The Bardic Depths originated as a development of the American–British duo Birzer Bandana, known for their earlier albums Becoming One (2017) and Of Course It Must Be (2018). Work on a follow‑up release took an unexpected turn when Bradley Birzer wrote a narrative titled The Bardic Depths, a concept centered on friendship, resilience and the literary relationship between J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis during the years 1931–1949. Initially, the project followed the familiar Birzer Bandana formula. However, after multi‑instrumentalist Dave Bandana travelled from Lanzarote to the UK in 2017 to attend a Big Big Train concert and connected with members of the band’s online community, the music began to evolve beyond the duo’s established sound. When Robin Armstrong (Cosmograf) heard the demos, he signed the project to his label Gravity Dream Music, and took on co‑production, mixing and mastering duties. This marked the formal beginning of The Bardic Depths as a distinct musical project. For the first time, Bandana was not the sole performer on a Birzer Bandana–related release. Although he continued to handle keyboards, guitars, bass, flute, harmonica and lead vocals, he invited a number of guest musicians whose contributions elevated the arrangements and production quality. Participating musicians included:
Peter Jones (Camel, Tiger Moth Tales, Red Bazar) – vocals, saxophone, Gareth Cole (Under A Banner, Tom Slatter Band, Fractal Mirror, Mike Kershaw) – guitar, Kevin McCormick – guitar,Tim Gehrt (Streets, Steve Walsh) – drums, Paolo Limoli – keyboards, Glenn Codere – backing vocals, John William Francis – marimba, Mike Warren – cello, Robin Armstrong (Cosmograf) – keyboards, guitars, bass, drum programming, backing vocals.
See for more.
The Burning Flame
Depths of Soul
Depths of Imagination
Legacies
The Trenches
The End
Biting Coals