In May 2005, Mike Oldfield announced he was in the middle of recording a new album, initially titled Quicksilver, the working title of which was Light + Shade. Despite still being contractually obligated to release one final album with Warner Spain, Oldfield abandoned his third album with them and signed with Universal Music, the label that acquired the entire Virgin Records catalog in 2008.

Over the following months, more information about the album was released, along with new photos of the musician to coincide with the launch of Light and Shade. Oldfield offered two discs instead of one; the first, titled Light, consisted of relaxing songs with chillout-like sounds; the second, titled Shade, featured somewhat darker, dance-oriented tracks.

The double album was released on September 26 in Spain, reaching number 9 on the national charts. The promotion was very disappointing: a single 10-second advertisement, rarely seen on television, and an interview recorded at his home and distributed commercially. "Surfing" was released as a single, though it was never officially released. In England, the commercially available edition, in addition to the eight tracks per disc, included a bonus track per disc. Furthermore, a week later, another song surfaced online, leaning more towards the folk style of his early work.

In March 2006, Virgin released a new three-CD compilation, The Platinum Collection, featuring Oldfield's classic tracks. It was notable for being the first digital release of extended versions of some of his 1980s hits. That same year, after nearly seven years away from the stage, Oldfield participated in the Night of the Proms tour in various German cities, alongside artists such as OMD and John Miles, among others. In 2007, he performed in Spanish cities like Madrid and Valencia as the headliner of the first Night of the Proms celebration in Spain.