EXCELLION Tease Upcoming EP “Unsean”

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Excellion_2

Ahead of the release on August 6th of Excellion’s new EP, Unsean, the band have launched a teaser video showcasing all the tracks from the five-track release. See it below.

“For ‘Unsean’ we took a different approach totally; it is our first work since we established ourselves in Mexico City. We’re all sharing the same home right now, so it was a new interesting way to write music for Excellion,” commented backing vocalist and bassist Adrian Vilbel. “We were all involved in the moment when someone had an idea and he just called the rest of the group, and just like that, suddenly we were working on a whole song right there. It didn’t matter if it was late at night or too early in the morning, it has been a fun ride and we’re really proud of the results we’ve gotten.”

The title of the EP, Unsean, is not a typo but rather a wordplay. As singer and guitarist Frozen Chava explains: “There seems to be a lot of people that believe it’s a typo and well, it’s definitely not, but we expected that too when we decided to name our new work like that. It’s actually a word play where we used “Unseen” and at the same time “Sea” because that’s exactly the concept behind this new music. We humans actually know more about the space than the sea, it’s shocking that we only know about five percent of this vast amount of water on the Earth’s surface and that’s something to reflect about. There is a lot of mystery and things to discover down there, so yeah, that’s what UnSEAn is really about.”

Speaking about the creative process that informed Unsean, guitarist Frank Markz said: “We’ve always wanted to express the way we feel at the time when we focus on writing something new, so this was no exception. Actually it has a lot to do with the changes that were happening with our lives. We were moving to a new city, we were adapting ourselves to this new life, there were a lot of things we didn’t know at the moment and had to learn the hard way. The list can go on but I think you got the point by now, so we focused on looking for something to reflect those feelings and that’s how the “UnSEAn” project was born. That’s why you can see a Lion with horns under the water for the cover art — there’s some strange life form learning to adapt itself to a completely different environment, one that he or she isn’t used to.”

Drummer Omar Avley added: “To tell the truth, it has been an interesting concept to work on and we believe there will be a lot of people out there who will identify themselves with the same story. We really hope you guys enjoy these songs.”

Unsean is out on August 6th; check out the teaser including all five tracks off of the EP. 

Unseen Track Listing:

  1. Unsean Pt. I: In Search of Infinity
  2. Unlucky Charms (feat. Fernando Obregón of Joliette)
  3. The Courier
  4. Diablo Jr. (feat. Jose Macario Tovar of Arcadia Libre)
  5. Unsean Pt. II: The Heart of the Sapphire

Excellion online:

https://www.facebook.com/excellionband/

https://twitter.com/excellionband

https://instagram.com/excellionband

http://soundcloud.com/excellion

https://www.youtube.com/user/ExcellionBand

Unsean

Assorted Colours —The Anderson Council @DawnofMercy @PsychPowerPop

On By Time LordIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Assorted Colors is a compilation of tracks selected from the first three albums by The Anderson Council, but it also includes four new songs. You can listen to the whole album on SoundCloud and then go buy the CD.

Bob Makin explains the group’s name in his album review:

Fans of early Pink Floyd, early Who, Cream, “Sgt. Pepper”/“Revolver” Beatles and other British Invasion rock bands will get a kick out of this anthology of New Brunswick-based The Anderson Council, right down to faux English accents. Featuring four new tracks splattered among the best of three previous releases, [this album, which is named] “Assorted Colors” takes its title from [one of the selections included on it as track #4, called] “Pinkerton’s Assorted Colors,” a fun, energetic art rocker from the [band’s] 2006 release, “The Fall Parade.” The [song title is a] nod to [the band] Pinkerton’s Assorted Colors, an obscure British one-hit wonder from the mid-’60s, [and the song itself] also sounds like a blend of Floyd’s “See Emily Play,” The Who’s “Can’t Explain” and The Beatles’ “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.”

Speaking of names, The Anderson Council derived theirs from the same bluesmen who inspired Pink Floyd: Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Given such allusions, it’s not surprising that “Assorted Colors” isn’t very original, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t enjoyable, especially a contagious passion and an array of tight, intricate harmonies. It’s kind of like a tribute to a time when pop music was very artistic before the record industry got fat, rich, and lazy, then conglomerated and virtually obsolete.

Check out the rest of his fine review, in which Makin singles out some of the best tracks on the release: “Girl on the Northern Line” (written by the amazingly talented Dawn Eden) and also my other favorite track on the album, “We’re Like the Sun”. Shine on, you crazy diamonds!

soundstreamsunday: “Lush Life” by John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman

On By Craig BreadenIn jazz, progressive rockLeave a comment

hartmancoltraneIf love is one of the most common themes in song, love songs that stretch beyond simple declarations, admitting a type of defeat in the face of defining such an emotion, are remarkably rare.  In the past weeks soundstreamsunday has featured Nick Drake and Lal Waterson, who each spun their songs about love from a point of deep uncertainty. So, on then, this week, to disappointment and devastation.  It would be hard to name a song as beautifully crushing as John Coltrane’s and Johnny Hartman’s reading of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life,” an ode to unrequited love amidst a wash of “jazz and cocktails,” from the only album the duo made.  Recorded in 1963, during Coltrane’s legendary run at Impulse! Records, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is a one-off, remarkable in the careers of both men, one a premier saxophone player of his time and the other a largely unknown but extraordinary vocalist and interpreter of jazz standards. In itself the concept was business-as-usual: a large part of twentieth-century jazz music up to this time consisted of runs through the “American Songbook” of Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Porter, Berlin, et al. This pairing, however, stood out. Coltrane was moving fast at this point in his career, and Impulse! gave him the leeway to pursue concept records in a jazz recording industry that was still entrenched in the robber baron tactics that enriched all but the actual musicians (even the greatest players rarely got more than a day or two in the studio to produce an album’s worth of material).  For his part, Hartman’s smooth baritone gave the sessions a focus on the lyric, and while Coltrane’s horn gave Hartman’s almost-lounge vocalizing a distinct edge, Hartman balanced the soloist’s tendency to go long (in 1958, Coltrane recorded another classic, but 14-minute version, of “Lush Life”), while his voice filled a gap you otherwise wouldn’t think about when listening to Coltrane’s other work. The result was six songs on an album clocking in at an economical 31 minutes.  Every one of the songs is generous, and the musicians (also including Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison, all from Coltrane’s band and all legends in their own right) support a mood, literally set forth in the last song on the record, “Autumn Serenade,” of turning leaves, fading light, a cold snap. “Lush Life” is the album’s peak, a drinker’s guide to lost love, it’s final statement “Romance is mush, stifling those who strive, I’ll live a lush life, in some small dive, And there I’ll be while I rot with the rest, Of those whose lives are lonely too,” rendered, knowingly but without a hint of irony, as smooth jazz.  Way ahead of its time.

*Photo above by Joe Alper: John Coltrane, Johnny Hartman, and Elvin Jones, 1963.

soundstreamsunday playlist

soundstreamsunday archive

Official Video for Muse’s “Aftermath”

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock1 Comment

I believe Muse’s song, “Aftermath,” off of Drones, is the best song from 2015. It is hopeful yet realistic, and it is masterfully done. Check out the official video released a few months ago.

Radical Action To Unseat The Hold Of Monkey Mind — King Crimson

On By Time LordIn progressive rock1 Comment

You can now pre-order the new King Crimson. Here’s the key concept:

Three themed CDs of material recorded in 2015, each forming a separate discrete
performance with audio selected from a variety of shows and fully mixed from multi-track tapes by Chris Porter, Robert Fripp and David Singleton. As no audience is audible between tracks, this allows for a “virtual studio album” effect. (The current King Crimson line-up was deliberately conceived as a performing band rather than as a band concerned with making full studio recordings).

You can read more over at DGM news. Here’s a taste, along with artwork and video:

Radical Action To Unseat The Hold Of Monkey Mind is the title of a new multi-disc set from King Crimson scheduled for release on 2nd September.

pre-order links for the 3cd/2dvd/1blu-ray limited edition are as follows
Inner Knot (USA) and Burning Shed (UK & Europe)

Pre-order for the 3cd/1blu-ray set are as follows
Inner Knot (USA) and Burning Shed (UK & Europe)

All copies come with a postcard featuring Francesca Sundsten’s striking cover artwork

Taken from the 2015 tours of the UK, Canada & Japan, Radical Action To Unseat The Hold Of Monkey Mind represents the most comprehensive release for this incarnation of King Crimson, and will be available as a 3cd/1blu-ray set, and in a 3cd/2dvd/1blu-ray limited edition.

The live set eatures every song and piece performed by Pat Mastelotto, Bill Rieflin, Gavin Harrison, Mel Collins, Tony Levin, Jakko Jakszyk and Robert Fripp and as Fripp commented last month while supervising mixing, “This is King Crimson… re-imagined.”

Audio/Video performances include:

Threshold Soundscape
Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part One
Pictures of a City
Peace
Radical Action (to Unseat The Hold of Monkey Mind)
Meltdown
Radical Action II
Level Five
Epitaph
The Hell Hounds of Krim
The ConstruKction of Light
Scarcity of Miracles
Red
VROOOM
Banshee Legs Bell Hassle
Easy Money
Interlude
The Letters
Sailor’s Tale
The Light of Day
The Talking Drum
Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part Two
Starless
Devil Dogs of Tessellation Row
In the Court of the Crimson King
21st Century Schizoid Man
Suitable Grounds for the Blues
One More Red Nightmare

Getting Physical with Insideout: Riverside and Karmakanic

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock4 Comments
riverside 2016
2016 special edition

Two unexpected beauties arrived in the mail today–the latest releases from Riverside and Karmakanic.  Well, I write unexpected because 1) I had completely forgotten that I’d pre-ordered the Riverside; and 2) I wasn’t expecting it to show up with Karmakanic, which I’d also forgotten was a two-disk affair.  Truly serendipity.

The Riverside release is really a re-release of last year’s LOVE FEAR AND THE TIME MACHINE.  This special edition includes a second disk, a DVD, with the album presented in hi-res stereo as well as 5.1 surround (mixed by Bruce Soord).  It also includes a hi-res version of five tracks from the recording sessions, and the videos made to accompany the album.  From what I can tell, the booklet that comes with it contains no new information from last year’s release except for an update on who mixed the DVD.

Not surprisingly in the least, everything here is outstanding–from the packaging to the re-released music.  If you haven’t yet, make sure you check out Erik Heter’s review as well as his interview with the band last year.

I’m especially taken with the five additional tracks labeled as “day sessions.”  These add up to nearly 28 minutes of extra music.  If you remember how The Pineapple Thief often released bonus material of their jam sessions a decade or so ago, you know exactly what to expect from these “day sessions.”  Frankly, they’re stunning, sounding as much like Lunatic Soul as Riverside.  The atmosphere created and presented by these tracks is really exceptional.  It’s worth ordering this new package just for these five songs alone.  I’m sure I will be spending many hours listening to these songs.

Karmakanic-DOT-960x960
DOT.

When I pre-ordered the new Karmakanic (already reviewed–several days ago), I didn’t remember having ordered the special edition.  While the artwork–provided by Rush’s Hugh Syme–is simply stunning, I can’t say the same about the packaging.  Mostly plastic, my new case came pre-crushed!  The booklet is in good shape, but the innards that hold the two disks are just lots and lots of flaky pieces.  Ugh.  Thankfully, the disks are ok, but the packaging is weak and poor.  Too bad, as this release deserves the highest treatment possible.  The extra disk is also a DVD.  It has five songs recorded at RosFest 2012, a “making of” documentary, and several interviews.

Both albums come from Insideout.

Interview with TRAUMA FIELD

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

TF
Trauma Field (photo by Miika Ihanainen)

Finnish progsters Trauma Field released one of the most pleasant releases of 2016 that I’ve listened on quite a few occasions so far. Their second album, “Changing Tides,” is certainly a great addition to the melodic, more melancholic spectre of the progressive genre.

Jaakko Pessu (vocals, guitars) and Antero Jokinen (keyboards) answered my question about their work. Head over the band’s Bandcamp page, hit the play button and enjoy reading this interview while “Changing Tides” takes you on a journey through vast.

What made you go for the name Trauma Field?

Jaakko: Trauma is a powerful and somewhat scary word. The name can make you wonder, what is a trauma field and how does it look like. And then you have a picture in your head. At least that’s how it worked for me in the beginning. Also it describes our themes well. Trauma field is inside ones head, and that’s where we dive on our albums.

How do you usually describe your music?

Jaakko: Atmoshpheric, melodic and somewhat progressive. The goal is to deliver emotions and feelings and to do that, all tools and spices can be used.

What is your writing process like?

Jaakko: I usually get a small idea from somewhere. It can be a melody, a riff or a chord progression. Immediately after that I try to recognize the feeling in it. That feeling is the guideline to make the rest of the song and the lyrics. But of course every song and every process is different.

Who or what is your inspiration, if you have any?

Jaakko: I find inspiration from everywhere. Usually it’s other music, but it can be a movie, a photo, etc. The lyrical theme of Changing Tides is the progress of growing and maturing through good and bad days. I have thought about these things for a couple of years now and it was kind of natural to mold these thoughts into an album.

Changing Tides

What is your favourite piece on the “Changing Tides” album?

Jaakko: My personal favourite is High Tide. It was fun and painless to make and contains some elements I’m really proud of, like the use of the theme melody in different time signatures. The best thing about this album is that everyone has a different favourite.

Antero: My favourite piece changes from time to time but I have to say I’m very happy to have a proper ballad on the album! I mean Hope For Rain of course.

What makes “Changing Tides” different?

Jaakko: It is a combination of easy and complex things. The melodies are clear and easy to follow, but there’s more in the songs. I hope that a listener wants to hear the songs again and again to hear and understand new things.

What should music lovers expect from “Changing Tides”?

Jaakko: A musical journey to yourself. Everyone should think these themes at some point in their lives. Musically it’s full of feeling and emotion to dive into.

What kind of emotions would you like your audience to feel when they listen to your music?

Jaakko: Depends on the song. Most of the time it’s some shade of melancholy, but there’s always a positive side to it. I’m small, but I matter. Today it rains but the sun will shine tomorrow.

Which do you like most, life in the studio or on tour?

Jaakko: We have never been on a longer tour, but I guess the studio wins. It’s nice to try different ideas and hear the music form in front of you. You can never hear it quite the same while playing.

Antero: We would like to have a some kind of tour of course but sometimes I wonder how some bands can do it for almost two years straight.

Pick your three favourite albums that you would take on a desert island with you.

Jaakko: Today’s choice would be: Boxer by The National, New World Shadows by Omnium Gatherum and Appeal to Reason by Rise Against. An album for each mood.

Antero: I have to say Unia by Sonata Arctica because the album is so complex  and you can find new things in it on every listen. Other two might be Once by Nightwish and Addicted by Devin Townsend Project.

Check out Progarchy’s review of “Changing Tides” here.

RochaNews: Nosound

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment
 
NOSOUND LAUNCHES NEW VIDEO FOR “SOGNO E INCENDIO” FEAT. ITALIAN SINGER ANDREA CHIMENTI
Fifth studio album “Scintilla” out September 2 on Kscope
ROME, Italy – Ahead of the release of its fifth studio album Scintilla on September 2 via Kscope, Nosound has launched a new video for the song “Sogno E Incendio” featuring acclaimed Italian singer Andrea Chimenti. Stream the clip on YouTube at:
Nosound’s Giancarlo Erra explains: “The video was directed by Erika Errante. She was introduced to me by Andrea [Chimenti] via his son, as she had produced a few videos for his band and I wanted a video done by someone else for once, not myself. For this reason I wanted to give her full freedom. All we knew is that we didn’t want to go too literal with the lyrics in the song, but instead expressing the concept in another way. So the concept is explained through the idea of lost and found people and feeling, and transformation from one into the other. It is a more loose and artistic connection, and I liked it a lot for that reason.” 
Giancarlo Erra co-wrote the song with Andrea Chimenti: “Working with Andrea was extremely easy; we discovered we have a common emotional ground, so the theme of my album immediately vibrated with him and together we quickly arrived to the meaning this song was meant for. The song is all about the spark (scintilla) that can ignite a fire, but for that to happen there’s a need for dead dried leaves, or branches, or old paper, so the old and dead stuff that seems useless is what is really needed for the fire to start again.”
 
On the collaboration and creative thought process Chimenti adds: “Giancarlo Erra had long ago sent me an instrumental song to listen to. It struck me immediately and I liked very much the idea of working with him, but as often happens we were busy with various things and that tune remained in the drawer for a while … maybe it was not the time to deal with it because everything happens when it has to happen. At the beginning of this year, after a series of events that have transformed my life, the text and singing for that song were born. The extraordinary piano sequence of Nosound, with its perpetual motion, rolled out the words, one after another like a string of pearls and the album title ‘Scintilla’ was the thread on which they walked. 
 
“The crescendo of the second part suggested to me fire as a purifying element that from a spark turns into a real fire. I love music when it manages to be evocative, calling into dreams and images. The music of this song has in it all that strength and not just that of the dream, but that of the spark, the fire prelude.”
Inspired by personal upheaval and a desire for change, Scintilla is an emotionally complex and musically direct work, presenting a stripped-down set of compositions that mark a major departure from Nosound’s trademark symphonic lushness and production precision. Taking in influences from post rock, shoegaze and alt-singer-songwriters, the album imaginatively utilizes a mostly organic and acoustic sound palette.
In addition to Andrea Chimenti, Anathema’s Vincent Cavanagh lends his distinctive vocals to two of the album’s tracks, and cellist Marianne De Chastelaine returns once more to the Nosound fold (this time in a more free-flowing and improvisational capacity).
An additional Scintilla track and video, “Short Story,” can be streamed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLtfb-HcTz8&feature=youtu.be and Vimeo at: https://vimeo.com/167108079.
Scintilla is available to pre-order via the Kscope webstore at: https://www.burningshed.com/store/nosound as a deluxe CD/Blu-Ray in Mediabook (with 24 page booklet and Blu-Ray containing HD stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes, plus additional video content) and audiophile double 180g vinyl edition (mastered at 45rpm to ensure quality) in a gatefold cover with booklet and poly-lined inner bags. Download and streaming versions will be available to pre-order at: http://smarturl.it/SCINTILLA_DIGITAL with instant downloads of “Short Story” and “Sogno E Incendio.”
1. Short Story [02:24]
2. Last Lunch [07:00]
3. Little Man [04:38]
4. In Celebration of Life [05:34]
5. Sogno E Incendio [04:44]
6. Emily [03:19]
7. The Perfect Wife [07:27]
8. Love is Forever [02:51]
9. Evil Smile [04:33]
10. Scintilla [06:27]
Regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the most interesting up and coming alt/art rock bands in Europe, Nosound inventively combines influences from ’70s psychedelia, ’80s/’90s ambient and contemporary alternative, progressive and post rock. The project started as a one man studio project in late 2002 by Giancarlo Erra, but has since grown into a five piece band, evolving into something unique, focused and powerful. The music is evocative and intense, with personal songwriting.
A cathartic album of emotional extremes, Scintilla marks the brave beginning of the second phase of Nosound’s fascinating career. Stay tuned for more information on Nosound and Scintilla, out this September on Kscope.
-###-
Nosound is:
Giancarlo Erra – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Marco Berni – keyboards, vocals
Alessandro Luci – bass, upright bass, keyboards
Paolo Vigliarolo – acoustic/electric guitars
Giulio Caneponi – drums, percussion, vocals
Nosound online:

My introduction to IQ — Grendel HeadQuarters

On By IrisIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Another introduction story again. I have discovered so many bands through different ways (and not the usual “Hey, listen to this” happenings), so I thought that it’s fun to share those stories with you! Today’s story is about the band IQ!

via My introduction to IQ — Grendel HeadQuarters

Topographic Wilsons

On By bradbirzerIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I had no idea this was forthcoming, Steven Wilson mixing Yes’s most misunderstood masterpiece, TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS.  The following is from Burning Shed:

The ultimate way to enjoy Yes’s most controversial album! 

***

The towering Tales From Topographic Oceans is the fifth in a series of remixed and expanded Yes albums. 
Presented in a 2 x mini vinyl replica gatefold card sleeves in a slipcase with booklet featuring new sleeve notes by Sid Smith along with rare photos and archive material, the album has been mixed for 5.1 Surround Sound from the original studio masters and is fully approved by Yes. 
The 3 CDs feature a 2016 mix of the album by Steven Wilson plus an alternative extended Dance of the Dawn (mixed from multi-track by SW) and 5 single edits. The CDs also include a complete alt. album with High The Memory (unreleased studio run-through) and Ritual (live in Zurich, April 1974) – fully restored audio from original sources. 
The booklet includes elements of new interviews with Jon Anderson, Steve Howe and Alan White. 
The blu-ray (Region 0, NTSC) features: 
– 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround (24bit/96khz) mixed from the original multi-channel recordings. 
– the new stereo album mix in DTS-HD Master Audio (24bit/96khz). 
– the original album mix in a DTS-HD Master Audio flat transfers from the original master tape source. (24bit/192khz). We believe this is the earliest master of the original mix to be issued in the digital era. (This master was also used for the original stereo on the CDs). 
– full alt. album featuring: sides 1 and 3 from the 2003 Rhino CD, previously unreleased studio run-through of Side 2 and previously unreleased live version of Side 4. 
– exclusive needle-drop of an original UK vinyl pressing transferred in 24bit/96khz audio and US branded promo pressing. 
– exclusive instrumental versions of all new mixes in DTS-HD Master Audio stereo (24bit/96khz). 
– 2016 stereo and 5.1 remix of Dance of the Dawn plus 5 single edits (stereo only) all mixed from multi-track by Steven Wilson. 
Original artwork expanded, restored and approved by Roger Dean. 
“I worked on and off for about 3 years on this new mix in my quest to do it justice. I hope it will satisfy the people who agree with me that it may just be Yes’s pre-eminent masterpiece.” Steven Wilson 
Pre-order for 26th September release.