Haken’s new album Affinity is a masterpiece. I’ve been listening to the advance copy non-stop.
Trust me, it’s totally brilliant. Full of surprises, it is a continuous source of musical delight.
Now you too can enjoy a taste. Here’s “Initiate,” the album opener, complete with official video:
Causa Sui’s new album Return to Sky is a salve for all that ails. Job getting you down? Return to Sky…. Currents in politics creeping under your skin? Return to Sky…. Need to plug in directly to the earth goddess and feel the electricity pulse through your body in its physical and pataphysical entirety? You know where to go.
With strong whiffs of stoner rock masking an ambitious aesthetic rooted in the great musical confluence that was 1969/71 — for witness here a tendency towards Hendrix’s Machine Gun, Can’s Tago Mago, Amon Duul II’s Yeti, and anything by Miles Davis in this fertile era — Return to Sky would roughly and more contemporaneously fit next to albums by Pelican or Comets on Fire, with a pronounced appreciation for gradation of the spectrum, a treatment of light I find northern European bands to be really good at. So the wah-ed and phaser-ed bass-heavy riffing is balanced by a gentler chorded counterpoint that gives the music a drift to go along with the drone. And while this is no doubt a band effort, guitarist Jonas Munk’s role here makes sense, although if you’re only familiar with his work as Manual, one of the great ambient artists of the last two decades, you may be surprised at his more traditional heroics with Causa Sui. Munk’s melodic reliability in either setting, however, is a kind of a haven, so that even the challenges contained in the art contain a soothing aural wash of sound/color.
There is a tremendous live feel to Causa Sui’s music, as if you’ve walked in on a band that’s really cooking and there are no mics and no crowd, they’re just getting off on the jam and the lightning. Return to Sky is the thunder.
Causa Sui on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/causasuiband/
El Paraiso Records: http://www.elparaisorecords.com/artists/causa_sui
On April 4, 2006, the Flower Kings released PARADOX HOTEL, not just a seminal album for the band, but a seminal album for third-wave prog.
At the time of its release, Roine Stolt expressed some reluctance with the album, noting that it had not been as complicated, complex, or nuanced as the previous release, ADAM AND EVE (2004). PARADOX HOTEL, he sighed (or, so I’ve interpreted the interview he gave to/with DPRP.net), was just another release of a prog album, but not as progressive as the 2004 album.
While everything the Flower Kings does is excellent, it’s hard not to rate PARADOX HOTEL as extraordinary, even for an extraordinary band. In hindsight, PARADOX HOTEL is probably regarded as a much stronger album than ADAM AND EVE.
Regardless, we’ll be giving PARADOX HOTEL close scrutiny as we celebrate its tenth birthday.
Glass Hammer Live at the Tivoli (Sound Resources, 2008)
Recorded at Lee University, October 17, 2006
Tracks: Eiger Dreams (intro music); Run Lisette; A Cup of Trembling; Lirazel; Heroes and Dragons; Longer; Knight of the North; Beati Quorum Via; Having Caught a Glimpse; and South Side of the Sky)
Call it being a loyal fan, call it being more than a bit OCD, or call it being a bit of both. . . . LIVE AT THE TIVOLI was the last Glass Hammer release I needed to become a full-fledged, more than honorable, Glass Hammer completest. I can now rather proudly state that I own every single album and DVD Glass Hammer has released. This is not small feat given 1) how much the band has produced in its glorious history; and 2) given just how hard it is to find a few of their DVDs. But, I’ve done it.
Good news for not only THE SYN fans but also those who enjoy music by the Swedish Prog Rock band, MOON SAFARI. A collaborative effort by both sees the release this coming week of their new album titled TRUSTWORKS. If you want to know more about THE SYN then see my previous review of their Live album they put out not so long ago. The Syn Live at ROSfest
Keeping with a Scandinavian flavour, Jonas Reingold of The Flower Kings produced the album made up of nine tracks ranging from ‘British Invasion’ to a slice of country to full on Progressive Rock, but more on that in the interview with THE SYN leader, Steve Nardelli.
Tears for Fears are listed to play Promo West summer 2016. This concert takes place in Columbus Ohio. This is separate from the Bunbury festival to take place in June. Promo West is a new festival with scheduled show dates of 15 – 17 July. The festival promises to be a big deal as the […]
http://tearsandkooksintl.com/2016/03/17/concert-alert-tears-for-fears-at-promo-west-ohio/
Original message from Stolt:
“Jon Anderson & Roine Stolt team up for ‘The Invention Of Knowledge’
Anderson / Stolt, the brand new duo of legendary Yes vocalist & singer/songwriter Jon Anderson and progressive rock veteran Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings, Transatlantic), have announced the release of their collaborative album ‘The Invention Of Knowledge’ for 24th June 2016 via InsideOut Music.
Jon Anderson had this to say: “…..Music is always the driving force in my life…working with such a wonderful musician as Roine Stolt made the creation of this album very unique,we are very excited with the release of ‘Invention of Knowledge’.“
Roine Stolt adds: “It is not aiming at being new Yes music; just new music, modern and classical, rock and ethno, tribal and orchestrated, grooving and floating. Hopefully in the true spirit of “progressive” – leaning forward, surprising and also comforting with familiar run-arounds.
We’ve been “inventing” as we go along – Jon is an endless source of new ideas. We’ve been bouncing ideas back and forth for months and as a result there are probably dozens of versions of these songs. It’s been a very interesting and rewarding time and the result is just insanely detailed.”
InsideOut label-head Thomas Waber comments: “I have been talking to Jon for ages about making an album of ‘Yes music’ – as Jon calls it – and Roine seemed like the perfect guy for him to work with. I am really happy that it has finally happened and I am also thrilled with the material they have come up with. I think it will please a lot of fans!”
The idea came to life swiftly off the back of a performance from Roine’s band Transatlantic, and Jon Anderson on the Progressive Nation At Sea Cruise in 2014, and was initially instigated by InsideOut Music label boss Thomas Waber. The duo set about crafting new music in the spirit of early epic works such as ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’, ‘Awaken’ & ‘Olias Of Sunhillow’, but giving it a modern twist.
Written & recorded over the course of 1 and a half years, the tracks have been in a state of constant change as Roine and Jon swapped & refined ideas by sending tracks to each other via the internet. In March 2015, an ensemble was put together by Roine to realise the music live in the studio. Joining him there was Tom Brislin (who played on the Yes Symphonic tour) & Lalle Larsson on keys, Jonas Reingold & Michael Stolt on bass and Felix Lehrmann on drums. The sessions were also bolstered by appearances from Daniel Gildenlöw, Nad Sylvan, Anja Obermayer, Maria Rerych and Kristina Westas who all provided backing vocals.
The full track-listing for the album is as follows:
• Knowing 17:45
• Everybody Heals 13:20
• Invention Of Knowledge 23:10
• Know 11.20
Keep an eye out for more news in the coming weeks!
ANDERSON / STOLT
online:www.jonanderson.com
www.flowerkings.se
Artwork: Silas Toball”
…in which Bubba talks about a rather scary incident he had while on the Time Machine tour.
Oh, and he drops a rather big hint in the last sentence about his future touring plans.
Don’t hold your breath, Rush fans.
Click here to read on.
After watching Transatlantic close Progressive Nation at Sea 2014 with Tales from the Topographic Oceans with Jon Anderson himself on stage for the finale, it doesn’t surprise me that Jon and Roine have been collaborating. However, Jon’s casual bomb dropping that this truly is a thing and that we’re going to be graced with the music this summer couldn’t have me any more excited. This is the kinda thing that’s right up my alley.
Just when I thought all of the fresh talent in prog metal was hiding towards the more extreme side of the spectrum, I am introduced to this band, the Finnish quintet Sonus Corona. Although I was expecting Sonus Corona to fall into the same rut of Dream Theater or Symphony X that so many melodic […]
http://www.prog-sphere.com/reviews/sonus-corona-sonus-corona/
Progarchy 