King Crimson

Islands King Crimson 2026 Deluxe Dolby Atmos & Elemental mixes edition

King Crimson’s fourth album, 1971’s “Islands,” was for many years somewhat underrated in the band’s history. It was often considered one of those albums that fell between the undisputed classics “In the Court of the Crimson King” and “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic.” In recent years, however, the album has been re-evaluated. This process began with the new stereo and 5.1 mixes created by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp in 2010, and continued with the songs “The Letters,” “Sailor’s Tale,” and the title track becoming part of the band’s 2014-2021 lineup. The changing perception among both old and new listeners was further confirmed when the extensive 27-disc box set “Sailors’ Tales”, featuring a wide selection of live recordings from the “Islands” era, became one of the fastest-selling releases in the acclaimed King Crimson box set series – a fitting testament to the band’s second, albeit short-lived, live lineup.

So what’s really left to say or hear about this period?

It turns out: quite a lot.

A fully-loaded Blu-ray disc and accompanying CD document Steven Wilson’s return to the album once again to create a transformative Dolby Atmos mix. This work also led to new stereo and 5.1 mixes. Steven Wilson is now considered one of the leading Dolby Atmos engineers in classic album releases, and his long-standing association with and deep understanding of King Crimson’s catalog make his work with the band particularly sought after by fans.

King Crimson producer and manager David Singleton has also put together a set of Elemental Mixes, where alternative takes and recordings have been unearthed and mixed into a fascinating “what if?” interpretation of the material. This approach has proven extremely popular on King Crimson’s Blu-ray releases and on standalone vinyl releases in recent years.

Singleton and DGM’s in-house sound engineer Alex R. Mundy have also prepared a complete set of session mixes from the album’s recordings, all presented in hi-res stereo.

Two previously unreleased elements complete the edition: the quadraphonic mix of the band’s 1972 Summit Studios concert recording – previously only available on the sold-out “Sailors’ Tales” box set – and, as always with such releases, the original album mix in 24/96 high-resolution stereo.

The CD contains the entire album in Steven Wilson’s new mix, as well as a selection of David Singleton’s Elemental Mixes.

“Islands” was the only studio album recorded by the line-up of Fripp, Collins, Burrell and Wallace, and the last album with Peter Sinfield as a full-fledged creative partner. The album closed one chapter in King Crimson’s history while discreetly sketching the contours of the next.

Historically, it captured the band in a brief but remarkably creative period, during which material was developed during intensive touring and recorded between live performances. Musically, it is the point at which the group’s early sound was stretched to its limits and began to evolve into something harder, more distinctive and more open in form.

Although the album’s six compositions span vastly different expressions – from the forward-looking elements of “Sailor’s Tale”, where Fripp’s sharp guitar playing and Collins’ fiery saxophone work point to the future, to the purely orchestral “Prelude: Song of the Gulls” – “Islands” tells a coherent story. It is both a collection of music and a portrait of King Crimson at a very special time in the band's development, a story that can perhaps be experienced more fully than ever before in this release.