TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA violinist Anna Phoebe has checked in with the following recording update:

"Hello from Holland!

Spent more time in this country than anywhere else this year!! I have now spent a week sleeping in the same bed - feels very strange! ...I guess like home :)

Recording is going really well - we're finished with the guitars and bass, and just finished the first two days of violin!

New pics of recording in the gallery! More to come!

Sander Gommans (AFTER FOREVER / HDK) put down some seriously heavy guitar riffs - think RAMMSTEIN meets NIGHTWISH ...and the bass put down by Johan van Stratum is perfect.....between the two of them and Koen's drums it's an amazing wall of sound!!

Joost is a great person to work with - he's REALLY strict with me on the violin. He's really treating it like a voice - EVERY note has to be perfect, which means every phrase is played over half a dozen times. It's fantastic to be pushed like this. I've only wanted to strangle him two or three times so far.....:)

The only bad news is, due to logistical reasons it's not going to be possible to have Angus Clark on the record. We literally only had one week to do the guitars, but we came up with some really cool stuff when I was in NY which hopefully he'll be using on his own future solo projects. I'll be first in line to play violin for him!

Been starting to get emails from the TSO band and crew - wow! It really is nearly THAT time again!!!!!!! Can Christmas really be just around the corner ALREADY??! As you can see from the tour dates it's a heavy schedule - I hope you all of you on the USA side of the pond will make it our best ever tour yet!! Make sure you join us somewhere along the road!

And finnalllllly....

Atomic guitars and Seymour Duncan have collaborated to make me an AMAZING electric violin complete with magnetic pickups, stereo output and EMG 'afterburner'! Haha - bring on the guitars!!! I'm ready for battle!!! Pics coming soon!!!!

Right. Off to start Track 4."

Take care,

AP xxx