Tag: art rock

An Interview with SCIOLENT

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Sciolent is a one-man art rock band based in Germany who recently launched a new album entitled “Chiaroscuro.” The 11-track release sees the young musician delving deep into a unique blend of alternative music, progressive rock, and even shoegaze.

Speaking for Progarchy, Sciolent talks about what it took for him to come up with the release. Find out more below.

You launched an album with Sciolent entitled “Chiaroscuro” back in December. How do you feel about the release? 

I was and still am very proud of it. It’s been in the making for a long time and finally releasing it into the world was a strange but rewarding feeling. I received some lovely positive feedback for it and that makes me happy of course. What’s great as well is that I’m still really content with it myself – it’s already my fifth album, but it might be the first one that I still enjoy listening to even after it’s put out. I spent a lot of attention to the compositions and arrangements down to the details and it seems to pay off.

How much of a challenge was it to work on the album?

Quite a big one, to be honest. I started teaching myself how to play guitar and bass during the making so that I could record all instruments except the drums on my own. Doing that, writing and recording the songs, producing, mixing and mastering it all would have already been a challenge, but to do it all while going to university and working on my Bachelor’s thesis and other projects was a wild ride as you can probably imagine. I don’t regret any of it though, it was a lot of fun and especially during lockdown it helped me cope with what was going on and find some meaning and inspiration.

Speaking of challenges, have you set any in the early phase of what has become the final result?

I simply wanted to reach my current potential in composing and arranging and I think I managed to do that. The advantage of taking your time with such a project instead of racing towards a deadline is that by the end you have a much bigger collection of songs to choose from, so you can pick the very best out of them and don’t have to include fillers.

Tell me about the different instrumental aspects that you explore on these new songs.

Well, a lot of it is centered around the interplay of neo-romantic piano figures and spacey guitars. You can hear that combination on songs like Balliamo Sott’Acqua, Our Worst Fears Realized or Slowing Down Time for example. From time to time there are also heavier passages where everything sort of erupts to counteract that melancholic dreamy vibe of the softer parts of the album. With the basslines underneath I tried to play quite melodically (without being too flashy) and weaved in some counterpoints here and there. And for the drums I wanted to find a good compromise between compelling groove and creative drumming – I’m not a drummer so I had to play that on my MIDI keyboard and I don’t know how playable these rhythms would actually be, but I think they feel good in context with the other instruments.

What is your opinion about the progressive rock scene today? 

That’s a tough question for me because I haven’t been too invested in that scene over the last couple of years. I love that Porcupine Tree got back together, Closure / Continuation was a great album and seeing them live was a huge highlight and bucket list experience for me. It’s also great to see what some of the young British bands like Black Country, New Road or black midi are doing. I think there’s a lot of progressive or avantgarde spirit in there, even if some people see them more in the post-punk field. Those genre boundaries seem to become obsolete anyway though, it’s just good to know that exciting new music is being made and – even better – people are actually listening to it!

Let me know about your influences—the artists that in a way shaped and continue to shape your music.

Some of my longstanding influences include bands like Muse, Radiohead, Oceansize, Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Talk Talk. Muse for example were the band that became my introduction to the world of ambitious rock music when I was a kid so they will always have a special place in my heart. For this new album, I think especially Oceansize were a big influence – when I discovered them three years ago, I couldn’t stop listening to them for months. Effloresce and Frames are two of my favourite albums of all time, they just click with me on so many levels and some passages on “Chiaroscuro” are referencing them a little bit.

As of lately, I’ve also been listening to a lot of shoegaze which found its way into “Chiaroscuro” in terms of sound design and dream-like atmosphere. My favourites in that genre are Slowdive and Curve, but there has been and still is loads of talent across so many bands and artists.

Other bands I’ve been digging recently are Wolf Alice, the aforementioned Black Country, New Road, Jockstrap and Just Mustard.

And then there’s also bands and artists that belong more to the pop spectrum like Depeche Mode or Lana Del Rey that I admire. Developing a sensibility for a really good pop song is an extremely important skill to have as a songwriter in my opinion.

What are your top 5 records of all time?

The list changes from time to time, but at the moment it probably looks like that:

  1. Oceansize – Effloresce
  2. Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase.
  3. Muse – Origin of Symmetry
  4. Radiohead – OK Computer
  5. Oceansize – Frames or Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon (can’t decide, both deserve a top 5 spot!)

Besides the release of “Chiaroscuro” are there any other plans for the future?

I’m looking forward to potentially play some of my music live, although solid plans about that have yet to be made. Also I’m pretty much constantly coming up with new music, so maybe there will be more of that as well. I don’t think there will be another full album this year, but an EP or some singles are possible. Stay tuned!

“Chiaroscuro” is available from Bandcamp.

Album Review – Fairy Tale’s “That Is The Question”

On By Bryan MoreyIn Ambient, art rock, Atmospheric rock, progressive rockLeave a comment

a0043426731_10Fairy Tale, That Is The Question, 2021
Tracks: Wasting The Sound 1 (1:36), That Is The Question (3:48), Time Heals Nothing (4:37), Wasting The Sound 2 (1:42), Wake Up (4:13), Girl Of The Opera (3:24), Wise Men Keep Silent (5:00), Wasting The Sound 3 (1:14), Sophie (11:19), Dot (0:24)

While Slovakia’s Fairy Tale may be a new band to Progarchy, the group has a long history making music dating back to the mid 1990s. The longtime project of Peter Kravec has seen a couple iterations, but the current version was created in 2003 when Kravec met singer Barbora Koláriková. They have since made five albums, including this one, released at the end of October 2021. Kravec plays guitars and produced the record, and Koláriková plays bass guitar in addition to handling all the vocals. They are joined by drummer L’ubomír Pavelka, and Marek Škvarenin and Adam Lukáč play keyboards on various tracks. 

The album ranges in tone from ambient and electronic sounds to a harder progressive rock edge. The band describes themselves as art rock and prog with elements of ambient. At under forty minutes, it’s a short record, which means the disparate sounds of ambient music with heavier rock sometimes clash, although I don’t think the album is necessarily meant to be a concept album. 

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The heavier parts of this record, such as the title track, have a very upbeat tempo, which contrasts with the more ambient elements. With that said, even the title track has a deeper moment with heavy bass and an overlay of Fripp-Like guitar. This smoothly blends into “Time Heals Nothing,” which opens with quieter keyboards and clean electric guitar. 

The strongest part of the record comes in the second half of “Time Heals Nothing,” which features a seriousness and an intensity in the music and the lyrical delivery that is more pronounced than on other songs. The song gradually builds towards the end into a wonderful “wall of sound” effect, which blends the ambient with the rock in a seamless way. I also think this song also has the best lyrics of the album. It deals with themes of joy and suffering, forgiveness and grace. There is an element of nihilism in the second half of the song, which can be gleaned from the title. For example:

Souls are burning
And we are boring
Time heals nothing

Souls are burning
Knowledge is boring
Time heals nothing

The electric guitar opening to “Wise Men Keep Silent” has a soothing atmospheric quality that reflects the shorter instrumental tracks, although these more ambient qualities are not tied in throughout as well as they could be. “Wise Men Keep Silent” demonstrates what Fairy Tale does best: ambient and atmospheric music sprinkled with rock influences. The instrumental track includes Barbora using her voice as an instrument, which adds a calming sensation. As I’ve been listening to Devin Townsend’s late 2021 ambient record, Snuggles (which I really should review at some point) recently, I’ll add that I hear similar elements in this song, as well as in other parts of That Is The Question.

At just over eleven minutes in length, “Sophie” is the epic of the album. It has a more electronic influence to it, and it allows the varying musical influences to dance with each other more so than on many of the other songs. There are moments where it feels disjointed, particularly in the transitions, but overall it works well. 

If the artwork looks familiar, that’s because it’s by the great Hugh Syme, who is perhaps most well known for his work with Rush. The artwork throughout the CD digipack is characteristic of his work, and it is quite good. It adds an extra layer of professionalism to the overall packaging. 

While the individual musical elements on the album are all quite good, I think the album could use a bit more focus, or a longer running time with extended songs that tie the various musical elements together better. The shorter songs help serve that purpose, but I’m not entirely convinced that their style of upbeat rock works with more melancholic ambient tones, apart from the ending of “Time Heals Nothing,” which addresses this concern very well. My concerns may be a matter of taste, however, and you should be the judge of that for yourself. Overall I still say the music is very good and worth checking out.

https://fairytaleartrock.bandcamp.com/album/that-is-the-question
https://fairytale.peterkravec.com
https://www.instagram.com/fairytale_artrock/
https://twitter.com/FairyT_artrock

New Gazpacho: SOYUZ

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock2 Comments

KSCOPE607-MOCK-UP
Image taken from the Burning Shed website.

Great news today from Burning Shed.  The forthcoming album from Gazpacho: SOYUZ is now available for pre-order.

I didn’t realize this would be coming so soon.  I’m in the middle of a retrospective of all of Gazpacho’s albums.  This, of course, will be coming to a progarchy website near you.

For now, though, pre-order SOYUZ.

And, now, to wait patiently. . . .

 

Interview: SPURGE

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Spurge

Drawing parallels to the work of mighty Frank Zappa and David Bowie, as well as Isis, Cult of Luna, the Mars Volta and the Dear Hunter, the Atlanta-based band Spurge seems like a promising act. But delving deeper to their most recent release, an EP simply titled “Four More Songs” reveals plethora of different sounds and vibes.

The creator of the band, bassist Jen Hodges gives us an insight into the world of Spurge, their writing process, and more.

What made you go for the name Spurge?

When I first got players together in Nashville, this was just a solo project and I was releasing material as Jen Hodges.  My musicians were wanting like a “Jen Hodges and something or other” name.  I told them I was down and whatever they picked was good for me.  My drummer at the time had a very endearing lisp and excited called out “Sthpurge!”  We were all kind of unsure what he said at first. He said it again and told us it was a kind of weed.  We all dug the double entendre.  For a while we called ourselves Jen Hodges and Spurge.  We dropped the Jen Hodges this year because the band feels like a total group effort at this point.

How do you usually describe your music?

I like to call it progressive post rock.  Most of the time people have no idea what that means so I end up explaining that we play post rock type textures but add in guitar/bass/drum solos.  I’ve heard people call it neo-classical rock, experimental,  ambient, and fusion before.  I believe someone called us a jam band once as well.

What is your writing process like?

Whenever I’m noodling around on the bass or guitar by myself I’ll come up with a few riffs I dig.  I’ll usually collect 15 or so riffs over the course of six months and start stringing them together using theory to craft transitions.  I record a scratch take with me playing all the instruments and send it out to my band.  My band are all top tier at what they do, so I tell them whatever guitar/drum parts they write is cool with me.  They always come back with some pretty sick stuff.  We rehearse it, record it, then I’ll go back in and record my bass solos as the finishing touch.  It’s an odd approach but I like how loose and open it is.  The creative process is my favorite part of playing.

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

There are a lot of players I admire.  Their music inspires me to contribute to humanity’s little collection of sound.  I’ve never been able to duplicate other people’s styles.  Mostly due to my bass being upside down and backwards.  However, I like being a part of the musician community and hearing other people’s music motivates me to keep writing.  Some of the musicians who influenced me at an early age are Flea, Buckethead, Jimmy Urine, Layne Staley, David Gilmore, John Paul Jones, Victor Wooten, and Thundercat.

Four More Songs

What is your favourite piece on the new EP “Four More Songs” and why?

Oof.  That’s tough.  I like the bass solo best in Amphibian.   I like the verse in Om the best.  I like the piano solo in Rain the best.  I like the guitar riffs in David Bowie the best.  I like Miles’ vocals in Amphibian the best.  I don’t think I can pick an overall piece I like best though.

What makes “Four More Songs” different?

Different than my other albums?  Or different in general?  Different than my other albums because I had an idea about what I wanted before I started writing.  I knew for sure I wanted to write a 7 minute song, a David Bowie tribute, a schizophrenic piece with a metal bridge, and I wanted to finish Rain.  I had been in the process of writing Rain for five years at that point.  It was a reject song from a previous band.   The record is different in general because it’s got my style in it.  All my music is different than most stuff out there.  I am proud about that.  I feel like I finally found my sound.

What should music lovers expect from “Four More Songs”?

Beauty, ugliness, groove.  A lot of texture.  Some experimentation in recording techniques.  We recorded Wayford’s vocals on Om by putting a box fan between him and the mic.  I broke a major rule and stacked 4 bass lines on top of one another in David Bowie.  My poor producer wasn’t too happy about it.  He’s the man though and heard my idea and made it work.   I think this is a record you can listen to all the way through and be sucked in enough not to skip any parts.  There is no filler.  And you never know what’s coming next.

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

All of the emotions.  (I just made myself laugh.)  I’d like them to feel content, relaxed even.  I’d like them to forget about their phones and their responsibilities and allow themselves to be taken through the story.  Maybe hype during the more exciting parts.  Entertained.  I’d like them to feel entertained.  Whatever emotion produces that outcome is fine with me.  As long as they are indeed feeling something.  Then I’ve done my job.

Spurge band

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

I’ve never been on tour where we don’t sleep in the van or on the floor or in someone’s basement so I’d have to say studio life.   I’d love to experience tour where we get a hotel room each night.  That might change my mind a little bit.  Tours have been fun, yet exhausting.  Studios are sacred spaces.  The creative process is my favorite part of playing so the studio is hard to beat.  I know a lot of people can get stressed out in the studio, but I’ve always been comfortable not having control so I just let people be themselves on the tracks.  If I don’t like it, I’ll edit it later.  I think the music reflects the positive vibes in the studio.

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

Wow that’s tough too.  Only 3?  John Prine Live, Dark Side of the Moon, and RHCP Mother’s Milk.  I just looked those choices over for about two minutes and I’m sticking with my answer.

“Four More Songs” is available from Bandcamp. Stay in contact with Spurge via Facebook and Twitter, and visit their website for more information and news.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4034617188/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/

Guest Post: Michał Pawłowski on Labels and Steven Wilson

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock4 Comments

Steven-Wilson-To-The-Bone-Banner
Love it or hate it, it’s Steven Wilson!

The following came in as a comment on a post regarding the media and fan reaction to the new Steven Wilson album, TO THE BONE.  It’s so good, though, that I don’t want it to get lost in the shuffle of comments.  So, without permission!!!, I’m posting it as its own post. Michał Pawłowski is founder and lead of the astounding art rock band, newspaperflyhunting.  He’s also a really brilliant and good person.

***

A very very good point Brad! Strangely enough (or not) the comments that jump on me on social media are more along the lines of ‘Wilson betrayed prog, if you like the album, there must be something wrong with you! Bring back PT!’

“What the?????” First of all ‘prog Wilson’ for me is: 1) “The Sky Moves Sideways” and “Signify”, 2) More importantly: prog is all his output taken together. ‘Prog Wilson’ is not “Grace for Drowning” and “Raven” as I don’t really count retro as progressive and those people on social media I quoted above somehow see this direction (a fraction of SW’s overall output) as THE Wilson. I do not – it was a phase in his career (probably caused by his remixing King Crimson et al. at that time) that seems to have passed (or abated) as all phases in his career do. This is the very thing that makes him TRULY progessive, now culminated in a self-proclaimed ‘pop’ album released after the retro of “Raven” and the wonderfully eclectic “H.C.E.”.

The position you descibe, ‘you must like his new album or you betray prog!” is equally daft. I don’t listen to genres. I use genre names so that I can communicate ideas (like this post), they have no qualitative value for me. I don’t like “Raven” not because it’s retro (prog) but because when I listen to it I’m bored. It doesn’t resonate. The label doesn’t change anything either way. I heven’t heard “To the Bone” in full yet (I’m waiting for the CD), but I like the tracks I heard a lot and Pariah is one of the best things SW has ever done.

Pop or not, prog or not I like what I hear and this is what ultimately matters. One should not like a poor record any more or less because it is a poor record in a genre they happen to like. And no album should be forced down my throat because it’s prog or Wilson or classic or whatever. People should grow good sets of ears and an anti-social media shield 😉

Marillion: OUT OF THE BOX

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment

out of the box
3 Blu-ray Disks

I often believe that Marillion is as much a mood or a state of mind as it is a band. I try hard to keep up with band, but, frankly, it’s hard at times. The band does so much and so often that I sometimes realize months later that they’ve released this or that DVD, blu-ray, CD, or download. Clearly, this is a first-world problem, and it’s a joyous one.

Only about a month or so ago did I realize that the band had released a blu-ray set of its three nights playing in the Netherlands in March, 2015. One disk per night.

Disk one: “Waves and Numbers,” March 20, 2015
Disk two: “Marbles in the Park,” March 21, 2015
Disk three: “Singles Night,” March 22, 2015

A mood, a state of being. The essence of Marillion?

I have few regrets in life, even after 49 years, but I do regret that I have yet to see the band live. I hope the Good Lord grants me the time still to make this a reality.

Continue reading “Marillion: OUT OF THE BOX” →

When Pink Floyd was a Classic(al) Band

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment

pf-live-at-pompeiiOver the past several months, I’ve been rather taken with Pink Floyd.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved the band. . . as far back as I can remember, their music was a part of my life.  Certainly, in my little town in central Kansas, I could hear someone or some station playing Floyd at any time.  As I’ve had the chance to mention before, our local planetarium played lots of Laser Floyd.  I heard them so much and so often that I started to take them for granted.

Several months ago, I picked The Wall up after years of not listening to it.  There was a time I thought it was a masterful work of art.  I still think it’s brilliant, but it’s way too depressing for me to pick up casually.  If I’m in a good mood, I certainly don’t want to be brought down by the album.  If I’m in a bad mood, I don’t need it to bring me down any further.

There’s no doubt, however, that its message of anti-fascism and anti-conformity influenced my own thinking on the world profoundly.

Continue reading “When Pink Floyd was a Classic(al) Band” →