Progressive alternative rockers Pure Reason Revolution return with their sixth studio album ‘Coming Up To Consciousness’, released on the 6th September 2024 via InsideOutMusic. Betrayal, deception, fear, grief, mortality, and questions of sanity: heady and primordial themes animate the latest conceptual LP from Pure Reason Revolution.
Jon Courtney comments: “Spawned from the bereavement after my dog was put down, a numb & dry creative spell ensued, but after a meeting with my writer friend Craig Walker (Archive/Power of Dreams) & sharing how the last months had been, he urged me to get this experience down in lyrics & music. Suddenly the album flew out of me/us! In terms of recording process, this album was probably the most enjoyable to make, with the various collaborations firing creativity.”
To mark the announcement, the band have also launched the album’s first single and opening track, titled ‘Dig Till You Die’. You can watch the Thomas Hicks-directed video here:
‘Coming Up To Consciousness’ is the third of its post-hiatus renaissance records that began with 2020’s ‘Eupnea’ and continued in 2022’s ‘Above Cirrus’. Like those two predecessors, the new record is intensely personal. Its eight tracks are all between four and seven minutes long – concise by PRR standards – and they grapple with darkness of various kinds.
Courtney, who lives in Berlin, shared writing duties on several tracks with US-based Greg Jong. The pair formed Pure Reason Revolution together in the early 00s at the University of Westminster, creating breakout hit ‘The Bright Ambassadors of Morning’ as their third year project. They reconnected during the creation of ‘Eupnea’ and have continued the partnership since then both in the studio and on stage. Legendary session musician Guy Pratt, who has worked with Pink Floyd among myriad iconic acts, provided bass guitar on seven of the eight tracks, resulting in more ambitious bass lines than any of Pure Reason Revolution’s previous records. Meanwhile, Ravi Kesavaram, of My Vitriol fame, returns to the drums on this record after touring with the band in 2022.
Another newcomer on this record is vocalist Annicke Shireen, known for her work with Shireen and Heilung, as well as her solo project. Shireen stepped in after original PRR member and fan favourite Chloe Alper was unavailable for recent live shows. With Alper’s schedule remaining packed for the foreseeable future, she has been unable to rejoin the lineup. She and Courtney agreed it made more sense for Shireen to sing on the record if she was going to continue appearing in shows. Both Courtney and Jong have nothing but enthusiasm for working with her:
“They’re impossible shoes to fill in a lot of ways,” Greg Jong says. “But we were just blown away with how good she is. We were really excited by the fact that vocally she does have a similar tone to Chloe, and yet she definitely holds her own.”
The band was equally thrilled to work with multiple members of prog icon The Pineapple Thief; the record was mixed by Bruce Soord, mastered by Steve Kitch, and sees Jon Sykes playing bass on one track. ‘Coming Up To Consciousness’ is also the third PRR album to feature cover art by Jill Tegan Doherty, who Courtney originally met in Berlin on a German language course.
The album will be available as a Limited CD+DVD Digipak (featuring 5.1 Surround Sound & High Resolution Stereo Mixes), Standard CD Jewelcase, as well as a Gatefold ReVinyl LP (Recycled Vinyl), and digitally in both stereo and Dolby Atmos. Pre-order now here:
The band have also confirmed their first tour dates in support of the album, playing in Europe alongside Lesoir in September & October, starting at Be Prog! My Friend Festival in Barcelona.
27th September – Be Prog! My Friend, Barcelona, Spain*
29th September – Stummsche Reithalle, Neunkirchen, Germany
30th September – Backstage By The Mill, Paris, France
1st October – Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany
3rd October – Cpunt, Hoofddorp, Netherlands
4th October – Progpower Europe, Baarlo, Netherlands*
5th October – 013, Tilburg, Netherlands
*No Lesoir
The band will also make their first appearance on Cruise To The Edge in 2025, alongside Steve Hackett, Riverside, Haken, Big Big Train, Robert Fripp & many more.
What have Mike Morton and The Gift been up to since ‘Antenna’ was released?
So much has happened to the world since ‘Antenna’ came out, it was released early in the summer of 2019 and as soon as it was released David Lloyd decided he wanted to leave! I felt something was amiss with Dave because he was quite frustrated throughout the recording of ‘Antenna’, largely because he wanted to move quicker.
As a band of six people, it was always difficult getting us together, all of us did jobs that were demanding and most of us had kids. It was like herding cats, getting us to rehearse but we did. We said to David Elliott at BEM that we’d get the album ready for delivery in June and Dave (Lloyd), being the producer, did night after night of mixing, working against the clock, and I think he was burnt out because we over promised on the deadline.
Neil Hayman, our drummer, was really loyal to Dave also frustrated by the lack of rehearsal and so he left. So that was another big thing. As soon as we launched it (Antenna), the band lost two key members. We replaced Neil with Joseph (my son) who brought a lot to the sound because he’s got a good swing to this play and Leroy (James) managed to fill the sound out with just one guitar.
Then we were about to play a whole series of gigs in 2020 when you know what happened, lockdown! We’d recovered from losing a key member and then literally nothing except band zooms for almost two years! I will say that through that time, those two years, I was writing, I sat down at the piano, picked up my guitar and wrote. So, in the absence of The Gift activity for that time, I built up these songs. In 2022 the five man band did a few gigs but Leroy said that he wanted to pursue different types of music and bowed out and so did Gabri.
I really wanted to record these songs I’d written, they became the story of a life from beginning to end and I like stories, they also got me through the lockdown. I think ‘Awake and Dreaming’ still works because it is a story, all the best music has a story behind it. We did consider pausing The Gift and me doing this as a solo project but they decided in the end to leave and we are all still friends. We recruited Ben Croft on keyboards, had Chris Taylor on drums, Stef Dickers has always been with me and we recruited Chris Tortoioli on guitar. This version of the band did its first gig at the Nene Valley Rock Festival last September and has been working steadily on the new album since.
‘Seven Seasons’ is an album that was inspired by a song on ‘Antenna’ called Back To Eden. David called it an epic in five minutes and wondered if I’d read Shakespeare’s ‘Seven Seasons of Man’ before I wrote it, a piece by Shakespeare that charts seven seasons of a life. I decided that I would take that story and make a whole album based on it. It’s split into ‘The Seven Seasons Suite’ and three other songs at the end that stand outside of it. The suite starts with an overture and then the first part, Coming Down To Land, a gentle ballad about a baby arriving and the infant years. The second part, Baby Blue Eyes, is about going to school, taken from the idea of ‘Little Boy Blue Come Blow Your Horn’ and that, while school is essential, it can crush your spirit if you go to the wrong place. The third part, Sweet Bird of Youth which, itself, is the name of a Tennessee Williams, is about when you leave the clutches of school or college and are in your prime, you’ve got a job and are dating, the testosterone is rushing around your system, the world is your oyster, my son! The fourth, Lay Your Heart On Me, is about falling in love and settling down, love and marriage. It’s a gentle song. Part five is the midlife crisis song, Yours Sincerely. It’s about feeling yourself age and your efforts being wasted as your relationship breaks down. It’s entirely autobiographical and it’s quite cynical, an epic about the mid-life dark point. There’s an instrumental interlude which leads in to part six, Evensong, a song that’s very dear to me. It’s another gentle ballad about old age and probably the most Genesis-like, they are a big influence to me. It’s about an old man looking back over his life, he’s benign now and sees it all as learning. He’s wiser and not holding on to things any more. The last part, part 7, is about end of life and is called Where We’re From, a lot of work went into it and it’s a big song. It’s not a religious song but it is hopeful.
The three other songs at the end that stand outside of the suite are Keep Calm And Carry On, which is a crazy instrumental, Harbour Lights, which is a love song and then Think Of England ends the album.
Think Of England will be the first single and this song is saying that Brexit was a very bad idea! It’s outside of the main song suite on the album because it is a stand alone topic, it is a lament for some of the collective decisions that this country has taken. It’s not an angry song and it’s not saying that those who voted to leave the EU were foolish, it takes a fairly careful line. The song comes from the Victorian idea of ‘Close your eyes and think of England’, the idea that we are being violated by some of the decisions that are being made at the top. I like to think it’s slightly hopeful at the end, that we will find a better way, “Wait for miracles again”.
It’s saying that because we cling to the past and archaic, unhelpful ideas of what England particularly is about, it doesn’t make us very happy. There’s three verses to it; the first verse is about a disaster capitalist who profited from the financial crisis of 2008 and just plays our economy like a casino, the second verse is about someone who’s clinging to a world that’s gone and will be bitterly disappointed when these sunlit uplands do not materialise and the final verse is about an enigmatic woman on the streets. It’s compassionate towards her because she’s the one that’s really struggling to get by. It’s not a cheerful single! It kind of flips what a lot of so-called prog songs do, the ones from the classic genre that start quiet and get more intense and aggressive as they go along the gentle beginning and the ferocious climax. This five minute single flips that, it starts with heavy guitars and is quite aggressive, it may surprise people. It’s not metal but it punches your face hard but, by the time it gets to the third verse, it becomes a piano elegy and so the end is really soft. It’s almost like all the anger has gone and all that’s left is sadness. There’s anger in this song but I’m not pointing the finger as we have enough division already. I’m asking look at where we are now, are we making sensible choices as a nation? This is just a song of regret.
Tim Bowness has today shared details of his new album Powder Dry. Set for release on 16th August, the album will be Bowness’s first release on the Kscope label. The first single from Powder Dry is the propulsive Rock Hudson, a paranoid ode to online discourse. Produced and performed by Tim Bowness and mixed by his partner in no-man Steven Wilson, the song is accompanied a vibrant abstract video by Matt Vickerstaff, which echoes Carl Glover’s artwork for the album.
Bowness says of the song, ‘Like all of the album Powder Dry, the song resulted from an attempt to capture a fleeting feeling as accurately as I could. This time the mood was dark, and there’s something of the spiky Post-Punk and Electro-Pop music of the early 1980s that captivated me as a teenager in the mix. Joy Division, The Cure, The The etc…’
Watch the video for Rock Hudson here:
Featuring 16 pieces over its restless 40-minute duration, Tim Bowness’s eighth studio album Powder Dry represents a new beginning on a new label.
A collection of acute contrasts, the album is a vibrantly accessible and wildly experimental genre-blurring assault, embracing Industrial Rock, Electro Pop, singer-songwriter directness, haunted carnival soundscapes and more.
Entirely produced, performed and written by Bowness (a first), Powder Dry was mixed (in stereo and Surround Sound) by Bowness’s partner in no-man (and The Album Years podcast), Steven Wilson, who also acted as Bowness’s sounding board during the mixing process.
‘I’ve had the pleasure to work on most of Tim’s solo albums, and for me this is the best and most creative of them all, partly because this time it’s truly a ‘solo’ album, showcasing not only his unique vocals, but also his distinctive approach to production and performance. It’s totally Tim!’ – Steven Wilson
Chronicling descents into ideological extremism, eco-apocalypse, and the all-too human quest for love in a time of crisis, the album is a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of sound; chasing feelings, searching for meanings and trying to capture the ever-elusive nowness of now.
Powder Dry’ will be presented on two beautiful, coloured vinyl LP editions – pink and yellow – alongside a bonus CD edition with 5.1 surround sound DVD included. Standard black vinyl LP and standard CD editions will also be available. Released on 16th August.
UPCOMING SHOWS
MAY 26, 2024
Load Street Studios, 3 Edwin Ave, Kidderminster UK
2 SETS – 2pm + 7pm
Only 25 tickets will be available for each set, so early booking is recommended for what promises to be a unique experience.
Doors Open – 1.30pm and 6.30pm for 2pm and 7pm performance times.
UK-based prog band RETURNED TO THE EARTH are pleased to announce the new album Stalagmite Steeple due out on June 14th via Giant Electic Pea. The follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Fall of the Watcher,’ the new album is another intriguing journey through main man Robin Peachey’s particular take on life.
You can listen to the album’s opening track and first single “Dark Morality” here:
Robin Peachey on the new album: “The writing for Stalagmite Steeple began in late 2020 during the recording of Fall Of The Watcher, my previous album. It’s been a 2 1/2 year recording process to get the album finished and I have worked again with Paul Johnston as producer/engineer/additional musician. Steve Kitch (The Pineapple Thief) has again mastered the album for me.
“‘Dark Morality’ is the opening track of the album Stalagmite Steeple and sets the scene for the album’s themes. “I saw a story about an elderly couple who were separated during the first Covid lockdown and unfortunately the lady passed away from natural causes. I found it incredibly sad that we couldn’t find a way to bring loved ones together in their final moments during this difficult period of our history. It seemed empathy and compassion were lost but the money spent for the privilege of being in the care home facility still rolled in. I didn’t want this event to be marked by just a single song so it formed the backdrop for the whole album.”
Tracklisting: 1. Dark Morality 7:19 2. The Final Time 5:00 3. Stalagmite Steeple 9:58 4. Meaningless To Worth 6:09 5. Die For Me 9:09 6. The Raging Sea 5:36
Spirit of Unicorn Music are pleased to announce the forthcoming release of FOCUS 12, the brand new studio album from Focus.
Founded by Thijs van Leer, Focus have been at the forefront of the progressive music movement since 1969, yet they still continue to deliver engaging, innovative and skillfully crafted music. Focus 12 exemplifies this and proves why they are still a firm fan favourite, the world over.
For Thijs van Leer (75) and Pierre van der Linden (78), age is nothing more than a number. Both continue to contribute to Focus with a passion. Thijs, who has written the majority of the new album, rises at 4.30am every day in order to work on his compositions. Whilst the album boasts some of Pierre’s greatest and most energetic drum sequences to date.
Allowing the younger guard to take the audio reins for the first time, Focus 12 is produced by band members Udo Pannekeet and Menno Gootjes, who also contribute two compositions on the album.
Thijs commented “How beautiful life can be when a band plays so easily and so together.”
Focus 12 was recorded at the world-renowned Wisseloord Studios, in the band’s native country, of the Netherlands. A first for Focus, the album features a completely improvised piece which was captured as it spontaneously took place in the studio, during the recording process. Thus proving that more than 50 years on, the band are still excited by undertaking something new and different.
Van Leer continues “Thanks Pierre, Udo and Menno for so much musical passion!”
The band continue their long association with legendary artist Roger Dean whose stunning artwork graces the front cover and packaging. The vinyl version features a stunning gatefold sleeve.
Focus continue to be one of the hardest working rock bands on the planet, regularly touring the globe playing live. This July, they undertake a string of live dates across the USA and Canada, as part of Asia’s Heat Of The Moment Tour.
Thijs van Leer concludes “After all these years, Focus is in the here and now; the triumph of survival!
Sweden-born, folkloric progressive rock band Kaipa proudly announce their new album Sommargryningsljus. 49 years after the release of their debut album, the band is set to reveal the 15th longplayer of their musical journey, Sommargryningsljus, which will be released via InsideOutMusic on June 28th, 2024. Sommargryningsljus is now available for pre-order:
The announcement comes with the release of the first single of the album, which is a mélange of both the opening and closing track of Sommargryningsljus, subsequently named “Sommargryningsljus (Single Edit)”. Two of the songs from the album, the opening track Sommarskymningsljus and the ending track Sommargryningsljus, can be heard together in this single edit version, as they were originally written.
The song is about dusk and a journey through the night to meet the light again at dawn. The single comes with a lyric video that showcases the mystical vibes of twilight and gives a glimpse of the album aesthetics and illustrations.
Watch the video for Sommargryningsljus (Single Edit) here:
Listen to Sommargryningsljus (Single Edit) on your favorite DSPs here:
„I had written all the songs for the album and the total playing time was 70 minutes, but then something unexpected happened. One day when I was recording with Aleena Gibson, we took a break and went out into my garden to have a cup of coffee. Suddenly Aleena started singing some notes and I said it was beautiful. ‘Okay, let’s write a song‘, she said. So we returned to the studio and 15 minutes later a new song had been born. We were both delighted with the result and said that this song must be on the album and the lyrics must be in Swedish. I developed the song and created an interlude built on the same chords. The melody was hovering around in the studio and it landed gracefully in my fingers when I started to play. One early morning a few weeks later, the words suddenly came floating down and landed in my consciousness.“
Sommargryningsljus will be available as
· Ltd. CD Mediabook with extensive 24-pages booklet
· 12’’ Gatefold 180g 2LP black vinyl
· digital album
Tracklist:
1. Sommarskymningsljus 00:01:30
2. Seven Birds 00:09:50
3. Like Thousand Dawns 00:11:08
4. Revelationview 00:09:28
5. Chased by Wolves And Burned by The Sun 00:10:17
David Gilmour today announced his new album ‘Luck and Strange’, to be released on 6th September on Sony Music. The first track from the album, ‘The Piper’s Call’, will be released this Thursday, 25th April, following a world exclusive first play on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
NEW TRACK ‘THE PIPER’S CALL’
AVAILABLE THURSDAY 25th APRIL FROM DIGITAL PLATFORMS
‘Luck and Strange’ was recorded over five months in Brighton and London and is Gilmour’s first album of new material in nine years. The record was produced by David and Charlie Andrew, best known for his work with ALT-J and Marika Hackman. Of this new working relationship, David says, “We invited Charlie to the house, so he came and listened to some demos, and said things like, “Well, why does there have to be a guitar solo there?” and “Do they all fade out? Can’t some of them just end?”. He has a wonderful lack of knowledge or respect for this past of mine. He’s very direct and not in any way overawed, and I love that. That is just so good for me because the last thing you want is people just deferring to you.”
The majority of the album’s lyrics have been composed by Polly Samson, Gilmour’s co-writer and collaborator for the past thirty years. Samson says of the lyrical themes covered on ‘Luck and Strange’, “It’s written from the point of view of being older; mortality is the constant.” Gilmour elaborates, “We spent a load of time during and after lockdown talking about and thinking about those kind of things.” Polly has also found the experience of working with Charlie Andrew liberating, “He wants to know what the songs are about, he wants everyone who’s playing on them to have the ideas that are in the lyric informing their playing. I have particularly loved it for that reason.”
The album features eight new tracks along with a beautiful reworking of The Montgolfier Brothers’ ‘Between Two Points’ and has artwork and photography by the renowned artist Anton Corbijn.
Musicians contributing to the record include Guy Pratt & Tom Herbert on bass, Adam Betts, Steve Gadd and Steve DiStanislao on drums, Rob Gentry & Roger Eno on keyboards with string and choral arrangements by Will Gardner. The title track also features the late Pink Floyd keyboard player Richard Wright, recorded in 2007 at a jam in a barn at David’s house.
Some contributions emerged from the live streams that Gilmour and family performed to a global audience during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021; Romany Gilmour sings, plays the harp and appears on lead vocals on ‘Between Two Points’. Gabriel Gilmour also sings backing vocals.
The album’s cover image, photographed and designed by Anton Corbijn, is inspired by a lyric written by Charlie Gilmour for the album’s final song ‘Scattered’. Of working with his family on ‘Luck and Strange’, David says, “Polly and I have been writing together for over thirty years and the Von Trapped live streams showed the great blend of Romany’s voice and harp-playing and that led us into a feeling of discarding some of the past that I’d felt bound to and that I could throw those rules out and do whatever I felt like doing, and that has been such a joy.”
‘Luck and Strange’ will be released on 6th September on Sony Music.
Gatefold sleeve and booklet with photography and design by Anton Corbijn
SIDE ONE
Black Cat*
Luck and Strange
The Piper’s Call
A Single Spark
Vita Brevis*
Between Two Points** – with Romany Gilmour
SIDE TWO
Dark and Velvet Nights
Sings
Scattered***
CD
Album plus two bonus tracks.
Digipak and booklet with photography and design by Anton Corbijn
Black Cat*
Luck and Strange
The Piper’s Call
A Single Spark
Vita Brevis*
Between Two Points** – with Romany Gilmour
Dark and Velvet Nights
Sings
Scattered***
BONUS TRACKS
Yes, I Have Ghosts
Luck and Strange (original Barn Jam)*
BLU-RAY – AUDIO ONLY
Album in Dolby Atmos and high-resolution stereo mixes plus four bonus tracks.
Digipak and booklet with photography and design by Anton Corbijn
Black Cat*
Luck and Strange
The Piper’s Call
A Single Spark
Vita Brevis*
Between Two Points** – with Romany Gilmour
Dark and Velvet Nights
Sings
Scattered***
BONUS TRACKS
In Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res stereo
Yes, I Have Ghosts
Luck and Strange (original Barn Jam)*
A Single Spark (Orchestral)*
Scattered (Orchestral)*
Deluxe LP & CD boxsets will be announced in the coming weeks.
DAVID GILMOUR – ‘LUCK AND STRANGE’
All songs Music: David Gilmour. Lyrics: Polly Samson.
Except *Music: David Gilmour.
**Music: Mark Tranmer. Lyrics by Roger Quigley.
***Music: David Gilmour. Lyrics: David Gilmour, Charlie Gilmour and Polly Samson.
Produced by David Gilmour and Charlie Andrew
Engineered by Matt Glasbey, Charlie Andrew, David Gilmour and Damon Iddins
Mixed by David Gilmour, Charlie Andrew and Matt Glasbey
Additional engineering by Andy Jackson and Luie Stylianou
DAVID GILMOUR – ‘LUCK AND STRANGE’ – THE NEW ALBUMRELEASED 6th SEPTEMBERON SONY MUSIC.
ABOUT DAVID GILMOUR David Gilmour is guitarist, vocalist and writer with Pink Floyd, but is also renowned for his solo work. David Gilmour and Roger ‘Syd’ Barrett met as children in Cambridge, UK, and later began playing guitar together. In 1965 Syd co-founded Pink Floyd, while David continued playing with a succession of his own bands. In 1968, David was asked to augment the Pink Floyd line up as the singer and guitarist, only for Syd to leave the group five gigs later. David’s guitar playing, singing and songwriting became major factors of Pink Floyd’s worldwide success, including his distinctive vocals and guitar playing on The Dark Side Of The Moon, the third most successful album of all time.
In 1978, David released his first solo album, David Gilmour, which charted in the UK and the US. His second solo album, About Face, was released in 1984, again hitting the Top 20 in the UK. David assumed control of Pink Floyd in 1985, creating the new Floyd album A Momentary Lapse Of Reason with Richard Wright and Nick Mason. It was followed in 1994 by The Division Bell, which contained the instrumental Marooned, composed by David and Richard Wright, which won a Grammy Award. Both albums charted at Number 1 on both sides of the Atlantic and were supported by sell-out world tours.
In 1996, Pink Floyd were inducted into the US Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, followed by the same honour in the UK in November 2005.
David is one of the all-time guitar greats, with an instinctive and distinctive sound; he was voted ‘Best Fender Guitar Player Ever’ in a poll in Guitarist magazine, beating such greats as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. In 2005, David was made a CBE for services to music.
On 6th March 2006, David released his third solo album, On An Island, which entered the UK Charts at Number 1, subsequently hitting the top position in the pan-European Charts, as well as hitting multi-Platinum around the world. The tour for the album included a one-off performance in the historic dockyards of Gdańsk, Poland, with a 40-piece orchestra and a show at London’s Royal Albert Hall was filmed by director David Mallet and released in 2007 as ‘Remember That Night – Live At The Royal Albert Hall’, which topped the charts upon release.
In May 2008, David was awarded an ‘Ivor’ for Lifetime Achievement by the British Association of Composers and Songwriters. In September 2008, Fender Guitars made available their David Gilmour Signature Black Strat model, in ‘Relic’ and ‘New Old Stock’ models.
In 2009, David was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from East Anglia’s Ruskin University of Cambridge and Chelmsford for his outstanding contribution to music as a writer, performer and innovator.
In September 2014, Pink Floyd released The Endless River, and David confirmed that it would be the band’s final album and it topped the charts in over 20 countries.
David’s next album Rattle That Lock was released in 2015 and went to Number 1 in 13 charts around the world and Number 2 in a further eight, hitting the Top 5 in a total of 25 listings. The accompanying world tour saw David perform two spectacular shows at the legendary Pompeii Amphitheatre in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, 45 years after he first played there for Adrian Maben’s classic film Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii.
The concerts were the first-ever rock performances played to an audience in the ancient Roman amphitheatre, which was built in 90 BC and entombed in ash when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. The film of these shows directed by Gavin Elder, topped the box office In Italy, Germany and France and was Number 2 in the UK. David Gilmour Live At Pompeii was released on Blu-ray, Vinyl, CD & DVD in September 2017 and reached #3 in the UK and #1 in Italy.
In June 2019, David raised $21.5m from the Christie’s sale of more than 120 of his instruments and artefacts. He gave the proceeds to ClientEarth, a charity which uses the power of the law to protect the planet and its people.
Gilmour and Nick Mason reactivated Pink Floyd to record ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’ on 30th March 2022 with Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian band Boombox. All of the net proceeds have gone to charities to help alleviate the suffering of Ukrainian people.
Progressive multi-instumentalist and celebrated guitarist Richard Henshall has announced the release of his new EP – the first in an a trilogy – Mu Vol. 1, on 7th June,. He has also unveiled the first single ‘Mu’, along with a multi-cam play-through video.
During 2020 Henshall started work on his Mu collection, a trilogy of EPs that explore his love for jazz-infused, intricate instrumental music. The EPs will be released throughout 2024 and promise to be some of his most richly textured, adventurous music to date. Richard is joined by drummer Lang Zhao and saxophonist Adam Carillio, while he handles guitar, bass & keyboard duties.
On the Mu EP and launch single ‘Yang’ he comments: “I got the initial rhythmic idea for Mu on a flight home from a Haken tour just before the lockdown kicked off in the UK. Little did I know that it’d end up being the catalyst for a trilogy of jazz-tinged, instrumental EPs. The rhythmic powerhouse, Lang Zhao, is on the drums and his highly creative playing style has really elevated these arrangements to new levels. This new collection of songs has a strong focus on rhythm and explores some new ground for me as a writer and guitar player. I can’t to share what I’ve cooked up with everyone.”
Richard Henshall is a composer, guitarist and keyboardist hailing from London, England. He is acclaimed for his work as founding member of progressive metal juggernaut Haken, as well as his endeavours as a solo artist. Henshall has been named as Music Radar’s no. 11 ‘best prog guitarist’ and in Guitar World’s ‘top 15 best prog rock guitarist’.
In 2014, Henshall joined forces with Between the Buried and Me’s Dan Briggs and formed Nova Collective. Together they wrote the critically acclaimed ‘The Further Side’, which draws influences from the likes of Chick Corea and Mahavishnu Orchestra. In 2017, Henshall, alongside his Haken bandmates, featured in Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress performing the songs of Dream Theater for a year of very special shows around the world.
In 2019, Henshall completed work on his ambitious debut solo album, entitled The Cocoon, which features Jordan Rudess as well as host of other guests. The music ranges from dense polyrhythmic passages to delicate minimalistic interludes and features Henshall’s trademark guitar and keyboard playing throughout along with his debut performance as a lead vocalist. Prog Radar described it as “a truly impressive release and one that shows Richard at the height of his creative powers.”
Lesoir, a five-piece band hailing from Maastricht, Netherlands, and formed in 2009, has quietly cultivated a global fan base and are now ready to step out of the shadows again for their 6th album ‘Push Back The Horizon’ to be released on September 20th 2024.
‘Push Back The Horizon’ includes 10 songs, composed by the bands guitarist Ingo Dassen, and lyrics and vocal lines written by singer and multi-instrumentalist Maartje Meessen.
The album is produced by John Cornfield, known for his work with Muse, Kashmir, Razorlight, Supergrass, Robert Plant, New Model Army & Ben Howard, among others. In addition, dedicated collaborated for the vocals with Paul Reeve, Matt Bellamy’s (Muse) vocal producer. The instrumentation was recorded at the Muziekgieterij, Maastricht. The vocals were recorded in Cornwall, UK. Mastering is done by Steve Kitch, keyboardist of The Pineapple Thief. String compositions and arrangements by Ingo Dassen, James Merryweather and Maartje Meessen. The album will be released on CD, LP (black), 2LP (Bloody Mary coloured with ‘Babel’ as bonus track) and digitally.
‘Push Back The Horizon’ is preceded by the title track (already released) and new single ‘As Long As Your Girls Smile’ (out today) and delves into the intricacies of human existence, exploring relationships and life’s complexities. A sometimes limited control over circumstances adds nuance to the human experience, revealing a collective tipping point. The album offers a snapshot of relatable stories, emphasizing life’s potential for both thoughtful moments and unexpected events that provide glimmers of hope. Centered on family and brotherhood, it transcends geographical boundaries, highlighting the power of collective action. Instead of dwelling on the past, the album encourages a forward-looking perspective, urging a collective effort to try again for a better outcome.
Lesoir has always had a professional DIY mentality, for the last 4 years Lesoir built a team around them with Glassville Music as their management and bookings agent worldwide. This gives the band the opportunity to focus on their marketing and performance. The band has been completely self-supporting on social media, partly produces its own videos, has a permanent in-house crew, its own mixing desk, IEM, microphone, backline, transport and is equipped to play a show anywhere. For years, the band has been proactive in getting the story of & behind the band across the stage online and offline.
In 2019, the band toured for 5 weeks with prog legends Riverside. After the tour, the band made a real splash within the scene and the subsequent self-released album, with the help of Glassville Records, called ‘Mosaic’ was met with high praise and landed on several annual charts.
The band had about 20 headline shows lined up when the pandemic broke out. When touring was temporarily no longer an option, the band used its time to release the 20-minute-and-20-second epic ‘Babel’ on a ltd handmade etched vinyl. The 250 pieces were independently released and sold out within four weeks.
‘Push Back The Horizon’ is poised for a global release by V2 Records, renowned for their collaborations with Skunk Anansie, Mumford And Sons, Moby, Kaiser Chiefs and Ane Brun.
Sirin album out 31st May; ‘We Are The Ocean’ lyric video streaming now
Album guest features include Jim Grey (Caligula’s Horse) & Mick Moss (Antimatter).
Progressive dark folk artist Marjana Semkina has announced the release her second solo LP – Sirin – on 31st May 2024 along with a Kickstarter campaign. She has also unveiled the first single ‘We Are The Ocean’ along with a stunning lyric video.
Watch the lyric video for ‘We Are The Ocean’ here:
Known for her work as the vocalist of prog duo Iamthemorning, self-exiled Russian Marjana has forged a successful solo career with two critically acclaimed solo releases: her 2020 debut solo album Sleepwalking, and 2021 follow-up EP Disillusioned. Like its predecessors, Sirin is a journey of dark stories and fairy tales, told with Marjana’s uniquely captivating voice, on a foundation of detailed musical arrangements. However there is a prevailing darkness and grief, inspired by of Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the first single about by the protests.
On new single ‘We Are The Ocean’ Marjana comments: “This song was inspired by all of my Russian friends coming out to protest against the war when it started, despite the fact that there was a very good chance they’d get arrested for doing so – a lot did in the end. I wrote lyrics to this song on a train to one of those protests in London, Trafalgar Square in early March 2022.”
On the album Sirin, she continues: “Sirin is a mythical creature from ancient Slavic mythology, half-bird half-woman, she’s a harbinger of bad luck and death, and it’s believed that if you meet Sirin a big catastrophe will happen – except in case with the events surrounding this album it’s already happened. Sirin cries and mourns for humankind, and nothing can be more appropriate in this day and age. Sirin is one of very few creatures that can travel between worlds – a world of gods of light, a world of dark deities (in some versions an alternative to the underworld) and a world of mortals. This felt appropriate because the album is quite diverse in sound and some might think parts of it sound happy, but the subject matter is almost always quite morbid, which creates a contrast that I enjoy.
“I was never very political and I always tried to keep my art within the realms of lore, literature and imagination. But when events like the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine happen, it is impossible – and I’d even say, unforgivable – to stay silent and do nothing. Thankfully being based in the UK I feel rather safe speaking out against the current regime and I do have a platform that I can use to try and show the world that Russians disagree with the actions of the Russian government, and there are so many of us that only wish for this to be over. I’m just trying to show it in the most artistic way I can muster.”
Now permanently based in the UK, Marjana has been an active campaigner against the Russian occupation in Ukraine and has raised thousands of pounds via her activities to support the victims of war. She will continue her work, including selling a number of a limited run of handwritten lyrics from Sirin, with the money going to Ukrainian charities. Acts punishable by 15 years imprisonment should she return home.
Marjana is joined by an array of world class musicians (detailed below), which includes two very special guest vocal performances from Jim Grey (Caligula’s Horse) and Mick Moss (Antimatter).
Marjana has previously collaborated with many incredible artists, including The Flower Kings, Jordan Rudess, Blackbriar,as well as Anna Murphy with their Maer project. Combined with her work in Iamthemorning, her experiences have enabled her to become one of the most unique and exciting solo artists in the progressive world today.
Recording musicians: Grigoriy Losenkov – piano, bass guitar, synths, drum programming Vlad Avy – electric guitar, synths, drum programming Keli Guðjónsson (Agent Fresco) – drums Charlie Cawood (Medieval baebes, Knifeworld) – acoustic guitar, bouzouki, glockenspiel, hammered dulcimer, luiqin, guzheng Liam McLaughlin (Sithu aye, IATM) – electric guitar Margarita Chernyshevskaya – 1st Violin Petr Chepelev – 2nd Violin Julia Uliashcenkova – Viola Julia Romashko – Cello
