Summer’s End Festival announces (almost) complete 2017 line up…

We are delighted to announce the (almost) complete line up for Summer’s End 2017, to be held at the Drill Hall, Chepstow on October 6-8 2017.

Leap of Faith tickets have now come off sale and will be replaced by standard tickets on Tuesday 17th January.

• Hero tickets (including a t shirt and our very special thanks) priced £120
• Sponsor tickets (including a T shirt) priced £105
• Standard weekend tickets priced £85

A very limited number of day tickets will be available soon. The festival sold out quickly last year and we are already 50% to sell out just with LOF tickets, so very early purchasing is recommended. With one band still to announce, we are already very proud of what is our most varied and internationally-orientated line up yet!

Here’s the line up -with one major band still to announce. Day splits will be announced soon.

FROST* (UK)
www.frost.life

Our Saturday headliners are the inimitable Frost* making their first appearance at the festival since their remarkable performance in 2008. The line up of the band – Jem Godfrey, John Mitchell, Nathan King and Craig Blundell – is now stable and playing regular live gigs in support of last years’ excellent “Falling Satellites”,

THE TANGENT (UK / Sweden)
www.thetangent.org
KARMAKANIC (Sweden / UK)
www.facebook.com/KarmakanicOfficial/

As they did in 2014, The Tangent and Sweden’s Karmakanic will be touring in 2016 as an intriguing double act, comprising of (largely) the same members playing two sets, closing the festival on Sunday 8th October. The band(s) will comprise Andy Tillison, Jonas Reingold, Luke Machin plus Marie Eve De Gaultier and other members to be announced. The Tangent will be making their third appearance at the festival and release “The Slow Rust of Forgotten Machinery” in 2017, while Karmakanic released “DOT” in 2016 and last played Summer’s End in 2010.

FRANCK CARDUCCI (France)
www.franckcarducci.com

Those that have had the pleasure of seeing Franck Carducci and his superb band perform will know that they are one of the best – and most colourfully extravagant – live acts playing today. Mixing Prog with hard rock and just a touch of psychedelia, the band are sure to be one of the bands of the weekend following a successful UK tour in late 2016.

SOUTHERN EMPIRE (Australia)
www.unitopiamusic.com

Following his performance with Damanek in 2016 (and with Unitopia in 2010), Australian keyboard wizard Sean Timms returns to the festival with his current band Southern Empire. The band are riding high following the release of their superb debut album and will be touring Europe in late 2017 with Karibow.

MASCHINE (UK)
www.maschineuk.com

Few who were there will have forgotten the performance of a young band called Concrete Lake at Summer’s End 2011. Now called Maschine, guitar wizard Luke Machin‘s brilliant young band, which also includes bassist Dan Mash, released their magnificent second album ‘Naturalis’ during 2016 to great acclaim.

KARIBOW (Germany)
www.karibow.com

This well known German band have had an award winning, 20-year history. Led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Oliver Rusing, their powerful, crunchy, song orientated brand of Prog is often compared to Saga and It Bites. The band will tour Europe in 2017 with Southern Empire in suport of most recent album ‘Holophinium’.

ELEPHANTS OF SCOTLAND (USA)
www.elephantsofscotland.com

Following Phideaux, K2, Discipline and 3rDegree, Elephants of Scotland will become the 5th band from the USA to play the festival. Formed in Vermont in 2010, the band have 3 studio albums under their belts and played a triumphant set at the Rosfest festival in 2014 , later released as a CD and DVD set.

MIDNIGHT SUN (UK)
www.facebook.com/midnightsunprog/

Making their first appearance at the festival, but with several members that have played for us before are Midnight Sun, which comprises various former members of Unto Us and Also Eden in a combination which moulds the progressive and melodic textures of those bands with some heaver elements. Recording of the band’s debut album will begin in early 2017.

HALF PAST FOUR (Canada)
www.halfpastfour.com

Our first participants from Canada, Half Past Four have won a deserved reputation for their quirky, jazzy, playful take on prog. So strong was their 2016 third album ‘Land of the Blind’ that we knew that it was high time they made their debut at the festival.

WEENDO (France)
www.weendo.fr

This superb band from France – fronted by vocalist and keyboard player Laetitia – mix Prog with slightly more metallic textures. The band are currently working on their second album following their excellent 2011 debut ‘You Need to Know Yourself’.

More news soon!

Best wishes

Huw and Stephen
www.summersend.co.uk

Our facebook page:
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Email: stephen@summersend.co.uk

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