Bad Elephant – Good records

On August 5, 2016 By James R TurnerIn Progarchy, progressive rockLeave a comment

Hello Progarchists, how are we all?

You may have noticed I’ve been a little quiet recently, due to a house move from hell and all the real life stuff that gets in between the music and the reviewing, so apologies to anyone who has sent me albums to review and the delay I’ve had in reviewing them, as John Lennon once said ‘Life is what happens to you whilst you’re busy making other plans’, he also said ‘James, don’t use a friend of a friend as a decorator’ but I ignored him on that one, to my cost. He knew what he was on about old Johnny L.

One of the most consistent record labels releasing new music that spans the gamut of the contemporary prog genre is of course our friends over at Bad Elephant Music, who have artists like We Are Kin, The Fierce and the Dead, Simon Godfrey and Tom Slatter on their books, not to mention many other great bands, and that is exactly what I’ll be doing today, in the first part of a series of articles focusing my attention on a round up of their releases for the first half of this year, and hopefully causing you to spend some more money to keep David Elliott in curries….

N.y.X The News

This release escaped into the world, kicking and screaming back in February (yes I know it’s August, have you ever had one of those years??) and I use that term advisedly, as I haven’t heard anything like this album in a very long time. In fact part of the delay in reviewing it was because it’s taken me a while to marshal my thoughts about it to be confident enough to put them out there.

Italian art/prog/who knows what outfit N.y.X (Walter F Nyx on vocals, bass guitar, electronica, Danilo A Pannico on drums, percussion, piano organ, marimba, electronica and Klod on guitar and vocals) have put together a 46 minute audio experience, blending elements of the more out there sounds of King Crimson (with Adrian Belew and Trey Gunn adding their distinctive sounds into the disparate mix) early Tangerine Dream and psych Floyd N.y.X is truly uncategorizable.

From the opening tumult that is Restless Slumber (At the break of dawn) you can rest assured this isn’t an easy listening album, there is disjointed electronica, jarring sound effects and it takes a few listens to get into the album.

That, to my mind is always the strength of a record, if it’s one you have to persevere with, and play a few times to get into then the work is worthwhile, prog is supposed to be the first music in space, and lets face it, if musicians aren’t pushing musical boundaries and challenging themselves and their audience, then you might as well go to watch Coldplay behind the screen of your iPhone in a big old metal barn along with a million other people in their identical SUVs.

This isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and whilst this album is full of hardcore psychedelic moments, mixing the best of early Kraut Rock with the more esoteric end of English prog, like Crimson or Henry Cow, you then have the wonderful Discord (Domestic Policies) blindsiding you with it’s direct acoustic driven number, with some sublime guitar solo, almost the calm before the percussive The Paper (Titles & Subtitles) which keeps the whole News theme going throughout the album, and with it’s haunting guitar work, and the way the track builds and builds it sounds like a soundtrack to a dark film that no-one dare make yet.

The whole ethos of the album is encapsulated in the closing track, 13 minutes of The Daily Dark Delirium, if nothing else the titles on this album are cracking, with some fantastic vocals and the musical meld that N.y.X do so well, it’s a cracker of a journey with elements of techno, metal guitar (courtesy of Trey Gunn) and many other genres that shouldn’t work on the same record, never mind the same song, and the fact it does with its bewildering dark beauty is a testament to the band.

This album is not for the faint hearted, and probably has the potential to be the most polarising album I’ve ever reviewed, in fact to be honest I have been listening to it since January and still can’t decide whether I like it, or whether it’s one to be admired for it’s skill.

It’s a musically complex album, with lots going on and it’s always great to hear a band that aren’t concerned with sounding like anyone else and making the music they want to hear, it’s not a record that can be pigeonholed, mainly because it’s not a pigeon and because it transcends anything as banal as genre.

Fair play to N.y.X for their confidence in their ability, and in Bad Elephant for taking a punt on this real one off record.

The Rube Goldberg Machine – Fragile Times

Nothing sums up the world we currently live in, for better or for worse than the album title on the debut album from London based prog trio Elliot Coombs (guitar, keyboards, lead vocals) Dan Bowles (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals) & Jordan Brown (bass, keyboards, backing vocals) and the album cover, whilst sparse is very striking and if, as I often do, you buy an album based purely on the sleeve, then you would pick this up, take it home and pop it in your CD player.

Your money wouldn’t have been wasted at all, as BEM have found another amazingly talented band to add to their roster as TRGM as no one ever calls them specialise in that melodic brand of prog that bands like The Pineapple Thief have perfected.

They are no copyists however, as the band have a warm sound that is all their own, despite channelling the spirit of Steven Wilson on the title track, with it’s warnings of bad times to come, and it’s wonderfully sparse guitar solo and atmospheric sounds.

In fact the less is more ethos is spread across the whole album, with the wonderful Little Funerals drawing the listener in with its warmth.

The music is superb, and is full of little quirks, In Symmetry being a case in point, whilst the lyrics and the music match up perfectly, being more questioning and reflective about the state of the world, rather than bringing you down.

Elliot’s voice is superb, and its his vocal warmth that draws you into the album, whilst the musical skills at work from the trio should not be underestimated, throwing elements of folk rock (your contemporary folk sound of bands like The Levellers or the Oysterband) into play on the delicate Man of Glass, the slide between styles and themes is part of this albums strengths, as it seems more like a well constructed concept than a mere collection of songs.

Meanwhile The Captains Blackjack is wonderful character piece with a great catchy chorus, and reminds me very much of Badly Drawn Boy.

With it’s great music, its superb lyrics and production, Fragile Times is one of those wonderful contemporary prog records that appears from nowhere, and with it’s hooks pulls you in, until you find yourself humming parts of the title track so you have to dig it out and put it on.

Like N.y.X its one that rewards repeat listening, unlike N.y.X it’s not going to alienate 50% of the readership, indeed this album is probably the best musical commentary on 2016 that we’ve got so far, and if we are living in Fragile Times, we might as well relax and enjoy the music.

Mothertongue – Unsongs

It’s been a year of contrasts for BEM, from Jack Arthurs to N.y.X David Elliot hasn’t let the grass grow under the labels feet, and for sheer joie de vivre you don’t get much better than Mothertongue.

Mixing the joy of Ska, the anthemic quality of folk rock and some odd prog bits, Mothertongue throw everything (including the kitchen sink) into the musical mix to create a sound that puts a big daft grin on your face, and some toe tapping music.

Manchester based 6 piece band Phil Dixon (guitar, backing vocals) Will Holden (bass, backing vocals, saxophone) Andy Malbon (trumpet, cornet, backing vocals) John Simm (drums, percussion, programming, synths, backing vocals) Louis Smith (vocals, guitar, synths, ukulele) and Mark Wall (guitar, mandolin, violin, synths, backing vocals) combine their sheer musical skill and powerful energy into one noisy fantastic euphoric sound.

The great lyrics to The Devil Can Steer sets the album off at one hell of a pace, and the Ska sound runs through this track like the word Scarborough does through rock, whilst the brilliant titled A Poem that the Sky Wrote with its jagged guitar and vocals sounds like a Polyphonic Spree track recorded by Young Americans era Bowie, in fact the impact of the brass section on this album of prog/pop does for the genre what pioneering folk rockers the Home Service did to that genre with their sound.

Coming from t’North Brass runs through my blood like Sam Smiths best bitter runs from my glass, and so when the brass section kicks in on the album it’s a joy to hear.

The way this six piece manage to make a sound that makes you think there’s at least a dozen of them is wonderful, and the way they flip between prog, pure pop, psych and brass, like the wonderful Perfect Zero is nothing short of genius.

Whilst Nautilus manages to mix disco, samba and funk into one catchy tune before an amazing rock interlude kicks in and the chorus blasts out.

Whilst the ensemble vocals and brass on Shango with its percussive power is superb.

The musical dexterity and power that this band bring to their music is astonishing, and the way they mix and hop from rock, to prog to Ska and back has to be heard to be believed, and if you want a joyous album to put a smile on your face, and revel in the music then this is a fantastic summer record.

Perfect to put a smile on your face as you walk in the English rain!

We Are Kin <and_I_know>

I’ve been waiting for this album, since We Are Kins debut Pandora was released, al album that appeared as if by magic in my in box one day, and was so powerful that I had to buy the physical CD. For me it was one of the albums of last year, a finely realised debut concept about the Pandora project, and this, their second album is also set in that world, and (spoiler alert features the return of wonderful voice of Alex Dunedin as Isaac…. but I will say no more!) having coalesced around the four piece quartet of Dan Zambas (guitars/keyboards/vocals) Gary Boast (drums/production) Lee Braddock (bass) and new vocalist Emma Brewin-Caddy this is a confident and bold album.

Having received the download a while before it’s release (but after I pre-ordered the album, with the limited edition live album!) I decided that I would listen to both Pandora and then flow straight into <and_I_know> and boy does it work.

It’s the aural equivalent of binge watching boxed sets as the story just picks up where it’s left off, but with much stronger musical statements on here, and far more diverse sounds, the opener …that one day… starts with some fantastic guitar work and a brilliantly powerful percussive sound, then the bands new ace kicks in, when you have a vocalist as powerful and with such a range as Emma, then you use her as much as possible, and the way hers and Dans vocals fit together are superb, a wonderful contrast.

Throughout the album there are recurring motifs, and the eagle eyed among you will spot the way the album has been titled, and the name of the tracks that form the start, the middle, and the end of the album give what I suspect is the albums full title, and a phrase that is repeated several times on the album, one which has significance to Isaacs story.

The band have got a wider musical palette to play with on this album, and with them performing live shows and the reception Pandora got, I sense they are growing as a band with the concept.

Take the wonderfully late night jazz club vibe of No Evil, with some wonderful piano work, or Emma’s free form vocal improvisation over the starker elements of radio, where the band pare things down to a sparser darker less is more approach. Meanwhile one of the musical motifs from Pandora is revisited with some wonderful flute playing by Ramsey Janini accompanied by more of Dans fantastic piano on the haunting …we’ll have to say… Meanwhile reaper, with it’s fantastic guitar work, and more of Emma’s sublime vocals, has a very Floydian air about it, particularly Dans guitar solo, however that is the only real musical touch point to any other band. As We Are Kin sound like no-one else out there, from the distinctive vocals of Dan and Emma, to the musically rich tapestry that the band weave, and the tight narrative that allows the band to dictate there sound and not vice versa.

exhale, with more of Dans piano playing and Emmas vocals, echoes the way the album has been constructed, there are very few elements of bombast and the way the music has been composed is as much about the space between the performances, as the performances themselves, with a powerful finish.

…goodbye starts with the repetition of a lyrical phrase that has repeated across the album, and it’s a 12 minute epic that ties the whole album together, with some amazing musical performances from the band, fantastic guitar work and an amazing ensemble work to bring this part of the story to a close, and like all the best dramatic works or films in the cinema where you need to stay to the end, play close attention to the end of the album.

This is an assured and intelligent follow up to what is one of the strongest debut albums I have ever heard, and it moves the story on in new and musically interesting ways, and is a strong contender already for an album of the year.

I also need to mention the artwork for the album by Leon Arts and We Are Kin, which again flow from the debut albums work and is a superbly realised concept with shades of Hipgnosis about it.

If you were one of the lucky 500 who pre-ordered the album you also got a cracking limited edition live show from Manchester, where the Pandora material is brought to life in fine form.

I am hoping that they are going to do more shows, where they can tell the story so far to what will definitely be appreciative audiences.

I cannot state enough what a great album this is, and if you liked Pandora then this album will delight you as it takes the story to the next level.

The band have made massive leaps forward across both these albums, so I cannot wait to see where they take their sound next.

All albums are available from www.badelephant.co.uk

The Enid, Dust to Glory.

On April 27, 2016April 27, 2016 By James R TurnerIn progressive rock, progressive rock musicLeave a comment

The Enid, one of the most iconoclastic progressive bands have ploughed their own furrow over the last 40 years guided by the individual (some might say bloody minded) vision of Robert John Godfrey, a unique musical visionary who polarises opinion with his outspoken critiques, yet he has driven The Enid forward for the last 40 years and with the current tour being his last hurrah with the band as he steps back and lets the young blood in the current revitalised incarnation take over, I was lucky to catch up with Robert, and Enid vocalist Joe Payne last month before they flew of to Japan, to talk about their latest opus Dust.

Robert John Godfrey

Robert is one of the most erudite musicians I have ever interviewed, an intelligent and passionate individual he has so many ideas that we would veer off topic at a regular occurrence including several off the record chats that sadly I cannot reproduce here, witty, self deprecating and very down to earth I think when he steps aside from the stage work he should do a few ‘Evening with…’ theatre shows.

We started our chat by talking about their mighty fine new album Dust and Robert explained the albums concept and themes,

‘Basically there is stardust round and round us, and it’s the culmination of a trilogy, Dust is a prophetic look at where we’ve got to.

It’s about 7 things represented by a seven-point star, there are six things that are on a collision course with massive consequences, the environment vs consumerism, the sacred and the secular and wealth and poverty.

The seventh is something that might have been implicit at the Big Bang, when you got a Terry Pratchett disc world and the 6 points are all fighting each other and this enormous problem us something the next generation has to sort out is the legacy of the mess my generation have made. In this pretty devastated place at the end of it all you’ve got Love, which you must have had in place at the start.

Love, it’s what you’re left with at the end and the stuff of creation, the message that was behind (classic Enid album) Something Wicked this Way comes.

Is this the end? A punishment or a great forest fire, a reset. The trilogy is about the relationship between the one and the many.

It’s about being interested in ideas of mortality and what it means to be a believer, I honestly don’t know and don’t pretend to know.

I’ve spent my life half rationalising against the idea of God and the other half talking to him’ Continue reading “The Enid, Dust to Glory.” →

All our Yesterdays

On March 11, 2016March 11, 2016 By James R TurnerIn art rock, Discipline, Progarchy, progressive rockLeave a comment

Released today on the small but mighty Bad Elephant Music label, All our Yesterdays is Discipline front man and songwriter Matthew Parmenters third solo release, following up 2008’s Horror Express.
Parmenter is a unique talent, and I will put it out there straight away that this album will be a Marmite album to many, there will be people out there who love this work, and people who will find it too idiosyncratic and left field for their tastes.
This however is not a bad thing, it’s wonderful as a reviewer to receive an album that grabs you by the back of the neck from the get go, and if you’re wondering where my tastes fall, I am firmly in the former camp. Basically I love this record.
I will admit now that whilst I’ve heard of Discipline and of Matthew Parmenter, this is the first time I have ever heard any of his music, and when my bank manager hangs their head in despair as I investigate his intensive back catalogue I can only blame David Elliott and BEM for introducing me to this music.
The album itself is performed entirely by Parmenter (with only Discipline drummer Paul Dzendzel playing on 4 tracks) so to all intents and purposes it is a truly solo work, and yet Parmenters virtuoso playing and complex arrangements make it sound like he’s backed by a full band.
There are shades of Peter Hammill/Van Der Graaf Generator on this album, (another artist/band who are uncompromising in their musical vision as Parmenter) particularly on the keyboard and piano driven Digital with some fantastic vocal work which brings mid-seventies Hammill to mind, again not a criticism as Matthew Parmenter is as creative and original musical visionary as Hammill is.
The impressive title track, showcases Parmenters musical talents, with a blistering guitar solo, and his fantastic vocal range is entirely taken from the works of Shakespeare, and I can just visualize him performing this on stage, pouring his heart out into the ether.
The BEM website encourages you to listen in full as this musical work is ‘best experienced as a single, all-encompassing musical odyssey’, normally as I’m a contrary Yorkshireman I ignore all listening instructions and get into the record in my own way, but BEM are right, this is an immersive experience, and whilst it sounds good booming through the stereo, it sounds even better on headphones, sat by a swimming pool in Fuerteventure drinking a cool beer (guess what I listened to on my holidays?)
In all seriousness, the musical dynamics are designed for an intimate listening experience, and the arrangements fall somewhere between the epic sound of early Queen (particularly on dramatic opener Scheherazade, and the powerful I am a Shadow) and the classical music meets rock of Jon Lords 1970’s solo work. Whilst the keyboard and piano driven work on the brooding and sinister All for Nothing acts as a backdrop for Parmenters impassioned and powerful vocals, whilst the sax that kicks in brings Van Der Graaf Generator back to mind.
Meanwhile the piano driven pop of Stuff in the Bag showcases another side to Matthews talent, as he goes from dark to light with a quick mood change that should jar, but fits seamlessly into the record as a whole. Whilst the closing epic Hey for the Dance brings the record to a fantastic close, with Parmenters vocals and the folk influenced closing coda culminating in a genuinely uplifting piece of music, that launches into an extended rock fade.
Listening to the arrangements, the depth and power that is present throughout this epic work, its hard to imagine that there isn’t a full band in the studio and an orchestra hiding out somewhere as well, it’s a testament to Parmenters skill and vision that his concept works throughout from start to finish.
I hesitate to refer to the works on this album as songs, as they are more like movements in a musical symphony, harking back to the days when progressive rock meant moving forward and pushing the recorded form to se how far you could get away with and how creative you could be with the medium,
A lot of contemporary bands on the scene have certainly forgotten the true meaning of progressive rock, Matthew Parmenter hasn’t.
He has released a contemporary concept album, as fresh and original as anything I’ve heard so far this year, and yet clocking in at around the 40 minute mark it never overstays it’s welcome, and would easily fit on one side of a C90 tape to pop in your walkman.
Like I said earlier this Matthew Parmenter is a unique talent, and this album isn’t going to be everybody’s pint of bitter, however I would rather hear a record that is striking, original and polarises opinion than a record that just sits there and you think ‘Well, it’s alright innit?’
This is an astonishing piece of work, and to all of you who’ve pre-ordered it and are waiting for the thump at the letterbox, you are in for a real treat my friends.

2015, a musical review

On January 19, 2016January 21, 2016 By James R TurnerIn 2015, Andy Tillison, art rock, Insideout Music, Kscope, Prog, progressive rock, The Tangent1 Comment

Hello Prog Pickers, happy 2016, where the hell did last year go?

It feels a bit bittersweet really sitting here and compiling this, as I am writing this the same day that I heard that David Bowie died, and I am sure that by the time I am writing next years review that Blackstar will be up there amongst the releases of 2016.

Time to reflect on a year full of personal changes and successes as well as the loss of a close friend that hit me hard.

Throughout the highs and lows and in-between bits that make up life in the 21^st century music has been one of my constant companions, and trying to whittle down the best (in my humble opinion) albums of the last twelve months is no easy business, with such a slew of strong releases from new names and existing bands, trying to get this list into shape has been like trying to herd cats, and there have been some great albums by artists like Steven Wilson, Guapo, District 97, Dave Sturt, John Hackett, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Tim Bowness and Guy Garvey that didn’t make the cut, not to mention releases by artists like Bruce Soord and Arcade Messiah that I haven’t even heard yet.

The only criteria for this list is that the album had to be a new release from the last year, so the wonderful 5.1 Yes remasters, the 5.1 Jethro Tull boxes, Esoterics excellent Anthony Phillips reissues, King Crimsons Thrak box and the Steve Hackett Premonitions set and David Bowies Five Years (1969-1973) all fall by the wayside.

Maybe when I get to the point where in one year I’ve listened to more new old music than new music I may redefine the criteria, but as the joy of experiencing new music is one of lifes pleasures I hope that year is a long way off.

So, this here list is it A) chronological? No. B) Alphabetical? No. C) All my own personal opinion? Totally and irrefutably.

So any typos, artists missing or albums you think should have been included, that’s all the authors fault!

Lets dive in and see what 2015 left me with…

Napier’s Bones

Tregeagles Choice

www.napiersbones.bandcamp.com

A new name to me, UK prog duo Napiers Bones released their second album, and Nathan Jon Tillett and Gordon Midgley have a definite vision of storytelling, that fits comfortably in the classic prog mould.

With its roots in Cornish Folklore, the album has lots in common with folk rock operas like Fairport Conventions Babbacombe Lee or Peter Bellamys The Transports whilst neatly slotting into the prog storytelling genre occupied by artists like Ayreon or Rick Wakeman.

The mood from start to finish mirrors the story as it mixes it blends of folk themes, with some fantastical musical highs as it runs the gamut of classical prog, heavier guitar based tracks, and beautiful piece of guitar soloing over some of the most atmospheric keyboards I have heard for a long time. This is musical double hander as the story drives the music, and the songs are more performed rather than sung. I think that this epic performance would work wonders as a musical.

The way the music, the story and the vocals pull you into the record are a testament to the vision of Napiers Bones, and both Tillet and Midgley should rightly be proud of this musical achievement.

This Raging Silence: Isotopes and Endoscopes

www.thisragingsilence.com

Bristol based progressive quartet, This Raging Silence released their debut album earlier this year, and the 6 epic tracks on here are just sublime to listen to.

Formed by Jeff Cox, John Tyrer, Dave Appleford and Garry Davies the sound is very much towards the darker end of the prog sound as heavy riffs and driving bass flow through the album. In fact this album is beautifully performed as whole, the mood changes deftly and intricately and the way the band bounce off each other throughout is a delight to listen to. Sitting at the more atmospheric and darker end of the prog spectrum, this is a rare old treat and an album that anyone who gives houseroom to Porcupine Tree, District 97 or Trojanhorse will enjoy.

The Fierce and the Dead: Magnet

Bad Elephant Music

www.badelephant.co.uk

I know it’s an EP but there are more musical ideas crammed onto these 4 tracks than some bands have in a lifetime and astonishingly it’s been two years since experimental instrumental noiseniks The Fierce and the Dead released the acclaimed Spooky Action album, having seen them live several times in that period, the new music here on the Magnet EP shows how far they have travelled and evolved musically since then.

Magnet in Your Face is just short of two minutes worth of intense guitar duels hooked on a mighty riff that takes your breath away and as an introduction almost leaps out and says ‘Hello, did you miss us??’ the four piece of Kevin Feazey, Matt Stevens, Steve Cleaton and Stuart Marshall never stand still, they’re sound is continuously evolving over every release, whilst remaining true to their ethos. The interplay between all four members here is key to their success, they are in the truest form a group, there is no one dominant member, and that’s what makes this music work so well, they know each other so well that they can bounce off each other and drive the music on. There is no ego here, there is only art. If you haven’t joined the Fierce and the Dead cult yet, then you need to buy Magnet, its pull is irresistible.

Halo Tora: Omni/One

www.halotora.com

Another band I hadn’t heard of before this year this is Halo Toras debut album, and having heard good things about them from other friends I was intrigued as to what they would sound like. They have worked hard on the road and as a result their debut is as strong a piece of atmospheric post prog that I have had the pleasure to listen to.

The band, Chris Alexander (guitar/vocals) Ian McCall (guitar/vocals) Mark Young (bass) Chris McKeown (drums) and Ryan Connery (keyboards) use all the musical tools and skill at their disposable to intricately layer dense and subtle musical soundscapes, which like on Permanent revolution build and build as their vocals and guitars intertwine. This is a fantastically well-written debut album, and works on so many levels from the music, the lyrics and the deft interplay between the band.

Dodson & Fogg: Warning Signs

http://wisdomtwinsbooks.weebly.com/dodson-and-fogg-cds.html

Warning Signs, is one man musical revolutions Chris Wades strongest musical statement to date, hinting at a very different approach, gone are the striking paintings and images that normally adorn the albums, instead the cover is a moody photo of Chris, showing for the first time on the album cover the man behind the music. The songs are more intimate and feel more like a singer/songwriter album of the early 70’s, than a psychedelic project.

More personal and with a wonderful production, that sounds like Chris is singing in your front room and the album is imbued with warmth and charm, from the Beatle esque title track to the wonderfully guitar heavy Following the Man, with its great lyrics and chord driven sound its another wonderful slice of 70’s rock, with a great solo, reminding us how great a guitarist Chris is. This is an exciting and interesting slight change of direction for Chris, and adds so much more to the Dodson and Fogg sound, being a superb example of the singer songwriter genre.

Sanguine Hum: Now We Have Light

Esoteric Records EANTCD21042

www.esotericrecordings.com

Third album in and Sanguine Hum are continuing to fulfil their musical promise that last studio album the Weight of the World delivered, and not only that they have delivered us a genuine contemporary prog magnum opus in the process.

Now We Have Light, with it’s startlingly eye-catching artwork that is intrinsic to the story is a double album of majestic proportions.

Running the whole gamut of classic prog, via rock, jazz and some beautifully layered sounds, amazing vocal harmonies, and intense musical sections like on Bubble Trouble that will blow your mind, this is an astonishing album.

From the introduction of Desolation Song, nicely setting the musical scene, and carried through tracks like Getting Warmer, and the brilliantly titled ‘Shit!’ the Hum are a musical powerhouse, welding their influences together to create a coherent, immersive whole.

Add in the driving rock and funk of Cat Factory with it’s array of real synths, and superb musical interplay with a propelling bass and a great big crunchy riff is an instrumental highlight, whilst the sublime End of the Line carries through the narrative into the centrepiece of Disc 2, the 5 part Spanning the Eternal Abyss, which pulls in so many musical styles, and weaves them together beautifully, that by the time that Settle Down with its great synth work has finished, you are blown away by the power of Sanguine Hum.

This multi-layered and exciting record proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sanguine Hum are one of the best progressive bands on the planet.

Lonely Robot: Please Come Home

www.insideoutmusic.com

This is John Mitchells latest musical project, having contributed to Frost*, Arena, It Bites and many other projects over the years Johns talents as a guitarist, vocalist and producer are undisputed. This album reaffirms the stamp of quality that John brings to any album he works on, and is a fantastic piece of work from the opening instrumental power of Airlock, featuring the unique talents of Jem Godfrey to the closing The Red Balloon; this is a powerful album of amazing musical moments and haunting beauty. Dealing with alienation, loneliness and the human condition the lyrics are never short of genius, and the music is atmospheric, haunting and elegiac throughout.

As albums go this is a stunningly original record, with some majestic songwriting from John Mitchell, and like all great producers he knows how to cherry pick the best collaborators to bring something of themselves to his album, and still maintain his overall identity.

Grand Tour Heavy on the Beach

www.grandtourmusic.org

This wonderfully evocative concept album is the culmination of years of work from former Abel Ganz man Hew Montgomery, and is based around his fascination with all things Cold War and Nuclear, and seems unnervingly contemporary with the challenges the world is facing today with a resurgent Russia and the rise of Islamic State. Joined by the vocal talents of Joe Cairney, and Mark Spalding on guitar and Bruce Levick on drums, this is a band of no mean talent, and this album delivers the goods time after time.

With swathes of vast Floydian keyboard work, and real epic movements, this is a slice of classic concept prog, with wonderfully direct lyrics from Cairney that reference the beach time after time, and with motifs that crop up throughout the album, this is a piece of art that has to be listened to all the way through.

Like all the best concepts from Dark Side of the Moon, to Le Sacre du Travail, this isn’t an album to dip into. It’s all or nothing, and with the devastatingly powerful instrumental Little Boy and the Fat Man, referencing the two nuclear devices that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the two part track The Grand Tour which almost bookends the album, and the superb title track that is classic prog given a contemporary twist, this album is magnificent in every sense of the word.

The hard work that Hew has put into this pays off magnificently and I would say this is his crowning musical achievement so far.

Public Service Broadcasting The Race for Space

www.publicservicebroadcasting.net

English musical duo Public Service Broadcastings raison D’Etre is creating musical soundscapes based around old film footage. Taking as their concept for album number 2 is the Space Race between the USSR and the USA and their starting point is setting John F Kennedy’s speech about The Race for Space to haunting choral music, (with motifs that reoccur throughout the album) and ending with the last manned moon landing.

The artwork for this album is wonderful, two different covers on either side of the record showing either the American or the Russian perspective, and a beautiful booklet in the vinyl edition, which I had to have.

From the driving Sputnik, the jazz funk of Gagarin and then the haunting tribute to the astronauts killed in the Apollo 1 disaster (Fire in the Cockpit) and the celebration of Valentina Tereshkova who became the first woman in space (Valentina, with guest vocals from the Smoke Fairies) and the elegiac closing Tomorrow (when Apollo 17 became the last manned flight to leave the Moon), this album sets itself as referencing a specific period in time, when, with space flight anything seemed possible.

The Dead Astronaut

www.thedeadastronautuk.bandcamp.com

Hi-Fiction Science guitarist and songwriter James McKeown recently released his latest solo album under the sobriquet The Dead Astronaut, a hauntingly beautiful and occasionally uncomfortably personal record, it s a triumph of the songwriting craft.

From it’s haunting and sparse artwork by highly regarded designer Carl Glover, to the musical contents, the album is as different from Hi Fiction Science as is possible to get, and has a loose narrative written around some highly personal and emotional issues experienced by James.

With a small core of collaborators, including HFS band mates Aidan Searle and Jeff Green and guitarist Paul Bradley, one of the sounds that is at the heart of this record, and believe me, this is a record that is full of heart and soul, is the cello of Charlotte Nicholls, which, when coupled with the emotionally raw and confessional style of songs that James presents here, adds so much to the texture and the tone of the record, and yes, I am talking about a record as I opted for the vinyl edition, which is a pure immersive experience to listen to.

The word bleak comes up again and again when describing the themes on this album, and this shouldn’t ever put you off, there is beauty in this darkness, and whilst James is pouring out his heart, the production and the music adds warmth, almost like the song is giving him a big hug as he’s singing it.

This album has a very English sound to it, and the pared back sound allows the songs to breath and the lyrics to shine, it’s like the difference between early Pink Floyd records and Syd Barrett solo records.

You can hear the humanity and the raw emotions on display throughout this album, and again you can feel it, through the music, the lyrics and the sparse packaging, this isn’t an album that can be ignored.

Once it’s in your heart and in your head it takes over the room you are listening to it, and it’s one of those albums that demands your attention, and rewards your listening time and time again.

We Are Kin: Pandora

Bad Elephant Music

www.badelephant.co.uk

Every so often a record drops through the door (or in this case on email) from a label who are kind enough to let us review their latest offerings, and you know nothing of the band, nothing of what to expect from the album, and you put it on with a sense of anticipation, and excitement (as I still get a massive buzz from hearing new music, and hope I always do) and then as you immerse yourself in the record, and listen to it, you find you’ve found the sort of record that stays with you forever.

This is one of those records. I listened to it once, then again, and again, and again each time getting more and more out of it.

Manchester based band We are Kin (Dan Zambas and Gary Boast, now fleshed out by newer members Lee Braddock, Lauren Smith and Adam McCann) are purveyors of the sort of atmospheric prog rock that grows layer on layer, subtly and intelligently. Pandora is a very specific sound and style, and the overall concept is that of artificial intelligence, and its uses, and this is what drives the sound along, with original vocalist Hannah Cotterill in fine form on opener Home Sweet Home, and the music here has space to breathe and grow. Nothing is forced, nothing jars, everything ebbs and flows like a good story or album should do. As Soul builds and builds to a magnificent climax, then we head deep into concept territory as Scottish poet Alex Dunedin guests on the impassioned and exceptional The Speech, which leads into the magnificent The Hard Decision, whilst Zambas vocals shine throughout the album, especially on The Weight of the World, whilst the closing Breathe Out is as fine a piece of music as you are likely to hear anywhere this year.

This record from start to finish, from concept to execution, and from production to performance is as close to perfection as you are going to get. The music, the lyrics, the story all flows together and it transcend genre and sound to become something timeless and original and new. If I were to nominate a record that sums up 2015 for me, this would be it, it’s become part of the fabric of my musical life and a record that I can’t recommend enough to everyone.

Tom Slatter: Fit The Fourth

Bad Elephant Music

www.badelephant.co.uk

Tom Slatter is a unique beast in the world of contemporary music, in that he doesn’t, in any way sound like anyone else, or fit neatly into a pigeonhole or pre-determined genre. This makes my job a little harder, but his music a lot more exciting.

This is Tom’s fourth full-length release, and his first under the wings (or trunk) of the Bad Elephant boys, whose musical taste is set to eclectic, and whose first vision is do we like it? And then, if we like it, someone else will!

Tom is considered steam punk prog, and is probably the only one in that genre, he’s one on his own this lad, not just a multi-instrumentalist, but also a weaver or worlds and teller of tales, Toms narrative comes from the dark nights round the campfire where you would try to scare each other, or weave more fantastically intricate stories into your narrative. The brilliant opener Some of the Creatures have Broken the Locks on the door to Lab 558 sets the imagination racing with just the title, and the post apocalyptic science fiction story that evolves is reminiscent of early Doctor Who or Quatermass, and sets the tone for the rest of this darkly compelling album. Seven bells John is to the fore on The Steam Engine Murders and the trial of Seven-Bells, which is gothic noir, mixed with music hall and penny dreadfuls, With his mix of Victoriana, steam punk, prog and narrative drive, this is a wonderful album that deserves to be listened to and appreciated, as a record unlike any other you’ll hear this year.

Theo Travis Double Talk: Transgression

Esoteric Antenna EANTCD1052

www.esotericrecordings.com

British saxophonist, flautist and clarinettist Travis is the go to man for many artists including and this new album produced by Steven Wilson, showcases why Travis is the premier jazz rock saxophonist of his generation. With his taut band Mike Outram (guitar) Pete Whittaker (organ) and Nic France, Transgression showcases the versatility of the man himself, with a mixture of new material and reinterpretations of classic pieces (like Robert Wyatt & Phillip Catherine’s Maryam). The line between the type of jazz that Travis is proficient at, and progressive rock is a very fine one, and this crosses those borders with style and aplomb. A particular highlight and stand out track here is the reworking of Travis and Tangent main man Andy Tillison’s co-write (and title track of 2006 Tangent album) A Place in the Queue, with the subtle reworking of Travis sax, the organ of Pete Whittaker and the deft and intricate interplay between the band, it takes the original and goes somewhere new and exciting with it, and I have no doubt that Andy Tillison would approve. Elsewhere the co-write with Dave Sturt the fantastic Everything I Feared, and the epic title track that showcases the best of Theo Travis and his tight band, his versatility, his power and his dextrous musical performances are a joy to behold. I find, as I am getting a little older I am starting to really get into the grooves and the places that well played sax jazz takes you, and this album is wonderful. In fact I would go so far to say its probably more progressive than most of the progressive releases I have heard all year.

Stephen W Tayler: Ostinato

Esoteric Antenna EANCT1054

www.esotericrecordings.com

Not a name many will be familiar with, however Stephen W Tayler is a versatile and talented producer, engineer, sound designer and mixer who has worked with such talents as Peter Gabriel, Underworld, Howard Jones, Rush and most recently Kate Bush (on her latest records and her recent live performances).

Here, his musical vision unfolds through an intense, exciting and beautiful journey, mixing the minimalism of Terry Riley or Phillip Glass with the electronica of John Foxx or Tangerine Dream. With powerful metronomic rhythms, subtle and haunting electronics and distorted electronic voices, the album starts with the powerful trance like Euro Star (reminiscent of the more ambient stylings of Rob Duggan), whilst the percussive power of Peripherique is an astonishing musical tour de force, the driving percussion, the electronic sounds, the pulsing beat throughout, propel the track into your mind, and it’s not hard to imagine chilling out to this in a club scene.

Drawing on his 40 years of experience in the music industry and experience working with many great artists, this album is full of beautiful sonic sounds, and the tracks insinuate themselves into your head and take you on a musical journey, the pulsating Metro is like taking a ride on the ubiquitous train, whilst the wonderful final track The Boy Who Said Yes features a sample of the 13 year old Stephen W Tayler performing Breet/Weills Der Jasager, and works beautifully in the context of the album.

This is a refreshing, exciting and absorbing piece of contemporary electronica.

Gavin Harrison: Cheating the Polygraph

www.gavharrison.com

The effect of Gavin Harrison’s rather spectacular new album is an astonishing, intelligent reinterpretation of Porcupine Tree songs, and whilst the song remains the same, the sound really doesn’t.

Instead of the sonic experimentations and haunting undertones that you get from a great Steven Wilson song, this is the pinnacle of the art of reinvention (and one other artists can learns from) because Harrison (who I assume everyone knows – if not, he’s one of the finest drummers in the world today, heir apparent to Bill Brufords jazz prog throne) and collaborator Lawrence Cottle have skilfully and adeptly produced a damn fine jazz album. And man, does it swing!

This covers the whole gamut from Porcupine Tree’s mighty back catalogue, and the skilful swing driven funk adaptation of The Pills I’m Taking (from Fear of Blank Planets Anaesthetize suite) is mighty to hear, and takes the track so far from the original, that you do have to jump back and listen and compare. It’s like the Baz Luhrman Romeo and Juliet film, the original source material is there, you just have to dig a little deeper to find it.

The sinewy bass drives the inspired combination of Lightbulb Suns Hatesong with Deadwings Halo, and it’s like the two were meant to be together, as the sinister undertones and the brass mix together to create a piece that could have fallen off a 1970’s film noir soundtrack, and then the funk kicks in. With a skilful jazz orchestra and of course Harrisons taut powerful drumming underpinning the whole affair, it allows Cottle and Harrison to go out there in reinterpreting and rearranging these classic songs, as trumpet, trombone and sax duel with each other as familiar riffs appear and sneak off into the ether, as the full band kicks in with some mighty power, and of course Harrisons glorious drumming and some amazing bass work.

This is a covers album like no other, and with the way these Porcupine Tree songs have been remained and so expertly dissected and reassembled, it is one of the most progressive releases (and the most enjoyable) you’ll hear so far this year!

The Tangent A Spark in the Aether

www.thetangent.org

On this epic release Andy has swapped the realism of Le Sacre du Travail for escapism, and the sometimes-introverted imagery of Le Sacre for what can only be described as a full on prog rock album, with the emphasis firmly on rock.
Instead of the view from the windscreen, this is far more the view from the widescreen.
Starting with the wonderful title track with its mammoth keyboard riff, and lyrics looking at the current state of the prog scene (in rude health currently) the lyrical theme of this (and several other songs) is a musical equivalent of those TV documentaries that revisits communities after a period of time to see where they are now, and is revisited as a coda on the album as a gargantuan keyboard based musical celebration, with the wonderfully catchy chorus rounding the record off.
This revisitation of themes from The Music that Died Alone is continued on the unashamedly prog Codpieces and Capes, covering musical bases from Yes to Tull and all points in betweens, it reflects on themes originally riffed on during Suppers Off, about the fact that there are many fantastic bands including the Tangent who are out there still making relevant albums, whilst 5.1 reissues get more sales and coverage.
This opening quartet is closed off by the epically Floydian Aftereugene, with its epic slow build, and then a barely muttered “careful with that sax, Eugene”, before Theo Travis is let loose on his Saxes in a manic jazz explosion.
The centrepiece of the album, the 21 minutes plus The Celluloid Road, is an Andy Tillison Disk drive-through that takes us travelling through mythical America as seen on the big screen. Really letting loose and rarely letting up it covers more genres than your average HMV, with the band firing on all cylinders as the Tangent V8 drives us coast to coast, and finishes in the brilliantly funky pounding rock of San Francisco.
As evocative as the movies and shows that are name checked it makes me want to go on a stateside road trip, with Andy as my tour guide. This album is big, bold, and loud and demands to be played live.

Hope you enjoyed my list and a big thank you to all the artists and creative types who helped brighten up 2015 with some amazing records, concerts and videos, here’s to 2016.

Space rock from Bristol

On December 14, 2015 By James R TurnerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Bristol based psychedelic prog folk band Hi-Fiction Science came to my attention last year when their 2^nd album Curious Yellow was released on the Esoteric Antenna label, fundamental to their sound is guitarist and songwriter James McKeown, whose recently released his latest solo album

From his background and his previous full band releases with Hi Fiction Science, you would have expected the Dead Astronaut to be a full on prog psych album, with plenty of the imaginative guitar work that is given on any project James is involved with, however you’d be wrong.

With it’s haunting and sparse artwork by highly regarded designer Carl Glover, to the musical contents, the album is as different from Hi Fiction Science as is possible to get, and as we’ll find out later has a loose narrative written around some highly personal and emotional issues experienced by James.

As he explains in the interview below, writing the album was like therapy, and it’s more intimate, stark and emotionally raw than anything I’ve heard him do before.

Taking a deliberate musical step away from the powerful full electric band sound is a HFS trademark, James instead has opted for the maxim of ‘less is more’ on this record, with the sympathetic guest musicians and the deconstructed singer songwriter sound working in harmony with some truly great examples of confessional songwriting.

With the low fi drone of North Star Loop leading into the mournful haunting beauty of Concrete Town, with it’s bleak lyrics and the cello accompanying James guitar this is a powerful and beautiful opening to an album like no other I’ve heard this year, it’s dystopian world view an acoustic counterpoint to Hawkwinds High Rise 30 odd years on.

As a listener, reader or viewer I get excited and engaged by media that features places that I know, so this albums references to James home town (and my adopted city) of Bristol also draws me in, from references to the Underfall Yard (a topic covered by another band close to Progarchys heart) on Underfall or the mention of College Green on Worktable really grounds this album for me, and I would love to listen to it on my iPod as I walk round the city on a cold winters day.

Ricochet is one of the stand out tracks on this album, the cello and guitar working beautifully together, whilst the bands performance is amazing here as James pours his soul out to the world, this is definitely the antithesis of easy listening and yet James warm vocal works perfectly with the bleak and haunting lyrics on display here, not to mention him unleashing one of his astounding guitar solos loose here.

The trademark guitar sound comes out again on the darkly wry Black Sky, whilst the beautiful, very English sound of Severn is matched by the darkest lyrics I have heard this year, James juxtaposing the dark and the light to perfect effect here.

The trumpet playing of Pete Judge adds its timbre to the gentle beauty of Underfall, again working in perfect symmetry with the music and the therapy of walking round the floating harbour in Bristol, James has been very selective with his collaborators, and each and every one add something to the music, not a note wasted, not a heartstring untugged.

The title track is another beautiful piece where James intricate guitar playing is almost folk like in its style. Skyboat then continues in the folk vein, whilst the only nod to James heavier psych sound come on the Skyboat reprise where he psychs out as a HFS power trio, and the additional keyboard sounds from Duncan Gammon from fellow Bristol proggers Schnauser, gives a nod to James roots and showcases the improvisational side of his compositional skills, which when you consider it’s a full electric space wig out, it could have jarred, but as the album flows it fits perfectly and works incredibly well in context.

The closer of Blackberry Hill, again with its wonderful trumpet work adds an element of melancholy optimism to the album, showing a chink of light in the darkness, and some fantastic lyrics and another great vocal performance by James.

Once it’s in your heart and in your head it takes over the room you are listening to it, and it’s one of those albums that demands your attention, and rewards your listening time and time again.

This is as far removed from the traditional prog albums I have heard all year, and yet, no album has grabbed me quite as much as this has, it is a record of immense power and beauty, and with its raw emotional depth, astonishing musical performances throughout, and themes that are identifiable and that resonate with me on a personal level, is an album that will stay with me forever.

Not to mention of course it is just a bloody good record, and one that once you’ve heard it, will never leave you.

I also caught up with James recently in a cosy pub The King William, on King St in Bristol to talk about The Dead Astronaut album and some of the themes behind the songs and the concept.

I started by talking about the release, as it’s been produced by Tonfeloat Records on Vinyl and download only,

‘I was expecting to do a package of vinyl and CD originally, but get speaking to Charles at Tonefloat, and he’s a massive vinyl enthusiast, so their preferred format is the 180g vinyl, with the download available from band camp. To be honest I never thought in a million years that they would do it’

‘It’s a beautiful vinyl package with a Carl Glover sleeve, which is a massive thing for me as a No-Man fan, it was amazing to be introduced to Carl and get the dialogue going about the album and it was weird because I didn’t want to tell him what to do!’

‘I explained the concept and he sent over some NASA images that I really liked, I was expecting him to use some stock footage, but he explained he had a whole set in his personal archive from the Apollo launch.

After looking at the images I choose the one that I want, I wanted the clear expanse, like the ones you get with the No-Man albums, I wanted it clean not like a Floyd/Hipgnosis sleeve, I didn’t want to be obviously copyist, and the artwork and music came together really well, it’s an amazing package and the sound is phenomenal’.

How did the concept of the album come about?

‘The idea came from the last twelve months where I had a strange series of life events, which were fairly traumatic relating back to my childhood which came back to haunt me. I had some therapy and came up with this idea about inner space in your mind, the way that your mind can run away and how on a fundamental level how the universe is like that. Then I came to the idea of the Astronaut on a space walk, cut off and left to drift. The title track came as a song, sometimes you have an idea and it just comes out of you. I wrote the lyrics on the iPhone, and then got some chords and it all came together. I had some other songs that were melancholy and very intimate and it was very much a tool for therapy.

It started coming together thinking about the space theme, and compiling the songs and putting them into a concept in a very loose sense, the narrative doesn’t flow like an obvious concept, but there’s a narrative I can explain.’

At this point James was kind enough to go in to more detail about each song on the album,

Side A

North Star Loop – Sets the scene and gets you in the ambience to take you on a trip, I used a sample from a the NASA site and a piano drone piece layered over it, then expanded on it in the studio.

Concrete Town– I’m nuts about JG Ballard and dystopia, that kind of sci-fi, a very human sci-fi, this introduces the character and is following through his eyes, this is the character and this is where he’s at.

Ricochet- This is the ‘Shit this is what happened, this is what it’s done to my life’ moment.

Worktable – This is written around and based on an arts festival here in Bristol, In Between Time that was on at the Arnolfini. I am interested in contemporary art, and this was a piece of conceptual art in Portakabins, where you would walk and be surrounded by all this stuff from around the city, you would select an object then destroy it, and through a series of rooms reassemble it in a different way, taking something that has been destroyed and remade in your own image.

It read to me like an analogy for self-harm and it fitted into the bleak narrative.

All the lines in the song relate to the arts festival and is profound in its own way.

Black Sky– Very much about Black Sky thinking, a few songs were developed on the drum machine and this is one of them. The thing about Black Sky is I started using this mellotron sample of a boys choir which had a melodic quality to it, I was going for a Cardiacs sound and it came out a bit Kate Bush.

Side B

I hadn’t had much thought about sequencing the album for vinyl, but it seemed to work, as what I’d imagine to follow Black Sky was

Severn– the lyrics for this are bleak and expressive, a melodic song talking about something horrible, that juxtaposition of someone talking about wanting to kill themselves but changing their mind with the music.

Underfall – One of those narrative songs I wanted to talk a lot about Bristol, the landmarks of the city that mean a lot to me, I love to walk along the harbour side and through the Underfall Yard, I also mention places like College Green on the album. It came out like a simple Big Star song, 13 or something like that.

The Dead Astronaut- This is the title track.

Skyboat – It takes it cues from the Skye Boat song that my Dad sang as a lullaby to me as a child, and it could be like a Spacecraft, its very confessional, I remember watching Columbia launch and how the obsession with space started.

Skyboat (reprise) – This is all about trying to recapture myself, Jeff & Aidan as Hi-Fiction Science before Maria brought so much more to the band, as we used to improvise with these long kraut rock jams and when she joined us we became more song based and a much better band for it.

This was a second take of a live in the studio jam, its probably a bit out of place having all these confessional sons and then bam into this space jam, but I thought Fuck it, it’s my album, in the spirit of Neil Youngs After the Gold rush. That will of being able to do it because I funded the album, it’s not commercial and I’m not accountable to anyone, I just did it myself.

Blackberry Hill– I wrote this when I was 16 on a piano at my Mums house, I brought it up to date, re-wrote the lyrics to make it more relevant and it became the closing track.

Were any of these songs ever destined for Hi-Fiction Science?

No, it was always intended as my project, because it was so personal, it was always going to be a solo album, my last one came out on a tape label, and as I thought about it and thought more about the concept I get other musicians involved and then wanted to call it something, it made more sense to do that.

Hi-fiction Science we have our own studio that we rent out with other guys, its called Joes Garage and is run by Joe Garcia whose recently done a recording there with Dylan Carlson and Maddy Prior. He’s a skilled engineer and I worked closely with him, explained the concept, as I am nuts about recording, I’ve always done it at home but I had this toy box and thought lets do it. I had two days to get the basic tracks, its fairly low key because of the time and the budget as it was totally self financed so we did it in those two days.

I got Charlotte (Nicholls) in on cello, she’s worked with Portishead and Crippled Black Phoenix and Joe suggested her, she’s such a pro and gave it the vibe I wanted, so mournful and it adds the timbre.

My wish list was her, Paul Bradley whose a crazy Irishman, I’ve known about him for years from when he played with an Anglo Irish psych band called Me, he plays improvised guitar and sings harmony vocals and I also got Pete Judge in on trumpet.

Jeff (Green) & Aidan (Searle) from Hi-Fiction Science provide bass and drums, and I got Duncan Gammon in (from Schnauser), I sent him Skyboat (Reprise) and said I wanted something between Mike Ratledge and Richard Wright, and he did, all over it. He added an extra flavour to the piece, he did so much more that I had to edit down otherwise it would have been too uber prog.

Would you do a prog album?

It would be great to do that with Duncan and get Gaz Williams in from Asteroid Deluxe and do an ultimate prog album.

Is there a sequel to Curious Yellow in the works?

HFS 3 is currently being worked on in the studio in town, and The Dead Astronaut has given me more scope with my songwriting, we’re going to get Charlotte in to play some cello, there’s some songs I wrote around the same time as the Dead Astronaut that we’ve reworked as band songs.

It’s a very dark album, such a hackneyed phrase, but it is quite dark in terms of the sound, I wanted the guitar to sound raw and the themes are all pretty dark. It’s got a real ritualistic sound to it. As a band on this one I think we’ve nailed it’

James spoke about the art scene in Bristol earlier, and indeed it crops up on The Dead Astronaut, he was recently invited to play at an instillation called Sanctum, that was 27 days worth of art performances in a disused church running 24 hours a day for the duration of the installation.

I got to play at 8pm on a Friday night where I debuted the album there and played the majority of it, then Jeff and Aidan joined me for Skyboat, Skyboat (reprise) and we chucked in a new HFS track, it really captured the audience, they were really receptive, it was a case of just getting it out there and it was great to be affiliated with an art organisation promoting art across the city.

I did two slots there and got a taste for playing those kind of gigs and I’ve now got another The Dead Astronaut set at the Exchange in Bristol on the 9^th January in the afternoon at 1pm, which I am really looking forward to.

Thanks to James for his time and supplying the pictures for this piece.

An interesting musical diversion

On May 5, 2015May 5, 2015 By James R TurnerIn progressive rock music1 Comment

Hey fellow progarchists, hope we’re all well, and I don’t know about you, but I am astounded that it’s nearly June and 2015 is almost half way over, or if you want to look at it another way, we’ve got another 6 months of great albums to look forward to before the inevitable ‘best of’ lists and word wrangling are upon us.

Here’s four very different and very exciting albums that I have been listening to for a while, and have been trying to review in between revision, selling a house and getting divorced! It’s been a busy old year so far!

Gavin Harrison: Cheating the Polygraph

Kscope

It’s interesting life, isn’t it?

You can spend large portions of time in the same town, the same city, the same village, seeing the same people doing the same thing, day in, day out, and you get into a really comfortable routine, where everything fits together like a jigsaw, and a comforting reliability settles in, pub on a Friday, roast on a Sunday, and the same songs played on a different days.

Then something happens, maybe a job move, maybe a house move, perhaps a divorce, and then you’re routine is changed, altered and the familiar beat alters, the groove is shaken up, the old record gets changed, or remixed if you like, and you suddenly find that once familiar things become different because of context or time, like looking at your favourite painting hanging in a different house, or a new lover in your old bed.

This is precisely the effect that Gavin Harrison’s rather spectacular new album has on your ears. It is an astonishing, intelligent reinterpretation of Porcupine Tree songs, and whilst the song remains the same, the sound really doesn’t.

With a skilful jazz orchestra and of course Harrisons taut powerful drumming underpinning the whole affair, it allows Cottle and Harrison to go out there in reinterpreting and rearranging these classic songs, as trumpet, trombone and sax duel with each other as familiar riffs appear and sneak off into the ether, as the full band kicks in with some mighty power, and of course Harrisons glorious drumming and some amazing bass work.

Echo Us: II: XII A Priori Memoriae

This is an album that I have been listening to since around December last year, when creative ands inventive musician Ethan Matthews sent me a copy to review and enjoy, and due to life taking its toll this year, I have just got round to penning this piece about this rather marvellous record, so first of all apologies Ethan, I hope my words will do your music justice.

I knew this was right up my street when the first track kicked, and rather like Rob Reed from Magenta, I get the impression Ethan is inspired by multi-instrumentalists like Mike Oldfield, as with the superb fluid guitar, and the more atmospheric musical soundscapes that he creates there are definite shades of Oldfield in here, and that is no way a criticism at all. For my money Mike Oldfield has created some of the finest records of the late 20^th Century, and anyone who follows his footsteps and is influenced to create something original of their own is to be applauded.

This is in effect the conclusion to a trilogy of albums that started with 2009’s The Tide Decides, continued through 2012’s Tomorrow Will Tell the Story finishes here,

Echo Us is in effect multi-instrumentalist virtuoso Ethan and female vocalist Henta, who adds her own magic to the overall sound, and what an excellent sound it is.

Effectively split into two four part progressive symphonies (‘A’ Data, and ‘B’ Data)

The four part split of the two main tracks is again almost Oldfield esque in its execution, and allows the music room to breathe, to evolve and to build and build to it’s wonderful conclusion. From the ambient build of ‘A’ Data I) Exordium (apologue) with plenty of that wonderful guitar to the conclusion of ‘A’ Data iv) residium (Remainder) with it’s chilled out conclusion and plenty of beautiful languid guitar coming across reminiscent of Steve Howe.

In fact the musicianship on this album is superb throughout, as themes appear and reappear and pieces ebb and flow, building to some shatteringly wonderful musical climaxes, as Hentas voice weaves in and out, haunting, otherworldly and ethereal.

In fact with its choral power, its superb ambient soundscapes and guitar work, this reminds me very much of Mike Oldfields Songs of Distant Earth, as it has the same laid back sound and effortlessly elegiac moods throughout.

As shown by his guitar work again on the atmospheric ‘B’ data I) i.codicillus (From Far Away) Ethan is a mighty fine guitarist, and his vocal harmonies when mixed with Hentas vocals create for some really moving musical moments, as the guitar comes to the fore, as the percussion builds and builds and builds.

Layering sound upon sound, and weaving samples and vocals into some fantastic musical tapestry is a real skill and one that Ethan has in abundance as a songwriter and performer.

In fact with it’s musical counterpoints, the way it effortlessly moves through moods and back, and with Ethans dextrous playing, this is a superb release, and whilst it fits into the musical genre that Mike Oldfield is well known for, Echo us is something new and exciting, and if you enjoy the music of Mr Oldfield, it’s a dead cert you will love this.

Man: Reanimated Memories

Esoteric Antenna EANTCD1046

Having masterminded the recent superb remastering and reissuing of the indefatigueable Welsh blues prog rock legends Mans entire back catalogue it seems entirely appropriate that the groups first new release in five years comes on the Esoteric Antenna label, and accompanied by concerts in the UK and abroad.

Having always had a fluid attitude to things like line ups and genres, this reanimated Man band consists of Man veterans Martin Ace and Phil Ryan, ably accompanied by new blood Josh Ace (Martins son, taking his place in the family business) James Beck and Rene Robrahn rounding out the 21^st century Man line up.

Adding some steel guitar to the proceedings is special guest, the legend that is BJ Cole.

So, what is this new album like?

Well rest assured Man fans; it is firmly in the spirit of the group that made legendary albums like Back into the Future or Be Good To Yourself at least Once a Day and the Twang Dynasty.

With the younger blood in the band, in the form of Josh Ace, who contributes some fine songs on here including the brilliant No Solution and the great contemporary God Delusion, it adds some bite to the sound, which is classic Man.

The opening blues rock Ballad of Billy Lee, provided by Martin Ace, is a Western on Record, with some great cinematic lyrics and BJ Coles pedal steel guitar adds a wonderful touch, whilst Martin Aces vocals add the gruff touch needed to this story of a world weary gunfighter.

Martin also contributes the wonderfully bluesy One More Ride on the Waltzers, with its great blues sound, and its it wistfully beautiful lyrics features some sublime keyboard work from Phil Ryan and great harmony vocals.

Phil Ryan contributes the ten minute epic In Time, which draws on all elements of Mans mighty heritage, with some amazing duelling guitar work, fantastic keyboard work and great vocals, whilst managing to sound contemporary and fresh. You wouldn’t think this was the work of a band with over 46 years history.

Reanimated Memories is as strong a work of music as Man have committed to record, and not only does it stand up strong compared to their legacy, it also continues to build on that legacy.

A great record.

FM: Transformation

Esoteric Antenna EANCD1050

Pioneering Canadian proggers responsible for such legendary albums as Black Noise, Direct to Disc and City of Fear, all of which took something from the school of space rock and fronted by Cameron Hawkins, whose distinctive vocals add so much to the FM sound, added so much more to the genre.

Now the groundbreaking group are a quartet, fronted by founder and driving force Cameron Hawkins, rounded out by Paul DeLong whose impressive drum works pushes this album on, and staying true to the traditional FM sound there is now not one, but two violinists Aaron Solomon (who adds vocals) and Edward Bernard (who also adds viola, mandolin and vocals to the mix) this really fleshes out the superb sound FM make, and with three vocalists the harmonies on here are reminiscent of the tremendous Trevor Rabin Yes era. Adding a contemporary sound, whilst remaining uniquely FM.

The violin is, in my opinion very underused in prog rock, and with twin violinists duelling (particularly on the amazing Children of Eve) through the different stereo channels, it gives so much more to a record, and with those amazing harmony vocals it really does send shivers down your spine.

The harmonies again are to the fore on the amazingly beautiful Safe and Sound, which would be echoing round the country if there were any radio stations left willing to broadcast FM in FM to the nation, as Hawkins vocals and lyrics blend seamlessly with the music, as the synths, the violins, the harmonies come together to create 6:18 minutes of perfection, building perfectly on the FM sound of old and then picking it up, running with it and taking it somewhere different and new.

In fact the violin is the dominant force throughout the album, weaving and soloing where the guitar would normally be, and as such adds real power and energy to the tracks.

Songs like the brilliant Soldiers of Love with its extended violin duet/fight coda, the opening boot in the stereo that is Brave New Worlds and the closing joyous lyrics in Heaven On Earth (which in tone, if not style is reminiscent of mid 90’s Yes) prove that as a musical force Cameron Hawkins and FM have plenty more to give. This is a triumphant musical return from one of Canada’s most eclectic and exciting musical groups, a stunning record in every way.

The Race for Space and other stories

On March 1, 2015March 1, 2015 By James R TurnerIn progressive rock music1 Comment

2015 might well be starting off on a great footing with 3, yup, 3 amazing albums already released and jostling for position on my turntable and CD player respectively, but first I thought I’d look at a few gems from towards the end of last year that are worth investigating and listening to.

Anytown: Trouble on the Water

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Songwriting genius Matthew Taylor, better known as the driving force behind Sheffield’s Dead Like Harry, puts his talents to good use here on the debut album by his new project Anytown, featuring a stellar line up of fellow Dead Like Harry members Robin Baker (bass, double bass) Alice Faraday (vocals) brother Samuel Taylor, whose making a name for himself as a solo performer on guitar and vocals, as well as the additional vocals of Rhiannon Scutt and Kirsty Bromley fill our the sound, whilst Matt’s distinctive warm vocals and his piano and keyboard work dominates the albums 9 tracks.

Dead Like Harry’s trademark vocal harmonies are carried over here, as Matt & Alice’s voices beautifully complement each other, whilst the stripped down sound of Anytown suit Mutts maturing songwriting superbly. The mood here is melancholic and contemplative, from the wonderful opening Balham Road, underpinned nicely by Matts accordion whilst the vocal harmonies soar.

The River is a fantastic piece with more of those gorgeous harmonies that fill the room and are the musical equivalent of a big warm hug.

Delhi Rising is the song about the protests throughout Delhi after the brutal rape and death of female student Jyoti Singh Pandey back in 2012, which shocked the world, and this song does her memory and the aims of the protesters justice. Also written in the traditional folk idiom of reflecting true events is the title track Trouble on the Water, the tragic tale of the Penlee lifeboat disaster.

The songwriting here is closer to the folk idiom than Dead Like Harry, and when performed in an intimate atmosphere (as I had the pleasure of seeing a few weeks ago) the songs send a tingle up the spine, and Matt’s songwriting has the uncanny knack to pull you into the story and take you to that particular place. A knack very few performers have.

A wonderful reinterpretation of Dead Like Harry’s Free as a Bird is heartbreakingly beautiful, whilst the haunting Winter Sky, with its beautiful harmonies and its tale of loss is followed by the superb The Promise, with some amazing piano work by Matt and beautifully understated guitar work, with some heartfelt lyrics.

Anytown is another one of Matt’s story songs, with his lyrical vignettes painting a picture with the songs, and is another song full of wonderful vocal harmonies.

The closing cover of Runrigs This Time of Year, with its beautiful vocals and performance is worthy of a Christmas release and with its lyrical theme brought a tear to my ear.

Anytown is an amazing musical project from Matt and co, and is an album full of melancholic, uplifting, introspective, haunting and beautiful songs, the type of album to be listened to on a dark winter night by a warm fire, as the optimism and beauty shine through and the lush vocal harmonies wrap themselves around you.

Don Harper: Cold World

Eric Siday: The Ultrasonic Perception

Dual Planet

Now here’s a couple of treats for anyone who is into early experimental electronic music, particularly the work of composers associated with the BBC Radiophonic workshop, that legendary laboratory where composers and avid experimenters created new sounds and revolutionised contemporary composition. Its influence echoes down the years from the work they did on early synthesisers, to being a major influence on the Krautrock genre, and for electronic pioneers like White Noise, as well as contemporary acts like Hot Chip. Famous of course for its work on the ever endearing Doctor Who, the theme tune is probably its most famous piece of work, and these two albums released on vinyl and CD by specialist soundtrack merchants Dual Planet, who have done a great job on the remastering and packaging.

Cold Worlds is a version of Don Harpers score for the Doctor Who story The Invasion, and are re-recordings of his original score, opening with a jazzed up version of the traditional Doctor Who theme that then goes from space into jazz funk, and runs the gamut of early synthesised sounds, with the centrepieces on the album Nightmare and Cold Worlds being eerie, atmospheric and of their time, with discordant synth tones and counter tones, electronic waves and disjointed bleeps, this pre-empts Krautrock by about 5 years, and separated from the images creates claustrophobic and sinister pictures in the mind. As a talented jazz pianist and composer the free form element of Harpers work is there, and the eerie sax that winds it way through Cold Worlds works so well against the cold sparse electronic backdrop. Other tracks like Psychosis and Sinister Stranger evoke the moods they were intended for, and are superb examples of how the electronic pioneers of the 1960’s pushed the musical boundaries, even though the brief pieces were hidden by dialogue or just used fleetingly as linking themes.

Eric Sidays Ultrasonic Perception is a collection of shorter musical cues, with Siday having been at the forefront of electronica musical scoring, and here on the Ultrasonic Perception a collection of his library music this explores his scientific study of sound, the Ultrasonic Perception, and large portions of the music on this collection were used throughout the 60’s in Doctor Who. From the 60’s and 70’s the eclectic and exciting sounds that are created here are ahead of their time. The synthesised sounds here pre date the traditional start of synthesised music, and Siday was such a pioneer that his work was an influence on Dr Moog, when working on his first commercial synthesiser, and undoubtedly influenced the nascent Radiophonic work of composers like Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire. This groundbreaking sound here still sounds clear and contemporary, and is worth listening to.

Frost* The Rockfield Files

Multi talented Jem Godfrey presents the latest chapter in his prog supergroups story featuring John Mitchell (It Bites) Nathan King and Craig Blundell. Recorded at Rockfield studios in Monmouth, this is a CD/DVD package featuring some rerecorded versions of classic Frost* songs like the brilliant Milliontown which showcases Godfreys superb songwriting skills, whilst John Mitchell makes his mark with some superb guitar work and his amazing vocal work all over this project.

More a holding activity than a new album (although we are promised a brand new one soon) this is a delight for all Frost* fans, and the DVD is superbly made, and the re-recordings of these classic songs, plus the brilliant Lantern here on record for the first time showcase a four piece band at the peak of the powers, and with Jem writing some amazing prog songs like Hyperventilate, its no wonder Frost* are so well loved.

As we’re speaking of John Mitchell lets come back to the trio of albums released this year that look set to help define the sound of 2015 and beyond (you’d almost think I’d planned it this way)

Lonely Robot: Please Come Home

With a collaborative cast of talents including narration from Lee Ingleby, a core band of John Mitchell and Craig Blundell, with additional bass from Nick Beggs, there’s guests of the like of Peter Cox who provides vocals for the fantastic The Boy in The Radio. Heather Findlay adds her beautiful vocals to the haunting ballad Why do we Stay? with a certain Steve Hogarth bringing his unique vocals and piano playing along for the journey. Kim Seviour adds her vocal talents to the duet on the brilliant Oubliette whilst the most powerful song on the album, and one of the most beautifully written and realised tracks I have heard so far this year is the hauntingly gorgeous Humans Being with Steve Hogarth guesting on vocals and Nik Kershaw playing guitar.

I have no doubt whatsoever that when the best of 2015 polls are written, this album will be making its presence felt.

Grand Tour Heavy on the Beach

The hard work that Hew has put into this pays off magnificently and I would say this is his crowning musical achievement so far.

The band he has with him are more than up to the challenging of interpreting his song-writing, and their innate musical ability puts the meat on the bones of the concept, and makes this record one that you have to buy.

Public Service Broadcasting The Race for Space

English musical duo Public Service Broadcastings raison D’Etre is creating musical soundscapes based around old film footage, and their debut album Inform, Educate, Entertain is one of the best debut albums I have ever heard, and their reinterpretation of their track Signal 30 which closed the 2013 Formula One season review on the BBC has to be seen to be believed.

Taking as their concept for album number 2 is the Space Race between the USSR and the USA and their starting point is setting John F Kennedy’s speech about The Race for Space to haunting choral music, (with motifs that reoccur throughout the album) and ending with the last manned moon landing.

The beauty of Public Service Broadcasting is their use of archive recordings, and matching the music to the mood to evoke a golden era of interstellar travel when everything seemed possible, and it’s 43 minutes plus brings that period back to life and reminds us musically of a time when we spent looking at the stars in optimism, instead of gazing down at our feet. Of the time when people wondered ‘How can we do that?’ not ‘we can’t do that because of the cost’ and of a time when we thought we could live in space. It seems sad that the space race is now, to all intents and purposes history rather something that continues to this day, and this album is a beautiful tribute to all those who contributed and who gave their lives doing so.

An Esoteric Recordings Review Special

On February 9, 2015 By James R TurnerIn Prog, Progarchy, progressive rock, progressive rock music1 Comment

One of the best independent labels currently operating within the progressive and beyond genre Esoteric recordings are not only experts at reissuing and remastering, having been behind the impressive Hawkwind and Man catalogue reissues, but they are also adept at finding new talents like Schnauser, Sanguine Hum & Hi-Fiction Science amongst many others, a couple of which are featured here.

This is review round up of a selection of the fine records that they released or reissued last year.

Fish on Friday: Godspeed
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Before cracking on with the re-issues I thought I would have a look at one of the new records Esoteric released last year on their Antenna label.
Hope to artists like Matt Stevens, Schnauser, Van der Graaf Generator and Andy Jackson amongst many others, their Antenna label is the home to new prog bands that they discover and promote.
Fish on Friday is one of those new talents, a Belgian band who released their third album Godspeed through the Esoteric Antenna label last autumn.
Featuring the bass & vocal talents of Nick Beggs, the band, William Beckers on keyboards/percussion, Frank Van Bogaert keyboards/vocals/additional guitars, Marty Townsend electric/ acoustic guitars and Marcus Weymaere on drums and percussion are a superb musical unit, very talented and inventive songwriters.
It’s the measure of how good the band is, by the company they keep, and Fish on Friday are very good with guests of the calibre of Theo Travis, who enhances the beautiful Ghost Song, with it’s stunning musical work, and some fantastic bass work from Beggs underpinning the majestic 6 minute epic as Travis goes to work with his sublime sax work, and haunting interludes, as well as Theo’s flute work on the brilliant Calling Planet Home.
The stand out track on the album for me is Radio, with it’s wonderful couplet ‘And the Buggles Killed the Radio Star’ and it’s beautifully evocative lyrics and the driving rock, it would be a shoe in for a single, as it’s got catchy lyrics, a great sound, and it leads almost seamlessly into 8 minutes Sanctuary, with its great female backing vocals and some beautiful guitar work.
In fact the musical interplay between the band is sublime on this album, and the songwriting is superb, as they blend seamless rock into atmospheric prog and back into catchy hooks effortlessly, and with some vocal harmonies and musical moments to die for, this is a fantastic record.
If you love new progressive music, and lets face it who doesn’t? Then this is for you, a superb piece of music, mixing the finest songwriting, the best performances and utilising some superb guest musicians.
Another fantastic find from Esoteric.

The Gasoline Band
Esoteric ECLEC2467

This is a mighty record, the only record from the British based, ten piece blues, jazz rock band The Gasoline Band, formed mostly from American servicemen who had been stationed in Germany and led by keyboard player Fred Schwartz whose vision helped meld the Gasoline Band into the unique outfit that they were.
Originally released back in 1972 on the Cube Records label, it didn’t shift many copies, and whilst the band were popular live, as is often the way, particularly with larger bands, they drifted apart and that was it. Which is an almighty shame, as there is so much power on this record, and when you think of a traditional band with guitar, drums, bass, keyboards and the excellent vocals of Brian Bevan, then you add in two sax players, two trumpet players, a trombone and a conga player. The sound combinations suddenly explode into life.
From the astonishing opening of The Bitch, with it’s guitar soloing, it’s stabbing brass and jazz rock influences, it packs more ideas into it’s punchy 5 minutes than some bands ever manage in a career.
The German influence can be heard in the driving Ein Grosses, and the music is a blend of progressive blues and jazz, creating a unique sound, with such power and a taut groove that you can’t help but get drawn in and tap your feet, as the guitars and brass duel throughout. Tracks like the magnificent Shrapnel and the groove driven World What You Gonna Do, showcase a mighty band at the peak of the powers.
It’s such a shame that they fell apart after this impressive debut, as it would have been fascinating to hear where they took their muse next.
If you love blues and brass driven rock then this is a rare old treat for you.
A sublime record.

Bill Nelson: After the Satellite Sings
Esoteric/Cocteau COCD1010

Another classic from the expansive back catalogue of enigmatic musician Bill Nelson makes its welcome reappearance here on CD.
Originally recorded and released in 1995, this sees the ever-restless muse of Bill Nelson taking his unique writing style, and working with the then contemporary sound of drum and bass. The result is an interesting hybrid of an album that mixes nelsons languid vocals, his exemplorary guitar playing and some well performed and well mixed beats and spoken word, almost beat poetry, almost rap to create an explosion of sound.
On tracks like Streamliner with its great keyboard work and vocals about the American dream his semi spoken word raps sound a little like Neil Tennant, whilst there are elements of music concrete throughout the album, with the church bells on Memory Babe, with its driving beat and pounding keyboard work.
With its mixture of sci-fi sounds, and retro artwork it invokes the past and the future, with Nelsons songwriting as sharp as ever, and his guitar work scything through the sounds. According to the sleeve notes this was an influence on David Bowies later foray into Drum and Bass on Earthling, and the two albums have similarities. However Nelson was here first, and this is another exciting release from an artist not content to rest on his laurels, from the work he did with Be Bop Deluxe in the 1970’s to his ambient soundscapes, Bill Nelson is a restless intelligent talent and impossible to pigeonhole.

Panic Room: Satellite
Esoteric Antenna EANTCD21033

Originally released back in 2010 this is a remastered and expanded edition of Prog Award winners Panic Rooms 2nd album, the last to feature their original line up.
Much more song orientated than their debut, Visionary Position.
With the line up being the remnants of live powerhouse Karnataka, and with the sublime vocals of Anne-Marie Helder, this is an amazing album.
From the opening Freedom to Breathe, with its fantastic guitar work from Paul Davies, and the keyboard interplay with Jonathan Edwards is great, particularly as they create the soundscapes for Anne-Maries voice to soar. With tracks like I am a Cat, Muse and the epic title track, this was a definite statement of intent from Panic Room and is strong today as it was when first issued.
The musicianship is top quality on here, whilst the vocals and lyrics are fantastic, there are no weak links in this musical chain, and listening to this you can see why Panic Room are one of the hottest live bands around.

Jack Bruce: Somethin’ Els
Cities of the Heart
Monkjack

Esoteric Records ECLEC2427
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A trio of remastered albums from one of the most influential blues bassists and rock legends the late great Jack Bruce come from the mid 1990’s, when following a period of personal turbulence he was starting to get his career back on track, and his addictions dealt with.
1993’s Somethin’ Els, sees him reunited with his old Cream sparring partner Eric Clapton on a large number of the tracks, and the old magic is still there throughout, older, and wiser, but they still spark off each other, like great musical partners often do, and age or time hasn’t diminished their impact. Surrounding himself with a band of including Stuart Eliot on drums, Peter Weihe and Clem Clempson on rhythm guitar and with guest appearances from artists like Dick Heckstall-Smith who adds his unique sax sound to the wonderful G.B Dawn Blues, and the wonderful vocals of Maggie Reilly who provides a beautiful foil for Jack on the superb Ships in the Night, and the brilliant Peaces of the East. This album is a tour de force for Jack, his vocals and playing are on top form, and his tight band bounce off each other and there is a real spark here. A fine return to form.
1994’s double live Cities of the Heart album is a musical celebration of Jacks career, and features an absolute whose who of musicians, from a reunion with Ginger Baker, with Gary Moore playing the Clapton role on some fantastic versions of NSU, Willie Dixon’s Spoonful, Chester Burnett’s Sitting on Top of the World and the wonderful Politician (lets not forget that shortly afterwards this trio released the hard to find, but worth hunting BBM album) whilst Maggie Reilly adds her vocals to Ships in the Night, whilst other guests like Dick Heckstall-Smith and Simon Phillips add their magic. As a pause and a celebration of Jacks career so far as he celebrated his 50th birthday, this is a great live album, and a wonderful retrospective covering his career to date, the closing finale of Sunshine of Your Love is as brilliant as you would imagine.
1995’s Monkjack is a different approach to the Blues from the previous albums, instead of being the full on blues/rock attack Bruce is known for, this showcases his piano and vocal performances in partnership with Bernie Worrall on the wonderful sound of the Hammond Organ, and is as exciting as you can imagine.
Sometimes less is more, and here, with piano and organ there is nowhere to hide, and Bruce’s voice is amazing, not just singing the material, but actually living it. Revisiting older material like Folk Song and Weird of Hermiston in radically different arrangements, as well as great interpretation of the Willie Dixon song Third Degree, this features some great new material like Shouldn’t We and Tightrope, and with Bernie Worralls Hammond mixing with Jacks piano, this is the sort of sound you expect to hear in late night blues clubs or jazz bars, and is the forerunner to the sort of thing Hugh Laurie is currently doing. This is a fantastic record and cuts right to the heart and soul of Jack Bruce, and out of the three remastered gems on offer, is definitely my favourite. Sadly Jack died last year not so long after the release of these records, so not only do they stand as a strong part of a great mans musical catalogue, but also as a testament to his brilliance. RIP Jack.

John Kongos: Kongos

Esoteric ECLEC2466

If all you know of John Kongos is his hit single Togoloshe Man being used in Life on Mars, or his other hit He’s Gonna Step on You Again being borrowed and sampled by popular beat combo The Happy Mondays for their big hit Step On, then you really need to get yourself a copy of this fantastic reissue of his second album, originally released on the Fly records label in 1971.
Born in Johannesburg, John Kongos moved to the UK in the mid sixties, and was on the periphery of something big until he was signed to the Fly label, with label mates like Marc Bolan. Mixing in rhythms from his native South Africa, and produced by Gus Dudgeon and engineered by Roy Thomas Baker (who later helped shape Queens unique sound) and utilising session musicians like Ray Cooper and Caleb Quaye who had worked so successfully with Elton John, and Mike Moran on keys and piano, they crafted a perfect album, which seems to have slipped behind the sofa of popular culture.
From the opening driving beat of Togoloshe Man to the beautifully elegiac Tomorrow I’ll go, via the wonderful Jubilee Cloud, Johns vocals are superb, his songwriting exemplorary, and his musical accompaniment is spot on every time. He can mix and match moods from ballads to driving pieces like Try to touch Just one, with nods to his native South African beats and rhythms throughout (over 20 years before Paul Simon). With songs that seem spiritual like Come on Down Jesus, or the bonus Higher than Gods Hat, there is a deep intellectual spirituality at work here, along with a songwriter on top of his game, and rounding the original album off with the rousing He’s Gonna Step on You Again (which is far better than the Happy Mondays version) is a touch of genius.
Fleshing out this immaculate package are 8 single a and b-sides, plus the single edit of Togoloshe Man, which is enough to create another album, and tracks like Ride the Lightening and Great White Lady are superb, and it’s a mystery to me after listening to this album why it isn’t held in as high a regard as other early 70’s singer/songwriter albums like Elton’s Madman Across the Water, George Harrison’s Living in the Material World or Richard Thompson’s Henry the Human Fly, as it has great emotion, real power and some of the finest tracks you’ll hear this side of a George Harrison album.
I hope this reissue reminds the world of what a fantastic record Kongos is.

Quantum Jump: Quantum Jump
Barracuda
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Esoteric ECLEC22477

Formed in Farmyard Studios in 1974, Quantum Jump coalesced around Rupert Hine (vocals and keyboards) former Caravan bassist and vocalist John G Perry, guitarist Mark Warner and drummer Trevor Morais.
This debut album newly remastered and repackaged to the usual high standards by Esoteric Records is a fine blend of jazz, rock and hints of prog sneaking in their as well.
Underpinned by the fine songwriting sensibilities of the band, and their innate musical dexterity, Quantum Jump is an overlooked classic, with some fantastic pieces on here, the great opening Captain Boogaloo, the brilliant No American Starship, and the closing 7 minutes plus of Something at the Bottom of the Sea, which showcases all of the bands versatility, from Warners fluid guitar, Perry’s subtle and intense bass playing, the dextrous drumming from Morais (reminiscent of Billy Cobham at points) and Hines superb keyboard style all brought together to create a magnificent album.
The bands most famous song The Lone Ranger is here as well, in its original album form, and the 1979 remix which hit the top 5. Originally released in 1976 it was named Tony Blackburns record of the week, and was starting to sneak into the top 30, when the BBC banned it due to its drug references and homoerotic lyrical content. Then due to Kenny Everett using its distinctive opening on his various radio and TV shows, the song was remixed and released where it achieved its full potential. Also included are the single b side Drift, and several remixes from 1979’s compilation album Mixing, which subtly updated the jazz fusion sound of Quantum Jump with some more sophisticated synthesisers.
Come 1977 and Quantum Jump reconvened for the follow up to their debut, the brilliant Barracuda, beautifully reissued here in a double disc set including a complete BBC Radio One in concert from 1977, previously unreleased on CD and the mopping up of the tracks from the Mixing compilation.
Down to a core trio of Hine, Perry & Morais, this picks up where the debut left off, with a similar vibe on the record, and of interest to Caravan fans Geoffrey Richardson adding viola, guitar and flute amongst others, whilst Elkie Brooks adds her familiar vocals to the record.
The air of sophistication surrounds Barracuda, and it’s an incongruous record for the time (1976) it was recorded in, of course punks impact is often overstated (after all Disco was bigger than punk, and one of the biggest selling bands of the period were the immaculately produced ELO) however it undoubtedly had an impact on Quantum Jump who weren’t big enough to not be caught up in punks year zero approach.
However the loss at the time is our gain, as what we have here is an immaculately produced, intelligently written album, with some fantastic use of brass and strings, as well as fantastic lyrics from Martin Hall & Jeanette Obstoj, which by dint of having a huge element of care over the production means it sounds timeless and hasn’t dated anywhere near as much as some of the original punk sounds.
The vocal harmonies, particularly on the opener Don’t Look Now, with it’s smooth blend of funk and rock are superb, whilst the strings on The Séance (too Spooky) are hauntingly perfect and the fine blend of funk and rock that is the Quantum Jump trademark is sublime.
The title track features some great keyboard work from Hine, whilst throughout the record the drums and bass from Morais and Perry is superb as they bounce off each other and work as the lynch pins to the record.
Bonus tracks include a sublime single version of Summer in the City, which is a fantastic cover.
Disc 2 is taken up by the BBC Radio One live in concert, where Roye Albrighton from Nektar joins the Quantum Jump trio on guitar and Geoffrey Richardson renewing his working relationship with John G Perry.
The concert is a fantastic testament to Quantum Jumps live prowess and features a great mix of material from both albums, with Barracuda well featured by a blistering version of the title track, Don’t Look Now, Starbright Park and a great version of The Séance (Too Spooky) whilst their signature track The Lone Ranger gets a great live workout and tracks like No American Starship (Looking for the Next World) and Over Rio show their versatility and great songwriting skills.
These two albums beautifully remastered and with some great liner notes tell the complete Quantum Jump history, and are a fantastic couple of records with a real groove and some stunning musicianship.
If you’ve never heard of Quantum Jump then now is the time you discovered them.

John Cale & Terry Riley: Church of Anthrax
Esoteric ECLEC2448

Fresh from the Velvet Underground CBS Masterworks signed John Cale to a two-album deal, one was his debut solo album, the rather wonderful Vintage Violence, and the other was this, his collaboration with underground minimalist composing genius Terry Riley (whose A Rainbow in Curved Air & In C were both highly acclaimed)
Taking Cales compositional style and mixing it with Rileys was an inspired idea, as the two men both worked in similar vein, and their styles are complimentary. Despite Riley leaving the project at mixing stage, there is still a lot of Terry Riley within this record.
It makes it’s overdue reappearance here on CD, newly remastered and with incisive notes from Sid Smith, and at points throughout the record it sounds so far ahead of it’s time it is unbelievable.
The opening title track with it’s pulsating and clashing keyboards and insinuating metronomic riffs is an opening statement of intent, and takes Cales musicality out of the Velvet underground, and into a new playground, and with both men operating in a similar vein it is hard to tell where Cale ends and Riley begins as it’s 9 minutes plus musical power sounds like a proto-krautrock epic.
The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, like most of the tracks, are all built round improvisations, and its wonderful to hear them pushing each other out there, as Cale and Riley trade riffs and piano sounds.
The Soul of Patrick Lee, the only track on here with vocals provided by Adam Miller, is the only song provided by John Cale, it foreshadows Cales solo career, with its superb lyrics and great musical performance, and could have easily fallen onto Cales albums like Vintage Violence or Paris, 1919.
Ides of March is another superb musical collaboration, with the stereo phasing being put to good use, and the insistent piano and percussion counterpoint working wonderfully together.
Closing with the short guitar driven The Protégé, which of all the compositions on here sounds closet to Cales work with the Velvet Underground than any of the more minimalist stylings of Riley, the piano is still to the fore and the sound here is taut and powerful, finishing off an immense record in style.
This is a fantastic collaboration between two intelligent and visionary musicians and composers and it is fantastic that it is now available again, providing the missing link between John Cales Velvet Underground work and his impressive and inventive solo career.

Man: The Twang Dynasty
Call Down the Moon
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Continuing their remastering and definitive edition reissue of the Man catalogue, and to prepare us for the new Man album later on in the year, Esoteric have reissued two of Mans late period studio albums, 1992’s Twang Dynasty & 1995’s Call Down the Moon.
The Twang Dynasty was their first studio album in 16 years, and is expanded here with the addition of the complete Live at Glastonbury show they did in 1994 over two extra discs.
The band, at this point Martin Ace, Micky Jones, Deke Leonard and John Weathers had been touring constantly since a 1983 reformation, and ended up as the Manbands longest serving incarnation, and in terms of getting down to recording a new album, a 9 year wait is par for the course for the Manband.
However the twang Dynasty was well worth the wait, and mixing their twin guitar sound and vocals, the album is a fantastic piece of rock, opening with a powerful trio of songs A feather on the Scales of Justice, Mad on Her and Jumpin’ Like a Kangaroo, all of which remained as staples in their live set (listening to the versions of Mad on Her and A Feather on the Scales of Justice on Disc 2 & 3 of this set respectively shows why)
The songwriting and performance here is top notch, with the band on top form, but then as they had been touring together for so longer they were on fine form.
Tracks like The Chinese Cut, the rather splendid Out of the Darkness and the closing rocker The Wings of Mercury (which again made it into the live set) are sublime, and show that despite the gap since the last record Man hadn’t lost their Mojo or power.
Discs 2 & 3 come from surprisingly enough their first performance at Glastonbury, and alongside the Twang tracks, it features some blinding performances of tracks from their 70’s heyday, versions of Many are called but few get/the Strom, Bananas and Romain prove that they still cut it as an almighty live band, and provide a fantastic companion to one of the great comeback albums of all time.
1995’s Call Down the Moon was the second album in a row from the same line-up, and the confidence from The Twang Dynasty is obvious to hear, as this album follows on from where that left off, with some sublime musical moments, building on their past the ten minute title track developed from an improvised riff used during their classic song C’mon, which was so good they built on it, and the title track was born seamlessly blending the old and the new, and creating a contemporary Man classic as they went along, yet this was still a departure from the classic sound as Deke Leonard focused more on keyboards than guitar, and so some of the twin guitar sound that was classic Man had snuck away. The improvisational way of writing worked on here, as this is an incredibly great album, with some fantastic tracks on here, like the wonderful piano driven Blackout, the funky Heaven & Hell with some classic Deke Leonard lyrics, and has some fantastic musical interplay between the whole band.
With some classic Man tracks like The Girl is trouble and the original album closer Burn my Workin’ Clothes which gives John Weathers a chance to sing and has some fab slide guitar all over it. The two bonus tracks are the original version of Dream Away and an unfinished piece known as Micky Buys a Round, which show the genesis of the work on the album.
These two remasters are a fine return to musical form for the Manband, and make a welcome return to CD, sounding as great as Man ever did, and are worth getting hold of.

David Sancious: Forest of Feelings
David Sancious & Tone: Transformation (The speed of Love)

Esoteric ECLEC2457
Esoteric ECLEC2458

Take the prodigious keyboard talent David Sancious, who had been a lynchpin up til 1974 in Bruce Springsteens E Street Band, add his old sparring partner drummer Ernest Carter from the E-Street band and Gerald Carboy on bass, add the production skills of one of the greatest drummers around Billy Cobham, who also contributes to Suite Cassandra, The Forest of Feelings & Further into the Forest of Feelings, and let them loose into the studio, and what do you get?
You get Forest of Feelings, originally unleashed on an unsuspecting world back in 1975, bear in mind when you listen to this, that the immensely talented Sancious was only 21 when this was made, and it blows your mind that a record this assured, this well performed, and this damn fantastic was his debut solo release.
Cobham’s production was a masterstroke, as it allows each performer to breathe, each note to resonate, and this falls somewhere between the prog work of keyboard players like Dave Greenslade, and the more full on jazz of Cobham, and is a million light years away from the working man rock of Springsteen.
From the opening Suite Cassandra, with its mix of classical, jazz, and progressive themes all building and flitting from one mood to the other. With Cobham producing of course there’s going to be comparisons with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, which is inevitable, but Sancious is very much his own composer. One of the stand out pieces on here is Sancious obvious reworking of Dixie, into a far more contemporary piece with nods towards the race relations movement, and turning it into a darker piece.
With some superb performances throughout from Carter & Carboy, this is a true power trio at work, particularly on some of the moments within title track as Carters drumming is relentless, and ably complimenting Sancious stunning playing.
Nicely rounded out with the bonus track Promise of Light, which offers a melodic contrast to what, has gone before, this is a stunning debut from Sancious, laying down a marker as to what will follow.
What did follow was 1976’s Transformation (The Speed of Love) where the band was now called Tone, and Sancious was keen to progress his sound from the debut album, also the band had been working together as tight unit, so there is a lot of confidence and power about the band on this ambitious second album.
Produced by another musical alumni Bruce Botnik, who also worked with the Doors, the progressive influence is also shown here, on the title track, which takes up the whole of what would have been side two, but more on that later.
Coming to the fore on this album alongside his keyboard skills is Sancious ferocious guitar playing, particularly on the tremendous opener Piktors Metamorphosis, whilst the 8 minute plus majesty of Sky Church Hymn #9 is inspired by Jimi Hendrix, and features some astonishing slide guitar, and the work of Carter & Carboy cannot be praised enough, their style and tone works so well with Sancious, and live I can imagine they would have blown anyone away.
The fourth track on the album, the 18 minute epic Transformation (The speed of love) manages to distil all the disparate influences and styles that Sancious and Tone were so adept in into one long piece of music, that is effortless in its beauty and majesty and the intensity of the piece, with the trio all bouncing off each other, is an art form in itself. The way that Sancious works the keyboards and drives the piece along is wonderful to hear whilst the drumming of Carter and the subtle insinuating bass of Carboy is a joy to hear.
When the power trio works well it is indisputably the finest combination in music, and here we have a jazz/prog/rock power trio at the peak of their game, giving us some phenomenal music.
These two albums are an absolute must own for any fan of early to mid 70’s keyboard work.

All these releases can be found at http://www.esotericrecordings.com

2014, That was the Year, that was…

On January 11, 2015January 11, 2015 By James R TurnerIn progressive rock musicLeave a comment

So, 2014, All over now, the fireworks have faded, the beer has been drunk and it’s back to work for all of us, as 2015 starts.

Last year I reviewed 115 albums for four different magazines, 4 live concerts, 4 music DVD’s as well as interviewing musical heroes like Adrian Belew, Pat Mastelotto, Matt Stevens, Bruce Soord, Geoff Downes, Duncan Gammon, Andy Jackson and Denis Smith.

I reconnected with lots of good friends on the prog scene, and made more friends through going to these events, I finally saw the Fierce and the Dead live (twice in fact) as well as being introduced to some wonderful new bands, so this my friends is my musical top fifteen of 2014.

I make no excuses for the fact there’s 15 albums here, in fact doing a top ten was too difficult, as last year there were so many amazing releases and really interesting records across the whole spectrum of the prog genre that picking 15 was really difficult.

These albums are in no particular order, and all, for me, sum up my musical and personal experiences of 2014, which on a personal level was quite difficult, whilst on a musical level was amazing, and it’s no exaggeration to say some of these records helped me through a hard time. That however was 2014, and as for 2015, it’s all onwards and upwards my friends.

Matt Stevens: Lucid

Esoteric Antenna

Matt Stevens is rapidly becoming the guitarist’s guitarist, and his latest solo album Lucid marked his major label debut. This album is a sonic attack of some of the finest music out there, mixing Matts wonderful looping sound, with plenty of guest contributions and bulking out his sound into some of the finest instrumental music I have heard for a long time. Lucid demands that you listen to it and is the sound of an artist who is confident in his ability, comfortable with his collaborators and secure in the knowledge that he is making the music he wants to make.

Trojan Horse: World Turned Upside Down

Bad Elephant Music

Self confessed noisy bastards Trojan Horse are so much more than this, this exciting four piece are a live force of nature, and the energy and power in their performance and song writing translates beautifully to record. With bags of talent, musical performances that are taut and majestic and plenty of light and shade throughout the album this is a wonderful record by anyone’s standards.

They are a musical phenomenon, defying easy categorisation, and writing heartfelt lyrics and intense musical moments all combine to create an intelligent masterpiece.

Who said Protest song was dead?

Dodson and Fogg: In a Strange Slumber

Chris Wades 6^th outing as Dodson and Fogg manages to take the D&F sound somewhere else every time, with some superb contemplative songwriting, as well as two narrated interludes by Nigel Planer that add a touch of the Viv Stanshalls to the proceedings. With Chris lo-fi intimate style and the talent of the special guests he persuades to join on his musical adventures his songwriting is moving further afield from the folk rock genre he originally sat in. In fact Chris is proving himself to be one of England’s finest songwriters and a spiritual successor to writers like Ray Davies or Richard Thompson.

Andy Jackson: Signal to Noise

Esoteric Antenna

Debut album for Pink Floyd engineer Andy Jackson, this album has lots in common with his employers, but also bands like No-Man or Porcupine Tree as well. As it crosses genres from psychedlia to rock back through ambient musical landscapes Andy’s musical skill and confidence draws the listener in.This announces Andy to the world as a major talent, with some superb lyrics and musical performances. This album is incredibly powerful and highly satisfying that grows with each listen. A belter of an album.

The Pineapple Thief:Magnolia

Kscope

An intense, powerful and song filled album is the tenth studio offering from Bruce Soords Pineapple Thief. With a new drummer giving the band a shot in the arm, and the art of Bruces songwriting reduced to shorter, sharper songs, this extraordinary record clocks in at around 45 minutes. Not a note is wasted, not a lyric superfluous. The tracks on here are loud, proud and musically intense and satisfying, and live? Well live the album explodes into life on stage, and turns a truly fantastic collection of songs into some modern classics. This is truly their finest musical statement yet.

Tony Patterson & Brendan Eyre: Northlands

Esoteric Antenna

Tony Patterson and Brendan Eyre’s love and affection for their native North East forms the bedrock of this rather special album. With the story being about a character returning to the Northlands, this album is, to my mind an epic soundtrack to a film they haven’t made yet. Tony’s wonderful vocals and the uplifting music on display here showcases two writers who have poured their hearts into this concept, and in doing so have given us an album that grows with every listen, takes you on a musical and emotional journey and is one of the finest records released in this, or indeed any, year.

Schnauser: Protein For Everyone

Esoteric Antenna

Bristol based Schnausers Protein for Everyone is their 5^th album and is a joy to behold. Imagine a 4 piece in the Canterbury scene vein, with intelligent lyrics, Bonzo esque word play, and intricate and melodic musical interplay then you have Schnauser. From the opening bars of Grey or Blue to the closing 16-minute epic Disposable Outcomes, this is rock music flying by the seat of its pants, and with sublime vocal harmonies and superb musical virtuosity this is a fantastic record.

Fractal Mirror: Garden of Ghosts

I’ve already eulogised at great length about this wonderful album here on Progarchy, suffice it say it’s a fantastic record and shows how the friendships and mutual interests that manifest themselves on this scene can work together and create great musical beauty and a fantastically packaged album.

Knifeworld The Unravelling

If there was an award for creepiest song title of the year then Kavus Torabi would win it hands down with the sinister and disturbing The Skulls that we buried have Regrown their eyes. Knifeworlds latest long player is a testament to the Kavus vision, and any band featuring him and Emmett Elvin are bound to be unique. Mastering in uneasy listening and intense and intelligent musical arrangements that take you by surprise, draw you in and mesmerise you, Knifeworlds arty offering on the prog scene is as far as away possible from the cosy familiarity of Yes’ latest opus, and for that I thank them. Live they are also a mighty powerhouse of sound, truly magnificent.

Robert Reed:Sanctuary

I am a massive Mike Oldfield, but obviously not as much as Rob Reed whose love letter to Mike is probably the best album Mr Oldfield never made. Taking it’s cue from Mikes first 4 classic albums, and weaving in elements and cues from that musical period in Mikes history Robs album is not parody or plagiaristic, but more a cleverly written and beautifully realised homage to a musician whose influence stretches down the years, and Sanctuary is a delight from start to finish.

North Atlantic Oscillation ;The Third Day

Edinburgh based ambient rock trio North Atlantic Oscillation take sonic understatement to a new level here, as the post prog power trio bounce off each other, as these ten tracks, seamlessly joined flow through, sparse, elegiac and haunting soundscapes. Astonishingly this album is about 45 minutes long, but as with all the best intelligent prog it has never been about the length of the album, but the content, and there are enough musical ideas in here that would keep lesser bands going for a whole career. This is a wonderful continuation of their musical journey and is a truly beautiful record.

John Bassett Unearth/Arcade Messiah

From Kingbathmat musician and frontman John Bassett came two mighty albums this year book ending 2014 nicely. I am cheating a little bit by including both Unearth and Arcade Messiah here, but to my mind they are the different sides to the same musical coin. Stepping away from the complexity of Kingbathmat, Unearth shows the mellower, more acoustic folk styled side of John’s personality. Unearth with it’s delicate fragile haunting beauty is an album full of heart, soul and integrity much like it’s creator. Arcade Messiah on the other hand sees John get his electric guitar out, turns his amp up, and proceed to unleash his inner axe hero on an intense and enjoyable instrumental journey. Unlike some metal instrumental albums this isn’t self-indulgent, Arcade Messiah is an intelligent, intuitive, well-performed and well-produced album. I’ve said before and I’ll say again John Bassett is one of the most original performers operating on the prog scene currently, and his musical journey is one well worth following.

Gandalf’s Fist : A Forest of Fey

This was the first time I had ever heard anything by, let alone heard of Gandalf’s Fist, and rest assured when I get the cash I will be voraciously devouring their back catalogue. The first album as a quartet is an ambitious concept that is a real immersive musical experience, with guests like Clive Nolan and our old friend Matt Stevens along for the ride; you know you’re in for a great journey. This is one of those records that you need to listen to from start to finish, and you can’t half listen to eloquent musical statements like this one. The four piece band are on top of their musical game here, and their musical guests enhance what is already an impressive collection of well written, well performed intelligent and exciting songs. An absolute must own record.

Hi Fiction Science Curious Yellow

Esoteric Antenna

Two Bristol bands make my list this year (unsurprisingly as this is where I live now, and the music scene here is vibrant and exciting) and Hi Fiction Science is very different to Schnauser. They are channelling the spirit of many great psychedelic rock bands, channelling artists as diverse as Pink Floyd to Can via Sandy Denny and early Fairport Convention, with a contemporary sound that is all their own. If you like 60’s/70’s acid folk rock then this album will have pulled you in already. Its aural soundscapes are intense and absorbing, the vocals are ethereal, dreamlike and mesmerising, and overall this is a fantastic debut. Again if you can catch them live then they are one band not to miss.

Abel Ganz

A band not known for their prodigious output, Scottish proggers Abel Ganz have been ploughing their own unique furrow for over 30 years, and their past members reads like a Whose Who of Scottish prog. Very much a band in transition as this album was produced with two key members (Hugh Carter & Hew Montgomery) choosing to tread alternative musical paths the band could have folded. Instead this album produced skilfully by drummer Denis Smith who helped hold the band together, the follow up to the brilliant Shooting Albatross, is a triumph of musical skill over adversity. With some epic musical soundscapes like Delusions of Grandeur or Unconditional this album embraces prog, Scottish folk, grand orchestral movements and instead of what could have been a last hurrah instead indicates a bright future for a revitalised band.

There are many albums bubbling under like Tim Bowness Abandoned Dancehall Dreams, Mike Kershaw’s Ice Age, Emmet Elvins Bloody Marvels, Ian Andersons Homo Erraticus, Nick Magnus’ N’Monix and Jason Rubensteins New Metal From Old Boxes to mention but a few and the fact that I could have made this a top twenty or a top thirty highlights for me how strong the genre is at the moment.

With new albums coming from the Tangent, Sanguine Hum and many more this year I think it’s safe to say that 2015 is going to be as exciting musically as 2014 was.

Happy New Year to you all and I hope it brings you what you are hoping for musically and personally.

Fractal Mirror – Garden of Ghosts

On December 17, 2014December 17, 2014 By James R TurnerIn progressive rock music2 Comments

‘They call it a community, I like to think of it as home’

To quote a Pet Shop Boys lyric is an odd place to start an album review, but bear with me as I think this pretty much sums up mine (and many others) feelings about the Prog world that we are all a part of, and which we are proud to belong to, finding new bands, meeting new friends and making new spiritual and musical connections along the way.

Fractal Mirror is the ultimate reflection of this, a band, a connection of collaborators all brought together by the love of Prog music through the Big Big Train Facebook group of all things. This creative connection showcases all that is good about the power of social networks, and for every negative media comment about how it’s bad for us, and how it is just a minefield of bullying, there’s not enough positivity about the real friendships and bonds that are created online, and here, in my hands and in my CD player is the proof of the power of social media.

If there was no Facebook this group wouldn’t exist in this format, and that would be a damn shame.

Following up last years highly acclaimed debut album Strange Attractors, Garden of Ghosts is a wonderful album with stunning lyrics, amazing musical moments and is the complete package, with an amazing sleeve, an immersive example of the album as art.

The collaborators that are Fractal Mirror, Leo Koperdraat (keys, guitars, vocals) Ed van Haagen (bass, keys, sound enhancements) and Frank Urbaniak (drums, percussion) are all fantastic musicians, and here working together they all combine to create a mighty musical sound. Of course Fractal Mirror is a collective and the other members are the highly original and talented artist Brian Watson (whose the real go-to guy for album art, having worked on albums by Manning, The Tangent and Mike Kershaw) and whose artwork beautifully illustrates each song in the book, whilst the final member of this immensely talented quintet is Andre de Boer responsible for moving images and triangle.

As an aside talking of this community of folk I first had the pleasure of meeting Leo Koperdraat and Brian Watson (amongst others) at this years Eppyfest where they made me feel most welcome, again prog connects so many people.

From the album notes Fractal Mirror say this album is loosely connected around the themes of connections and relationships in the 21^st century, all pervasive technology and how memory and perspective changes.

Three wholly relevant and widely debated topics that ask all sorts of questions, which would take someone far smarter than me to answer.

These 11 tracks on this superbly produced album (by Brett Kull from Echolyn who adds vocals and guitars to some tracks) are a wonderful variety of styles and moods, and like all the best albums should be listened to in one sitting.

This isn’t a dip in dip out kind of record, and it rewards the listener who takes the time to focus and appreciate the subtle nuances throughout.

There are plenty of musical guests joining the Fractal Mirror family on this record like Larry Fast on keyboards and mellotron, Don Fast lending his sitar to Orbital View, Charlotte Koperdraat on vocals and Jacques Varsalona on vocals.

These talented musicians add to an already impressive musical sound and all bring something to the party that enhances the texture throughout this album.

This album flows wonderfully from the opening House of Wishes, with some great vocals from Leo, and the Fractal Mirror sound exploding out from here.

The Phoenix, with its lyrics from Graham Smith, and additional vocals from Brett is a

The centrepiece of the album is the Powerless Suite, made of the four tracks Lost in Clouds, Solar Flare, The Hive and Solar Flare Reprise, a wonderfully written and performed quartet of tracks about the impact of technology on our lives, as well as our over reliance on technology and I am sure we have all felt lost in the cloud at some point, and in the ultimate of ironies my wi-fi dropped whilst I was trying to upload this review!

Lost in Clouds has some great harmony vocals and has some great musical parts, with some wonderful guitar solos and keyboard parts reminiscent of the Canterbury sound.

Solar Flare with some sublimely dramatic guitar and keyboard interaction, as well as some intense old school prog keyboard sounds is a warning to us all as to what could happen when the solar flares cut off all our power.

Whilst the Hives lyrics focus on the darker side of social media and the way that computers and technology are tracking our every move and our every like and dislike.

Words of warning wrapped up in a lighter, rockier tune, with some more of those wonderful vocal harmonies.

Whilst the instrumental Solar Flare reprise is an intense and amazing interlude, with the music as deep and absorbing and powerful as anything Floyd used on Dark Side or Wish You Were Here, the keyboards particularly invoking the spirit of Shine on You Crazy Diamond (pts VI to IX)

The Garden again changes pace, with its intimate vocal delivery and haunting keyboard sounds is almost the title track, and is as emotive a song in a similar vein to Old and Wise by the Alan Parsons Project, and is beautifully emotive.

Orbital View, with lyrics by Brian Watson, is an amazing track, the musical performances are amazing, with some truly wonderful musical interludes and harmony vocals to die for. However the true star in this track are the lyrics, Brian speaks here so eloquently and beautifully, that it’s hard not to agree with everything he’s saying and the point they are making musically is wonderful.

Event Horizon is a slower paced, melancholically reflective piece, with some fantastic guitar interplay from Leo, Brett and Don and Leo’s vocals bringing John Lennon to mind, whilst the beautifully haunting fade out is reminiscent of classical guitarist like John Williams or John Renbourn.

Legacy with it’s honest lyrics, and fantastic keyboard work, is underpinned by amazing drum and bass work from Ed and Frank, whilst Leo continues to weave his vocal magic, his versatile vocals a delight throughout the album. This, like many songs on the album mixes a prog sensibility with a more traditional rock approach, and the catchiness of the work is in part due to how Fractal Mirror make complex music sound so fresh and accessible.

There is real emotional and musical depth throughout this album, and a brutal honesty throughout the lyrics delivered in Leo’s honeyed vocals, reminiscent of the Beautiful South or Richard Thompson at their finest where the rawest truth is delivered in the sweetest musical package.

Closing finale Stars, with it’s ethereal choir, it’s orchestral sweep and it’s epic musical scope is a paean to loved ones who have been lost, and with lyrical vignettes like,

‘You taught us to realize

There were holes in the rain

And through them the stars prevail

Their light would remain’

Is as beautifully moving as any poetry by Simon Armitage, and with it’s big string driven sound is as emotive and emotionally charged as any of Jeff Lynne’s ELO big ballads, and is a superb way to close a triumphant second album. The Stephanus choir, with their vocals add so much emotional weight to this song, it is the point where rock and classical music crossover and create something beautiful.

There is always the sophomore curse, where some bands second albums are nowhere near as good as their first, due to, as the popular rumour goes, the band using all their ideas on the first record.

This isn’t the case with Fractal Mirror; they join a list of bands like The Beatles, led Zeppelin, ELO, where their second album is streets ahead of an amazingly strong debut.

There is nothing about this album I don’t like, I can put it on in my car, at home, on my iPod and it takes me somewhere else musically and spiritually.

In other words I cannot recommend this album enough and am really looking forward to hearing what visions we see through the Fractal Mirror on album number three.

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