PREPARE for a musical treat when the latest incarnation of the infinitely mellow and lovely Penguin Café Orchestra comes to Bridport next week.

Penguin Cafe’s music has infiltrated daily life from films like Napoleon Dynamite to countless theme tunes and they’ve played festivals and venues ranging from Bestival and The Big Chill to a sold out Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.

The original band was founded in the early 1970s by musician Simon Jeffes and the music won a world of fans, including Steve Reich, Brian Eno, David Attenborough, Hot Chip, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton and Kraftwerk.

Tragically, Simon died in 1997 but now his son Arthur has re-formed the band.

The musicians start their 2014 tour at Bridport’s Electric Palace on February 12 before travelling the UK, playing a few summer festivals and then heading off to Japan in September.

According to Arthur, the gigs will be ‘three-pronged’ affairs, combining new music from the orchestra’s latest album The Red Book, old songs written by his father and old songs given a new slant by the new orchestra.

“We’re looking forward to the Bridport gig as it’s the first one of the tour and we have been doing a lot of rehearsing,” said Arthur.

“We last played there in 2009, before going on to Bestival, and it was a memorable gig because my dog Gally came along and spent time backstage. But then there was a pause in our playing and he trotted out and stood at the front of the stage. It was one of those things to go down in the band’s history and now everyone wants me to bring him along this time too.”

The Red Book was recorded in a studio with high-tech microphones hanging off the ceiling.

“They were about eight foot up so you couldn’t even jump and knock them with you head,” he said, “but they gave the music a lovely organic sound.

“The album took a year to put together while we were off doing other things but we had longer to write and record and mix and I think it sounds more sanded down and polished than anything else we have done.”

After the British tour and a summer of festivals, the band is heading to Italy – where Arthur is getting married – and then on to Japan, which has a large contingent of Penguin Café Orchestra fans.

“My father went there in the early 80s and did a couple of big tours and we decided that with the interval of years, it would work well if we went there this year,” said Arthur.

“People remember dad’s tours and their children have grown up with the music, so now it’s the new generation of the band going back to play for the new generation of fans.”

Penguin Cafe will be joined by special guest Tom Baxter, who will be playing songs from his most recent album The Uncarved Block – Part One.

The Penguin Café Orchestra is at Bridport’s Electric Palace on February 12. Tickets from Bridport TIC on 01308 424901.