After eight years of touring with DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, Canadian musician and producer Devin Townsend has decided to "take a break" from the group and focus on a number of other projects he has been "really wanting" to pursue for some time now. He said in a statement: "The band have been there with me through thick and thin and we've shared some pretty great moments. I can't say enough good things about them. And in the future, I'm sure we'll work again."
As for his plans for the immediate future, Townsend said: "I have four new albums I am currently working on. I am currently in the finishing stages one of the grandest and most overwhelming projects that I have been fortunate to do. It's certainly my favorite DVD release of them all and is a powerful moment, if I can say so myself. OCEAN MACHINE 'Live In Plovdiv' (tentative name). Mixing the orchestras, choirs, the 'by-request' set and the full OCEAN MACHINE album in that magnificent setting has been hugely rewarding. Seeing this spectacle come to life is a testament to this period of work and I can't wait for you to see and hear it."
Devin went on to explain his decision to put DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT on hiatus. "Life is short and I have a lot I need to say in some new and different avenues," he said. "I will certainly continue to play live in several new ways (starting next year) and I'm excited about some collaborative things that have also come up as well.
"I salute the band, the team and the audience for allowing us to do what we have done and the patience to accommodate my persistent morphing.
"As someone whose music is connected to his personal growth, I feel an obligation to follow this muse wherever it leads. To not do so would be in direct opposition to what it is I have fundamentally done for all these years."
DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT's latest album, "Transcendence", was released in September 2016. The follow-up to 2014's "Z2" double album (half of which was made up of the DTP full-length "Sky Blue"), it saw the award-winning Devin Townsend exploring a relatively new way of working, collaborating with the entire DTP band during the writing stages of the record.