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Montag, 5. Dezember 2011

Ziv Ravits

Here is an art rock album by writer and composer Ziv Ravits, lead vocals and bass of "Louis", his 3rd album.
Recording and performing his own material for 10 years all around Israel: 1997 - "Syndrome"- Ziv's 1st project in Hebrew worked and performed mainly in Jerusalem, 2001 - "Short story"- recorded in a small town in the Israeli desert. 


With "Louis", Ziv introduces an album, and a stage show, that is a genre of its own.
It echoes the psychedelic, progressive and classic rock of the late 60's and early 70's, while offering a very up-to-date and unique sound and attitude.
Ziv also uses the benefit of cutting edge sound technology - creating a special mix that could turn Louis into a land mark for the music of the 21st century, and a real treat for the modern music consumer.



On the stage, 8 musicians are leading the audience into a deep musical experience While telling the story of Louis,who travels between time and forms - transcending linearity and continuity on his journey home. 
This live concert is the result of a unique reunion of talents around Ziv, Who invite us to join them for an unforgettable trip.


The story of "Louis":

The people of the city say they can't remember a night as cold as that night.
Louis - an old beggar - was sleeping on the verge of a doorway. He was quite used to it, but that night was extremely cold. The snow slowly covered him. Some good people tried to wake him up, but in vain. During that night, some residents of the higher floors of the surrounding buildings called the police to inform them of a man flying quite close to their windows, which were, as a matter of fact, quite high. The morning after, they found the imprint of his body in the fresh snow. Its an 18th century garden party on a shiny autumn day somewhere. Young Louis entertains the very honorable crowd. He plays the piano. He can't take his eyes off the youngest daughter of the court's lawyer, in her light green dress. He plays for her, and she notices. Being, by hobby, a collector of soul pieces, she calls for the magician to settle a deal: Louis gets to be alone with her at her family's winter house, and she gets a piece of his soul. The magician, naturally, gets one too. Louis remembers almost nothing of that night - only a promise not fulfilled, a subtle smell on his finger, a brick wall instead of a door and a loss too big to contain. He runs away from the house, and the forest seems to enclose him. Too frightened to look back, he runs all night - chased by his fear and confused by his anger, his mind unable to grasp what his heart fully knows. He is fast asleep in a clearing, just before the break of dawn. There is no one there to even try and wake him up. On a countryside road, a guy called Louis is walking to the bus stop. The year is 2008. He had just woken up in a clearing, and he can't remember how he got there. He just knows he feels empty and sad, as if something had been violently taken from him the night before. He knows not where to go, or even if he wants to go anywhere at all. The voices inside him kindle him with song. They sing him of his past. They sing him of his ancient losses. They plead him not to fall this time. A bit encouraged, Louis strays around - and finds a cave to shelter him from the rain. He stays there for a short while, and the short while turns into a long while, and then a longer one... When he steps out of the cave, it is summer again. A kind of hunger takes him to a nearby city, where he lingers for a while. He's never really a part of it, but happy enough to feel at home inside himself - a feeling he never knew before. In a city not far away, on the coldest night of the year, one guy with all his belongings in a small sack, feels a sudden need to look up to the sky. He could never explain how this human image he saw managed to fly so smoothly above the city's skyline. The only thing he knew for sure was that, in a strange way, it was a part of him.


Ben Craven

Good news from Ben Craven, brand new double A-side single release of "No Specific Harm" and "Aquamarine".


This particular version of "Aquamarine" is a new edit unavailable anywhere else. It features a nice little acoustic guitar solo towards the end, which you won't hear on the album.
The single can be downloaded from Bandcamp for FREE.

Sonntag, 4. Dezember 2011

The Rescues

Your eyes are gonna drown in your wine glass
Your mind is tripping stones over your past
I know better than to ask you, "Why, love?"

When you begin to believe your own lies then
They'll keep swinging long as you keep fighting
Until you ruin a perfectly good night, my love

My love, you're not listening
My love, you're not listening
My love, try listening
For the voice that's whispering
To you my love

Those tears are 10 years old
That script has long been sold
That stories' sick of being told
Say goodbye love

It's time you learned some new lines
They're already rolling round in your mind
So don't waste another life, my love

My love, you're not listening
My love, you're not listening
My love, try listening
For the voice that's whispering
To you my love

My love. My love.
My love, you're not listening
My love, you're not listening

My dreams did not come true
though I wanted them to
And that's ok with me
Is it ok with you?

My dreams did not come true
Though I wanted them to
And that's ok with me
Is it ok with you?

My love, try listening
For the voice that's whispering
To you my love

Freitag, 21. Oktober 2011

Goodbye Cruel World

Sonntag, 16. Oktober 2011

Dark Matters

The first musical creation of Dark Matters came into life with the release of the first single "The Quest Of A Dream".
It was only the beginning of a journey, a journey into strong down-tempo cuts, deep beat-ballads and mind-blowing vocals. Though the identity of the Dark Matters moniker remains unveiled, there’s one thing about the project that is no secret. They’re responsible for 11 hauntingly beautiful vocal productions, each and every single one shining a different and unique light on music.


You can find them on their debut album "Fallen Feathers", an album built around the powerful beat of EDM, stepping away from the maddening crowds but focusing on musical synergy.
Powerful songwriting, poetic lyrics, a myriad of genres melting and all tracks mesmerizing jewels that deserve time to be listened to.
Anything from piano ballads to chill-out and soulful down-tempo. From dawn’s first ray of sun to the deep, dark pitch-black layers of night, "Fallen Feathers" will take you on a trip to wherever you choose to go.
Working together with gifted vocalists such as Ana Criado, Neev Kennedy, Cathy Burthon, Benjamin Winter, Tre Sheppard, Carol van Dyk, Jessie Morgan and Denise Rivera, resulted in eleven sensitive, seductive and original tracks of outstanding quality. "Fallen Feathers" is an album that truly gets under your skin.

Donnerstag, 13. Oktober 2011

Au4

For brothers Ben, Aaron Wylie and colleague Jason Nickel, music has always been a constant. As the Vancouver-based electronic ensemble Au4, the group completed a their debut album in 2006.


 "On: Audio", the group’s full-length release, is an uplifting, ethereal trip through the rhythms of nature and the nature of dreams, mixing blissed-out ambience with melodic, story-told songs.

Ben Wylie (vocals, guitars, keys), Aaron Wylie (keys, vocals), and Jason Nickel (bass, vocals, keys) grew up on music, each starting Royal Conservatory training at a young age.
In high school, the boys formed the requisite rock bands, while continuing their musical study and touring in jazz, choir and theatrical productions. Jason attended Capilano College’s Jazz Studies program, while Ben and Aaron began experimenting with the electronic hardware and software, which would later morph into Au4.

Inspired in part by the electronica explosion, and landmark albums by Underworld, Massive Attack, Björk, and Nine Inch Nails, Ben and Aaron started writing with new tools, layering and shaping sounds late into the night. In 2003, Jason Nickel heard their rough cuts and brought them to producer/engineer Richard Dolmat. The group Au4 was officially formed.

"On: Audio" was produced by Au4 and Richard Dolmat at Digital Sound Magic studios in Vancouver and is released on their own label, Torn Open Records. The nine tracks draw from trip-hop, ambient and dreampop styles, featuring the breathy, haunting vocals of Ben Wylie, who also scripted the melodically woven lyrical stories. A melancholic tone weaves throughout "On: Audio", but the mood is of contemplative optimism: The acoustic-guitar laced love song “Hit and Miss” undulates like a watery embrace. The bass-driven “A Mile From Here” is an up-tempo track ready for clubs. Even the epic “An Ocean’s Measure of Sorrow” rocks, a fresh take on the piano ballad. “Everything’s Always Moving” sums up the album’s hypnotic qualities and themes of hope.



The result of a lifetime of love and study of music, five years of songwriting and two years of studio refinement, "On: Audio" represents the beginning of Au4’s journey.
Their WCMA nomination for ‘Best New Album’ in 2006 was the next welcome addition to their story.
The group is currently working on a second album, and remixes from "On: Audio". They are also working on an innovative website, a collaboration between Ben Wylie’s visual FX background, Aaron Wylie’s DigiCoyote Software company and Juno Award-winning designer Vincent Marcone.

The multi-media and live aspects of Au4 complement and reinforce the band’s musical message.
“We just want to connect with people,” says Aaron. “That’s what, for us, music is about.”

Mittwoch, 5. Oktober 2011

Subsignal

New album "Touchstones" by Subsignal has finally hit the stores throughout Europe.


Subsignal, originally intended as a side project, was founded in 2007 by the former Sieges Even-members Arno Menses (Vocals) and Markus Steffen (Guitars). The first result of this collaboration was the song ‚A Wallflower On The Day Of Saint Juliana‘, which made its way to the 2007 Sieges Even album ‘Paramount’ under the title ‚Eyes Wide Open‘.

After Arno Menses and Markus Steffen had left Sieges Even in summer 2008, they were looking for adequate musicians to turn Subsignal into to a real, functional band. The first guy to join the new outfit was bass player Ralf Schwager, known for his work with German progband Dreamscape.
The line-up was completed with Drummer Roel van Helden, known for his collaboration with Dutch band Sun Caged, and Dreamscape’s David Bertok on keyboards.

Subsignal define themselves as a progressive rock band, which is open to different styles and genres (e.g. AOR, Metal, etc.). They describe their music as melancholic, innovative, emotional and highly melodic. Arno and Markus aim to tie in with Subsignal to where Sieges Even stopped, with the difference of being more open musically and showing a stronger presence on stage.

In April 2009 the band signed a record contract with German label ZYX Records and have recorded their first album "Beautiful and Monstrous" with producer Kristian Kohlmannnslehner who was also responsible for Sieges Even’s ‚Paramount‘-album.

Dienstag, 4. Oktober 2011

Steven Wilson

"Grace For Drowning" is Steven Wilson's second album and develops further the uncompromising creativity evident on his highly regarded debut, "Insurgentes".


Wilson describes the release as, "My biggest project to date."
Insurgentes was an important step for me into something new. This record takes that as a starting point, but it’s more experimental and more eclectic. For me, the golden period for music was the late sixties and early seventies, when the album became the primary means of artistic expression, when musicians liberated themselves from the 3 minute pop song format, and started to draw on jazz and classical music especially, combining it with the spirit of psychedelia to create “journeys in sound” I guess you could call them.
So, without being retro, my album is a kind of homage to that spirit. There’s everything from Ennio Morricone-esque film themes to choral music to piano ballads to a 23 minute progressive jazz–inspired piece. I’ve actually used a few jazz musicians this time, which is something I picked up from my work remixing the King Crimson records.

The "deluxe 4 disc hardback book edition" features 3 CD's, a Blu-Ray version of the album and a 120-page book packaged in a hard back book. In addition to the album on 2CDs, a third CD features out-takes and demo material.

The blu-ray disc contains the album in 5.1 surround sound and high resolution stereo mixes of the album and additional demos. The video content, created by long-term collaborator Lasse Hoile, includes music videos featuring Wilson, photo galleries, hand written notes and lyrics.  

CD1
1. Grace for Drowning
2. Sectarian
3. Deform to Form a Star
4. No Part of Me
5. Postcard
6. Raider Prelude
7. Remainder the Black Dog

CD2
1. Belle De Jour
2. Index
3. Track One
4. Raider II
5. Like Dust I Have Cleared from My Eye

CD3
1. Home In Negative
2. Fluid Tap
3. The Map
4. Raider Acceleration
5. Black Dog Throwbacks
6. Raider II – demo version

Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is a British musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree.
He is involved in many other bands and musical projects both as musician and producer (including No-Man and Blackfield) and also maintains a solo career.
Wilson is a self-taught producer, audio engineer, guitar and keyboard player, playing other instruments as and where required (including bass guitar, concert harp, hammer dulcimer and flute).

Sonntag, 2. Oktober 2011

Dead Can Dance

The Australian ethereal neoclassical duo Dead Can Dance announced their reunion back in May 2011.
They are now offering a free four track EP enititled "Live Happenings - Part 1".


Dead Can Dance formed in Melbourne in August '81 by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry.


The band relocated to London in May '82 and disbanded in '98.
Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance as having an ambient style of world music that "constructed soundscapes of mesmerising grandeur and solemn beauty...with African polyrhythms, Gaelic folk, Gregorian chants, Middle Eastern mantras, and art-rock."

Discography:

1984 Dead Can Dance
1984 Garden of the Arcane Delights (EP)
1986 Spleen and Ideal
1987 Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
1988 The Serpent’s Egg
1990 Aion
1991 A Passage in Time (Best of)
1993 Into the Labyrinth
1994 Toward the Within (Live)
1996 Spiritchaser
2001 1981 – 1998 (Best of)
2003 Wake (Best of)
2005 Memento: The Very Best of Dead Can Dance (Best of)
2005 Selections from North America 2005 (Live)
2011 Live Happenings - Part 1

Their website also announces officially announces a new album and world tour slated for 2012.

http://www.deadcandance.com

Mittwoch, 28. September 2011

The Keith Reid Project

Keith Reid and Gary Brooker founded Procol Harum in 1967.
With the worldwide chart breaker "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" the writer/lyricist-duo Brooker/Reid wrote an all time rock classic.

For The Keith Reid Project, Keith Reid has gathered together a highly impressive group of singers and songwriters around him. The album "The Common Thread" has made a dream become reality, for these songs have accompanied Keith's life like “a common thread”.


In all, there are eight singers/songwriters to interpret Keith Reid's lyrics and stories. There is Chris Thompson (the voice of Manfred Mann's Earth Band) and John Waite (Bad English, The Babys and a very fine solo artist) – they are both among THE world`s  great voices of rock – having stamped their unique character on worldwide hits such as "Blinded By The Light" (Chris Thompson), "Mr Wonderful" and "Missing You" (John Waite).
There is Southside Johnny, also known as “The Godfather Of The New Jersey Sound”, acknowledged by Jon Bon Jovi as “my reason for singing”. And also, there is the legendary Terry Reid, who has firmly stamped his name in Rock history and continues to enjoy high status among music critics.
Also, Steve Booker, co-writer/producer of Duffy's No.1 hit "Mercy", wrote and sings two songs on the album.

The achievement is a singer/songwriter album containing timeless beautiful rock music, tailor made for great voices. In the finest classic tradition, Rock, Pop & Folk are tied together harmoniously. Here and there you can find some Americana, Blues, Latin and Irish influences. Anyone between the ages of 8 and 80 in the mood for great handmade music should listen to "The Common Thread".

A very special rarity is the song "You're The Voice", a worldwide hit by John Farnham in 1986, co-written by Chris Thompson & Keith Reid.
The Common Thread contains the previously unreleased original version of "You're The Voice", recorded by Chris Thompson himself in early 1986.

The album is available as a free download from last.fm.

Montag, 26. September 2011

Joseph Magazine

Joseph Magazine is a progressive metal band from Wroclaw, Poland.
The roots of the band date back from 2005, when Bartos Socha (guitar) and Marcin Walecki (keyboards), both from the demised band Lapidarium, started working on new ideas and approaches.
By 2009 the material for a first album had come together. In the same year, the duo teamed up with vocalist Bartosz Struszczyk. In 2010 Rafal Brodowski (drums) and Marcin Szadyn (bass) joined.
Their debut album "Night Of The Red Sky" has now been released.


The band plays a fresh and colorful type of progressive metal, with much attention to keyboard orchestrations and technical compositions.

Joseph Magazine is the reaction to the scream of reality. Everything that surrounds us is so shiny and colourful that you just want to close your eyes and simply take a break from it all... The truth is that sometimes everybody needs to stop for a while... All those who are not afraid to take on challenges and seek for something more in life - we invite you to take the journey with Joseph Magazine.
It's the Holy Grail for everyone who search to find something more in music. For everyone who want something fresh and unique. Night of The Red Sky is the realisation of a dream that others failed to fulfil or just considered unachievable.


Lapidarium there was a long period of silence. Each one of us went his own way. We were all exhausted. After a year and a half break, the guitarist Bartosz Socha decided to discover areas not yet marked on the musical map. He composed the first track and sent it to the keyboardist, Marcin Walecki, living in Ireland at that time. After some time Marcin replied… The final outcome was a revelation for both musicians and a beginning of a new stage in their lives. A new idea was born. A dream to bring something entirely new into the world of music. Something very picturesque and suggestive. This is how the great duet came to being. Bartosz was composing and arranging, while Marcin added colors and new dimensions to the music. 4 years later, in 2009, the entire concept album had it shape and form defined. However, there was still something missing… In the summer of 2009 there came the singer, Bartosz Struszczyk. He was far away from the stereotype of what a Polish singer should be. That was the thing that both musicians were seeking. The album was enriched with singing and speaking parts and an epilogue was written, revealing the ultimate idea behind the story. Finally, then came the time for the finishing works: assembling the entire band, audio mixing and mastering and working on the cover art. In the second half of 2010, a drummer, Rafał Brodowski joined the team. He was the only guy who, unlike all others, was able to play everything he was expected to. In October 2010 Marcin Szadyn, a bass player joined the band and finally they could start working on live performances.. Joseph Magazine has already played a few concerts, aimed mainly to gather some live experience in performing the new material and find out how the audience would react to their music. The listeners’ opinion strengthen the band’s belief that their message was properly received. The audience wasn’t able to anything but to listen to the music and focus on the performance. There are no random members in the band. They all are great musicians. Each one of them is at a high instrumental level so they all can create musical visions without any technical limitations. You can also say that each one of them has a different musical story to tell.

Without a doubt, Joseph Magazine is a group composed of really unique artists, sharing one dream and pursuing the same goal.

Kolm

One gave rise to two,two gave rise to three, and three gave rise to Kolm.
On their self titled 3 track EP we hear progressive, psychedelic electronics music with ambient soundscapes.


Kolm is:
David Gonzalez (Bass)
Mikal Baker (Drums, Electronics)
gi0rg (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Electronics)


Again, no information about the band available at the moment...
But their debut is available from bandcamp by "name your price" (which means also for free!)

Searchin For Reason

Searching For Reason is a new acoustic progressive rock band from Phoenix, Arizona.


"The Road To Obscurity" is a 5 track EP released on 9th September 2011 and is currently free to download.

Unfortnately I don't know anything about the band except of their line up:
Chas Bagy - Vocals, Guitar
Andy Luffey - Drums, Percussion
Daniel Racines - Bass
Ricardo Racines - Guitars


Freitag, 23. September 2011

The Waterboys

The long-awaited new album "An Appointment With Mr Yeats" by The Waterboys is released now across Europe.


The album was produced by Mike Scott and Waterboys' bassist Marc Arciero, and contains 14 new songs created from the lyrics of Ireland's greatest poet, WB Yeats (1865-1939).
The songs were premiered at the band's raved-about Appointment With Mr Yeats concerts in Ireland and Britain in 2010 and early 2011.
All the musicians from the most recent Mr Yeats concerts are featured: Steve Wickham (fiddle), Katie Kim (vocals), James Hallawell (keyboards), Kate St John (sax, oboe, cor anglais), Blaise Margail (trombone), Ralph Salmins (drums), Sarah Allen (flute) and Joe Chester (guitar) as well as Scott and Arciero.
The album was recorded in London and Dublin between March and June 2011.

For those who don't know them yet, The Waterboys are a Scottish band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott.
The band has played in a number of different styles, but their music is a mix of Celtic folk music with rock 'n' roll.

Discography:
1983: The Waterboys
1984: A Pagan Place
1985: This Is the Sea
1988: Fisherman's Blues
1990: Room to Roam
1993: Dream Harder
2000: A Rock in the Weary Land
2001: Too Close to Heaven
2003: Universal Hall
2005: Karma To Burn
2007: Book of Lightning
2008: Kiss The Wind
2011: In A Special Place (The Piano Demos For "This Is The Sea")
2011: An Appointment With Mr Yeats

Samstag, 17. September 2011

Quintorigo

Coming from Romagna in Italy, Quintorigo started in 1996 with a lineup composed by Andrea Costa (violin), Gionata Costa(cello), Stefano Ricci (contrabass), Valentino Bianchi (sax) and the incredible voice of John de Leo. Their music is initially an experimental fusion of Classical, Jazz and Rock.


Although the musical ensemble is composed only by acoustic instruments, the band often makes heavy use of sound effects like distortion, flanger, wah-wah to recreate most of the rock sound in their songs.
They became known to the maintream public by taking part to the Sanremo Festival in 1999 with a song taken from their debut album "Rospo".
The song is highly unusual for that environment but the critics are very positive. The same year they won the Tenco prize, that's the art side of Sanremo.
In 2005 John de Leo left the band to be replaced by Luisa Cottifogli. Their first project with the new vocalist is based on Charlie Mingus ("Quinotorigo Play Mingus").
In 2008 Luisa has been replaced by Luca Sapio and this is currently the last change in their lineup.

They have collaborated with some Italian prog artists like Ivano Fossati (Delirium), Franco Battiato and the jazzist Roberto Gatto.
They won two times the prize for the best song arrangement at Sanremo, the first place at Arezzo Wave in 1998 and "Quintorigo Play Mingus" has been chosen by an italian jazz magazine as best album of 2008.

They are active supporters of AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation)

Discography
1999 - Rospo
2001 - Grigio
2003 - In Cattività
2004 - Nel Vivo
2006 - Il Cannone
2006 - Quinto
2008 - Quintorigo Play Mingus
2010 - Le Origini
2011  - English Garden


Now the Quintorigo factory is back with its new album, "English Garden", great proof of their continuous evolution. Luca Sapio‘s voice (succedeed to Luisa Cottifogli, who took John de Leo‘s place years ago) perfectly harmonizes with the italian combo’s experimentations: blues, 70s rock, punk, jazz and classic melodies. Everything played only with non-rock instruments like violins, saxophones, double-basses and stuff like that. The icing on the cake is Juliette Lewis partecipation on the vocals of two tracks.

Listen and try to define it, if you can.


Pooh

Pooh or I Poo (between 1966-1977) are one of most prosperous bands in Italians mainstream pop/rock music.


One of music's longest continuously running acts, they formed in Bologna in 1964.
The original band was composed of Valerio Negrini (Drums), Bob Gillot (Keyboards), Gilberto Faggioli ( Bass Guitar ), Mario Goretti (Guitar), and Mauro Bertoli (Guitar).
As the 60's wore down and the Italian music scene began to find it's own voice Pooh gravitated toward a more...melodic pop/rock. The group had some line-up changes during these years with the definitive Pooh line up taking form.
Roby Facchinetti (voice and keyboards) joined in 1966 replacing Gillot.
Red Canzian (voice and electric bass joined 1973 replacing Riccardo Fogli who had replaced Faggioli in 1966.
In 1967 , Mauro Bertoli left the group.
In September 1968, Dodi Battaglia (voice and guitars) joined the group, when Mario Goretti left the band.
Finally in 1971, following Valerio's departure, the band recruited Stefano D'Orazio, the drummer of the Naufraghi.
The line-up of Facchinetti, Battaglia, D'Orazio, and Canzianhas been together since 1973 with exception of some albums in the early to mid 70's.

They have sold in Italy alone more than 40 million CDs.
In 1990 they won the Festival of San Remo with the hit "Uomini soli".
In 2006 Pooh celebrated their 40th stage anniversary with another successful collection of new songs and a tour across Italy.

Discography:
1966 - Per quelli come no
1968 - Contrasto
1969 - Memorie
1971 - Opera Prima
1972 - Alessandra
1973 - Parsifal
1974 - I Pooh 1971-1974
1975 - Forse ancora poesia
1975 - Un po' del nostro tempo migliore
1976 - Poohlover
1977 - Rotolando Respirando
1978 - Boomerang (1978)
1978 - I Pooh 1975-1978
1979 - Viva
1980 - Hurricane
1980 - ...Stop!
1981 - Buona fortuna
1981 - I Pooh 1978-1981
1982 - Palasport
1983 - Tropico del nord
1984 - Aloha
1984 - I Pooh 1981-1984
1985 - Asia non Asia
1986 - Giorni infiniti
1987 - Il colore dei pensieri
1988 - Oasi
1990 - Uomini soli
1992 - Il cielo è blu sopra le nuvole
1994 - Musicadentro
1996 - Amici x sempre
1999 - Un minuto prima dell'alba
1999 - Un posto felice
2000 - Cento di queste vite
2001 - The Best of the Best
2002 - Pinocchio
2004 - Ascolta
2005 - La grande festa
2006 - Noi con voi - Live Tour 2006
2008 - Beat ReGeneration
2009 - Ancora una notte insieme
2010 - Dove comincia il sole


Sad to say this band never ever came to my attention, but now I've fallen in love with their music, so now i have to catch up 45 years...

Dienstag, 13. September 2011

Doracor

Doracor (anagram of Corrado) is the pseudonym of Italian composer and multi-instrumentalist Corrado Sardella, who has been active on the Italian progressive rock scene since 1997.
The brand new album "La vita che cade" continues the string of great albums made this century by this symphonic progressive rock band.


The music is again a mix of Genesis, romantic Italian prog, and IQ-style neo-prog, with melodic sax a nice touch on several songs. The Genesis influence is not retro or copyist but rather takes off from the "Wind and Wuthering" period, using vintage keyboard sounds but not ignoring more modern instruments, not trying to sound like a tribute band. The classic Italian prog comes in mostly via the warm Italian vocals.
This is a superb, well-crafted album: majestic, romantic, and stirring.


Discography:
1996 - Wanderlust (The Early Demos) (unreleased so far)
1997 - The Long Pathway
1998 - Segni Premonitori
1999 - Antiche Impressioni
2001 - Transizione
2005 - Evanescenze
2007 - Onirika
2008 - Lady Roma
2011 - La Vita Che Cade

Samstag, 10. September 2011

Think Floyd

Think Floyd were formed in May 1994 by four Pink Floyd fans from South London -Tony Red, Paul "Wiggy" Whisker, Pete Mizen and Brian Duell.
They had been playing the Pub Rock scene together for many many months, then someone suggested that they shall play a Pink Floyd song... and they never looked back!
As they played "Comfortably Numb" for the first time the audience response was amazing.
From that day on they became the original UK Pink Floyd tribute band.
They were soon to be joined by the incredible vocal talents of Lorraine Delvino, providing those haunting vocals on "Great Gig In The Sky".


The original Think Floyd line up: L to R -Lorraine Delvino - Backing Vocals, Tony Red - Vocals and Bass, Paul Whisker - Drums, Brain Duell - keyboards and Pete Mizen - guitars.

As they were at the top of their field, in 1997 the members of Think Floyd decided that although they loved to play the music of Pink Floyd that now was time to use their musical and songwriting talents to write their own original songs.
These songs inspired by the musical genius of Pink Floyd and set Think Floyd apart from the usual Tribute acts.


Their first album "Hope" was released in 1997.
The Roger Waters Fan Club in California review of this album recommended that every Pink Floyd fan should buy a copy!
Brian Duell was to leave the band after four years and was replaced by Rick Melville, a classically trained pianist and keyboard player, in 1998.


The second album "Beyond Boundaries" was released in 2000.
Another one of original songs written by the talented Tony Red. This album also received worldwide critical acclaim and has sold many thousands of copies.


When Tony Red was no longer able to play live due to Multiple Sclerosis he recorded a solo album called "Postive Waves" in 2001.
This album has the same touch of musical genius as the songs that he wrote for Hope and Beyond Boundaries. Sad to say he passed away on the 11th December 2008.

Montag, 5. September 2011

Dropshard

In september 2007, after being involved in the new fresh project Antares, Sebastiano Benatti (guitar), Tommaso Mangione (drums) and Alex Stucchi (bass) set up the Dropshard.
The band goal is to explore classic progressive rock sonorities and merge them with fresh ideas, creating a variety of original songs and concepts.
Taking inspiration from bands like Pain of Salvation, Riverside, Porcupine Tree, Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin, the band starts with a series of performances and publishes two demos "DSI" & "DSII" and the single "Freedom Supermarket" which are available as free download from their homepage.
In these years of rehearsing the ensemble is well established and reinforced, reaching a solid five-elements lineup - among which Enrico Scanu on vocals and Federico Ravasi on keyboards.


The growing appreciation from public and critic leads the band to win the first prize of the Woodstock Metal Race Contest competing with more than 40 bands. They take part of an important Progressive Rock event, the eXProg in Mogliano Veneto (Treviso), with bands like Marillion, Tony Levin Stickmen Trio and Le Orme.
In 2010 the band gave birth to the concept for their first album, "Anywhere But Home", a suite in 8 movements and a bonus track.


The album, recorded in november 2010, is published worldwide by english label Sonic Vista Music in February 2011.
With Marco Zago as new keyboardist, Dropshard reach England for the first time at the Electric Garden Festival in Blackpool in may 2011, their concerts are characterized by a dreaming atmosphere, which suddenly changes in true adrenalin moments. This feature is typical of the progressive genre that has inspired the band.

Samstag, 3. September 2011

John Parr

Grammy Nominated singer songwriter John Parr released his latest album “Letter To America” in July 2011.

This is a ifetime inspired 2-disc collection:

Disc1 (Rock Album):
76 minutes of John performing his old and new hits live with his band incl. his number 1 hit “St. Elmo’s Fire”.

Disc2 (Acoustic Album):
60 minutes of acoustic arrangements such as “The Minute I Saw You” and “The Best A Man Can Get”.

Both of these discs are loaded with fan favorites as well as a variety of newly released music.

Letter To America in John's Words:
"I am coming back to the America after 20 years in order to do solo performances and also performances with my band. I want to play my hits as well as introduce everyone to new tracks as well. I want to pick up from where I left off and really show people that despite it being this long since I have been to the US nothing has changed for me. I hope that America will welcome me back to my second home that has always held a very special place in my heart and life."

Bader Nana

Kuwait based Lebanese artist Bader Nana has just released a concept album for free download.


The album entitled ‘Wormwood‘ tells the story of the fantastical journey of a girl during the dark ages of the black plague to discover a dark secret hidden within her.
The album has a total running time of 58 min and is a roller coaster of plot twists and emotional turbulence.


Bader Nana, a multi-instrumentalist, has been playing music for over 10 years and has contributed on numerous musical projects around the middle east.
In 2009 he gained national fame in Kuwait with his release of an acoustic tribute album to Michael Jackson. On this new release, he takes a darker turn into the realms of progressive metal, composing music for all instruments, recording and playing them himself.In the spirit of humility, Bader Nana simply described the album with the phrase ‘it’s nice.’
That of course is the understatement of the decade from one of the most promising emerging talents of the middle east.

Any listeners with a taste for the darker flavor of progressive rock/metal would be doing themselves a disservice by missing out on this free release.

Montag, 29. August 2011

Ultraviolet Daydream

"Redshift" is the debut release from Nashville prog rockers Ultraviolet Daydream.


With a nod to prog giants like Genesis, Yes, Rush, and Camel, Ultraviolet Daydream combines classic prog sounds with contemporary arrangements.

Ultraviolet Daydream consists of Dutch Noss (vox/guitar), Mark Mingrone (keyboards), Jeff Brown (drums), Jaymi Millard (bass), and Lee Warren (steel guitar/sitar).


The band recorded and produced "Redshift" in Nashville, TN, and their debut release delivers from the opening bars to the smashing finish. The backbone of the album was written by Dutch and Mark, with contributions by a host of friends. With instrumentals like “Clockwise” and vocal numbers like “Far and Away”, Redshift sets the mood to take the listener on a voyage through space and time.

Sonntag, 28. August 2011

The Book Of Knots

The Book Of Knots is an Brooklyn-based experimental art rock band including Matthias Bossi, Joel Hamilton, Carla Kihlstedt and Tony Maimone.


The band was formed in 2003 by three core band members Joel Hamilton, Matthias Bossi and Tony Maimone at Hamilton and Maimone’s Brooklyn based Studio G. Members of Book of Knots have played or worked with various acts previously, including Skeleton Key, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Shiner, Battle of Mice, Sparklehorse, Elvis Costello, Unsane, Pere Ubu, Frank Black, They Might Be Giants and more. Carla Kihlstedt (of Tin Hat Trio, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, 2 Foot Yard among others) joined later in 2003 to solidify what would become the group's core quartet.

The Book of Knots decided to release three conceptual records:

First was to be an ode to rotting seaside towns, a self-titled debut which appeared on Arclight Records in 2004.


Second was a tribute to the American rust belt, titled "Traineater", with the albums release in April 2007 and featuring guest spots from the likes of Tom Waits, Mike Watt, Jon Langford, and David Thomas.


Third, devoted to all things aeronautical and ready to conclude their ”By Sea, By Land, By Air” trilogy with the release of the final chapter, "Garden Of Fainting Stars", on June 14, 2011.



As the “By Air” installment in the trilogy, Garden of Fainting Stars is inspired by the infinitely vast celestial world that sits above the clouds, otherwise known as space. The band provides a rather profound explanation of the album in their recent press release:
”…A vast and empty universe stretching far beyond infinity, capable of containing the countless imaginary creatures, civilizations and otherwise terrestrial impossibilities that inhabit our dreams, dies in the fluorescent lighting of the laundry soap aisle at Walmart. Once again, we cast a wormless, rusty hook into the lifeless seas of the music industry, expecting to reap only sorrow…”
The Book of Knots previously tackled the sea and the land with albums inspired by growing up in a small fishing community and a depressed steel town, '04's Book of Knots and '07's Traineater, respectively.

In addition to the rather heavy musical concept, Garden of Fainting Stars is also stacked with quite the diverse guest musician roster. Making appearances on the album are founding Einstürzende Neubauten member Blixa Bargeld, Mike Watt,
Mr. Bungle/Secret Chiefs 3 guitarist Trey Spruance, and Ipecac Recordings’ co-owner Mike Patton.


Freitag, 26. August 2011

Time Horizon

Time Horizon is based out of Northern California and has been musically influenced by several symphonic prog rock-groups.


Their first CD "Living Water" melds together stylized lyrics of faith, as well as refined symphonic prog and instrumentals, to bring together the positive inspired sound of Time Horizon.

Sometimes album names are just that, a striking moniker that hopefully conjures up an image that will inspire interest in any prospective purchaser of the band's music. However in the case of Time Horizon, their debut album's title 'Living Water' means much more than that. The first 1000 copies of this album to be sold will have their entire proceeds donated to Living Water International, which is a charity organisation that drills for water in deprived areas of India and Third World countries in Central America and Africa.

So, having established the genuinely noble intentions of Time Horizon, I suppose that the really important question is, are they any good? Thankfully I can answer with a resounding "Yes!" to that query, and if you have a penchant for melodic, AOR inspired prog, then I'm certain that you will too. The band themselves cite their influences as a mixture of Kansas, Boston, Styx, Spock's Beard, Saga and Neal Morse, and to be fair they have it pretty much spot on, with the majority of the songs on 'Living Water' combining progressive themes with layers of vocal harmonies, bags of melody and hooks galore. Drummer Bruce Gaetke also doubles up on vocals, and while his percussive work is spot on, it is really his vocals, the guitar work of Dave Dickerson and keyboard playing of Ralph Otteson that shines brightest on this uplifting CD. My own personal highlight of the album is the ultra catchy Kansas like 'Wonders', where the layers of vocals are so reminiscent of Boston's gloriously harmonic voices, making this a song that I can listen to over and over without ever tiring of. 




There are plenty of other wonderful moments to soak in, with 'Life Fantastic' bringing on a slower Styx like vibe with touches of Saga, while 'I'm Not Alone' heads off into slightly more prog metal territory with its flashy guitar blazing and huge keyboards. Vocally Gaetke comes across somewhere between Neal Morse and unusually enough Stuart Adamson of Big Country, which contributes to his wonderful pitch and tone. As mentioned, he is no slouch on drums either and his slick grooves and punchy fills combine perfectly with the bass rumblings of Steve Gourley and together they really set the foundations from which the keys and guitars are allowed to flourish. Between the longer track there are a few shorter numbers and some almost interlude like tracks, with the song 'Time Horizon' coming on like 'Rendezvous' era Jean Michel Jarre, while 'Living Water Reprise' is a wonderful showcase for the layered harmony vocals that grace this album. I could however do without the admittedly excellently performed Spanish guitar bursts of 'Mi Chili Caliente', but that is a small complaint on an otherwise excellent album.

Now with Neal Morse as inspiration and song titles such as 'Wonders', 'Life Fantastic' and 'I'm Not Alone', you may have already picked up on the strong Christian themes that feature heavily in Time Horizon's lyrics. Personally (and as someone with no religious leanings whatsoever) I have no problem with this aspect of the band and in the same manner as Morse, or John Elefante manage to do, the themes fit the music perfectly.

Obviously Time Horizon and Living Water International deserve your support to help continue their excellent humanitarian work, but more importantly for potential purchasers, the album is well worth the investment on its own musical merits as well.

(review by Steven Reid)



Freitag, 19. August 2011

Graal

The Italian quintet Graal first came to prominence in 2005 when it released its full-length debut album "Realm of Fantasy". Since then the band has hooked up with its native label Bloodrock Records, and two more productions have seen the light: "Tales Untold" in 2007 and "Legends Never Die" in 2011.

 Placing a band within a set context can be a challenging task. In this particular case the end result of the relatively few clues available outside of the music on the disc itself didn't help out too much, and the music will have to do the talking exclusively. Which, for me, places this band well inside the retro-oriented hard rock universe, a rather eclectic one however: A few touches of southern rock Molly Hatchet-style, some details heralding a plausible Deep Purple influence, others with similarities closer toIron Maiden and early 80's UFO, with occasional additional flavoring with more of an art rock origin, sporting the odd detour into folk-oriented territories to boot. The latter mainly by way of brief, acoustic-based pieces with Across the Land as the prime example, a piece featuring gentle acoustic guitars, flute soloing and the occasional medieval-sounding passage. Elsewhere this disc is mostly about well-made hard rock: bass lines that make me think of Pete Way and Steve Harris being a central feature, steady and solid with a slight boogie touch or a more energetic galloping expression, depending on pace and intensity on any given song and segment. The guitars have a clear 70's sound to them, more hard rock than metal, with circulating motifs and recurring constructions regular features, often reminding me of so-called southern rock for some reason, now and then dropping down on the scale to a sound with slightly more of a vintageBlack Sabbath-inspired sound. The organ hovering in the back is a regular feature, underscoring the retro mood of this production quite nicely and yet not resulting in a sound that reminds too much of legendary acts like Deep Purple or evenUriah Heep.
A few nods in the direction of both can be found, but not to the extent one might expect from a band exploring an expression with such a distinct 70's-sounding flavor, featuring both guitar and organ motifs in interwoven thematic constructions. As the disc unfolds, symphonic-inspired keyboard backdrops start showing up while the compositions to a greater extent sport contrasting themes, most commonly gentle verses with clean or acoustic guitars underscoring the lead vocals, with the riff patterns taking over in the instrumental parts and the chorus. Sophisticated instrumental soloing is another feature of these excursions; in sum totaling an expression with some art-rock sheen to them. Personally I found Graal to be most inspired albeit sticking to the less elaborate parts of its repertoire, the energetic Maybe Tomorrow Maybe One Day being the highlight of this production to my ears and the rather more pastoral Across This Land another fine effort.


Despite the slightly eclectic scope of this disc, I would be hard-pressed to describe Graal as an innovative band. Its musical foundation would appear to be 70's-oriented hard rock, and while it has occasional visits to art rock-inspired realms I suspect its main audience would be found amongst fans of acts like Deep Purple and to some extent Uriah Heep, especially those among them with a relatively broad musical taste.

Mittwoch, 17. August 2011

Echo

"The Dream" is the first album after 20 years by Echo, a progressive Romanian band hailing from Bucharest.


The band's history goes back to the group's college band that was active in the late 80s, only to unfold due to the harsch times. Reunited to pursue the initial dream, Echo are now a mature quintet that is rapidly establishing a name in the local scene.
Their music is based on the interplay between electric guitars and organ, which pays a beautiful tribute to classic Pink Floyd but is further enriched by acoustic guitars, jazzy piano moments reminding of Ray Manzarek, while the songwriting and the singing often hint in a discreet manner at classic heavy metal.


Echo? The story begins long time ago, about twenty years, when we played for the first time, with a lot of enthusiasm, yet few achievements, in a time when the options were limited. Twenty long years had to go by, to meet again the echo of those songs, in another era, as enthusiastic as ever.
For all those fond of musical style analysis and classification, our sound comes probably near the prog rock, but for us Echo is the nostalgia for the 70s and 80s when great bands showed to the public a complex and elaborated message on both lyrical and musical levels. Without creating an antithesis with most of the music of today, we want to put our music on a level aiming at both mind and soul.
In 2007, when we found ourselves again, after twenty years of silence, we wanted a refuge, with no pretensions, no targets or deadlines. We wanted just to see how it sounds, today, when technically we have means and possibilities impossible to imagine some twenty years ago.
And maybe to dream at what we could have become all these years hadn’t we stopped playing back then.
And then, the songs found their way flowing like a rain, waited too long. This first album,  "The Dream", is a collection of songs, made up partially from ideas developed during these long years of silence, when the music still sounded, silently, in each of us. Therefore, the sound might seem to be coming from other times, but, hey, we are from other times…

Dienstag, 16. August 2011

Proto-Kaw

The new studio release from Proto-Kaw simply named "Forth". 


Three years in the making, "Forth"  is the most intriguing Proto-Kaw album to date.  New material from composer Kerry Livgren takes the unique Proto-Kaw sound to fresh, new heights that will excite current fans while expanding their broad appeal even further to entirely new audiences.
Proto-Kaw's "Forth" again boasts the talents of four original members of an early 1970's version of the band Kansas.
As with their previous releases, "Forth" contains all original material from Kerry Livgren, the driving influence of the famous version of Kansas. Credited for such timeless classic hits as "Dust In The Wind" and "Carry On Wayward Son", Livgren continues to inspire beyond his music. Musically, "Forth" is undoubtedly Proto-Kaw's strongest and most diverse work. This 12 song tour-de-force highlight's Livgren's incredibly broad approach to composition. 
A myriad of ingredients beautifully mesh the styling's of rock, prog, jazz and beyond. 
The ultimate triumph of the new release is the fact that the music cannot be easily relegated to any one particular genre.

Discography:
2002 Early Recordings from Kansas 1971-1973
2004 Before Became After
2006 The Wait Of Glory
2011 Forth


Sonntag, 14. August 2011

Vestascension

Vestascension is an Ambient/Progressive/Dream Rock band based out of Maryland.


A band bio? No, thank you. It takes only a few seconds of clicking through websites and social-networking pages to witness the hilariously overinflated bios of what seem like a billion bands all vying for your attention and hard-earned dollars. They boast about all kinds of redundant accomplishments and exaggerated reviews and chart positions. They proudly list each and every member (names that mean nothing to you) and every previous band they ever played with (all ones you've never heard of or are D-list at best). If this band has John from "Deathgrinder" and Billy from "Skullraper," does it really make the music stand out and draw you in? No. Do YOU care? No. Don't feel bad because you're not alone.

The truth is NOBODY cares. While all these bands are pushing their "new album you just gotta have" and racking up MySpace, YouTube, SoundClick, and friend counts using automated play boosters, friend adders, and every other type of heinous software out there, it's easy to see that something has been lost along the way. It's all about chart numbers, Soundscan, that three-minute song with the huge hook, or being a "star." It's not about music anymore; it's about money - and it's been that way for years. What used to be only a part of the mainstream pop industry has seeped into every other genre in music. Too much time is spent trying to fit into a mold you think will sell, too much time making a "perfect" album abused with Autotune and processed to the point that it's completely lifeless, and just not enough time being "real." It's all wrong. Do you REALLY wonder why people aren't buying albums anymore?

So, what is Vestascension? Simply put, it's a group of close friends that have set out to make music we would enjoy listening to. Instead of taking this bio to tell you what we think we are, we'll tell you what we know we are not. We're not asking for your money. We're not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. We don't preview one single in hopes you will buy our album filled with nine other crappy tracks. We give you all of it. For free. We just hope you enjoy the songs as much as we enjoy creating them. If we happen to start collecting a few fans along the way, then that will be amazing. We will be extremely grateful to have you listening. What else is there to say? Nothing.


 

They're releasing a FREE track on the first of each month for all of 2011!



For me the most impressive newcomer of 2011!!!

Samstag, 13. August 2011

STEEO

STEEO is the project of mastermind Stefano Ruggiero (guitar, vocals), living in Turin/Italy.
Released in 2010 on Electromantic Music he produced his first album "Four Eyes In The Silence" with a crew of related musicians (guitarist Marco Roagna, Beppe Crovella on keyboards, Roberto Cassetta on bass and Marco Fenocchio's drums) representing a standard rock instrumentation.
The compositions are deeply inspired by Pink Floyd, melodic, psych pop and psych prog halfway through.

This album is clearly "pinkfloydian" sound for "pinkfloydian" minds! The main characteristic of STEEO's sound is indeed a unique "Pink Floyd trait" that Beppe Crovella and Stefano have created and pursued in studio. All "3 pinkfloydian eras" (the "barrett-era", the "Gilmour-era" and the "Waters-era" ), have been revisited, blended, re-interpreted and widened in a free and original way, to find the ideal soundscape for Steeo's composing work. An album that will get into the ears and heart of Pink Floyd fans and many more great listeners!

We have here all the arsenale Floydian distributed: echoes vocals, guitar entry in lascivious, suspended or very energetic keyboards, pause constants, break tones, lovely ballads, long psychedelic incantations, pop melodies charms to Syd Barret, great emphasis and atmospheres.

A territory well know by everybody, but rediscovered and retraced in long and wide across ten compositions and magical fifty minutes.


As the dear Simone Rossetti had done with The Watch for Genesis, Stefano Ruggiero incorporates the fundamentals of Pink Floyd and appropriates to summarize them nowadays in a brilliant exercise well away from the copy/paste. The result is amazing and high quality.