What was the first band you obsessed over?
Probably Rush. I started to get turned on to a bunch of different bands when I was in middle school/high school. I was turned onto The Who and Black Sabbath and Yes, and stuff like that. But Rush I obsessed over. I wanted to have every album. I wanted to know storylines, read all the lyrics, learn the songs and everything. So that was definitely the first one.
Was it with 2112?
Well, I first got turned on to them with Hemispheres. Songs from Moving Pictures were on the radio, but I didn’t really follow it. A friend of mine who was really into them was like, “Oh, you gotta listen to this song.” That’s where it all started.
Listen to Rush’s Vapor Trails Remixed over at Rolling Stone:
2013’s celebration of Rush includes the highly anticipated release of a remixed version of the band 2002’s album Vapor Trails. In 2009, two tracks from Vapor Trails (“One Little Victory” and “Earthshine”) were remixed for the Retrospective III collection, setting fans into a frenzy in anticipation of a possible remixed version of the entire album being released one day. Four years later, that day approached.
“Vapor Trails was an album made under difficult and emotional circumstances — sort of like Rush learning how to be Rush again — and as a result, mistakes were made that we have longed to correct. David Bottrill’s remixes have finally brought some justice and clarity to this deserving body of our work,” says Geddy Lee.
“Every song has been given a new life, from the fire of “One Little Victory,” “Secret Touch,” and “Ceiling Unlimited” to the melodic musicality of “Sweet Miracle” and “How It Is”… these songs have been redeemed. Thank you David!”
The remixed version of Vapor Trails is also be included in the 7-disc boxed set The Studio Albums 1989-2007, which features every studio album Rush recorded for Atlantic Records.
The collection includes the Gold & Platinum albums Presto (1989), Roll The Bones (1991), Counterparts (1993), and Test For Echo (1996), as well as their covers EP Feedback (2004) and the Billboard Top 5 album Snakes & Arrows (2007). The Studio Albums 1989-2007 features each album presented in a wallet sleeve that faithfully reproduces the original artwork (except for Vapor Trails, which features a reinterpreted version of the original cover) and is available on October 1st from Atlantic/Rhino.
That’s the only conclusion I can draw after receiving my Make Some Noise EP and my English Electric Full Power Deluxe Edition CDs in the mail today—Thursday.
I placed my order on the eve of release day—Monday.
That’s some pretty amazing postal service!
Is it because we are part of the Commonwealth?
Whatever the reason, I am ecstatic that I have these discs to enjoy for the weekend.
Thank you, Big Big Train!
Marvelous that this precious cargo arrives in British Columbia, at the end of Canada furthest from you, in such good time.
I am curious if any other members of the Commonwealth also have tales of superior postal service to report?
Or perhaps I should simply conclude:
Big Big Train loves its fans.
Well, thank you, BBT.
To you we return that wonderful gesture of David Longdon in the “Make Some Noise” video (3:43)!
Art by Brian Watson. Courtesy of Fractal Mirror and Watson.
In one of his most famous books, The Everlasting Man, G.K. Chesterton noted that men (persons; let’s not be sexist!) never come together merely by mutual consent for some advantage or personal gain, at least in the beginning. Long-term societies–civilizations–do not arise out of some abstract compact in which every person agrees to help every other person.
Instead, society–and, hence, civilization–arises when two or more persons find themselves as brothers (sisters, too!) in arms, defending what they believe sacred. Once they recognize they’re each fighting for the same thing, they trust one another, and society is born.
Call it the romantic in me, but Chesterton’s origin story is a lot of more compelling than, say, John Locke’s.
What does this have to do with Fractal Mirror, you might very well be asking? Everything.
As many readers of progarchy know, this site arrived in the world out of an intense love for Big Big Train and a desire to let others know about Greg, David, and co.
Not surprisingly, our progarchists have found that we actually really love all kinds of music, especially when it apprehends or reaches toward the beautiful. Not just BBT, but Cosmograf, Talk Talk, The Reasoning, Cailyn, Kingbathmat, TFATD/Matt Stevens, Ayreon, The Tangent, 3RDegree, Gazpacho, Neal Morse, Transatlantic, The Flower Kings, Nosound, Oceansize, Riverside, Rush, Spock’s Beard, Sanguine Hum, Glass Hammer, and the list goes on.
Some folks love prog for the innovations, and we progarchists (speaking broadly and a bit presumptuously) generally see the innovations as subservient to the drive for truth, beauty, and goodness.
It was almost exactly one rotation around the sun ago that the first post appeared at progarchy. Since, citizenship in our little quasi-anarchist polis has grown wildly. Amen.
***
Art by Brian Watson.
As with progarchy, Fractal Mirror began out of a love for BBT, especially as a community formed around the BBT Facebook page. It’s one of the most interesting–and one of the most neglected aspects–of the current prog scene. Though this third wave of prog is now roughly 20 years old, tight communities have been growing within around, above, below, and near it for just as long!
Probably no current prog group, however, does this better than BBT. While the conversation can take an odd turn here or there, BBT’s FB page hosts and encourages some of the best discussion of music, culture, and history anywhere. Never a dull moment at the BBT FB page, administered, interestingly enough, by everyone’s favorite Swedish progarchist, Tobbe Janson.
There are more connections, some of them rather intimate. Leo Koperdraat inspired much of the writing for progarchy from and with his own many reviews written for DPRP (our heroes), while Frank Urbaniak (drummer) and Brian Watson (artist) are citizens of perfect standing in the pseudo-anarchical progarchy.
[Progarchy, it should be noted, has no border guards, border fences, customs officials, or TSA agents]
After reviewing and talking about music for years, DPRP’s Leo Koperdraat (voice, guitars, keyboards, and lyricist) decided to create a band. He and Ed Van Haagen (bass and keyboards) have been playing together for years, and the two recruited Frank (drums and lyrics on one song). Throw in Brian’s always stunning artwork (and the lyrics on one song), guest spots by Don Fast (an unofficial fourth member of the band and brother of famed keyboardist, Larry Fast) on guitar and Charlotte Koperdraat (Leo’s daughter) on vocals, and some advice from Nosound’s Giancarlo Erra, and the result is a thing of brilliance, a thing of beauty, a treasure, frankly.
I’m never a fan of labels or of categorization. Prog generally needs no descriptives to modify it. Retroprog, crossoverprog, etc., seem so bloody (may my English friends forgive me for employing their perfect word) redundant to me. I’m fully with Andy Tillison on this. Prog means everything can be thrown in the mix. It’s music as art, and art as music. In the same way that Arvo Part uses amplifiers to make a point in modern symphonies, so a rock artist should feel free to employ anything traditionally classical to underscore the drama of the music.
Prog, by definition, means breaking boundaries.
***
Art by Brian Watson
This written, even if I wanted to label Fractal Mirror’s first release, “Strange Attractors,” I’m not even sure how I would do so.
I can, however, state unequivocally, it’s gorgeous, stunning, moody, intense, brooding, uplifting, punctuated, driving, subtle, sustained, lush, flowing, inspiring.
One might call it New Wave/prog or alt rock/prog. Indeed, as I listen repeatedly (it’s rather addictive), I’m reminded much of the intensity of Peter Murphy or Robert Smith (Faith-era), the lushness of Reverberation-era Echo and the Bunnymen, the wall of sound of My Bloody Valentine, the punctuations of The Fixx, and the vocal sensibilities (though the voices sound NOTHING alike) of Andy Partridge on “This World Over.”
It would be fair, however, to label this music as moody, lulling, serious, and accompanied by waves of sound rather than a wall of sound. Ten tracks long, none of the songs meander, ranging from 2:56 to 5:42 minutes in length.
Yet, there’s a coherency to the album as a whole, and if an engineer–a la Todd Rundgren–might connect it all, one song to another, it would work just as well. Coherence without sameness.
The famed Rhys Marsh mastered “Strange Attractors,” and it shows. Each of the musicians is in top form. I’m especially taken with Koperdraat’s anguished vocals, Van Haagen’s fluid bass, and Urbaniak’s spacious drums. Each remains distinctive and alive, but always forming a coherent whole. Each offers a uniqueness as a part of a whole. Hard to explain, frankly, but it’s a fundamental part of this excellent album.
As some progarchists have noted, the number of releases that are prog or prog-related (those labels again!) is sometimes overwhelming, as though drinking from a fire hose. Fractal Mirrors MUST NOT get lost in this current deluge of goodness. It’s distinctive, and it needs a market. No, let me put that better. Right now, Fractal Mirror is looking at all distribution options. A record company would be foolish to pass this one up. These guys are at the beginning of something vital, ready to spring forth into the world.
I’m deeply honored to be a part of the BBT and the progarchy community, and I’m equally honored to know that something so gorgeous and meaningful has arisen out of these communities (Ave, Gregory Mark Aurelius Spawton!). Leo, Ed, and Frank–highest kudos to you. And, thank you–for trusting me with such glimpses of the rotating spheres. . . .
What happens when a bunch of fans of the critically-acclaimed progressive rock group Big Big Train get together in a beautiful, ancient English city?
The inaugural Big Big Weekend took place on the 14th & 15th September 2013 in Winchester, in the United Kingdom.
A celebration of the music of Big Big Train and its many ties to Winchester, the weekend was organised by the amazing Alison Henderson via the BBT Facebook page and well-attended by fans from across the world. Several members of the band (plus a few guests!) also attended, making this weekend a very special and memorable event.
This video shows the highlights of the first day – a walk around Winchester guided by Alison and Greg, followed by a traditional prog curry!
On day two we headed down to Rob Aubrey’s hallowed Aubitt Studios in Southampton for a candid and fascinating chat about about how BBT’s albums are crafted, with special focus on the rip-roaring fan favourite “Judas Unrepentant”. Stay tuned for a video of that day – coming soon!
The new Dream Theater is officially out today. So let’s celebrate! This digital wonder is chock-full of mind-blowing prog virtuosity.
I’ve had it on the playlist all day (after downloading it last night, when I was first alerted that my pre-order was ready). Oh man, it is excellent.
Yet I must admit that “False Awakening Suite” sounded to me like a musical practical joke. It’s so overblown it’s hilarious. An intentionally head-fake false start? Oh well, great fun, however it was intended.
And then “The Enemy Inside” was already familiar, and much enjoyed, ever since it was first available for download back in August.
But finally, as of track three, I was irrevocably won over to this awesome album. “The Looking Glass” will thrill every Rush-loving prog soul out there. The guitar riff and faster-than-light drum fills, for example, are reminiscent of “Limelight” in the best possible way. What we have here is a tribute to musical geniuses by other musical geniuses. Simply superb…
Dude, it doesn’t get any better than this!
(Song of the Year, anyone? I will not argue with you; I simply direct you to the face-melting guitar soloing.)
Dude, it’s like “Limelight” multiplied to the power of five!
Yes, “The Looking Glass” has become an instant favorite of mine, along with “Along for the Ride.”
So… calling all Rush fans: I hereby put you on red alert. There are so many awesome shout-outs on this disc for you to get ecstatic over. (I love the invocation of the Peart Muse at the opening of “Surrender to Reason, for example.) Further, above and beyond paying stunning tribute to their masters, they are doing their own righteous thing and delivering all the prog goods you could ever ask for.
Go enjoy this solid slice of excellence, my prog metal-minded friends. You can’t go wrong with this album, especially if you were raised righteously—on Rush!
But if you need further testimony to convince you, here’s Simon Ramsey:
Closing colossus Illumination Theory is a conceptual 22 minute roller coaster delivered in five movements. A feast of thrilling sequences hurl from the speakers one after the next before an existential narrative unfurls. After eight minutes of head-spinning riffs, the band fade out as ambient electronic soundscapes give way to a sweeping symphonic section that’s beauty and grace incarnate.
It then lifts off again as feisty soloing from Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci leads to a grandstanding climax rich in personal epiphany. It’s a telling finale that sends out a clear message — Dream Theater are a band creatively reborn, thriving in the here and now without relying on trusted formulas and past glories.
Dane Henrik Aakjaer founded and ran it, and he did so with a certain grace. I fondly remember the many discussions we had there about everything post-rock and post-prog (at least what would be called these things).
Lee Harris, Talk Talk’s drummer, even consented to an interview and a chat. In those days, it was still rare for musicians to communicate so openly with fans on the internet.
In the summer of 1998, Brit David Gulvin posted an offer to all readers and participants of Within Without:
Name: David Gulvin Website: Referred by: Just Surfed On In! From: UK Time: 1998-06-09 12:49:18 Comments: I just thought I’d communicate a word to you about ORDINARY PSYCHO, who with the very kind permission of Henrik who runs this site, have a free promo CD offer tagged to this site. Thanks to everyone who have replied so far, I’ve had well over 80 responses so keep them coming. Sorry for not always being able to reply directly to your e-mails, this is because my e-mail still runs on CCMAIL so each internet reply has to be set up individually. Soon I will set up an email mailing list to keep you updated. A website of their own is being planned now. I’d dearly appreciate all of you who have received CD’s to e-mail me your response, even if you don’t like OP (God forbid!) Piggybacking comparative artists on the web is part of the early promotion for OP so you guys with CD’s are some of the earliest fans. I suggest you hang on to them, and tell your friends now, so that they believe you in a few years time when you say, “I was into OP years ago, when they first started on the Talk Talk Web!” Any suggestions like the one about Roger Waters most welcome. Thanks again to all TT fans supporting OP.
I was still unmarried and living in Montana. I sent Gulvin my address, not expecting much. Happily (still a great feeling), a package arrived in the mail. He’d sent me a copy of his EP, “Ordinary Psycho,” a mixing of three different parts of a forthcoming album: Private Island; Excerpts; and Love By Sin.
I tried to follow the band’s progress, but they never made much of a splash in America, and I lost track of them. Over the last several years, I’ve tried to find out what happened. It appears from what little I can find online that they made one album and disappeared.
This EP, which seemed so unexpected in 1998, has been a little treasure of mine for fifteen years. I’m sorry that Gulvin seems to have gone underground, as so much of the 20 minutes I’ve had the privilege of hearing is quite stunning. It would fit rather nicely (and, I guess, does) in the larger world of third wave prog.
So, David, if you’re out there, please know that you’ve made one soul a very happy one for a decade and a half. And, all simply a gift that arrived unexpectedly one day at the foot of Mount Helena.
Wow, what a day. Coralspin, The Fierce and the Dead, and now. . . everyone’s favorite Swedish band, The Flower Kings. Nice sound snippet uploaded to the web. Sounds gorgeous.
My only worry is the Nixon voice at the beginning. Scarier than anything that will happen on October 31! If you can get past it, well, bless you. And, it’s worth it.
The music sounds in continuity with Retropolis–undeniably fresh and meaningful. Thank you, Roine. For everything.
There’s nothing quite like waking up to a Tuesday morning, getting the kids (and self) ready for school, and discovering that there now exists a new Fierce and the Dead song in the world!
And, yet, it’s true. And, it’s a pure delight. Prog, prog, prog, and a bit of The Smiths. Thank you, Matt and Kev and the rest of the band. Thank you, Bad Elephant Music (David and James). A joy.
Progarchy 