lot that’s happening in the world, after three really tough years for communities. Its frighteningly possible that a powerful elite would tire of the public’s calls to correct the balance of inequality, or tackle climate change, and eventually just wall itself off to stop having to deal with it. People find the story of The City: Revolution thrilling and emotional because it feels close to home: a frighteningly possible, not too distant future. A lot of the feedback we get is that listeners really relate to the world we have created through the way Marcus has crafted the music and the songs, and the life people like Gareth have been able to bring to the characters.”

Marcus is pulling together a top team of musicians, writers, producers and vocalists to work on the project. He brings in bandmate from his years of international tours, Steve Sidelnyk (drums: Madonna, Massive Attack, The Style Council, Sophie Ellis Bexter), and long-term mentor, producer and composer Tony McAnaney (writer/soundtrack: Crocodile Shoes, Spender, The Riff Raff Element). Stage and voice actor Gareth Williams (Evita, Cats, Grease) is working with the team providing voice over and character development, and writer and co-founder of The City: Revolution, Vikki Price, takes the singing parts for Tess – an engineer, rebel leader and key ally to get Nikolas back to his family behind the walls.

When will The City: Revolution be available to buy? Marcus says, “We’re looking at a general release date around October/Novemeber 2024. People who can’t wait that long can order a pre-release from our Kickstarter which has the options to listen to the demos as they stand now or pre-order limited edition vinyl, and much more. Our Kickstarter supporters will also be able to follow our progress behind the scenes, from finding out about the cast joining us in Spring, right through to what’s happening as we approach the general release later in the year.”

Pre: order of The City: Revolution will be available on Kickstarter between 21st January 2024 and 17thFebruary 2024, including limited edition packages and opportunities to join the cast as an extra or chorus member.

Kickstarter page web-link https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vikkirprice/the-city-revolution-the-original-audie

The City: Revolution will go on general release from Sybil Productions Ltd in October/November 2024.

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