Dutch vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gentle Storm, ex-The Gathering) has checekd in with the following update:

"I'm excited to announce a brand new release and tour! Árstíðir and I will release a collaborative album of classical music in early 2016. The release will feature a broad selection of momentous classical and modern works, reconceived and reimagined within the Árstíðir/Anneke sound-universe. A comprehensive month-long release tour is planned across theaters in the Netherlands, March 2016 (see below).

We’ve spent the past several days at my studio arranging, learning French, Dutch, and Icelandic, programming synths, and transcribing inverted half-diminished seventh chords, fueled by a healthy stash of coffee, dark chocolate, and Mario Kart. We are incredibly excited about this unique project, and look forward to the release and to taking it all on the road in 2016. 

Tour dates for the Netherlands are as follows:

March

1 - Den Bosch - Verkadefabriek (try-out)
2 - Almelo - Hof 88 (try-out)
3 - Naaldwijk - Westland Theater
4 - Oosterhout - Theater de Bussel
6 - Zwolle - Schouwburg Odeon (matinee)
8 - Wageningen - Theater Junushoff
11 - Tilburg - Theaters Tilburg
12 - Uden - Markant Uden
13 - Groningen - De Oosterpoort
16 - Hoofddorp - De Meerse
17 - Zoetermeer - Stadstheater Zoetermeer
20 - Leeuwarden - Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie
21 - Rotterdam - Oude Luxor Theater
22 - Waalwijk - Theater De Leest
23 - Delft - Theater de Veste
25 - Haarlem - Philharmonie Haarlem
27 - Sneek - Theater Sneek Noorderkerkzaal (matinee)
29 - Amsterdam - De Kleine Komedie

For information on Árstíðir go to this location.

Anneke recently checked in with following announcement:

"Hey everybody! A beautiful 4CD box set collecting the four Agua De Annique albums will be released June 15th. This release also features additional photos and artwork as well as extensive liner notes collected by Carl Begai (BraveWords). When I started my solo career in 2007 I felt the sky was the limit. The four albums under the Agua de Annique tag (2007-2010) mark a very important part of my career and my life in general. The freedom to explore various musical styles and forms was super exciting. It also gave me the opportunity to collaborate with many artist friends. I am very proud of this wonderful box set and I have been actively involved in this creation. Mark Uyl is responsible for the cover picture and he also created this atmospheric short introduction video:"

The four Agua De Annique albums featured in the box set are as follows:

Air (including one bonus track)

Pure Air

In Your Room

Live In Europe

Following is an excerpt from the liner notes:

Anneke's solo sound is often referred to as pop-rock oriented but the first Agua de Annique record, Air, exhibited dark undertones similar to The Gathering's latter years with her behind the microphone. A song such as 'Witnesses', could have easily found a home on How To Measure A Planet?, or 'Sunken Soldiers Ball’ might have appeared on Nighttime Birds, but Anneke effectively turned the tables on any "copycat" thinking with stripped down tracks like 'My Girl', 'Asleep' and 'Yalin' or the dark rock contrasts of 'You Are Nice!'. Air offered an easily travelled bridge between Anneke's past and her new musical vision, making the single 'Day After Yesterday' a welcome first step out on her own.

"I was very, very excited," Anneke says. "To leave The Gathering was a huge step but I wasn't scared of the future because I had no idea what was going to happen. My thinking was 'Why should I be scared of that?' I had no idea what people were expecting. Some people thought I'd go in a completely different direction from The Gathering, other people thought I was just going to do the exact same kind of music. I didn't listen to anyone when I was writing the songs; I was focused on doing my own thing."

More details will be revealed soon.