STOLEN Earth, the York powerhouse of atmospheric rock, will be launching their debut album, A Far Cry From Home, with a home-city gig at The Duchess tomorrow.

This marks the start of a tour for the band with the immense sound, soaked in emotion, led by vocalist Heidi Widdop, a former member of Mostly Autumn.

Alongside her are guitarist and fellow singer Adam Dawson, drummer Barry Cassells, bassist and album producer Paul Teasdale and keyboard player John Sykes.

The band played their first gig at Cambridge Rock Festival last August, since when they have supported legendary acts such as The Strawbs, Colin Blunstone, Roger Chapman, Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, Curved Air and Focus.

“Playing with these amazing people has really given us the chance to improve our live performances,” says Adam.

“Learning from their vast experience and performing in front of their incredible fans has been invaluable to us.”

Stolen Earth have funded the production process for their album through selling pre-orders on their website.

“We have some wonderful people supporting us” says Heidi. “The warmth and encouragement we’ve received through our website and Facebook page has been unbelievable. It’s made this album possible and the fact that so many people have been willing to invest in the band like this is a really positive thing for new music.”

Describing the album-making process, Adam says: “With our genre of music, it’s great to have the luxury to experiment with different production techniques and not to have to rush each song. For us, it’s all about the songs, and if it takes eight minutes or so to tell that particular story, and to give each song the emotional gravity it needs then that’s great, but it’s important to have more concise pieces which break up the album as well, and this album has a really powerful blend of both.”

A Far Cry From Home will be available through the band’s website, stolenearth.com, on iTunes and other digital retailers from Monday. Over the summer, live performances will include the Cambridge Rock Festival and the Galtres Festival in August.

“Tomorrow’s launch gig will be a great chance for us to say thank you to everyone who has helped us along so far, and it’s also an ideal time to pick up a copy of the album and get it signed too, if you like,” says Heidi. Tickets for the launch party cost £8 in advance from The Duchess.

For full tour details and samples of the band’s music, visit stolenearth.com