THE SMASHING PUMPKINS STREAM NEW ALBUM FOR FREE!

OCEANIA is the forthcoming album by THE SMASHING PUMPKINS.  Intended to recapture the album experience, all 13 songs on OCEANIA will be premiered simultaneously to fans, radio, press and the online world. Forgoing the standard industry launch, the group purposely planned no single or video to be released prior to the full album.

Starting now, OCEANIA will be streamed for free in its entirety for one week exclusively on the iTunes Store (http://www.itunes.com/). Fans will be able to pre-order the album all week leading up to the June 19 in-store date. OCEANIA was specially mastered to optimize digital sound quality for iTunes Store customers. The release comes via the band’s own Martha’s Music/EMI Label Services/Caroline Distribution. Listen to OCEANIA: www.iTunes.com/SmashingPumpkins

Having his own label through EMI afforded PUMPKINS leader BILLY CORGAN the opportunity to try something different. It is a launch scenario that goes against industry standards by allowing the album to be heard as it was meant to be. The group’s release plan was in no way intended to slight radio stations, video channels, press or online outlets. Instead, it represents the artistic vision of a band who, says CORGAN, “was dead set on making an album where every song was just as valuable as any other, ignoring the typical claptrap you hear about needing a single.  The only way to make the case that every song on Oceania is worth hearing is to put your heart into the sequence as a cohesive whole.”

OCEANIA was recorded at the group’s studio in Chicago with CORGAN’s bandmates: guitarist JEFF SCHROEDER, drummer MIKE BYRNE and bassist/vocalist NICOLE FIORENTINO.  The powerful 13-song collection (see track listing below) was produced by Corgan and Bjorn Thorsrud and mixed by David Bottrill (Muse, Tool, King Crimson, etc).  Marking THE SMASHING PUMPKINS’ 7th studio record, it is “an album within an album,” part of their 44-song work-in-progress TEARGARDEN BY KALEIDYSCOPE.

“I've been adamant in stressing that as a group, first and foremost, we are here to make new music together,” says CORGAN. “I'm proud to say that on Oceania I feel we've cut our own path forward. Jeff, Mike, and Nicole have all made significant contributions to the tone and texture of Oceania, which is an album that is unlike any I've ever made. Yet at the same time I believe it upholds the same musical values I've always pushed for with The Pumpkins, be they progressive, emotional, epic, or restless.”

TRACKLISTING:

Quasar
Panopticon
The Celestials
Violet Rays
My Love is Winter
One Diamond, One Heart
Pinwheels
Oceania
Pale Horse
The Chimera
Glissandra
Inkless
Wildflower