Ode to Echo comes out in two days. I have yet to hear it, but I love everything Glass Hammer has done thus far. My words and thoughts regarding one of my favorite bands at Catholic World Report.
A scratchy LP, probably on a phonograph player from the 1930s or so, begins playing and a man clears his throat. Horns and woodwinds slowly swell and unveil, coming into tune in the background, finding a place in the rotating spheres.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this evening’s performance, Babb and Schendel’s musical extravaganza, Lex Rex, a tale of the ancient world. The conductor is ready. The actors and actresses are all assembled. So, without further ado, Lex Rex.
A gorgeous organ, something straight out of an early Genesis album, is followed by soaring Yes-like guitars. The two syncopate. Drums, voices, and bass join in. So, it begins, and the spheres rotate quickly now.
From our friends, Matt and Rachel Cohen, of that astounding band, The Reasoning. God bless, the Welsh.
Two years is a very long time, and yet it passes by so quickly. What have we really done over the past couple of years that we truly remember? How many people have we passed in the street and paid them no real attention? After all, why should we? What kinds of opportunities to visit particular places have we turned down over the past twenty-four months, or decided against… and what impact might those decisions have had on the present? Fate, destiny – an infinite number of questions, so many uncertainties, and endless faces in the crowd as we rush busily around in our day-today lives.
We all have our private moments of reflection, and we have certainly experienced many of those ourselves over the past couple of years. Quite honestly, not a day goes by when we don’t reflect on the “what ifs”. Could we have done more? Should we have tried the phone just one more time? Where on earth do we start to look? It goes without saying that we’re unable to answer a single one of these questions. We’ve therefore decided do something that is within our power to help maintain the search for our dear friend Owain and, in doing so, to raise some money for a wonderful charity that helps the families and friends of missing people.
This is how it’s going to work. On the second anniversary of Owain’s disappearance – March10th 2014 – we will be releasing as a download single a reworked song that Owain, Matt and Rach wrote together, entitled Pale Criminal. The track originally appeared on our EP And Another Thing……. This was in fact the last time that Owain wrote, recorded and played with the band. The song has subsequently taken on a huge personal meaning for all of us who share the great memories of having worked so closely together with Owain.
The track has been rearranged and recorded with just piano and vocals, and is beautiful, haunting, and very poignant. We hope very much that when you hear it, you will be reminded of the wonderful soul and spirit that Owain possesses. We also hope that the single will not only help to remind Owain that he is still greatly missed, but to raise awareness for missing persons more broadly, too. The single will only be available through our BandCamp site thereasoning.bandcamp.com with all proceeds going to www.missingpeople.org.uk.
Owain, if you read this, hear the song or just feel the need to reach out, please get in touch and come home to your family and friends. We love you and we miss you xx
#findowainroberts
lyrics
Blood, sweat, tears and chemistry
In stormy weather it’s down to you and me
Eternal returning – and starting over
Always reminding me.If I could have it all, if I could do it all, do it again
If becoming you means nothing new
Just more of the same.
Make me a memory don’t leave me alone
Cuts deep with every heartbeat
Our will to love survives.
Could be some kind of alchemy
‘Cause there’s no shelter: time’s up for you and me
Eternal returning – for a true pale criminal
It’s only destiny.
credits
released 10 March 2014
Song Written by Matthew Cohen, Owain Roberts & Rachel CohenPale Criminal 2014
Vocals – Rachel Cohen
Piano – Robert Gerrard
Mixed & Mastered by Matthew Cohen & Robert Gerrard
The big change, it seems to me, came when music began to be packaged for home consumption – home consumption, without home production. The gramophone and the radio did some of this work. But it was completed by the iPod, and the habit, which children now acquire from the earliest age, of walking around with their music in their ears, regardless of what else they are doing. Music is no long something you stop to listen to, so as to pass, with whatever degree of wonder, from the world of ordinary causality into this sphere of freedom. Still less is it something that you take time off to play, or to make with your friends. It has been brought down to earth, so as to flow around everyday things, like rainwater on the pavement, demanding no effort either to make it or to hear it, as much a part of the background as the weather or the sound of traffic.
Some of the consequences of this are often remarked on: the fact that children are no longer motivated to learn musical instruments or to sing, whether alone or in choirs; the fact the musical tastes remain static, insulated from judgment, since the iPod only presents you with the things that you like; the fact that children only half attend to the things they are doing, just as they only half attend to the things that are sounding in their ear. But that last point is perhaps the most important. Thanks to the packaging of music we are entering a new world of half attention, a world where everything is done, read, understood, engaged with by half, the other half being the musical tapestry on which the thing of the moment is pinned.
Should we worry about this? And if so, is there anything we can do about it? One major difficulty in confronting the phenomenon is that – precisely because people are plugged into their music from morn to night – it is no longer possible to separate people from their music. We cannot invite them to stand back from their music in a posture of critical judgment.
A few observations about prog:
When done right, prog demands total attention and total immersion from the listener. (Long song lengths are merely a sign that prog grants no concessions on this point; namely, its classical demand for full musical attention.)
Prog demands musical excellence on the part of the instrumentalists. (The renowned virtuosity of prog’s best players is well known, as is their propensity for group collaborations that are opposed to the lone “soloist” mentality.)
Prog takes technology and self-consciously subordinates it to its musical purposes. (Towers of keyboard gear, for example, are tamed and brought into the service of a transformed rock idiom. And frequently this occurs during concept albums that take as their explicit theme the confrontation of humanity with technological threats and tyrannical regimes.)
And finally, prog takes pride its judgmental, critical mentality. Prog listeners are happy to argue for the superiority of their favorite genre and for their favorite artists within that genre. Progarchists love to debate the critical merits of proggy musical achievement. Disputations about artistic merit still thrive in the prog corner.
So, perhaps what Friedrich Hölderlin observed — an observation that Heidegger frequently liked to bring in to his meditations on technology — may be glimpsed as the promise of prog:
But where danger is, grows
The saving power also.
And even if one can enjoy prog alone, it still propels one to public discussion of it. In this way, it may also be seen as — by its very nature — no solo music.
Our friend Adam Sears of Lobate Scarp alerted us to an excellent photo diary of the Progressive Nation at Sea cruise. Enjoy.
The cruise has now ended. As I write this, I’m walking the two miles from the Port of Miami toward downtown so that I can catch a train to Fort Lauderdale for my flight home. It’s a beautiful Miami morning. The walk is providing me time to reflect on the week and create a rough draft/outline of this chronicle. I expect to clean it up some on the plane. Once I get home, I’ll add some final touches, photos and videos.
I’m having a hard time finding the words to describe the experience of the last few days. Perhaps the word joyous would work best. At least that’s what I think separated this festival from other concerts I’ve attended. Pure joy. From both fans and artists. Everyone on board knew that this was something unique and unprecedented. The bands knew it wasn’t “just another gig” or “just another meet and greet.”
As I detail my day-to-day experience, I’ve decided to write for myself. I’m not sure who else might read this – friends, family, other prog fans. I’ll include enough information that even a non-fan would know what I’m talking about, but I am my main audience. I want to ensure that this memory stays with me as vivid in 40 years as it is now. I’ll likely include many seemingly insignificant, uninteresting details and encounters. Also, in some special moments, like the second Spock’s Beard set, I plan to include some backstory to help capture how the show made me feel. Let’s see if I’m successful.
Reviews of Gazpacho’s latest album, DEMON, are appearing all over the web. We’ve already posted a link to Chris McGarel’s review. Here are a few others–
As readers of progarchy well know, we rather love Matt Stevens. Congratulations, Matt! Very excited about this new release.
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Matt Stevens. Photo by Ed Sprake.
Esoteric Antenna is pleased to announce the release of the new album by acclaimed guitarist MATT STEVENS. Noted for his work as both a solo artist and as a member of Fierce and The Dead, “Lucid” sees Matt joined by a host of guest musicians including drummer Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson), Bass guitarists Lorenzo Feliciati (Naked Truth), Charlie Cawood (Knifeworld) and Kev Feazey, keyboard players Jem Godfrey (Frost) and Emmett Elvin (Chrome Hoof / Guapo), violinist Chrissie Caulfield (Helicopter Quartet / Crippled Black Phoenix), vibe player Jon Hart and Nicholas Wyatt Duke (Trojan Horse) on Spoken Word.
Speaking about his new album Matt states; “Lucid took three years as I really wanted to make this one a significant step up from the previous albums. It’s inspired by a bit of a dark time, but hopefully it’s an uplifting record. I’m so proud of the people who played on it, working with people like Pat Mastelotto on drums from King Crimson and Jem Godfrey from Frost* was amazing but all the players really were outstanding. Stuart Marshall (Fierce And The Dead) and Charlie Cawood (Knifeworld) were the rhythm section for a lot of the tracks. And it was great to have Chrissie back who played violin on the previous records. It’s a record that reflects my love of Jesu and Celtic Frost as much as the Mahavishnu Orchestra and King Crimson or even Peter Gabriel and I’m really proud of it. If you’re not going to take risks and try and do something interesting what’s the point?”
As befits this most unique musician, “Lucid” is a carefully crafted work, and one that is surely to be one of the Progressive Rock highlights of 2014.
Available 31/03/2014 [For us crazy North Americans: that’s March 31!]
Upcoming gigs:
March 16 North East Guitar Show
Mar 28 2014 – The Assembly, Leamington Spa, UK With Lifesigns
Apr 3 2014 – Farncombe Music Club, Godalming, SRY, UK With Oliver Wakeman And Gordan Giltrap
May 18 2014 – The Assembly – Leamington Spa, UK With Arena, The Reasoning, Touchstone, Alan Reed, Heather Findlay, and Rob Reed
May 23 2014 – The Musician, Leicester, UK With The Enid
Jun 14 2014 – Borderline, London, UK With Panic Room
Last year’s masterpiece. A masterpiece not just of the year, but of Third Wave prog.
As I posted yesterday at progarchy, Andy Tillison has announced his agreement with Insideout (ongoing, of course) to release the new The Tangent album in 2015.
Considering the sheer gravitas that surrounds every single thing Andy Tillison, this is vitally important news to those of us who love and cherish prog. For all intents and purposes, Andy is the embodiment of Third Wave prog. He is at the very least A Mr. Prog if not THE Mr. Prog. Given Andy’s own political sympathies (though not cultural and artistic ones!) with egalitarianism, I won’t offend him by labeling him Lord Prog. But, political views aside, why not? His title is one of merit, not birth. By birth, he’s the product of the dissidence of dissent. Amen. By merit, though: Lord Prog fits.
I’m one of the very fortunate human beings who served as a “beta tester” during the writing of this most current album. I’m not worthy, but I’m deeply honored. When I told my wife with all the enthusiasm that any good bubble-gum chewing Kansas boy naturally possesses (Gee, whiz! Golly!), she just knowingly smiled and said, “See?”
Yes, I’m admittedly rather proud to be a part of the process, no matter how small or unworthy. After all, how many persons in history have been allowed to participate—no matter how marginally or, God forbid, tangentially (sorry—couldn’t resist!)—with the art created by their personal heroes? After all, who among us would give much to have sat in C.S. Lewis’s rooms on a Thursday night in 1946, listening to Tolkien read his latest chapter of The Lord of the Rings and meditating upon all that is mythic in this rather fallen world?
This is how I felt when Andy asked me? I just, more or less, walked around with a stupid grin.
By agreement with Andy—standard for beta-testers in all things—I don’t want to give too much away. But, I did receive a note from him on Monday letting me know that I was now ok to mention that I’d heard the earliest demo version of the album. So, I’ll offer a few thoughts, generally spoiler free. Also, please note: these are merely my observations. I don’t know if Andy would agree or not. So, these are my words—right or wrong—not Andy’s. And, of course, I only heard the demo version, not something even close to the final version recorded with band and in studio. Still, for those of you who love The Tangent as I have for 11 years now, you know that Andy is incapable of pursuing imperfection. Even his “demos” have all the meaning and purpose and sense of completion that most artists only achieve in the absolute final moments of a major project, after a 100 people have perfected the thing. Andy is a Century of Artists possessing one body and one soul.
Here are the notes (somewhat edited—to take out track titles, etc.) from my first listens.
This is brilliant, all the way around. What I especially like is how much the new album—that is, the songs I’ve heard—contrasts with as well as completes last year’s album.
Last year, Andy produced an album that offered serious social criticism by looking from a fixed point (the actual, physical church—sorry I can’t remember the name right now). Every thing passed by Andy, and he observed it all. Then, he went into Google Earth and saw it all from the bird’s eye view. But, even there, he looked down on the same fixed point, all organized chaos swirling around the church, all clockwork. And, of course, he tied everything back to the modernism of 1913, noting the good and the bad of modernity. In the end, next to the criticism, Andy offered a stoic resignation.
With this album (title yet?), he has done something very different. Rather than looking from a fixed point, Andy’s allowed himself to wonder the globe, to explore, and to experience, even if only in imagination (which, after listening to The Tangent faithfully for 11 years, I know to be rather fertile!). Though there’s cultural criticism (all good, especially against superficiality and conformity) on this album, there’s also an abundance of hope and playfulness.
Not surprisingly, Andy throws in a lot of jazzy moments—some jazz from the 1920s, some from the 1950s, and some from the early 1970s. As to the songs, musically and lyrically, I used the following descriptives: sultry, epiphanic, triumphal, gracious, hopeful, joyous.
So much cooler than Nieztsche. Andy, a god among gods.
So, from my perspective, the genius has revealed his talent yet again. I, for one, am thrilled not just because I got to play the smallest of roles in its creation, but, far more importantly, because Andy’s talent continues to humble me. And, especially, he continues to remind me that excellence, brilliance, and–dare I say it?–love can change the world.
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If you’re interested in joining the official discussion regarding the new The Tangent album, Andy has created a forum here:
Progarchy 