TILT release video for Against The Rain – article by Progradar

After the success of the release of their debut album ‘Hinterland’, British proggers TILT have released a distinctly 80’s themed video for the single Against The Rain.

Of this tongue-in-cheek tribute to the early days of MTV, guitarist and keyboard player Steve Vantsis said:

“We decided to have a bit of fun with our video for Against the Rain. Everything is a bit depressing at the moment and music videos for our genre tend to take themselves a bit too seriously. So we spent a great couple of days in Scotland where – of course – the weather was completely different on day one and day two. But it suited our brief for the video, it was like the universe helpfully providing the production for us!

We wanted to do an MTV homage so we needed lots of sunsets, full moons, rain, moody walking that kind of thing and incredibly we got it all to tape in less than 48 hours! The video also features Tara Nowy, daughter of Fish recreating her mothers role in the classic Marillion video Kayleigh.

Tara was a great sport and we had a great time filming. in the end we did a 4:3 cut with VHS tape effects, etc. to fully capture the 80s feel . We have a full 4K HD widescreen version too that we will release at some point.”

‘Hinterland’ has garnered some fine praise since it’s release at the end of June and, when asked what the future held for TILT STeve went on to say:

“We hope the video will attract more people into our world as the ‘Hinterland’ album has already gathered a great reaction and great reviews so far. And as we prepare to get organised for gigs later in the year we needed something to keep the momentum going. We also hope to do more videos too in the future if this one is well received.”

‘Hinterland’ was released on 30th June 2016.

Tilt Album

Buy Hinterland on CD from Burning Shed

Band

 

Kansas Release First New Song in Sixteen Years “With This Heart”

Kansas Album

ALBUM NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER THROUGH KANSASBAND.COM
AUGUST 5th, 2016 – “With This Heart”, the first new song from Kansas in 16 years, is now available. The song is taken from the band’s intensely anticipated new studio album The Prelude Implicit, which will be released on September 23rd, 2016.
The song will be available for purchase Friday, August 5th through iTunes, AmazonMP3, Spotify, and Google Play.  Fans can also pre-order the album on iTunes, AmazonMP3, and Google Play at that time. Links to retailers can be found below:
In a joint statement, the band says:
“We are excited for ‘With This Heart’ to be the first new KANSAS song released in more than 16 years. It definitely fits KANSAS tradition.”
The Prelude Implicit is the first new album release in 16 years for the band that has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, and is famous for classic hits such as ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ and ‘Dust In the Wind’, to progressive epics like ‘Song for America’ and ‘Miracles Out of Nowhere.’ The album will be available on CD, double 180 Gram Vinyl and digitally on iTunes and Google Play.
Fans can pre-order now by visiting Kansasband.com and on  Amazon.com.
The Prelude Implicit features 10 all new tracks written by the band and co-produced by Zak Rizvi, Phil Ehart, and Richard WilliamsKANSAS’s signature sound is evident throughout the album.  It showcases Ronnie Platt’s soaring lead vocals, David Ragsdale’s blistering violin, Williams and Rizvi’s rocking guitar riffs, the unmistakable sound of David Manion’s B3 organ and keyboards, Ehart’s thundering drums, and Billy Greer’s driving bass and vocals.
KANSAS returned to the studio in January 2016 after signing with Inside Out Music.  Says Inside Out founder and president Thomas Waber, “KANSAS is the biggest and most important Prog band to come out of the United States. I grew up listening to them, and their music is part of my DNA.  ‘The Prelude Implicit’ undoubtedly adds to their already impressive musical legacy.  I can’t stop listening to it, and we are proud to be releasing the album.”
The result of the time in the studio was even more than the band imagined.  “This is definitely a KANSAS album,” remarks original guitarist Richard Williams. “Whether it is the trademark Prog epic like ‘The Voyage of Eight Eighteen’, biting rocker such as ‘Rhythm in the Spirit’, or mindful ballad like ‘The Unsung Heroes’, there is something on this album for every kind of KANSAS fan.  After years of pent-up creativity, the entire band is very proud of ‘The Prelude Implicit.’
Lead Vocalist Ronnie Platt adds, “Recording ‘The Prelude Implicit’ was an incredible experience, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. It is my hope that, knowing the intense listeners that KANSAS fans are, the continuity yet diversity of this album will be pleasing to them.”
The album title, The Prelude Implicit means, “Without a doubt, this is a new musical beginning,” explains Ehart. Tattoo artist, Denise de la Cerda, did the oil painting of the front and back cover.  “It shows a Phoenix flying from the past into the future.”
The Prelude Implicit Track Listing:
1.) With This Heart
2.) Visibility Zero
3.) The Unsung Heroes
4.) Rhythm in the Spirit
5.) Refugee
6.) The Voyage of Eight Eighteen
7.) Camouflage
8.) Summer
9.) Crowded Isolation
10.) Section 60
KANSAS will be debuting songs off The Prelude Implicit this fall, live in concert, as part of their Leftoverture 40th Anniversary Tour.  More information on the tour, including tour dates, can be found at www.kansasband.com
 

OPETH RELEASE 2ND STUDIO BLOG FOR ‘SORCERESS’; NEW ALBUM OUT SEP 30TH

Swedish experimental heavy-rock pioneers OPETH have released the second instalment, “Studio Report – Episode 2,” of their in-depth, behind the scenes series on the making of their 12th studio album, ‘Sorceress’. The highly-anticipated record is due out on September 30th via the band’s imprint label Moderbolaget Records with Nuclear Blast Entertainment.

Opeth recently released a lyric video for the record’s title track “Sorceress“, which has has already received mass critical praise from fans and critics alike.

Additionally, OPETH, with their label, have launched a variety of pre-orders for physical copies of  ‘Sorceress”. The record will be available in an array of formats and editions including Standard Jewel CD, 2CD Digipak, 2LP Vinyl (in various colors at 180 gram) and a Deluxe Edition Wooden Box Set.

Pre-order ‘Sorceress’:
Nuclear Blast Store: http://nblast.de/OpethSorceressNB
Recordstore.co.uk: http://nblast.de/OpethSorceressRS

Pre-order ‘Sorceress’ Digitally:
iTunes: http://nblast.de/OpethSorceressIT

OPETH will return to the UK for a headline show at Wembley Arena on Saturday 19th November.  Tickets are on sale now from www.livenation.co.uk.

Full tour dates as follows:
05.11.  S         Stockholm – Annexet
06.11.  N         Oslo – Konserthus
07.11.  DK       Copenhagen – DR Koncerthuset, Koncertsalen
08.11.  D         Hamburg – Docks
10.11.  A          Vienna – Arena
11.11.  D         Stuttgart – LKA Longhorn
12.11.  D         Munich – Theaterfabrik
13.11.  CH       Zurich – Volkshaus
14.11.  I           Milan – Alcatraz
16.11.  D         Cologne – E-Werk
17.11.  B          Brussels – AB
18.11.  NL        Tilburg – 013
19.11.  UK       London – SSE Arena Wembley
21.11.  F          Paris – Le Trianon
23.11.  LUX      Luxemburg – Den Atelier
24.11.  D         Berlin – Astra Kulturhaus

Or catch the band on the following festivals, before they embark on a US headline tour together with THE SWORD:

30.07.  FIN       Oulu – Qstock Festival
05.08.  P          Corroios – Vagos Open Air Festival
19.08.  B          Hasselt – Pukkelpop Festival
24.09.  USA      San Bernardino, CA – Ozzfest

w/ THE SWORD
29.09.  USA     Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
30.09.  USA     Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
01.10.  USA     New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
02.10.  USA     Boston, MA – House Of Blues
04.10.  CDN     Montreal, QC – Metropolis
05.10.  CDN     Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
07.10.  USA     Detroit, MI – The Fillmore
08.10.  USA     Akron, OH – Good Year Theater @ East End
09.10.  USA     Chicago, IL – Riviera Theater
10.10.  USA     Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
12.10.  USA     Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
13.10.  USA     Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
14.10.  USA     Austin, TX – Emo‘s
15.10.  USA     Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Live!
18.10.  USA     Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl
19.10.  USA     Tempe, AZ – The Marquee
21.10.  USA     Sacramento, CA – Ace Of Spades
22.10.  USA     San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
24.10.  USA     Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
25.10.  USA     Seattle, WA – The Moore
26.10.  CDN     Vancouver, BC – Orpheum

Review – TILT – Hinterland – by Progradar

Tilt Album

“Do not live in the shadow of the masters for ever. Learn to live in the light of your soul. Life deserves full expression.”
Amit Ray

Robin Boult (guitars), David Stewart (drums, percussion) and Steve Vantsis (bass guitars, electric & acoustic guitars, keyboards, programming) have been in the shadow of a giant of the Progressive genre while recording, writing and touring with prog legend FISH over the years.

Now, with their new project TILT, it is time for them to come out, front and centre, and be the focus of attention. Steve, being responsible for most of the writing of the last two well received Fish albums, ‘13th Star’ and ‘Feast of Consequences’, also has definite pedigree as a songwriter.

Over 5 years in the making, ‘HINTERLAND’ is the long awaited debut album from the band and follows on from their acclaimed debut EP ‘Million Dollar Wound’. ‘HINTERLAND’ has over 60 minutes of new music and the three core members are augmented on this endeavour by guitarist Paul Humphreys and singer PJ Dourley.

TILT are also joined on this release by keyboard player John Beck (It Bites) and guitarist John Mitchell (Lonely Robot/Kino/Arena/It Bites) with John Mitchell also responsible for the final mix.

Band

I got sent an early mp3 download of ‘HINTERLAND’ by Steve and have given the album many listens, it has now cemented itself as one of my favourite releases of the year and now I’ll tell you why…..

Assembly

“Language taught, Instinct not

Society lost, Trauma is forced…”

The album is book-ended by two brooding and slow burning tracks that compliment each other. Opener _Assembly begins with some obscure static noise before a deliberate percussive beat, metronomic in its perfection, hypnotises you into the slow laid back feel of the song. It’s quite ominous and portentous as the tempo increases slightly, almost like a heartbeat in the background.

Here you get the first impression of PJ Dourley’s impressively distinct vocal as he delivers the gripping tale to an engrossed audience, keeping you on tenterhooks, that haunting percussion and keyboard sound covering everything in a layer of anticipation. The layered vocals are a nice touch with the more expressive voice overlaying a robotic stanza.

A dramatic guitar riff, urgent and dynamic, then takes over along with some forbidding sounding keyboards to leave you on the edge of your seat, bated of breath, wondering what’s coming next. The vocals take on a pleading manner…

Save me!

Before the track concludes in a rather prophetic manner, a really impressive opening to the album.

Hinterland track

“Your eyes are filled with wanted dreams, The strangest shade of green, I’ve never seen before…”

Hinterland is a total rock-fest from start to finish, from the ‘in your face’ manic riff that the guitar beats you over the head with to the frenetically exciting drumming and the ever present stylish bass. Add in the elegant keyboards and PJ’s vibrant vocal and there isn’t much that can go wrong. This is a talented group of musicians who are at the top of their game and it shows.

There’s a super verse where things calm down a bit with a lovely guitar tone and ever more catchy vocals and you just find your self rocking along with this really upbeat song. We have a pause before that concussive riff returns with a slightly off-kilter piano note, just to make sure you’re taking notice and then we are off again, there is only one thing left to do, turn the volume up to 11!!

Rain

“Touch, don’t feel and know how this ended. It’s death but it’s not real, when truth is suspended…”

Time for a change of pace and lull in proceedings, Against The Rain is a superbly emotive song with the delicate piano and dreamy synth sounds backing the touching and affective vocal delivery. Almost dreamlike in delivery, it is a track that draws you into its warming embrace and heartfelt warmth and sentiment.

Reflective, it leads you pausing to gather your thoughts with its intelligent construction and demeanour. The gentle percussion and sympathetic guitar just add a lustre of sepia tinged nostalgia and, as it comes to a close, a feeling of compassion and well-being washes over you.

No Superman

Talk about down and dirty riffs, the opening to No Superman hits you right in the solar plexus. A really low down and muted sound that then opens up and just nails it. Imagine taking some of the best 90’s grunge music and melding it with some modern prog metal and you wouldn’t be far off. The vocals have an edge to them and the drums are huge but it really is that monster riff that grabs my attention.

Deliciously dark and dangerous it is one of those tracks that leaves you feeling a little bit naughty but thoroughly entertained. PJ Dourley gives his best Scott Weiland impression (minus the illegal substances, obviously!) and seems to be really enjoying himself. Add in a little lull to let you get your breath back, rapidly followed by a hugely caustic, fiery riff and you really couldn’t ask for a more hard rocking track.

Growing Colder

“Don’t look now, looking straight down, Reach for the sky, live or die..”

Even when you really like a whole album, there’s the one track that really grabs you and, for me, on this release it is Growing Colder‘HINTERLAND’ is a brilliant collection of songs but, for whatever reason, it is the slower, more brooding tracks that resonate with me most and the sombre and pensive opening to this song fits that brief perfectly. Wistful guitar, drums and keyboards lay the foundation for PJ’s melancholic vocal delivery, sad and downbeat and yet striking nevertheless.

There is a dolent tone running throughout with the supine, almost dreamy, rhythm almost lulling you into a hypnotic state. The build up to the hugely impassioned and affecting chorus is superb and I always find myself singing along at the top of my voice.

This is one of those tracks that you find yourself listening to three or four times in a row, it really is that good. The combination of the muted verse and stirring chorus really is something special and, as I listen to it again, it is making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The closing out of the song with string effects is utterly poignant.

Strontium

“You look at me like you’re hypnotised, just blindness left behind your eyes…”

A hard rock track with a progressive edge, Strontium Burning is another one with a slow burning opening that builds slowly before flaring up and powering away into the distance. A definitive guitar note and powerfully dynamic drums are the driving force behind this track, all held together by the unobtrusive bass line. There is a raw energy struck through the centre of this restless and impatient song that you can hear in the delivery of the vocals, an elemental force that is embodied in the compelling and dexterous guitar solo that dominates the end of the track.

Bloodline

“Bleeding, holding onto the edge of my luck, I’m breathing, Trying to get out of here but I’m stuck, My soul’s gone…”

Bloodline was the lead single from the album and, like the title track, is more akin to a hard rock track than progressive but still, at nine minutes long, there is still a whiff of Prog about it. A low-key and subdued undercurrent of an opening makes way for a determined guitar riff and rhythm section, urgent and straining at the leash before the throttle is notched back a bit and the vocals come in, searching and probing. I say it has more in common with hard rock but, here especially, there is a feel of early Porcupine Tree serious feeling heaviness.

There are some intricate melodies playing in the background but, when the powerful chorus fires out, that more mainstream rock angle returns. It is quite a clever mix of styles with some subdued, complicated sections weaving between the more straightforward rock themes and gives TILT there own definite sense of identity. There’s quite a long outro to the song, brooding and self-involved that sets you up for the final track on the album….

Disassembly

“Is there no God, There’s only me, I watch them pour from church, like warriors lost in battle…

Disassembly_, the partner track to _Assembly, opens with a very moody keyboard note that gives a hushed atmosphere of anticipation before there is a sort of awakening, a keening keyboard and guitar tone that is quite abstract in its mysterious feel, almost oriental in fact. That enigmatic aura is only enhanced by PJ’s vocal delivery, precise and esoteric, as he sings over a laid back, electronica inspired, backdrop.

Calm and collected, his voice is almost like a mantra that your mind follows though this delicate maze of ambient progressive music that seems to flow all around you. Guitars join in to add some substance but, all the while, keeping the mystical feel. This song always makes me stop what I’m doing to let the music wash over me and fill my entire being with a feeling of fulfillment and, as it comes to a close, I just feel relaxed and as calm as can be.

What TILT have delivered is a superb album by a cast of very accomplished musicians. Brilliant vocals, burning guitar solos, a thunderous rhythm section and songwriting of the highest quality combine to deliver one kick ass release that I keep returning to again and again. A fine combination of excellent rock music with all that’s best about progressive rock, these guys show how it really should be done!

Released 30th June 2016.

Buy the ‘Hinterland’ CD from Burning Shed

Buy digital copies of ‘Hinterland’ from bandcamp

 

 

 

 

Review – Elephants of Scotland – The Perfect Map – by Progradar

cover

“When you’re looking for a band name, I know it sounds weird, but everything you look at, everything you observe and read, you kind of think, ‘Man, maybe that could be our band name.'” – Dave Haywood.

I’ve spoken in the past of how, on one side, a band’s name can alienate them from an audience or, on the other, how it can grab people’s attention and generate interest in the artist.

I first heard of Elephants of Scotland through bandcamp and the incongruity of the name got me wanting to find out more about it and the band behind the name.

Apologies if you’ve heard this story before but, while researching the band for my review of their debut album from 2013 ‘Home Away From Home’, I got talking to the band’s bassist and unofficial spokesperson Dan MacDonald and he revealed how the band came to be called Elephants of Scotland…….

An-elephant-in-Scotland

The name Elephants of Scotland comes from a photography exhibit by noted photographer George Logan where wild animals were superimposed onto images of Scotland and the countryside, one of the more notable ones being an elephant in a highland village (above). In keyboard player Adam Rabin’s own words,

“There are no Elephants in Scotland. That’s part of what I like about the name. It’s just a Band name.”

The band is completed by Ornan McLean (drums and percussion) and John Whyte (guitar) who shares vocal duties along with Dan and Adam. They have released two albums to date, 2013’s ‘Home Away From Home’ and ‘Execute and Breathe’, from 2014.

Band Pic 1

With the release of their latest musical tapestry ‘The Perfect Map’Elephants of Scotland themselves up to a broader variety of styles and songs. They continue to keep the “rock” in progressive rock with their high energy performances while employing elements of folk, balladry, and Eastern music.

‘The Perfect Map’ was not conceived as a single unified piece nor does it tell a single story like many concept albums in the progressive rock genre. Each song was written independently. It wasn’t until all of the songs were written that a clear theme emerged which then helped the band create the order of the tracks. The album could be seen as an examination of our journey through the various stages of life from childhood to death.

Adam goes on to explain,

“The whole idea of the album concept started with the contradiction: How could we have “Counting on a Ghost” on the same album as “The Perfect Map”? The former being anti-religion and the latter having the refrain of “Man plans and God laughs.” How could we challenge the existence of God in one song and acknowledge it in another?

I had written “The Perfect Map” about the foolishness of making plans. But the lyric is just as much about Man’s plan to find Truth or to find a simple answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything. It’s a moving target – it’s unknowable. If you think you’re on the right path then you’re definitely on the wrong one.

Then I realized that each song deals with a foolish pursuit for “what we want the most.” “Orphans” is about longing for healing; “Counting on a Ghost” about Truth; “One By Sea” about controlling love; “Swing the Gavel” about justice; and “The Perfect Map” about control of our destinies.

None of these topics is knowable or controllable. So, I wouldn’t get caught up in the topic of God or religion (which are two VERY different things, remember). Rather, focus on humanity’s relationships with all of these concepts – our need to explain the unexplainable – and how fleeting knowledge really is.

The resolution is in “Random Earth” which accepts that everything really is out of our control and we should spend more time appreciating the beauty of each moment.”

Live

Opening track Sun-Dipped Orphans and the Wizard’s Teapot is the first of three lyrical contributions on this album from Greg Skillman. One possible reading of this lyric is from a Jungian perspective where we spend our childhood forming our ego through the mother archetype, apparently…. The song opens with a great piece of drumming over which some intricate keyboards and guitars lay the melody. For anyone who knows Elephants of Scotland, the sound is instantly recognisable. The feel good instrumental opening really allows the music to shine and puts a smile on your face before the vocals begin. Nicely harmonised and layered, there is a feel of alternative, even jazz-infused rock to the voices, like Ben Folds had joined a progressive rock band. The musicianship is of a high pedigree and you find yourself on a crest of a progressive influenced wave, surfing to the beat and I love the abrupt ending.

The immediate feel of Counting On A Ghost is a large slice of Rush influence. Keyboards, drums and guitar all have that late 80’s power trio feel. The vocals are dynamic and edgy. On this song Skillman and Rabin collaborated on the lyric challenging the trust we often place in empty in promises whether it’s religion, politicians, each other, or even ourselves. The harder we try to nail down what Truth really is, the further we get from it. Serious, compelling and determined, it drives on at a fair lick, holding your attention with every note. Let the music wash over you and there are some delicate intricacies that run throughout as well and Rabin really does earn his corn on this track, his keyboards are immense. The caustic guitar solo sees Whyte channeling his inner Alex Lifeson and you find yourself nodding appreciatively at the complexities of the musical mosaic being played out in front of you.

RosFest

On One By Sea the band brought in guest vocalist Megan Beaucage (a former bandmate of Rabin, Whyte, and McLean in their old cover band side project). Emmy award-winning composer and violinist Gary Kuo (a childhood friend of MacDonald) also takes the track to a new level. A gentle piano opens the song before Megan’s delicate, fragile voice brings an etehreal and otherworldly feel to this part of the song. There is a sheer beauty to her singing that almost moves you to tears and you are transfixed by the sincerity at its core. Gary Kuo’s violin adds some real heart and soul and, also, vibrancy as the song then opens up into a foot-tapping country jazz romp. A quite uplifting track with some wonderful nuances deep at the heart of the matter.

The first track that Dan shared with me was the heavily medieval folk influenced Swing the Gavel, written for Musea Records“The Decameron” compilation, it is based on a 14th Century story by Boccaccio. Rabin breaks out some recorder flutes in the verses and a thinly-veiled double entendre in the choruses. It feels light hearted throughout, that delightful sound of the recorder is impish in its delivery and the mandolin adds the required authenticity. You could almost imagine the band capering around in medieval garb, like a host of Royal Fools entertaining their Lord and his guests. The chorus is really addictive and catchy and the whole track just breezes past in a maelstrom of fun and frivolity. An up-to-date instrumental section, still full of all the fun of the fayre, keeps the jovial and buoyant atmosphere going and you get the impression that this would be a bundle of fun to play live, a really jovial and lighthearted track.

The Perfect Map is about the foolishness of making plans or expecting the future to play out exactly how we want. The past two years since their last album has been challenging for each member on a personal level. Lots of changes and losses. This is a lesson learned the hard way. Percussionist Joe Netzel contributes a tasty doumbek track to add to the exotic feel on the song. There is an eastern, mystical feel to the opening of the song, exotic sounds evoke exotic smells whirling around your mind with a subtle psychedelic undertone. The vocals start edgy and low down, almost hesitant and the guitar note is full of eastern promise. Mysterious and enigmatic, it slowly worms its way into your psyche with its slow burning  spiritual ambiance.

“Man plans and God laughs.”

There’s an overtone of ambiguity and uncertainty at the heart of things here, searching for a resolution to the eternal question. It’s a very thoughtful and thought provoking track, intelligent and inquisitive and one that plants a seed in your consciousness, left there to flower at a later date. The keyboard takes centre stage with its beguiling and hypnotic tone and you are left entranced by the intricate melody and precise percussion delivered by Adam and Ornan.  A perceptive and creative song that maybe leaves more questions than it answers.

band 2

The last lyric on the album, Random Earth is about accepting that we will never have any lasting control over our world or even ourselves.

“I’ll never know what I am. The idea is ever-shifting.”

Quite a philosophical song, it opens with a pulsating and questioning 80’s sounding keyboard and guitar riff. The vocal begins, questing and searching and the drums add weight to those questions. This is pure Elephants of Scotland, a sound I have come to appreciate more and more for its involving and interwoven melodies and influential rhythm section. It takes that forceful power trio feel of Rush and adds barely perceptible hues of its own to create something engaging and refreshing. There are moments of calm and clarity and also flashes of complexity and esoteric profundity, something for all progressive fans. You can lose yourself in the music and hear different subtleties every time you listen to it, the guitar and keyboards on this track are at their most bullish and impressive, it’s Prog Jim but not necessarily as we know it……

The album closes with Für Buddy, a requiem for Adam Rabin’s dog and the band’s long-time mascot who died during the writing stage of this album. Buddy had attended just about every practice since the band’s inception. A moving instrumental that leaves a tear in your eye and a lump in your throat, the beautiful music is a fitting tribute to the loss of someone close to their heart and gives the the album a poignant ending.

Buddy

This impressive Vermont four-piece just keep getting better and better and are forging a truly unique identity in the world of progressive rock. ‘The Perfect Map’ is another tour-de-force from these rather fine musicians who take incisive, intelligent lyrics and combine them with some of the best music around. Find it in the Progressive Rock section under ‘E’ and just buy it, trust me, it is well worth your money!

View the digital booklet here

Released 17th June 2016

Buy ‘The Perfect Map’ from bandcamp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review – Ghost Community – Cycle of Life – by Progradar

gcalbum

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” – Maya Angelou

Let’s face it, nothing good in this world generally comes easy. We often have to endure hardship to see the light at the end of the tunnel and the gestation of ‘Cycle of Life’, the debut album from Cardiff based band Ghost Community, has certainly seen many trials and tribulations before, finally, coming to fruition.

In fact their own publicity information goes so far as to say,

“‘Cycle of Life’ was written through a maelstrom of adversity and sometimes you can hear it but not necessarily feel it, because this is an album of hope; and if we ever needed an album of hope, it’s right now.”

Band -Catherine Summerhayes

(this picture and featured image courtesy of Catherine Summerhayes)

Ghost Community is Matthew Cohen – bass (The Reasoning / Magenta), Simon Rogers – guitar (Also Eden), Jake Bradford-Sharp – drums (The Reasoning), Moray Macdonald – keyboards (Godsticks) and the band’s singer supreme, John Paul Vaughan (Unbroken Spirit).

Riversea vocalist Marc Atkinson was the original singer but was unable to commit to the project on a long term basis, however, some of his original vocals do appear on the album.

Matty Cohen says of Marc,

“We’re all in this together……. I am so glad he is on the album. He started this journey with us so, it was only right.”

With much crisscrossing the country through the years in various bands and with each person sharing the same stages, frequenting the same scene, and forging firm friendships, discussions inevitably began about creating something new together, as a band. With the wealth of experience they brought to the table, they knew they could make this band something that not only met the needs of their own musical desires but would also, be a band for everyone. Ghost Community is that band and that dream, come true.

Matty feels that the music community has come together  to support Ghost Community in their endeavour, he told me,

“This is what the music scene should be about. Everyone helping each other. That is the ethos behind Ghost Community. It is about every thing working because we all need each other to make it work.”

He continues,

“Trust me, music has saved me on more than one occasion. It drives me mad sometimes but, it’s in me and I never want to be without it. That is why this album is so important…”

With the brilliant Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief, Opeth & Katatonia) mixing / producing the album with the band, hopefully there is something special awaiting me.

Bruce Soord

Opener Rise Up seems to bloom from almost out of nowhere, a low key intro before the stylish bass and guitar power into view, dragging the impressive drums along with them. One thing is immediately apparent, John Paul Vaughan has a stunning voice and one that fits with the material perfectly. There is an urgency to the song, one that keeps you on your toes. It flies along at a fairly hectic pace but loses no quality at all. I’m put in mind of some of the recent stalwarts of British progressive music like The Reasoning and Also Eden (no surprise there) but the band give it their own polished edge and identity. Simon Rogers shows his zen like guitar skills with a fiery, burning solo and, basically, you are having a rollicking good time. Driving all of this along is the dynamism of Matty Cohen’s superb bass playing and Jake Bradford-Sharp’s pin sharp drum skills, Moray Macdonald’s vibrant keyboards are the glue that holds everything in place. There is a vocal piece towards the end that reminds me so much of Peter Nicholls of IQ fame, John Paul has a really distinctive voice and this track is a brilliant way to open the album, right, what’s next?

John Paul

(John Paul Vaughan)

Distinctive guitar, gentle but insistent, opens Mirror Lakes, a more laid back track than the previous. The vocals are key at the start of this song, giving a focal point around which the languid music can flow with ease. Then the powerful drums and bass hit you hard along with a powerful riff from Simon’s guitar. There’s an ebb and flow between the relative calm of the verse and then the in your face potency of the catchy chorus which is actually quite addictive and has you singing along with gusto. I find myself picking out the individual instruments at times, the drums almost have a life of their own, the guitar playing is really quite sublime and the keyboards give added verve and fervour. On this track, what really stands out at times though is that driving bass line, almost with a mind and will of its own and all these impressive musicians segue together to provide a stylish run out to end the song.

Jake

(Jake Bradford-Sharp)

Anything and Everything has a pensive opening, almost sci-fi in feel, with the industrial synth sounds. The drums dominate the soundscape with the guitar adding gloss before the vocals begin, low-key and contemplative. There’s a feel of melancholy running through the song even as the pace picks up and the track gets more urgency, it s a darker, more sombre song that leaves you in a thoughtful mood. Just out of reach, but very evident, there’s an 80’s synth pop party going on, Midge Ure and Ultravox have turned up to jam with the Ghost Community boys and Moray’s keys get a real extended workout on this track. For a child of that decade there is nostalgia to be heard and felt at every turn and wry and wistful smile never leaves my face. A great song that is surrounded by a wistful aura throughout.

Moray

(Moray Macdonald)

There is a delicate fragility to the opening to Blue December Morning, you can almost imagine a cold, frosty day with the icicles hanging from the sparse branches, bleak but beautiful. John’s vocal is affectingly humble and sincere and the music adds its own gravitas with lush string-like keyboards and an elegant piano giving a pared back ambience to the whole song. There is an almost heavy-hearted and poignant feel to the lyrics but the song shows there is beauty even in tribulation as a darkly magnificent solo flows organically from Simon Rogers’ eloquent guitar to leave you lost in your own thoughts. The vocals become more impassioned and the music stimulates you even more as this intelligent and potent track comes to a stirring close.

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(Simon Rogers)

Heartening and uplifting, the organ, vocals and guitar that open Ghost Community are full of hope and optimism and this feel-good track carries on in that vein to give an atmosphere of confidence and belief. An influential and charismatic rhythm section give real impetus to the music and the vocals have a compelling tone to them, one that makes you sit up and take notice. There is energy aplenty running through this song with hooks firing from left, right and centre. The absorbing lull in the middle of the song brings a note of seriousness to proceedings, hope and optimism are all good but nothing comes easy in this life, you have to work for every positive outcome. That mantra is drummed into you as the song comes to an intricate close.

Matty

(Matty Cohen)

So it all comes to this, the final track on the album and the title track Cycle of Life. With a title like that it should be an epic shouldn’t it? Well, for starters, it’s nearly sixteen minutes long and starts with an ominous voice over so that’s a couple of boxes ticked already! An unpretentious acoustic guitar and John Paul’s deferential vocals add serious dignity to the song before Matty’s pulsating bass and Moray’s keyboards lay the foundations for the track to move up a notch or two with an energetic riff and sweeping keyboards taking the baton and running with it. Jake’s drums get to shine again and all the components are present and correct for something rather special. Like all the best extended progressive tracks, it seems to flow seamlessly from section to section, sometimes showcasing the exceptional guitar work and , at other times, allowing the uber-tight rhythm section to take centre stage. John Paul Vaughan’s singular voice repeatedly requests that,

“Passengers get on board, welcome to the Cycle of Life….”

Before the voice-over precedes an undulating lull in proceedings, everyone treading water before the mantra is repeated again. It’s easy to get lost in the wondrously labyrinthine twists and turns that abound in this dramatic and profound song but the band will always guide you back to safety. An acoustic guitar returns us to place of calm and serenity, the cultured vocals soothing any troubled souls as you sit on a metaphorical shore of endless possibilities, it only takes a second to change your life so what are you waiting for? A rather inventive and perceptive instrumental section brings us to the close of this creative track and, as the last note resonates into the distance, you sit quietly to ruminate on what the last fifty-one minutes has given you.

‘Cycle of Life’ is a thought-provoking, beguiling and fulfilling musical journey that excites and satisfies at every turn. Ghost Community may have had to endure trials and tribulations while making this record but the experiences have enabled them to deliver something quite magical and rewarding that will stand the test of time, worthy of a place in anyone’s musical collection.

Released 24th June 2016

Buy ‘Cycle of Life’ direct from the band at the link below:

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Review – Tiras Buck – Stationed Here – by Progradar

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“His voice was cloves and nightingales, it took us to spice markets in the Celebs, we drifted with him on a houseboat beyond the Coral Sea. We were like cobras following a reed flute.”
― Janet Fitch, White Oleander

I don’t hide the fact that I love progressive rock and its offshoots but, in reality, I just love good music. Be it blues, rock or just one man and his guitar, if it resonates with meaning, I’ll like it.

I do like a good voice and US singer/songwriter Tiras Buck has a really good one. It is full of emotion and has a little catch which makes it instantly recognisable.

Tiras hails from Pennsylvania, USA and has a musical style that takes chunks from the progressive genre but adds in symphonic tendencies and lush harmonies and strings to deliver a powerful emotional kick. On ‘Songs for Parked Cars’, his first full release, he enlisted the help of Echolyn’s Brett Kull and Paul Ramsay. Described as, “solitude and derisive introspection as soundtrack”, it is “emphatic pseudo-progressive anthems bonded with recurring themes.”

Brett (bass, guitars) and Paul (drums, percussion) join Tiras on his second album, ‘Stationed Here’, and after saying, of his first album,

“If you love well written music of any genre, if you appreciate music that mirrors the mind, heart and soul of the musician then, you will love this album.”

I was intrigued to hear what this accomplished musician had come up with next.

Tiras

Opener All Over You Again is a plaintive ballad-like track that begins with a delicate acoustic guitar and Tiras’ haunting vocal plucking at your heart strings. He has a touch of Adam Duritz to his voice but with a catch that makes it unmistakably Tiras Buck. This song seems to gently touch your soul as it meanders like a summer stream across your psyche. As the drums join in, subdued, and the vocals harmonise, there is a feeling of something building up, a slight tension to the atmosphere. The song opens up fully with the percussion giving it substance and the guitar breaking out and backing Tiras’ vocal perfectly. A delightfully whimsical opening to the album.

What We Were (including Mountains) has another waif like acoustic guitar intro and Tiras’ vocal begins like a lament. More ardent and piercing, it bleeds emotion. The simple contrast between guitar and vocal is striking and shows what an instrument Tiras’ vocals can be. There is an upswelling of guitar and drums and then a delightful harmonised vocal that just intensifies the impassioned feeling of the song. When they string-like keys appear, they back the heightened delivery of the vocals and give an additional gloss to this already impressive track. The intertwined harmonies of the vocals demand your attention and you focus on the engaging delivery almost at the expense of the rest of the music. The guitar and keyboards bring the passion down a few notches before we segue into the second part of the song, Mountains, which has a harder, more straghtforward rocking feel to it. Brett Krull’s fuzzy riffing and Paul Ramsay’s dynamic drums give it a feel of some of the more in-your-face R.E.M tracks and the vocals have a slight warbling quality to them, a quiver that gives Tiras’ voice a real honesty. You can even feel the influence of Brett Krull’s production skills that give a little soupçon of Echolyn to the mix.

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The Title track to the album, Stationed Here, is my favourite song on this release, it has a real wistful sincerity to it, starting with the graceful acoustic guitar that has an almost ethereal quality. The vocals are delivered with a nostalgic, almost rarefied feel and this gives the song a radiant aura. You seem to float along on an insubstantial cloud of musical delight as the chorus gives substance to the refined music. Drums and keys join in, most dignified, adding to the atmosphere and this most sublime song plays with your emotions as the voices intertwine around each other. This is Tiras Buck at his absolute best as his powerfully emotive voice pleads to the attentive audience.

A mellow piano note introduces I’ll Follow You Down which, along with the moving vocals, gives a touching note to the song. There’s a dreamlike quality to this track that leaves you feeling calm and collected, just keyboards and poignant vocals before the percussion adds in another layer of longing and wistfulness. To be fair, you could, and should, just lay there with your headphones on and let this feel-good track wash over you, there is natural warmth to the song, like late afternoon sunshine on a hazy summer day. When the guitar joins, there is a welling up of emotion inside you, yearning for a simpler life that feels forever out of reach, this song touches you deep into your heart.

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Me And Denis Leigh is a stripped back track that brings to mind Paul Simon. A hushed vocal and fragile acoustic guitar give the song a purity of heart and soul and the wonderful vocal inter-plays really stand out. I sat transfixed, listening to this piece of music that takes Tiras’ soul and strips it bare for all to see and hear. This wonderful musician has a sincerity that shines through all the commercial bullshit that is thrown at us on a day to day basis. The song builds up momentum with the stylish percussive talents of Paul Ramsay and the expressive guitar work of Brett Krull backing the impeccable vocals of Tiras Buck and his backing singers. It is uplifting to the core and leaves you in a better place than when you heard the first note.

Tiras Buck is one of those musicians who writes music because he wants to, there’s little thought of commercial gain. He has this deep vein of incredible music talent running through his very soul and, thankfully for us, he feels the need to let it out in song. A superlative songwriter with a voice that transfixes you, he deserves greater recognition and , hopefully, albums like ‘Stationed Here’ will give him it!

Released 10th June 2016.

‘Stationed Here’ is available to download from CDBaby

 

 

 

Progradar – 2016 – Best of the First Six Months

David

(Yours truly and Prog Guru™ himself)

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first official Progradar Reviewers and Friends ‘Best Of…’ feature.

I asked those who wished to contribute to cogitate over what great music they had heard, released 1st January to 30th June, in the first half of 2016 and come up with a list of their definitive five favourites.

Not an easy task, let me tell you but, here are the selections of nine (including me) erstwhile wordsmiths and friends, including a few words as to why these particular releases made the cut.

Emma

Emma Roebuck (Progradar reviewer)

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Cosmograf – The Unreasonable Silence

This is Robin Armstrong on some amazing form.  I loved ‘Capacitor’ and I thought ‘Man Left in Space’ was a hard one to beat. I was clearly wrong and happy about it too. Robin is at his best when looking at the human condition when viewed through a less than regular lens. The mythology of Sisyphus and alien abduction combine to make such a lens.  I will treasure seeing his one and only live performance so far at Celebr8.3 fondly. The album is dark and melancholy which is the way I like my music to be honest.

This film might change your life and Relativity being high points in an album that is a mountain range of achievement.

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Preacher – Aftermath

Their second album, and independently released like the Cosmograf album (and another 2 in my, selection if I remember rightly.) Preacher craft both songs and albums exceedingly well. ‘Signals’, the previous album, shows signs (poor, but unintentional, pun) of a band with tons to offer. They draw their roots from 70s Floyd and the melodic side of the genre.  It could be said that this is the album that Floyd should have released instead of ‘The Endless River’, I could easily agree but this is not that Floyd this is a band that use melody, harmony and song in a way that could go beyond the genre.

Stand out Tracks

War/ War reprise and Vinyl show how we look to emotions and actions and make things or deeds of them as people.

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Drifting Sun – Safe Asylum

I was too young to be really aware of the genuine impact of the classic period of Prog rock. I caught the periphery in my early teens but felt no ownership of Yes, Genesis, VDGG, Floyd, Gentle Giant, etc only a serious attraction to the music as a 14 year old in 1975. In the early 80s, having ridden the horror that was punk, I remember seeing Marillion, IQ and Pallas in small pubs and clubs in 82 and it was a pure emotional and intellectual epiphany. It felt like I was hit in the heart and the brain with a piece of 2 by 4. I found home and ownership of music.  I liked ‘Trip the Light Fantastic’ immensely and when I heard this album I felt all those emotions again. I was in the Sheffield Limit club again hearing something of very high quality and I connected immediately to this music. It is Neo Prog of a very high standard.  They sound like themselves with echoes of the last 40 years resounding through the music.

Standout Tracks Intruder and DesolationRetribution.

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Jump – Over The Top

I have been a fan of Jump for the best part of 21 years. It is the Classic rock society that I owe big style, not just for these but many others, in times of musical desolation.  I found my first sample of these by old school recognition and recommendation by word of mouth. Fast forward to many Jump gigs later, the new album ‘Over the Top’ comes out and it was ‘yes, get in!’. Some of the current live set had been used to fine tune some of the songs over the last 18 months or so and it shows. John Dexter Jones is a storyteller par excellence and the band are an excellent vehicle for those stories. The words are heartfelt and the music comes from the same place. If they lived in medieval times they would be the bards of old. The use of the past to illustrate the way of the world we live in now is the stock in trade here.

Stand out tracks, I want to say all of them but if I was to choose The Beach and the Wreck of the St Marie are those choices.

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Kiama – Sign of IV

Just when you think you have Rob Reed figured out, Sanctuary, Magenta and so on, he does something out of the blue and blows the socks of you. Take good old rock sensibilities from the 60s and 70s, put them in the hands of some very talented individuals and they become a band which sounds like they have been a unit for years. I recently saw them support Frost* and wow, just wow.

This is a hybrid, musically drawn from the past in a very real sense, and is a homage to how they used to work but it does not feel like a tribute band in anyway.  It results in a multifaceted album of light and shade with some fantastic songs and heartfelt lyrics. It is some of Luke Machin’s best work outside of Maschine & Rubidium.  Rob Reed has a blast playing with sound and tone to create things like ‘Muzzled’, which is a tribute to the Floyd Album ‘Animals’, using the tones from the period to reflect the music and the time it came out. Dylans voice is amazing, we need more Kiama …

Stand Out Tracks  Muzzled and Slip away.

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Leo Trimming – (Progradar and TPA reviewer)

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Red Bazar – Tales From The Bookcase

This was my TPA’s review’s conclusion early in the year for this surprise package, and I’ve had no reason to change it since…

This is an excellent collaboration: Red Bazar have helped Peter Jones express more of his serious, darker side and also allowed him to display more vocal dexterity. In return Red Bazar have gained a talented and very fine rock vocalist who has added great lyrical skill and vocal feeling  to their own fine emotional musical palette…

This may be a bit of a dark horse, but Red Bazar may just have released one of the Prog albums of the year.

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Matthew Parmenter – All Our Yesterdays

A favourite on two levels – it’s a great album of subtle artistry and fine music, and on another level the artist & his music  touched me personally. My Progradar review concluded:

Matthew Parmenter has stepped aside from the magnificent, gothic group dynamic of Discipline to create a solo work of art suffused with dramatic shades and emotional lyricism, conveying tragedy and hope. This is an album that is likely to captivate and beguile with subtlety and delicate emotion. It certainly gave me unexpected comfort – Inside.’

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Nine Stones Close – Leaves

A darkly trippy and psychedelic album. Part dream, part nightmare – this is an album for which repeated listens gradually unpeal the layers, like all the best progressive releases. My Progradar review observed:

Nine Stones Close create rich musical landscapes suffused with a sense of the dramatic and psychedelic… They do not stick to their old formula and want to progress. My advice is stick with these guys because you are never quite sure in which direction their songs or this albums may turn, but it sure is an imaginative and fascinating ride!’

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Big Big Train – Folklore

A much anticipated release does not disappoint as the album describes modern folklore, ancient legend, elegies for lost love and epic stories of heroism and loss … plus bees (!) in a rich tapestry of folk tinged progressive rock. Lyrically intelligent and insightful, conveyed with integrity and emotion, and played with consummate skill and passion. Impossible to ignore – we all sort of knew it would be great. Of course it’s great!

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Cosmograf – The Unreasonable Silence

Simply stunning. Robin Armstrong has imagined a rich narrative of alien incursion (or paranoid breakdown?!) with sonic brilliance. The imaginative story is unnerving, whilst the music is captivating on a human level but cinematic in scope – ranging from crunching Purple riffs, through atmospheric acoustic passages to sweeping Floydian soundscapes. Undoubtedly, major contender for Album of the Year already from one of the best Progressive Rock artists of this generation.

Gary

Gary Morley – (Progradar reviewer)

HAWKWIND The Machine Stops

Hawkwind – The Machine Stops

Everything that Hawkwind evoke distilled into one disc. Great musicianship, tunes and tons of atmosphere make this the top of the pops for me. It’s been a long time since a Hawkwind album had such a buzz about it. Biggest regret – that I missed the live shows. Biggest hope – a proper live blu-ray & CD set is coming.

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Preacher – Aftermath

Prog at it’s best for me needs a driver. Preacher use guitars. Proper guitars like your dad waffles on about when he talks about Pink Floyd, Steve Hillage, Jimmy Page and that time he watched Rory Gallagher play for 3 hours at the Hexagon Theatre and your mum was drinking pints and ended up paralytic, singing along to “Wayward Child” sat on his boss’s shoulders…

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I Am The Manic Whale – Everything Beautiful In Time

Local boy’s debut embraces everything that is good about music. It has great tunes, off the wall lyrics and subjects that place it head and shoulders above most of what passes for modern music from the under 30’s. I’m looking forward to their next offering, be it a live gig in Reading or more music.

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Gandalf’s Fist – The Clockwork Fable

‘The Clockwork Fable’ is a Steam punk opera, like a space opera or a soap opera but without the bad romance and dodgy backdrops.

I loved the variety of musical genres used to tell a totally bonkers tale of clockwork suns and steam powered boys looking for missing cogs in a giant machine all played out in a cavernous underground city. There are rock tracks, some great drumming, some “epic” prog , some plaintive melodies and a host of guest vocalists and musicians, all of which add to the mix without overegging the lily.

The first time you listen you get sucked into the world presented here. It’s a Post apocalyptic, dark dystopian world but there are flashes of humour and the absurdity does not detract from the sheer brilliance of the effort here.

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Steven Wilson – 4 1/2

“left over’s” from ‘Hand .Cannot .Erase’ these track might have been, but as a snapshot of Mr Chuckletrousers ( © Angus Prune I Think) and his Zeus like stature in the modern Prog pantheon  this is sublime in its perfection. Hints of Zappa referencing impossible “stun guitar”, epic soundscape that demonstrate his skill as an arranger and bleak yet beautiful lyrics are all wrapped in a package that sticks 2 fingers up at the download and go generation. This is a quality production in every detail, lovingly constructed and presented for your pleasure.

Shawn Dudley

Shawn Dudley – (Progradar reviewer)

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Messenger – Threnodies

It took several spins for this album to truly work its magic on me, but once hooked it just won’t let me go.  A beautifully organic record, informed and powered by vintage sounds but not a slave to them.  The tastefully arranged guitar work on this album is a particular highlight.  Favorite tracks:  Balearic Blue, Celestial Spheres. 

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Haken – Affinity

Haken leaves the 1970s sounds of ‘The Mountain’ behind, makes a brief stop in the 1980s for the song 1985 and then ventures forward into the future on Affinity.  An endlessly inventive collection of intricately designed and passionately performed pieces it’s one of the most thrillingly forward-looking albums of 2016.  It’s time to drop the “Prog Metal” genre tag, these guys have transcended it.  Favorite tracks:  The Architect, Red Giant

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Purson – Desire’s Magic Theatre

Purson’s follow-up to ‘The Circle And The Blue Door’ is essentially a solo album from Rosalie Cunningham who wrote, arranged, produced and performed the majority of D.M.T. herself.   A conceptual psychedelic journey influenced by her Father’s record collection and her own experimentation with mind-expanding substances.  Another case of an artist using the canvas of vintage instrumentation and production techniques to create very personal and unique modern music.   Favorite tracks:  The Sky Parade, The Bitter Suite.

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Big Big Train Folklore

Another beautiful collection of immaculately arranged and produced “pastoral prog” from this master collective of musicians.  I recommend going for the extended track-list available on the LP and High-Res download editions, I believe an even stronger collection than the shorter CD version.  Favorite tracks:  Salisbury Giant, London Plane

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Knifeworld – Bottled Out OF Eden

A wonderfully quirky concoction of pop sensibility, progressive experimentation and the harmonic sophistication of jazz all mixed together into a thoroughly accessible brew.  And it’s fun!  Favorite tracks:  I Am Lost, I Must Set Fire To Your Portrait.

Roger

Roger Trenwith – (TPA reviewer and Astounded by Sound blog)

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Bent Knee – Say So

An unparalleled triumph of invention, melody, and strangeitude, it will take some beating for album of the year.

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David Bowie – Blackstar

Hardly seems right relegating this poignant artistic statement and full stop on a career of a true visionary to No.2, but from a purely musical point of view, them’s the breaks.

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Knifeworld – Bottled Out OF Eden

A chronicle of loss leavened by hope, Knifeworld get better with each release. Criminally underrated.

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Body English – Stories of Earth

Is there a sub-genre called “prog-pop”? If not, this is it. A truly joyous record shining a light in this dark Year of Stupid.

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King Crimson – Live In Toronto – Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, Canada, 20th November 2015

Whatever I put here means leaving out at least half a dozen albums equally as good, so this came out on top after a complicated mathematical randomisation process involving dice, incantations, dead frogs, toads, and copious amounts of single malt. The mighty Crim remake, remodel like no-one else. The version of Epitaph will make you shiver, unless you have no soul. Superb!

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Kevin Thompson (LHS) – (Progradar reviewer)

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Big Big Train – Folklore

Does this really need a reason?, best of the Band’s excellent output so far and an album that will always be on my desert island disc list. As near to perfect as it gets…

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Long Distance Calling – Trips

There are so many bands in this area of music it’s hard to stand out, but, on this release, Long Distance Calling have…..

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Gandalf’s Fist – The Clockwork Fable

A tremendous 3 disc concept package of such quality. Never been better value for money and shames the bigger bands!!

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Iamthemorning – Lighthouse

A delicately beautiful album from this Russian duo added further poignancy with the heartfelt vocals from Mariusz Duda on the title track.

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Downriver Dead Men Go – Tides

Another band who came recommended and I’d not heard before buying. Slow, dark and emotional, this Dutch band surpassed my expectations.

David

David Elliott – (Prog Guru™, TEP, Bad Elephant)

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Lazuli – Nos Âmes Saoules

There is nothing else quite like them, and they keep on going from strength to strength….

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Bent Knee – Say So

My first exposure to this amazing American band…genuine innovators, and hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck exciting!!

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The Dowling Poole – One, Hyde Park

Unashamedly unoriginal, but huge fun, and immaculately crafted. Big smiley music.

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Knifeworld – Bottled Out Of Eden

Banging tunes, a great groove, and more bassoon!!

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Frost* – Falling Satellites

A great return to the arena from the masters of modern progressive. Progressive rock with pop sensibilities – what’s not to like?

John Simms

John Simms – (Progradar reviewer, Rev Sky Pilot blog)

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Big Big train – Folklore

Consistently turning out excellent pastoral English progressive music, BBT have hit the motherlode again with this suite of songs celebrating the British folkloric tradition. From the sublime beauty of ‘Transit’ to the quirky tale of ‘Winkie’ the Pigeon, this is music of the highest calibre.

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Anderson/Stolt – Invention of Knowledge

This, for me, is simply the best music anyone connected with Yes has produced since ‘Awaken’. It draws on the bestaspects of Yes and Flower Kings and produces something sublime and beautiful. It was a very close call between my Top 2.

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Southern Empire – Southern Empire

One of the up sides to Unitopia folding a few years ago is that we now have both UPF and Southern Empire to carry on the legacy. This is a fine collection of melodic progressive rock music, exhibiting high levels of virtuosity and songmanship.

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Knifeworld – Bottled Out of Eden

Another band with a unique style and approach to music making. This is a wonderful follow-up to ‘The Unravelling’ and Kavus and his band of minstrels continue to delight.

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Mothertongue – Unsongs

The best music is that which stands out from the crowd, and Mothertongue certainly do that. Ecclectic, bizarre, unexpected and bonkers, this is a wonderful collection of (un)songs.

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And finally my thoughts, this selection of five albums was incredibly difficult to pick but I’m pretty certain that, at this moment in time, it is my definitive top five!!!

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Mothertongue – Unsongs

With its incisive, intelligent lyrics and first-class musicianship, Unsongs is unlike anything you will have heard in recent years. The music will lead you on a roller-coaster journey of acid jazz inventiveness that’s a big heap of noisy and light and also includes a lot of brass because everyone likes brass, right? A musical breath of fresh air that you will return to again and again, it’s just brilliant!

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Big Big Train – Folklore

The acknowledged masters of pastoral progressive rock and intelligent and incisive storytelling return with a fresh collection of tales gleaned from our heritage and history. With their penchant for heartfelt lyrics and beautiful music it is an involving and mesmerising journey that everyone should take at least once in their life.

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Cosmograf – The Unreasonable Silence

Thought provoking, questioning and inventive, ‘The Unreasonable Silence’ has all that I ask for in my music. A well constructed and intelligent concept brought to reality by a gifted musician with incomparable support from some incredible guests. It makes you really think about what you have heard and, above all, is a peerless, outstanding and incomparable listening experience that you will not forget any time soon.

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Iamthemorning – Lighthouse

‘Lighthouse’ is an amazing musical journey from the first note to the last. It is bewitching and beguiling and removes you from your everyday life to a place of wonder. Darkly captivating, it is not all sweetness and light but is a musical legacy that iamthemorning can build on and the ‘Lighthouse’ can light the way. These two exceptional artists have now moved into the major leagues and it is well deserved, album of the year? why not!

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Tilt – Hinterland

A superb album by a cast of very accomplished musicians. Brilliant vocals, burning guitar solos, a thunderous rhythm section and songwriting of the highest quality combine to deliver one kick ass release that I keep returning to again and again. By the way, three of these guys are better known as Fish’s backing band but, oh my god, have they risen well above that soubriquet now….

So, there you have it, a small selection of our own, very subjective, opinions on what has been the best music of a highly impressive first six months of 2016. You may agree, you may not but, one thing that everything agrees on is that the music just keeps getting better, and long may it continue!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interview with David Longdon – Pt1 from 6th March 2016 – by Progradar

Real World me David and Rikard

Before I get round to reviewing ‘Folklore’, here is my first interview with David Longdon, recorded on 6th March 2016.

Martin – Good morning David, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.

David – That’s fine Martin..

M – This actually came out of the blue, a friend of mine called Kevin Thompson, another one who has been into Big Big Train for a long time, had bought two copies of ‘Wild River’ by mistake (which I’m sure you won’t mind!) He advertised it on facebook and said “does anybody want it”. I’d had it in my mind about getting your solo album for quite a while, so I thought, if it’s there, I’ll definitely have it. I put it on and listened to it for the first time and I was really impressed with it. It reminded me of Lee Maddison, a north-east musician and I see it almost modern folk music?

D – That’s exactly what it is. It was musically aimed at the acoustic roots scene because I was searching for a genre that would allow me to make the music that I could hear in my imagination. I’d always liked acoustic music and experimental music so, ‘Wild River’ encompassed a little bit of both of those, there’s also some elements of prog in there too. Over the years, I’d been writing and recording with bands, working alongside a music publisher, band management, record companies and A&R people. I’d also gone through the Genesis saga too so, when it came to making ‘Wild River’, I wanted to make an album that I would like to hear. I was writing songs and getting into the whole recording process just to s see where it took me. I didn’t force a note which was possibly why Wild River took about seven years to make.

M – The title track, to me, I think it encompasses everything that you’ve just said. It’s got a bit of Prog, a bit of rock in it and it’s also got some of that modern folk in there as well, it’s just a really good song. You said it took seven years to make? You were obviously doing that among all the other bits and pieces then?

D – That was right, I’d gone though a divorce during that period and then I’d eventually rebuilt my life, met someone else and then became a parent. It’s interesting because all the people who are playing on ‘Wild River’ are old friends and people I knew from a specific point in my life. It’s a time capsule. It was also the time of moving from the 20th Century into the 21st, so the ‘Millennium blues’ were happening at that time too.

M- Were the songs written of actual experiences of yourself?

D – I was writing music and using different ways of writing. Some of the songs were based on events that had happened in my life. Falling Down was based on a conversation that I had with my father one day. Loving and Giving was autobiographical. Vertigo is about the disorientation that comes when a close relationship is coming to an end and it draws from several episodes that had happened to me. The song About Time was a stream of consciousness lyric – the lesson there was to leave the lyric rather than edit it into something more controlled. I have no idea who Turpentine is – but one day I’ll write a song about her. So the album is a mixture of influences and different subject matter.

I had spent lots of time in recording studios over the years but I’d always worked with an engineer. On ‘Wild River’ I was the engineer and I learnt how to do it as I went along. I recorded Wild River on a  Roland VS8-80. It enabled me to be able to record audio at home for the first time and I found it hugely liberating. For the first time, it wasn’t costing me money to record and I could record when i had the opportunity to be able to do so. I recorded the music on the VS8-80 and a friend of mine called Michael Brown digitally transferred it into E Magic/Logic.

M – It seems to be quite an intricate, devil’s art being an engineer…

D – It takes time and experience to learn the craft. There are lots of errors on the album. On Joely,  and I was recording Beth Noble the violinist and we were layering her violin and viola parts to make it sound like a string section. My inexperience as a sound engineer meant that I bounced some of the violin parts with the reverb, which means that the reverb is now entirely committed to the track. I can’t take it off. But it was a learning process.

There are many things like that, which you learn by doing them. I wanted the album to take the listener on a journey. I recorded the material and arranged the album to flow from track to track. The album revealed itself over time.

With Niall Hayden Kings Place Rehearsal Simon Hogg

(Picture copyright Simon Hogg Photography)

M- Touching on the ‘no-no’ subject of ‘Bard’ in the BBT forum and the re-mastering of that album, would you go back and redo ‘Wild River’ or, are you happy with it as it is?

D- That’s interesting because we have spoken about, possibly, reissuing it as a Big Big Train back pages thing, both ‘Bard’ and ‘Wild River’. With ‘Wild River’, its initial pressing is now gone, that’s it, the original run has sold out. The temptation is to go – ‘I want to rerecord everything’ but I don’t want to do that with Wild River. I have some good live recordings and demos taken from that time which may be of interest. I may record some acoustic versions as additional tracks to accompany the re-issue. But Wild River is what it is and I am happy to leave it at that.

We (BBT)are going to revisit at least one track from ‘Bard’ on ‘Station Masters’.

Before I met Big Big Train, I sent a copy of Wild River to Greg (Spawton) and Andy (Poole), they listened to and liked it because it showcased the acoustic side to what I do. They also liked my songwriting. We did think, at one point, of re-recording the title track with Big Big Train. That’s another option.

M- I think that would be awesome because, going back to the track, it’s even got bits of blues and soul in it as well…

D- I nailed my colours to the mast with that track! It is about the death of my father. My Dad died of leukaemia and I have felt very bitter about it over the years. I feel that he  was taken too soon. He missed too much. The chorus line, “Life is a wild river, not a long, calm stream..”  acknowledges that there are circumstances in life that will rip you up. My emotions are very raw on this track. As I have become older, I think it is how we come through these challenges that life throws at us, that makes us who we are.

M- To me, doing the Wild River track with Big Big Train would be really good…

D- That was just an idea and may or may not happen.

M –You’ve probably got enough stuff to keep you going for the next decade without thinking about anything else!

D – Yes, we’ve got some interesting stuff coming up. We are looking at least four recording projects deep into the future now. That’s a good amount of work. It’s a steady process.

M – So, getting onto ‘Folklore’ and ‘Wassail’, was it a conscious decision to go down that, shall we say,’folk inspired’ route. Everyone calls you ‘Pastoral Progressive Rock’ so, would you say it is a bit of a move away from that, to a certain extent? Or was it just the way the songwriting took you?

D- I am fascinated with the themes within folk music, not so much folk music itself. I like the ideas and structures. If you listen to folk music, it has all manner of odd time signatures within it, much like progressive rock does.

It had been a while since BBT had released a studio album because we had been focussing on Stone and Steel and also the live shows which were both expensive project and also time consuming.  I had started writing  Wassail which I played to Greg down the phone and he liked it. We had a conversation about what we’d been writing individually and eventually a direction emerged. We decided on the title Folklore because it pulled all these musical ideas together as a whole.

Folklore the track, is a song about how folklore came about, how it has been passed on through our human existence. Word of mouth, then words evolving and the written word. Evolving straight through to the digital realm and the internet and social media. We are still making our folklore.

Acoustic Quartet Simon Hogg

(Picture copyright Simon Hogg Photography)

M – You said you were surprised a bit by the success of Big Big Train recently, would you say that’s down to the digital age and things like facebook etc.?

D – Yes, it’s a fantastic Facebook group that we’ve got. People gather there because of a shared musical interest in the band but there’s much more to it than we could ever have designed. It’s a true community of BBT fans who call themselves Passengers. Big Big Train fans are a loyal bunch, they are demanding in the sense that they expect great things from us. They expect excellence and we fully aim to deliver.

M – I’m a member of quite a few facebook groups and there isn’t one that’s the same as Big Big Train. One question that everyone asks, new members that come to it say, it’s the most active facebook groups that they’ve ever been in and it hardly ever talks about the band it was set up to support!

D – When we’ve got something to say, we say it, when we haven’t we will still chip in now and again. People ask about  stuff and we answer it and it’s great. I love the fact that there’s no longer the wall between artists and fans. One of the best things about the Kings Place shows was being able to meet with the fans after the concerts. We are more than happy to do it and we want to talk with the fans. Those shows were our time with them and their time with us. It is a two way thing and that’s important because we value the people that buy our albums and support the band. We couldn’t have done the gigs without our fans wanting to see us play our music live. We can’t make that sort of stuff up and it is a genuinely amazing thing really.

M – Getting back to ‘Wild River’, have you thought about the possibility of a follow up, another solo album?

D – Yes, I have thought about a follow up. I have certain songs that I’ve written that I would like to see the light of day at some point. Uncle Jack was a solo song that I offered to BBT when they asked me if I would like to submit something for the band. Not your typical BBT song but that is part of my role within the band. I am a singer and songwriter, I have my own style and way of doing things which is quite rightly different from Greg’s. The contrast seems to have worked for us as a band and we think that it broadens our appeal.

Make Some Noise, which sometimes gets some stick from some fans because it was unlike anything the band had done before or since. We were finishing off recording some of the ‘English Electric’ drum tracking sessions and we had some down time in the studio. So Greg said to me have you got a solo thing you fancy bringing in to work on? I brought Make Some Noise in. Nick D’Virgilio had recorded the drums put the drums down on it, and as we worked on it Rob Aubrey was in the control room, talking with Greg and Andy, said that it is a single.

I’ve made it very clear about the origins of Make Some Noise, It was originally a solo track and the music is supposed to sound like a young band who are just kicking off and getting really excited by the power of the music that they’re playing with their mates when they were teenagers. Actually it is not as simple as it first seems.The music reflects those bands that I listened to as a teenager.

At that time, we’d been thinking about doing a video because we had been a studio based band and the video would give a sense of what we might look like as a live band. The notion of making a video for something as long as  Victorian Brickwork would be a costly thing to do. Make Some Noise is short and to the point and, rightly or wrongly, it got absorbed into Big Big Train and it became a single and a video for us.

We were not trying to have a hit single in any sense as some have suggested. That would be a preposterous notion because it is far too retro in it’s sound. Some kindly soul mentioned that we were selling out but who exactly were we selling out to? There is no big money machine hyping BBT. We are independent and we do it ourselves. So the prospect of Make Some Noise storming the charts was so off radar that it was never even considered.

M – It’s not Big Big Train but it is?

D – Yes, it is not typically Big Big Train but it is. It nods it’s head to bands like Queen, Pilot, Be Bop Deluxe, those classic rock singles. Big Big Train is a broad church, so it seems, I’m not saying we can do anything, don’t go expecting a rampant disco album anytime soon. If it suits the song subject matter and it works, we do it. We serve the music and go where it takes us.

But what would a David Longdon solo album be like?  I really don’t know.

M –  It needs to be something that’s more signature to you…

D- Exactly. So do I stockpile material for a solo album? If I don’t do another solo album for five years or so, will I still be interested in the material I had written five years ago? So, the answer is yes, I will probably do another solo album at some point. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. For the time being Big Big Train is all encompassing. There are only twenty four hours in a day. if you want to hear  David Longdon you’re going to find me with Big Big Train.

Real World -Glassart

(Picture copyright Glassart Photography)

M – How did you get involved with the Martin Orford album?

D – Martin was bowing out from IQ and his progressive rock career. He was very cut up about the way that the internet had impacted on sales. He was also getting nasty emails from people when he approached those that had uploaded his music and he just couldn’t see a future in continuing. That’s what his song Endgame is about.

Martin was recording his swan song and about to hang up his cape. I was reading an article about Martin and he has  a very sharp sense of humour and he’s a very interesting guy. I called Giant Electric Pea one afternoon and left a message, telling them who I was and a little bit about what I’d done. I mentioned the Genesis story and at that point he picked up the phone. We started speaking. At the end of the call he said “I’ll tell you what,  if you want to do it, there are a couple of tracks that I’d like you to have a go at singing. If you can sing them better than him, they’re going on the album!”.

I drove down to Southampton one morning to Aubitt studios and Rob Aubrey was the engineer. That’s how we all met. After I’d gone, Rob was on the phone to Greg saying that I think I’ve got a singer that could be right up your street. That was the beginning of my involvement with Rob, Greg and Andy.

M –And also thanks to you for having the gonads to pick the phone up and leave a message..

D – At that time I was teaching music technology and I was in that cycle of being a parent, getting up at 5 a.m. nappy changing and I thought right, if I’m going to do this music thing, I need to do it on a bigger scale than I have done it previously. I had released ‘Wild River’ to mass indifference.  To be honest, it was dead in the water. Joining BBT was a game changer for everyone involved with it.

M – You hinted on the Genesis thing, would you mind expanding on that a bit more? Was that an audition set up because they wanted a new singer and they advertised or was that through connections?

D – I have a friend called Gary Bromham, who, at that time, was in a band called The Big Blue and they were signed to EMI. We’d met when I was signed to Rondor Music Publishing and we shared the same management company. Gary was working at The Farm, where Genesis record, in Surrey. He was also working with Nick Davis who was Genesis’ producer at that time. Nick told Gary that now Phil had said he was off, they had decided to look for another singer. Gary, bless him, thought about me and said to Nick that he had a recording of someone who he thought would be good for that.

Gary called me and said “Dave, I hope you don’t mind but, I think I might have got you an audition with Genesis!” I thought he was winding me up because he has a great sense of humour but, he told me what had happened and how Nick had taken my tape to Tony Banks who liked it. There was a song on there of mine called Hieroglyphics of Love, it’s been a very lucky song for me, it got me a publishing deal and the audition with Genesis. Tony waited for Mike (Rutherford) to get back from touring with The Mechanics so he could play it to him. Mike got back off tour and liked it so the next thing is to get me down for an audition and that got the ball rolling.

I went down and did the audition, they had these mixes called ‘Top Of The Pops’ mixes because there was a musicians union rule that states that the music had to be performed live so, for example, if you had a track like No Son Of Mine, you’d have the track from the album and the producers would prepare these mixes by taking the lead vocalists voice off. Then, If they did it on Top Of The Pops, Phil could add a live vocal and that would satisfy the Union’s live element of the performance. They had a few Top Of The Pops mixes of their hits and I sang Mama, No Son of Mine, Land Of Confusion, Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Throwing It All Away, I Can’t Dance and I did a live version of Turn It On Again, they didn’t have a Top Of The Pops track for that. They asked me if there was anything I wanted to sing and I said I’d like to do In The Cage from ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’.

Tony and Mike were very friendly and spent a lot of time just talking to me because, unlike Ray Wilson who had put records and video’s out with Stiltskin, they knew very little about me. They had to get that information out of me. The next time I was down they asked me to come and jam with them. They were playing excerpts of material that would end up on ‘Calling All Stations’ and I just had to jam along to it. Then they gave me a few songs to work on and write with them. I gave them a few ideas back. I also had to perform a live set with my band so they could see me perform in a live situation.

I never met Ray Wilson at all through the entire process. We’ve never corresponded with each other either. It was rumoured that they may go with a two singer approach, like Mike And The Mechanics but the fact that they had not introduced Ray and I to each other got my spider-senses tingling.  As we know, they eventually decided to go with Ray and why not? It’s a long time ago now and I’ve been a bit busy since then (said with a chuckle). As I’ve said before, Big Big Train is the Mothership and my musical home.

wassail mask neil palfreyman

(Picture copyright Neil Palfreyman)

M – Just one final question, where do you see the future for you and the band. Cast your eye over a crystal ball, where do you think you will be in ten years time?

D – There’s lots of variables that can happen between now and then. I’m 50 now so I’ll be 60 in ten years time, I hope I’ll be in good health and be able to sing in the way that I do at the moment, I hope my voice and my health stands the test of time. Big Big Train is its own muse, it is its own thing. It’s strange, when a new album starts coming together, we are write songs and build tracks and you wonder where it is all going. Greg will add something, Danny will send something in and Dave Gregory will provide a guitar part and suddenly, bang!, you go, yes, it’s Big Big Train! The good thing about the band is we are not frightened to throw in some unusual elements.

M- More live performances?

D- Definitely, we loved the live shows, they were amazing events. It was such a fantastic experience for all of us. We want to keep the shows special, we want them to be cherished as moments that people will look back on and think yes, that was something special!

M – I think I speak for the majority, if not all of, the people when I say it wasn’t just a gig. It was part of a whole weekend, people took time out to not just go and see the band live, they were coming from all over the world, it was the build up to it and the gig was just the highlight. It was more of a complete experience than just a show.

D – On the Saturday afternoon I was down in the foyer talking to the guys on the merch table. There was one man and his son who came down the escalator and saw me.  They came over to talk to me and they’d come from Bolivia! He said they’d walked, they’d been on a bus and a train. They’d also been on a plane to get to these shows in London and I’m so pleased that I met them. It was just the three of us talking in the foyer and I was thinking that to come all this way from Bolivia, it’s just incredible.

Folklore Launch

(Picture copyright Simon Hogg Photography)

M – I don’t think I can top that anecdote!  It was quite an experience, speaking for myself, I joined the ‘Train’ just after ‘The Underfall Yard’ and it didn’t resonate with me when I first heard it. I hate to say it but I did walk away from Big Big Train but, when I heard the ‘English Electric’ albums I thought they were absolutely stunning and went back to ‘The Underfall Yard’ and then it made sense!

D – I suppose, in many ways, people say that Greg tends to write the big, more progressive tracks and I tend to write the shorter songs. We don’t contrive the way we write, we just write what we write and then what we’ve got is what we’ve got.  We then talk about it and we come with the next direction of where we are going. We go with what’s right at the time,

Big Big Train has been an amazing experience for all of us involved and it’s given us a lot of pleasure. It is a fantastic vehicle to be working within. I like the fact that you say you came back to ‘The Underfall Yard’ having discovered something later. I guess, when we put Folklore out there may be someone like your good self who heard Hedgerow and thought it was insane, something may hit them and they may go back and discover Hedgerow again and even ‘The Underfall Yard’. You’ve got people listening to the early albums as well, you have ‘Gathering Speed’ or ‘The Difference Machine’, which is great. It’s all good.

M – For me, the song that nailed my colours to Big Big Train’s mast was Curator of Butterflies. Mike Morton of The Gift and I came to the Saturday performance and were on the front row. It’s been a song that we both find quite emotional and we just turned to each other and were in tears at the beauty of it all. The same with Victorian Brickwork, the thing that gets me about that track now is the brass at the end, I can’t understand now why I didn’t like it at first. The brass at the end just makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

D – We’ve been listening to 5.1 mixes from ‘Stone & Steel and we’ve got Victorian Brickwork on there from the London shows. In Blu-Ray high definition with the band kicking and the brass going, it hits home hard. It’s a massive noise and it can be quite overwhelming.

When I first started with Big Big Train I received these lyrics which in addition to poetic moments, consisted of technical, almost industrial, language. I wondered how I was going to approach singing them. I decided to split the lyrics into lead vocal lines and backing vocal parts. Because if I split them up, it would give me more time to deliver and they could overlap each other. I would deliver the lead vocal lines over the gorgeous music beneath and that was the key to it. I also sing them like my life depends on it – like it is the most important thing in the world. It’s not only the words, it is very much the emotional delivery of them.

M  –  I think you’re right, what a lot of people picked up from the Kings Place performances was that you were not just singing the words, you were almost living them.

D – Yes, I am completely in the moment. It’s been an amazing journey.

I’d like to thank David for taking the time to talk to me.

Coming next will be my review of Big Big train’s ‘Folklore’ album and then my second interview with David which we conducted after the release of ‘Folkore’ and the release part at Real World Studios.

 

Glass Hammer announce new album – by Progradar

Renowned progressive rock outfit Glass Hammer have announced that 16th studio album ‘Valkyrie’ will be released this autumn.

The new release will see Susie Bogdanowicz take lead vocal duties, along with support from founder members Steve Babb and Fred Schendel.

A full on concept album in the vein of ‘Lex Rex’ and ‘The Inconsolable Secret’, ‘Valkyrie’ was rehearsed it as if it would be a show then recorded all of the basic rhythm tracks live. There’s still a lot of recording to do back at the studio.

Glass Hammer are in the studio now, finishing off what could prove to be their Magnum Opus.

A teaser trailer video has been released: