Eye 2 Eye

Founded in 2003 on the ashes of ADN by Philippe Benabes and Didier Pegues, Eye 2 Eye finally released their third album on the Musea label in December 2011.

After "One In Every Crowd" (2006) and "After All..." (2009), nominated by the ProgAwards that same year, "The Wish" (2011) marks a watershed for the group that sign here its first concept-album, inspired by Oscar Wilde's "Picture Of Dorian Gray".

 

Neo Progressive and floydian influences from the early days, make way for a more personal identity, helped by the voice of Djam Zaidi, the flamboyant guitars of Amirouche Ali Benali, the swirling keyboards of Philippe Benabes and Elise Bruckert's magical violin, backed by the solid rhythm of Aymeric Delteil (Bass) and Didier Pegues (Drums & keyboards).

Here, all songs are strung together to form a single musical entity of more than 69 minutes.

The disk very well conveys emotion, romanticism, the darkness and the drama of the work.

The guitar sounds fantastic, with an Eastern touch and true mastery. The violinist print character and sensibility, and keyboards are very good. The latest is the new voice, somewhat rough, but melodic, very suitable for theatricality required by the concept.

The story of Dorian Gray is seeking both dark and light and only the contrasts of progressive rock music could pay tribute to this classical masterpiece!

Lose yourself in this mesmerizing London of the late XIXth Century...

 Eye 2 Eye

Rick Miller

Canadian composer and multi-instrumentalist Rick Miller made his debut effort as a solo artist back in 1983 with the new age production "Starsong", which shifted a highly respectable 30.000 units at the time.

He would follow up this venture with "Windhaven" in 1987, and his efforts "Interstellar Passage" from 1998 and the EP "No Passion, No Pain" from 2009 would continue exploring similar musical territories.

But after honing his craft working at Sound Design Studios in Toronto throughout the 80's and 90's, he wanted to have a go at his true musical love as well, atmospheric progressive rock inspired by artists such as Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues and Steve Hackett.

This lead to a flurry of releases following the start of the millenium:
"The One" (2003), "Dreamtigers" (2004), "The End Of Days" (2006) and "Angel Of My Soul" (2008).
These efforts gave Miller a good reputation, and in 2009 he was signed by Canadian indie label Unicorn Records. His first release for this label was the 2009 effort "Falling Through Rainbows".
Followed by "In The Shadows" (2011) and his latest release "Dark Dreams" (2012).

Rick Miller

The Alan Parsons Project

Look at me now, a shadow of the man I used to be
Look through my eyes and through the years of lonliness you'll see

To the times in my life when I could not stand to lose

A simple game
And the least of it all was the fortune and the fame
But the dream seemed to end just as soon as it had begun

Was I to know?
For the least thing of all that was on my mind

Was the close at the end of the show
The shadow of a lonely man, feels nobody else
In the shadow of a lonely, lonely man
I can see myself

(Looking out of nowhere, looking out of nowhere)

But the sounds of the crowds when they come to see me now

Is not the same
And the jest of it all is I can't recall my name
But I'll cling to a hope till I can't hold on anymore, anymore
And for all the acclaim

I am all alone and I see as I look through the door

The shadow of a lonely man, there's nobody else
In the shadow of a lonely, lonely man
I can see myself

Look at me now, a shadow of the man I used to be

Crippled Black Phoenix

Born from a blizzard of horned cats, Crippled Black Phoenix bring you a twisted cinematic experience, handcrafted by a mercenary crew of musical outsiders, giving depth and gravity to regal songs about love, loss, tragedy and redemption.

Back in 2004, the then Electric Wizard drummer Justin Greaves (also of Iron Monkey, Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine) started recording songs and soundscapes he'd had in his head for several years using primitive recording techniques. Encouraged by good friend (and Mogwai bassist) Dominic Aitchison those ideas would become the bones of Crippled Black Phoenix. Other great compadres followed, Panthiest members Andy Semmens and Kostas Panagiotou, Nial McGaughey of 3D House of Beef and -(16)- amongst others and solo folk songwriter Joe Volk, who also fronts critically acclaimed heavy rock band Gonga, all stepped up to bring a variety of influences and skills to complete the line-up.
In 2006, during one of the hottest summers on record the band recorded their debut album in Bristol and signed to Invada Records (run by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow). During the recording process the old friends aligned and fully realized visions that had been pestering Greaves for the past few years.
The result is a collection of self penned endtime ballads, a dark hybrid that is the culmination of all the members’ eclectic influences. It is the first of a trilogy and deals with the timelessness of honesty and tragedies laid bare, featuring sordid tales from the pages of literary history combined with personal stories of contemporary loss and love.
Using a blend of modern amplified and Victorian era equipment, the band have produced a captivating, slow-burning sound that’s both archaic and modern at the same time.

Their fifth album  "(Mankind) The Crafty Ape" is out now.

>>You utter bastards. Yes, I'm looking at you, Crippled Black Phoenix. Members of Iron Monkey and Mogwai? I was expecting taut, hardcore-influenced post-rock. This is prog rock. Not just any old prog rock, either: it's a bloody concept album ('a series of facts and stories', apparently) in three acts - recorded in a chapel, no less! Gaah.
OK, so (Mankind) The Crafty Ape is about as proggy as you can get this side of The Old Grey Whistle Test. And, if you're going to make a prog album, you may as well go the whole hog. Crippled Black Phoenix have certainly done that. Kicking off with a voice electronically distorted almost beyond recognition and bombastic trumpet blasts, the first chapter - 'A Thread' - creates an ambient menace akin to that of a old English horror film from the Seventies, all church bells in the distance, synthesisers and heartbeats. Close your eyes, and this could be the alternative soundtrack to The Prisoner.
Even within that gloomy aesthetic, though, the mood ranges considerably. 'The Heart of Every Country' is languorous and slightly mournful, 'Get Down and Live With It' spiky and brittle, unwinding into a long guitar instrumental, and 'A Letter Concerning Dogheads' a claustrophobic slice of grunge rock.
Chapter 2, 'The Trap', however, kicks in with more verve straightaway, with the Muse-esque 'Laying Traps' - which culminates in a surprising and unexpected ending - and doesn't let up: 'Born in a Hurricane' and 'Release the Clowns' are both very different but cracking little rock songs: although, given the pedigree of the band members, it's the kind of thing you'd almost expect them to crank out in their sleep.
One short mariachi-style instrumental later, and we're into the the third and final chapter, 'The Blues of Man'. You'd think this would bring it all back together: drawing the disparate threads from the two previous sections together. Instead, it opens up new strands, slowing to a dirty blues crawl and entering rock ballad territory. It's only really the closer to the piece, the 15-minute (and awesomely-named) 'Faced With Complete Failure, Utter Defiance is the Only Response', that it comes alive again, with the song proving to be a post-rock epic, building and building, slowing, then building and building to an inspired crescendo. It's a superlative end to the album, and one that is likely to be a utter monster in a live setting.
This is a massive, sprawling piece of work - and that's its blessing and its curse. It's epic, layered and rewards repeated listens - but occasionally meandering and unfocused. Only the mid-section really feels like a cohesive whole, and the opening three songs of the third chapter could easily be excised with little lost, as all they really do is kill the momentum built up by part two. That's not to say it's not full of great songs - it's just not the case that they all belong on the same album. Even if it is a bloody prog album.<<
Really like this review although the writer seems to be not that much into Prog.

This is the full album!

Discography:

A Love of Shared Disasters (2006)
200 Tons of Bad Luck (2009)
The Resurrectionists / Night Raider (2 CD's) (2009)
I, Vigilante (2010)
(Mankind) The Crafty Ape (2 CD's (2012)

Crippled Black Phoenix

Fish

We got 140 stations on satellite beaming on down to our home 

But I'm watching you

 I've got half a million bills to pay

You never hear a word I say 

I dream of you

Oh it feels so incomplete

Oh it seems so incomplete

 If we could only close the distance

 If we could only cross these lines

 If we could only fill the space that's grown between us over time

You don't hear me anymore

You don't touch me anymore

You don't know me anymore

There's a wedding dress in a suitcase full of memories in the attic

I think of you
Where the ghosts of Summer butterflies they gather in the dust
I long for you

Oh it feels so incomplete

Oh it seems so incomplete

If we could only bring those days back

When there were never wounds to heal

When everything was perfect and the dream we had was real

But you don't hear me anymore

You don't touch me anymore

You don't know me anymore

Oh it feels so incomplete

Oh it seems so incomplete

When there were never any questions over who or what we were

And the future only promised all the answers to our prayers

You don't hear me anymore

You don't touch me anymore

You don't know me anymore

Oh I feel so incomplete without you..

John Waite

Every time I think of you
I always catch my breath
And I’m still standing here
And you’re miles away
And I'm wondering why you left
And there’s a storm that’s raging
Through my frozen heart tonight

I hear your name, in certain circles
And it always makes me smile
I spend my time, thinking about you
And it’s almost driving me wild
And there's a heart that’s breaking
Down this long distance line tonight

I ain’t missing you at all
Since you’ve been gone, away
I ain’t missing you
No matter, what I might say

There’s a message, in the wires
And I’m sending you this signal tonight
You don’t know how desperate I’ve become
And it looks like I’m losing this fight
In your world I have no meaning
Though Im trying hard to understand
And it's my heart that’s breaking
Down this long distance line tonight

I ain’t missing you at all
Since you’ve been gone, away
I ain’t missing you
No matter, what my friends say

And there’s a message that I’m sending out
Like a telegraph to your soul
And if I can’t bridge this distance
Stop this heartbreak overload

I ain’t missing you at all
Since you’ve been gone, away
I ain’t missing you
No matter, what my friends say
I ain’t missing you, I aint missing you
I can lie to myself

And there's a storm that's raging
Through my frozen heart tonight
I aint missing you at all
Since you’ve been gone, away
I ain’t missing you,
No matter, what my friends say
Aint missing you
I ain’t missing you, I aint missing you
I can lie to myself
I ain’t missing you
I aint missing you

Steve Hogarth & Richard Barbieri

Gekannt haben sich die beiden schon länger. Japan, die New-Wave-Pioniere, bei denen Richard Barbieri einst aktiv war, übten Einfluss auf Steve Hogarth aus. Der wiederum ist Sänger von Marillion, die 2001 einige Konzerte mit Porcupine Tree spielten, jener Progrock-Band, in welcher Richard Barbieri seit 1993 aktiv ist. In einem nächsten Schritt lud Hogarth den Keyboarder und Komponisten ein, auf seinem Soloalbum mitzuwirken.
Und schließlich stellte Barbieri die Möglichkeit einer Zusammenarbeit in den Raum. Im vergangenen Jahr Jahr fand sich die nötige Zeit, das Ergebnis lautet "Not The Weapon But The Hand".

 
Verwirrend? Nur auf den ersten Blick.
Eine musikalisch gewachsene Freundschaft, so könnte man es vielleicht nennen. Die beiden verstehen sich. Barbieri lieferte die Instrumental-Vorlagen ab, Hogarth verinnerlichte sie. Was dabei herauskam, könnte Anhängern von Porcupine Tree und Marillion gefallen. Muss aber nicht.
Denn mit Rock hat das Projekt nur bedingt zu tun. "Not The Weapon But The Hand" ist eine leise Platte. Möglich, dass genau deswegen der ein oder andere genau hinhört. Die Stimmung zwischen Träumen und Frösteln intensiver wahrnimmt als im musikalischen Alltag. Die natürlichen Instrumente nehmen Gastrollen ein, selbst wenn sie mit Leuten wie Danny Thompson (Kontrabass) oder Chris Maitland (Schlagzeug) durchaus prominent besetzt sind. Der federnde Puls von "Naked" oder der sich in den Vordergrund spielende Refrain von "Only Love Will Make You Free" bilden die Ausnahme.
Ambient, Klanglandschaften, strukturelle Freiheit, das sind dominierende Begrifflichkeiten.
"Es ist nicht die Waffe, welche den Schaden anrichtet. Es ist derjenige, in dessen Händen sie liegt", so die Aussage hinter dem Titel. Es geht um Liebe und Angst, um Gedanken, die sich in der Weite des Universums verlieren. Richard Barbieri und Steve Hogarth malen Bilder, in denen sich Gefühlswelten nicht nur spiegeln, sondern auch auf ihre Daseinsberechtigung pochen. Ein Erlebnis, das fordert, ohne zu überfordern. Oder, um es mit einer Abwandlung des Titels auszudrücken: "Es sind nicht die Töne, welche eine Emotion erzeugen. Es sind diejenigen, in deren Händen sie liegen."

Den Bonus Song "Intergalactic" kann man hier gratis runterladen.

Steve Hogarth & Richard Barbieri 

weiter lesen: http://web.de/magazine/unterhaltung/musik/cd-kritiken/14877084-steve-hogarth-richard-barbieri-not-the-weapon-but-the-hand.html#.A1000145

weiter lesen: http://web.de/magazine/unterhaltung/musik/cd-kritiken/14877084-steve-hogarth-richard-barbieri-not-the-weapon-but-the-hand.html#.A1000145