The Way Back is the culmination of Asher’s travels so far, incorporating viola, violin, banjo and piano, as well as guest appearances from members of Sonic Boom Six and The Karma Party. The album is littered with a variety of styles, ranging from the fundamentals of Asher’s signature acoustic folk, and across heavy rock, Fat Wreck-style punk and classic Britpop. Released on September 2nd 2016, The Way Back can be purchased from almost anywhere that sells music – including Aaahh!!! Real Records.
However, here is an exclusive package found nowhere else in the world: your chance to own The Way Back – Journeyman Edition.
Strictly limited to one copy and one copy only, this special edition comes with an incredible amount of included extras to make it truly exclusive.
The Way Back – Journeyman Edition includes:
Experience The Way Back like never before with The Journeyman Edition. A whole raft of awesome extras are included with this special package.
The debut album in CD format with a lyric-laden inlay booklet in a heavy duty digipak. 11 songs full of meaningful lyrics and loads of guest musicians, including Rosie Morshead, David Bird, The Karma Party, Sonic Boom Six and Stuart Lawrence. This copy of the CD is signed by Asher with a personal message and booklet annotations.
The debut album pressed on heavy duty special edition white vinyl with a lyric-laden inlay booklet in a sleeve with a digital download code. Strictly limited to 100 hand-numbered copies, The Journeyman Edition will include Record #001. This vinyl copy is signed by Asher with a personal message and booklet annotations.
“Even past the midnight hours,
As your lungs begin to sting,
We’ll play out that final number
On a beat guitar,
With a dozen broken strings.”
Two t-shirts in your choice of size and colour (black or white), adorned with all of the lyrics to Anywhere, a love song to the One Way, Non-Stop To Anywhere Tour in 2012. Strictly limited to only 50 in this design, these t-shirts are made of 100% ringspun cotton, and hand-printed by South East London-based fashion brand, House of Astbury.
Beautiful-voiced Calliope is the Muse of Epic Poetry – invoked by the likes of Homer, Virgil, Coleridge, Dylan and Robinson throughout history. In collaboration with the highly skilled luthiers at Dorchester-based Crimson Guitars, you will work with Asher to design your perfect guitar. Absolutely one-of-a-kind, this instrument can be acoustic, electric, six strings, twelve strings, baritone, dreadnought, fretted or scalloped – you can bring it to life.
Six years of work – and two decades of experiences – went into creating The Way Back. From writing the first scraps of poetry at the turn of the century, through to repurposing journal entry fragments; the heart and soul of the record is well and truly present in its lyrics. You will receive every lyric sheet in its original format, every journal fragment, every tour diary and all the original lyrics from songs that didn’t make the cut.
The Way Back was recorded, mixed and mastered over 18 months in various locations, from James Routh’s converted loft bedroom in Blackpool, to the now-shut down Regal House Studio in Wisbech. Throughout that time, a lot of notes were made, songs altered, music rewritten, and lyrics scrawled out again and again for the benefit of Stuart Lawrence. You will receive all that survives from the recording process, coffee ring stains and all.
“We’re double rum and coke, no ice, and slowly growing old.”
As a firm purveyor of all things made from fermented sugar cane, Asher’s favourite rums tend to vary by season. Somewhere between El Dorado, Plantation, and Quorhum sits this small batch golden rum, crafted in the sunny isles of Cambridgeshire in East Anglia. Notes of vanilla, molasses, spice, dark fruit and mahogany make for an unorthodox, yet strangely familiar combination. As this rum is small-batch, it is limited to only 100 hand-numbered bottles. You will receive bottles #001 and #002.
Armed with a guitar, a belly full of fire, and an occasional backing band, Asher plays absolutely anywhere and everywhere. Whether it’s with Petrol Girls at the Corner House, Sonic Boom Six at Essex University SU, or Asian Dub Foundation at the Concorde 2, gigs are indiscriminate – and you’re invited to all of them. You will be given free entry to any gig played by Asher Baker – either solo or with the camaraderie – put on by any promoter, on any date, anywhere in the world. Plus, you’re free to bring a friend with you.
Jaguar’s F-TYPE is an insatiably beautiful, blisteringly quick, yet quintessentially British sports coupe. The spiritual successor to the Jaguar E-Type, the British Design Edition packs a roaring 5.0 Litre V8 engine, All Wheel Drive automatic transmission and a 0-60 time of 4.2 seconds. This Special Edition is a triumph of British engineering – and you will receive a completely kitted out instant classic. Experience one of the best exhaust notes in motoring history.
Damo’s Personal Training and ProDenta
Courtesy of Damo and Shubhra, you will receive as part of The Journeyman Edition a complete personal enhancement experience. Damo will train you in the Ancient Chinese martial arts, and you will become stronger, faster, more agile, and learn some incredible Kung Fu moves. Shubhra will completely transform your smile, including whitening, veneers, white fillings, and orthodontics. You’ll look – and feel – brand new.
The Courthouse Hotel
The Whiskey Affair
The Hawksmoor
Get swept away to London to experience a weekend of whiskey tasting, pampering, fine dining, cultural visits and live music. You will land on Friday, checking in to the Lalique Penthouse Suite of the Courthouse Hotel in Piccadilly, before enjoying a three course welcome meal in the Silk Restaurant followed by an evening of relaxation at the Sanook Spa. Saturday morning will feature a wealth of cultural sights and sounds, with back-to-back visits to the British Museum, the Tate Modern and Sir John Soane Museum – transported to in a Bentley Flying Spur.
Midday cocktails and a slap-up meal will be on the menu when you stop for lunch at Roast in Borough Market, before heading to the Bedford Suite at the Montague, Russell Square, for your very own whiskey tasting experience courtesy of The Whiskey Affair. Over 200 whiskies to sample, experts from four different distilleries, and a whiskey blending class will see out the afternoon, before you are whisked away once more in time for dinner – a flawless dining experience at the Hawksmoor restaurant on Air Street. See out the evening in relaxing style, watching the sun set on London over cocktails on the Sushisamba roof terrace at the top of the Heron Tower.
After checking out on Sunday morning, prepare to experience the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, followed by High Tea at the Carnaby Brasserie. An afternoon
You will go on a guided tour of the UK in Asher’s car, visiting every locale that features in The Way Back and learning about all the experiences and inspirations that went into composing the record. From the monuments of Trafalgar Square, the dizzying heights of the Shard, and Regal House Studio, to the drab, run-down fairground husk of Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, street drinking with Mig in Lewes, and the former site of the Marquee in Norwich. The tour takes place over a week, includes six nights in various hotels, and at least one BBQ in Stuart Lawrence’s garden.
It took a total of six years to create The Way Back in its entirety, from heart, to hand, to pen, to stage, to glassmastered disc. A total of six songs didn’t make it on to the record for one reason or another, and you will receive these songs in completely raw, unmastered demo format, on a white label disc covered in marker pen:
*Terms and conditions apply. Some items in The Way Back – Journeyman Edition are subject to change due to unforeseeable circumstances, booking errors, weather changes, acts of God or options. Options in The Getaway package may not all be available on the day of booking – other items of equal value and fashion may be substituted. Travel to and from London for The Getaway package is not included, but can be added and organised for an additional cost.
