Symposium - Keeping the Secret (2023)

As soon as it became apparent that Symposium were going to release a Best Of album (2022's 'Do You Remember How It Was?'), we knew that it was almost inevitable there would have to be a follow-up companion piece, which now arrives in the shape of 'Keeping The Secret', offering fourteen of the most special b-sides and rarities carefully curated and compiled in one place. 'Keeping The Secret' began to take shape when Symposium's entire archive of recorded output (comprising over 800 pieces of DATs, CDs, cassettes, original master tapes and videos) was somehow miraculously located untouched and gathering dust in a small room at Warner Brothers archive warehouse. All of these B-sides were recorded in a white hot fervour in various studios across London, with whatever tools, producers and studios were available, in-between the excitement of tours, TV appearances and single releases. Sometimes they were a way of realising existing songs that the band desperately wanted to capture on tape, and other times it was a way of experimenting and letting loose. The album comprises fan and band favourites, including songs never before available on vinyl or digital. We know how much some of these songs mean to our fans - often more than single and album tracks - so we knew this had to be special. Previously only available on a limited-edition vinyl single, 'I Like To' opens the album - an explosion of punk intent, it's one of the first songs the band ever wrote and played together, and also opened the demo tape sent to London venues to get the band their first gigs in 1995. 'Easily Scared' is possibly the oldest fan favourite of the bunch, and was screamed into the void of a hundred toilet venues around the country before anyone knew who Symposium were. The title came about when one of Wojtek's old work bosses at W.H.Smith's accused him of being 'easily scared', and Wojtek determined then and there to quit his job and never get another one. A song created when Hagop locked himself in the control room of the studio with all of the acoustic guitars he could muster, 'Mairamout' - meaning 'sunset' in Armenian - brings the album to a suitably reflective and emotional end. From the American hardcore infused 'Ode To The Frogs', the epic widescreen rock of 'Serenade The Idiot', the psychopathic 'Jim' (referencing Ross and Wojtek's obsession with The Doors), nods to Nirvana ('Cartwheels') and Iron Maiden ('Fluorescent'), to the final song in a ska trilogy of songs whose titles feature nowhere in their lyrics ('Carnival' - the others being 'Puddles' and 'Fizzy'), everything a Symposium fan could want is all here in one place for the first time. Turn it up and enjoy!