Tag: Darby Todd

Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess announces new solo album ‘Permission To Fly’; launches epic new single ‘The Alchemist’ 

Legendary Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess is pleased to announce his brand new solo album ‘Permission To Fly’ will be released on the 6th September 2024 via InsideOutMusic. No stranger to experimentation, known for leading the charge in pushing creative, sonic, and technological boundaries, his latest endeavour, epitomizes this ethos, delving into the complexities of human existence within our multifaceted world.  

As Jordan Rudess explains, “The essence of the album is deeply informed by the tumultuous events of 2023-2024, with motifs of peace and anti-violence woven throughout many of the songs.” 

To mark the announcement, he has launched the epic new track ‘The Alchemist’, with a video by Wayne Joyner. Watch the video now here:

While some previous releases were true solo pursuits, this time, Rudess assembled a core group of musicians to support and elevate his vision.  The album features Jordan alongside That Joe Payne on vocals, Darby Todd (Devin Townsend) on drums & Steve Dadaian on guitar, as well as guest guitar solos from Bastian Martinez. 

With the music in capable hands, Rudess wanted to make sure to give the lyrics their proper attention. For that, he turned to a source close to home, his daughter.

“All the lyrics on the album were written by my daughter, Ariana. While I enjoy writing lyrics myself, my primary focus tends to be on the sonic quality of the words. For this album, I wanted to delve deeper and offer something that resonated on a more profound and cerebral level. Ari did an exceptional job.”

‘Permission To Fly’ will be available as Limited CD Digipak & Gatefold 180g 2LP (both incl. bonus material), as well as digitally. Pre-order now here:

Jordan Rudess – The Alchemist (lnk.to)

1.         The Final Threshold 04:08

2.         Into The Lair 09:31

3.         Haunted Reverie 05:14

4.         The Alchemist 08:36

5.         Embers 04:03

6.         Shadow of the Moon 05:29

7.         Eternal 08:53

8.         Footstep in the Snow 04:02

9.         Dreamer 05:03

10.       Incarnation 03:31 (Bonus Track)

11.       Chopin Fm 05:33 (Bonus Track)

 Listen to the previously released track ‘Embers’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Gik6QfFHE

Jordan recently made his live debut with Darby Todd & That Joe Payne, with two rapturously received sets on the 2024 edition of Cruise To The Edge, also marking the live premiere of the new single ‘Embers’.

More information on Jordan Rudess:

Renowned as the “Best Keyboardist of All Time” by Music Radar Magazine, Jordan Rudess stands out as the extraordinary keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist for the platinum-selling, Grammy Award-winning progressive rock band, Dream Theater. Embarking on his musical journey as a classical prodigy, Jordan initiated his studies at the illustrious Juilliard School of Music at the age of 9, laying the foundation for a career marked by a distinctive fusion of classical and rock influences.

Beyond his role in Dream Theater and the power group, Liquid Tension Experiment, Jordan’s musical prowess has resonated across a diverse spectrum of collaborations. From Deep Purple and David Bowie to Steven Wilson and Jan Hammer, he has left an indelible mark on the industry. Notable projects such as LMR (his side venture with Tony Levin and Marco Minneman), Steven Wilson’s Blackfield, guest appearances with Deep Purple and the Dixie Dregs and collaborations with artists like Enrique Iglesias, the Paul Winter Consort, Annie Haslam, and many others, underscore the breadth of his musical reach. 

Venturing into the realm of cutting-edge technology, Jordan has emerged as a pioneer with a focus on state-of-the-art keyboard controllers and music apps. As the owner of the highly successful iOS app development company, Wizdom Music, he has spearheaded the creation of award-winning apps, including GeoShred, MorphWiz, SampleWiz, Vythm, Polywave, Jam with Jordan and SampleWiz 2. GeoShred, Wizdom Music’s latest triumph, was a collaborative effort with moForte, founding members of Stanford University’s Sondius team. Rudess is currently working on an AI interactive project as Visiting Artist at MIT’s Media Lab in the Responsive Environments group. 

Review – Kaipa – Sommargryningsljus – by John Wenlock-Smith

‘Sommargryningsljus’ is the 15th, and latest, from Swedish outfit Kaipa who have been in existence for over 50 years. Whilst they may now have been active for all 50 of those years, when they do regroup and re-emerge, they offer something new and fresh. This new album is a step further for the band after the excellent ‘Urskog’ from 2022, which I reviewed favourably for Progradar, being captivated by its lush symphonic textures and sounds. ‘Sommarskymningsljus’ continues this in a similar vein and sounds really lush, fans of Swedish symphonic prog will find much to appreciate here.

The album begins gently with Sommarskymningsljus, the beautifully clear and expressive voice of Aleena Gibson rising over an expressive melody from Hans Lundin, it is an engaging number that leads us into the equally captivating epic Seven Birds, which builds in a very satisfying way. Layers of sound make for an interesting track with excellent vocals from Aleena again, the mid section has a fine, lengthy keyboard excursion leading into a brief but exciting guitar break from Per Nilsson. A second longer solo occurs later in the song, where Per and Hans play in tandem delivering a great sounding track. Like Thousand Dawns is greatly enlivened by the excellent bass playing from Jonas Reingold, who is very busy on this, track adding foundation and definitions to the track. The song has another stellar vocal from Aleena Gibson, whose powerful vocal is actually a thing of beauty here. The mid part of the track has a twisting, turning part which, again, gives bassist Jonas a chance to impress and he does admirably, leaving room for a few short but dynamic guitar fills from Per Nilsson. It’s another epic song from Kaipa, proving, once again, that their brand and style of progressive rock is both worthwhile and entertaining.

It’s worth pointing out that of the albums 9 tracks, Six are over nine minutes in duration. This means this is an album that will require your involvement and an investment of your time that you will not regret one bit, for this album is full of superb tracks with some excellent extended musical passages featuring the expressive and poignant violin of Elin Rubinsztein and the recorders and whistles of Frederick Lindquist and it greatly benefits from these guest appearances.

Chased by Wolves And Burned By The Sun is another lengthy track with more great violin parts, giving a slight tone of Kansas to proceedings (no bad thing to these ears!) and another chance for some muscular bass lines from Jonas whilst Per provides the insistent riff that underpins the song. I really like the dynamics of this track as it uses the counterpoint of the instruments to really allow the track to evolve and shine, it really is utterly engrossing. Spiderweb Train dates from the 1990’s, as does second track Seven Birds, Hans had to do some extensive reworking of these songs to bring them into today’s age. Spiderweb Train is  the albums longest track at over fifteen and a half minutes. This means it has lot of room for improvisation and for the various parts to emerge. There’s an almost Gothic tone in places and parts that really makes it an interesting and exciting track.

This is followed by the album’s last long track, Songs In Our Hands at just shy of Thirteen minutes, before the shorter title piece Sommargryningsljus. The former track features some very impressive vocals from both Patrick Lindqvist and Aleena Gibson, along with some great synth lines from Hans Lundin, another excellent track from the band. The album closes with a longer take of Sommargryningsljus, allowing the full version of the song to be heard as it was originally envisaged.

The album takes us on an interesting journey through the dark and the early hours before dawn with dawn finally emerging and the darkness falling away. The first two tracks representing Twilight and the last two representing Dawn. As always the artwork is excellent and definitely fits the theme of the album well.

Overall, this is another excellent album from Kaipa who are now a studio band only as they have finished with live performances now. Fans of symphonic progressive music will find much to enjoy herein, it is a wonderful release that is most definitely worthy of investigation.

Released 28th June, 2024.

Pre-order the album here:

Sommargryningsljus (lnk.to)

Kaipa release first single & share music video of upcoming album “Sommargryningsljus” / now available for pre-order 

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:

Sommargryningsljus (Single Edit) (lnk.to)

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:

Kaipa – Sommargryningsljus (lnk.to)

Hans Lund comments:

„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

6.    Spiderweb Train 00:15:29

7.    Songs In Our Hands 00:13:00

8.    Sommargryningsljus 00:03:58

9.    Sommargryningsljus (Single Edit) 00:05:24

Kaipa are:

Hans Lundin – keyboards & vocals

Per Nilsson – electric & acoustic guitars

Jonas Reingold – bass

Darby Todd – drums

Patrik Lundström – vocals

Aleena Gibson – vocals 

Review – Kaipa – Urskog – by John Wenlock-Smith

‘Urskog’ is the latest, and fourteenth album of the folk/fusion progressive rock group, Kaipa. The band was, in earlier times, home to Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings and it’s easy to see just how he was able to be a part of this band’s heritage and sound.

This album is Stolt free but, nonetheless, it is a very accomplished and epic sounding release and takes you on an aural journey through the forests of the Swedish wilderness and its changing seasons. It is all remarkable considering the album only has six tracks, two epics of fifteen plus minutes, one ten minute track, a nine minute instrumental and one, shorter, six minute song. Yet, within its grooves, you will discover a fabulous world of invention and wonder, at least I did.

I could find touches of Yes in the bass work of Jonas Reingold and the fine, fluid guitar of Per Nilsson, not to mention the epic, and often orchestral, keyboards of Hans Lundin, and that’s before we mention the excellent vocals from Patrick Lundstrom and Aleena Gibson. Along with the powerhouse of drummer Darby Todd, they really create a lush and rich, symphonic sound.

Opener The Frozen Dead Of The Night sets the scene for much of what follows, initially gentle before a stirring synth line from Hans is introduced to favorable effect and the music takes a more rhythmic approach. The drums are then brought into play, this opener is quite keyboard heavy in parts but this works well for the song. The next part of the song leads us towards spring and to the excellent fretwork of Per, who really let’s fly on this section. He has a lovely tone and fleet fingers that fly across the fretboard wonderfully, and highly melodically too.

In A World of Pines takes us deep into the forest and into a sensory experience of mindfulness, even as we learn to appreciate the pine forests and the peace that they offer us. There’s lots happening musically in this song too, lots of lovely keyboard sounds and textures. Next is title track Urskog which has a broody tone to its, almost menacing really. Being sung in Swedish reinforces this and without any translation of the lyrics, it doesn’t help, although there are lots of soaring synths on offer herein. There is also a good bass / drum interaction going on throughout which is highly effective in nature, if only I knew what they were on about!

Far Better for me is Wilderness Excursion which features lots of energetic soloing from keyboard player Hans, guitarist Per and bassist Jonas, who channels his inner Chris Squire to pronounced effect. All of this is surrounded by the busy, yet effective, drum work of Darby. With the song being fully instrumental, everyone gets their moment to shine but it is collectively that they really make a point. This is not mere showing off per se, instead it is collectively highlighting their skills together as an ensemble within the track that works so well. This blistering track really shows how well they get together as a unit and can show that on record too.

The Wastelands of My Mind is hinged on a gloriously uplifting violin melody by Elina Rubensztein which, when coupled with a fabulous vocal from Aleena Gibson, really shines and evokes memories of Kansas’ Robbie Steinhardt. Yes, it really is that good and it makes this definitely one of the album’s finest tracks. Final track The Bitter Setting Sun is also a great with another epic setting and keyboard sounds to match and with lot going on in its fifteen plus minutes running time. The song moves between sections excellently with each part being marked by the different sounds that make it run smoothly.

This album is full of life, you can sense how the seasons change and how life develops as a result. The whole record is very life affirming and an absolute joy to listen to. I heartily recommend it to all prog fans, it’s not that folk oriented but does have a fair element of fusion type embellishments. However it’s all excellently overseen and thoroughly enjoyable as a result.

Released 29th April, 2022.

Order here:

Urskog (burningshed.com)

Review – Frost* – Day And Age – by John Wenlock-Smith

What a year this is turning out to be, eh? We have had lockdowns, a new US President, I was so glad to see the back of Donald Trump and his inane ‘Twittering’s’, along with his clan of hangers on and thugs. Thankfully so were most Americans, sick of his lies and arrogance and concern for himself and so voted him out, although the incidents at the Capitol Hill probably sealed his fate, for now at least.

In other news, we have seen mass vaccinations against Covid, the emergence of random variants and possible hope for return to a more normal way of living, although some changes will probably remain in situ for now. In this time of uncertainty there are signs of new life, especially musically, as bands are emerging, once again, with the promise of live shows nearer to reality and new material in the can awaiting release.

Frost* are one such act. After a fine digital EP last year, ‘The Others’, and the ’13 Winters’ box set that brought the first ten years of the band together in one fabulous complete 8 CD set, comes this new release ‘Day and Age’ which opens the next stage of their ongoing history.

Consisting of 8 tracks lasting just over 53 minutes, this is a stroll through the modern world as seen by Frost*. Expect despair, hope, longing, confusion and fear along with strong melodies and inspired music, albeit with an edge of discomfort and unsettlement.

“Welcome to the rest of your life… sit back and remember, enjoy yourselves, you scum”, or so the disturbing child’s voice intones at the beginning of opener Day and Age. Things settle into a mid-paced track with lots happening musically, a powerful back beat and masses of keyboards and chiming guitars and with John Mitchell sounding not unlike a certain Mr Gabriel on this song. Everything passes swiftly with nary a wasted second, indeed, as an opener, it is certainly one of the most effective I’ve heard this year and stands right up there with tracks like Hypersonic from ‘Liquid Tension Experiment 3’ and Out Of This World from Kayak. Yes folks, in a dim world, there is mighty fine new music being conceived and delivered by our prog heroes who are, to a man, refusing to allow Covid restrictions to curtail their ongoing creativity and we are most thankful for that.

The album has a few shorter tracks in amongst the longer ones and, in all of these, you can hear the pop sensibilities that Frost* employ so wonderfully, along with the thunderous drums of Kaz Rodriguez, Darby Todd and Pat Mastelotto, each of whom pound away very satisfyingly indeed with power, strength and finesse..

This is especially so on the awesome The Boy Who Stood Still, which includes a fine voice over from Jason Isaacs. Sound wise, this song reminds me of the mighty Propaganda of ZTT Records fame who, through a blend of hard-edged percussion and angular vocals, married funk and progressive elements so wonderfully. Check out Duel or Dr Mabuse for an example of their sound and then see how this Frost* track compares, I can certainly see the similarities. The track is a decent length too and benefits from the extended running time to realise its ideas fully, it really is an interesting song. Lyrically this is a dark album and, were it not for the imaginative music Frost* create, could be considered very mournful and sad. Yet the music works with the lyrics to create something that is not really that sad somehow, I think it is the imagination they employ that elevates the songs to different heights. 

Another Excellent song is Kill The Orchestra, it opens with some rather dreamy piano that is completely in contrast to the darkness of the lyrics. That may, of course, be in part due to the locations involved in the writing of these songs, namely a converted coastguard tower in the south west of England amongst other locations. This possible bleakness contributes to the darkness and stark feelings contained in these songs, which, when you read the lyrics, is clearly apparent as a dark and yet interesting view of the world becomes clear.

All of this makes the album all the better for it does not sugar coat the band’s views and takes such a bold lyrical stance. Kill the Orchestra is particularly dark in tone with its tale of a would-be rock star who is lost in his own self worth to the point of self-obsession. All of this is backed by some epic musical sections to make a seriously good song.

This is an ambitious set of songs performed wonderfully and are very satisfying musically. With the modern edge to its sound, ‘Day and Age’ is an album that is impressive from its disturbing opening voice right to the end some, 53 minutes later. This is one that is best heard loud in the dark I think, you will love it!

Released 14th May, 2021

Order from Burning Shed here:

Day And Age (burningshed.com)

FROST* return with fourth studio album ‘Day And Age’

Frost* are returning with their first new studio album in 5 years on the 14th May 2021. ‘Day And Age’ is the band’s fourth record, and features Jem Godfrey once again joined by John Mitchell & Nathan King, as well as 3 guest drummers: Kaz Rodriguez (Chaka Khan, Josh Groban), Darby Todd (The Darkness, Martin Barre) & Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson, Mister Mister). The album also features actor Jason Isaacs.

Jem Godfrey comments of the new album: “2020 was the year of the studio for obvious reasons. As a result 2021 is going to be a bumper year for new music I think and we’re very happy to be riding that wave too into what I hope will be a better year for everybody.”

 ‘Day And Age’ was recorded over the course of 2019 and 2020, featuring 8 tracks and striking cover artwork by Carl Glover of Aleph Studios (Steven Wilson, Marillion, Steve Jansen). The full track-listing is below:

1.         Day And Age 11:49

2.         Terrestrial 5:13

3.         Waiting For The Lie 4:31

4.         The Boy Who Stood Still 7:33

5.         Island Life 4:14

6.         Skywards 4:13

7.         Kill The Orchestra 9:27

8.         Repeat To Fade 6:14 

The album will be released on Limited 2CD (including a bonus disc of instrumentals), Gatefold 180g 2LP + CD (with etching on Side D), and as Digital Album. Pre-order starts 19th March.

In September 2019 Godfrey and Mitchell rented a cottage for a week in Helford, Cornwall and set about converting it into a recording studio. Day one saw them write and record “Skywards”, “Island Life” was written on day two. On day three, the duo wrote what was to become the title and defining track of the new album, “Day And Age”. 

The following January, the band setup a new temporary studio for a further week in a converted coastguard tower at Dungeness in East Sussex. “We were 30 feet by the sea, next to a nuclear power station and a lighthouse, in midwinter. So there was hardly any daylight and the weather was dreadful”, laughs bassist Nathan King, “We wrote “Terrestrial” and “Repeat To Fade” there and you can definitely hear the bleak isolated oppression having an effect on us. The songs we wrote were far darker – the wind howling round the building at night, the power station generating crackles on the audio, a huge lighthouse next door sweeping light into the fog every 30 seconds and John screaming “ENJOY YOURSELVES YOU SCUM” into a microphone. It was absolutely brilliant!”.

In November 2020, Frost* released the career-retrospective collection ‘13 Winters’ which featured all their studio albums to date, plus live material, b-sides & last years ‘Others’ EP, all packaged in a beautiful artbook. 

Frost* was formed in 2004 by keyboard player and singer Jem Godfrey, Released in 2006 the band’s debut album “Milliontown” was an instant success and is regarded by many as a classic in the modern prog rock genre featuring John Mitchell on guitar, John Jowitt on bass and Andy Edwards on drums. The band quickly followed it up with “Experiments In Mass Appeal” in 2008, in many ways the antithesis of “Milliontown” featuring a much more stripped back sound, more concise songs and a new band member and singer in the form of Dec Burke. 

The live album “The Philadelphia Experiment” followed in 2009 and the a long gap followed before 3rd album “Falling Satellites” was released in 2016 with a new line-up of Nathan King on bass and Craig Blundell on drums, plus returning guitarist and singer John Mitchell on guitar who also co-wrote much of the album with Jem Godfrey.