This summer, former BLACK SABBATH vocalist Tony Martin should have been undertaking a three-month tour of the USA and Canada and was then scheduled to play several dates in Brazil. As was widely reported in the rock press at the time, the tour was pulled the night before the band were due to fly. Like the rest of the band, bass player Jamie Mallender was left devastated and without work. He returned home to his family and poured all his anger and frustration into completing his solo instrumental album.

Released independently through CDBaby, "Return To Bass" is described as "a bass guitar-oriented fusion, crossover, progressive, instrumental album featuring a mishmash of genres, time changes and mood swings with a loose sci-fi b-movie feel — more musical journey than virtuoso showcase, nevertheless displaying impressive chops."

Jamie says, "In making 'Return To Bass', I have ignored every formula in the book, every critic with an opinion of any kind and every opportunity to make it more commercially accessible. I have skipped from one genre to another and spliced musical styles together, always avoiding the obvious route. This album was not written to please anyone but me. Each track expresses how I felt at the time of recording, and goes on a musical journey that I enjoyed taking. It was not recorded to make a lot of money, or to make me famous. This album is my one-finger answer to a music industry that needs a good old shake by the throat, and to all people who are happy to be spoon-fed manufactured music."

All instruments on "Return To Bass" are played by Jamie himself.

"Return To Bass" track listing:

01. Layla's Funk
02. The Bass Player Answers Back
03. Theme From Nowhere
04. The Amazing Adventures Of An Interstellar Glam Hippy
05. Planet Happiness (A Tribute To The Cardigan)
06. The Guilt
07. Return To Bass
08. Kidney Bean
09. Captain Blake vs The Lion

For more information, visit www.jamiemallender.co.uk.