The 40th anniversary edition of Andrew Poppy’s The Beating of Wings, originally released on ZTT Records. Hailed as “a major landmark in pop-classical genre-blending and post-minimalism” (Robert Davidson, Topology) and “… ahead of his time … he’d fit right in with the Max Richters and Nils Frahms of today” (Steven Wilson; Porcupine Tree, The Album Years podcast).

Composed and produced by Andrew Poppy and performed by his bespoke ensembles, The Beating of Wings contains four mesmeric tracks that mix acoustic orchestral instruments with electric piano, electric guitar, bass guitar, sampler, Fairlight Music Computer and drum machine. Each piece has its own narrative, perspective, musical world and colour held together by an infectious pulse.

For this release, the album has been remastered by Stephan Mathieu, and an expanded booklet includes new writing by Andrew Poppy. 2-panel gatefold sleeve, 24 page CD booklet and CD sleeve.

A gateway access to the world of contemporary classical music for fans of Brian Eno, Laurie Anderson and Kraftwerk, a generation of music fans discovered The Beating of Wings as it rubbed shoulders with ZTT’s pop artists, The Art of Noise, Propaganda and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. ZTT co-founder Paul Morley wrote in The Quietus, “ZTT needed Poppy as much as it needed Frankie”.

Andrew Poppy is post-minimal composer, musician, vocalist, writer, record producer and arranger with a unique body of work and collaborations. He signed to Trevor Horn and Paul Morley’s ZTT Records in 1984. In 2022, False Walls released Poppy’s Ark Hive of A Live, a 4 CD / book collection.

“Poppy’s music is like Madagascar — you discover species there you don’t find anywhere else.”
— Brian Morton, Wire magazine

”… what you hear in Poppy’s music… is a keen ear for the large-scale, compositional use of timbre – the qualities that drew him to the cutting edge technology of ZTT’s studio-based culture. His music’s purpose is often revealed more effectively through the multi-tracked recording process. Younger composers may take this for granted but Poppy got there first.”
— John Walters, The Guardian

www.andrewpoppy.co.uk

CDs ordered from False Walls and Bandcamp are mailed from the UK. Other places where you can find or order False Walls CDs are shown here.

Physical/digital release: October 2, 2026
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