History of Lesotho demonstration outside the royal palace in early August 1998 and in an unprecedented level of violence, looting, casualties, and destruction of property. In early September, junior members of the armed services mutinied. The Government of Lesotho requested that a SADC task force intervene to prevent a military coup and restore stability to the country. To this end, Operation Boleas, consisting of South African and (later) Botswana troops, entered Lesotho on September 22, 1998 to put down the mutiny and restore the democratically elected government. The army mutineers were brought before a court-martial. After stability returned to Lesotho, the SADC task
Surrounded by Sea belies the quartet's brief existence. There's a bold honesty in the music's refined contours and graceful adventure that invites and rewards the patient listener. There's the feeling too, that this quartet has plenty more to offer". In The Guardian, John Fordham called it "an intriguing shift for Sheppard as both a player and a bandleader". All compositions by Andy Sheppard except where noted Surrounded by Sea Surrounded by Sea is an album by British saxophonist and composer Andy Sheppard recorded in Switzerland in 2014 and released on the ECM label the following year. The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek notes