Subsignal

‚The Beacons of Somewhere Sometime‘ is in stores October 30th, 2015 via Golden Core/Zyx Records in different formats. The special edition contains a bonus song, as well as audio comments by Arno and Markus to each song.

Originally intended as a side-project, Subsignal were founded back in 2007 by former Sieges Even members Arno Menses (Vocals) and Markus Steffen (Guitars).

The first result of this collaboration was a song called ‘A Wallflower On The Day Of Saint Juliana’ which eventually appeared under the title ‘Eyes Wide Open’ on the 2007-Sieges Even-output ‘Paramount’. After Arno and Markus had left the band in the summer of 2008, they immediately started to look for adequate musicians to turn the project into a functional ‘real’ band. The first to join was Ralf Schwager (Bass), who was known for his work with German progmetal outfit Dreamscape. The line-up was completed by the Dutch drummer Roel van Helden (Sun Caged) and keyboarder David Bertok (also Dreamscape). Subsignal define their style as progressive, with an openness to different genres such as AOR, Metal, Pop etc. Arno and Markus describe the music with words like ’melancholic’, ‘emotional’, ‘innovative’ and ‘melodic’. They are aiming to catch up were Sieges Even stopped, but with a stronger focus on the live performances and a greater openness to other musical directions. Subsignal recorded their highly acclaimed debut album ‘Beautiful & Monstrous’ in Spring 2008. The CD was co-produced by Kristian Kohlmannslehner who was also responsible for Sieges Even’s 2007 output ‘Paramount’. The album ‘Beautiful & Monstrous’ has been released worldwide on September 25, 2009 through Golden Core/Zyx Records. (UK Release on 22 February 2010 via Cargo / US Release on 22 February 2010 via Koch Records). Subsignal played their first official show at the 2009 edition of the famous ‘Night Of The Prog Festival’ at the Loreley in Germany followed by several headliner shows and some concerts in support of the German Krautrock-Legend ‘Jane’ in Autumn 2009. In Spring 2010 Subsignal embarked on the second leg of their ‘Beautiful & Monstrous’-tour, supporting the Canadian progrock stars ‘-SAGA’ and doing several solo concerts in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy as well. The successful tour ended in Fall 2010 with a show at the German H.E.A.T.-Festival. In Spring 2011 the band started with the recordings for their second album entitled ‘Touchstones’. This time the band followed a different recording concept: Drums were done – once again – by Kristian Kohlmannslehner, while guitars and bass were recorded by Kalle Wallner (known for his work with RPWL and Blind Ego). Vocal recordings were done by Charly Czajkowski , who is the front-of-house-engineer of Subsignal. ‘Touchstones’ was mixed and mastered by Kristian Kohlmannslehner. In the week of its release ‚Touchstones‘ entered the official German Charts at position 53. After the release of ‚Touchstones‘ the band embarked on an European tour with celebrates shows such as at the 2011-edition of the Progpower Europe Festival. In May 2012 Subsignal filmed a show of the tour and released their first DVD called ‚Out There Must Be Something – Live in Mannheim 2012‘ via ZYX Records in Fall 2012. In February 2013 Subsignal entered the studio to record the third album entitled ‚Paraíso‘. This time the CD was produced by guitarist Markus Steffen, Arno Menses and Subsignal‘s FoH, Charly Czajkowski. ‚Paraíso‘ contains 10 songs with a full playing time of approx. 60 minutes. The song ‚The Blueprint of a Winter‘ features the Mexican vocal diva Marcela Bovio. She is well-known for her work with Stream of Passion and Arjen Lucassen’s Ayreon. Three tracks of the album featured string quartets which were recorded in Los Angeles, USA. The special edition of ‘Paraíso’ will contained a live recording of the band’s 2012 performance in Mannheim, Germany. `Paraíso`entered the German charts just like its predecessor ‘Touchstones’. After the release of ‘Paraíso` Subsignal played yet another successful European tour (with an appearance at the famous Rock of Ages-Festival in Germany). And in May 2014 the band played their first USA-show at the Rites-of-Spring-Festival in Gettysburg (PA). After returning from the ‚Paraíso‘-tour, Subsignal parted company with drummer Danilo Batdorf and keyboard player David Bertok. Arno Menses and Markus Steffen immediately began writing new material for the fourth album ‚The Beacons of Somewhere Sometime‘. After one year of intensive song writing, the album was produced by Markus Steffen, Arno Menses and Charly Czajkowski in Spring 2015. Keyboards were recorded by Luca Di Gennaro (Soul Secret), drums by Dirk Brand (Axxis, Geoff Downes & John Wetton). The album has a full length of about 70 minutes (with its title track clocking in at over 20 minutes), exploring an emotional depth that is new to Subsignal. Even if ‚The Beacons of Somewhere Sometime‘ is not a typical concept work, there are certain musical themes that reappear throughout the album. The lyrics deal with subjects such as loss, parting or unexpected incidents that cannot be controlled. Commented guitarist Markus Steffen:„‚The Beacons of Somewhere Sometime‘ is certainly our most emotional and intense album. I went through some not so enjoyable things the last two years, and I guess some of that stuff went directly into our song writing. But on the other hand, ‚Beacons‘ was pretty easy to write, and it is probably a Subsignal album that is very close to what Arno and I did in Sieges Even some years ago.“

Discography:

Beautiful & Monstrous (2009)
Touchstones (2011)
Out There Must Be Something – Live In Mannheim 2012 (CD/DVD, 2012)
Paraíso (2013)
The Blueprint Of A Winter (CD-Single, 2013)
The Beacons Of Somewhere Sometime (2015)

Subsignal 

Mindspeak

Die Wiener Prog-Rocker Mindspeak melden sich mit dem hervorragenden Live album "Pictures Live" zurück.

Echoes

Pink Floyd – Giganten des Progressive- und Art-Rock, Architekten gewaltiger magischer Klanggebäude mit einzigartiger musikalischer Ästhetik, Zeremonienmeister bombastischer Live-Shows - ein Monolith im Strom der Rockgeschichte. Pink Floyd sind eine der größten Bands aller Zeiten und haben längst ihren Platz im Rock-Olymp. Seit dem viel zu frühen Tod des Pink Floyd-Keyboarders Richard Wright im Jahr 2008 steht allerdings auch endgültig fest, dass Pink Floyd leider nie mehr in der Originalbesetzung zu sehen sein werden.

Mit der Pink Floyd-Tributeband Echoes wird das Erbe dieser legendären Band jedoch weitergetragen.

 Echoes haben das in den letzten Jahren bei über 300 Konzerten (darunter Festivals mit Jethro Tull, Joe Cocker, Manfred Mann, Asia, Hooters, Ten Years After, The Sweet u.v.a.) europaweit eindrucksvoll bewiesen und dabei hunderttausende Menschen begeistert. Sie nehmen ihr Publikum mit auf eine höchst emotionale Reise zur dunklen Seite des Mondes, von "Ummagumma" über "Meddle", "Dark Side Of The Moon", "Wish You Were Here", "Animals" und "The Wall", bis hin zur Post-Waters-Ära. Neben einem umfassenden "Best Of Pink Floyd" kommen dabei auch so manche fast schon in Vergessenheit geratene Werke wieder zu Gehör.

Und dennoch ist ein Echoes-Konzert kein Nostalgie-Trip. Vielmehr zeigt die Band mit immenser Spielfreude, Liebe zum Detail, druckvollem Sound und viel Respekt vor dem Original, dass die komplexen Pink Floyd-Epen heute noch genauso faszinierend und aktuell sind wie zur Zeit ihrer Entstehung – zeitlos eben.

Mit "echoesXL" bietet die Band eine eigens für sie entworfene dreistündige Mammut-Show, die auch dem visuellen Aspekt der gigantischen Konzertproduktionen von Pink Floyd gerecht wird. Die riesige Bühnenkonstruktion, bestückt mit über 50 (!) intelligenten Moving-Head-Scheinwerfern, computergesteuerten Videoprojektionen auf einem zwölf Quadratmeter großen "Mr. Screen" und zahlreichen weiteren Elementen der Original-Shows von Pink Floyd, garantiert in Verbindung mit der ebenso aufwändigen Soundanlage ein absolut außergewöhnliches und einzigartiges Live-Erlebnis im XL-Format.

2014 beschlossen »Pink Floyds Meisterschüler« (Vogtland-Anzeiger), zusätzlich zu ihren »normalen« Pink Floyd Tributeshows einen komplett anderen Weg zu gehen und ein spannendes Experiment zu wagen: Pink Floyd akustisch – ohne Verstärker, Netz und doppelten Boden. Kann man eine Musik, die von ausladenden Sound-Landschaften, verschachtelten elektronischen Klangkaskaden und ungeheurer atmosphärischer Dichte lebt, in eine derart reduzierte Form bringen, ohne dass der Spirit von Pink Floyd verloren geht? Oder anders formuliert: Kann man barfuß zur dunklen Seite des Mondes gehen? Mit ihrer Acoustic-Show »Barefoot To The Moon« treten Echoes den Beweis an. Die Band um den Ausnahme-Gitarristen und -Sänger Oliver Hartmann (Rock Meets Classic, Avantasia) entkleidet sorgsam die komplexen Songs der britischen Rock-Giganten und reduziert sie mit spartanischem, teils ungewöhnlichem Instrumentarium auf die wesentlichen Strukturen.

Echoes

Moonbound

Moonbound is a project headed by multi-instrumentalist Fabio Trentini that was established in 2006.
The debut album "Confession And Release" was released in 2008, followed by "Peak Of Eternal Light" in 2011. Now, the third album “Uncomfortable News From The Moon” is out to blow you away!

The key however is Trentini whose vocals sound somewhere between Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins and even Phil’s son Simon Collins.
The songwriting on this album is absolutely stellar. From the intro-like, massively melodic opener “As Long as the Dream is Real,” to the Crimson meets Genesis first single “Cheetah Conquers the Moon (Part 1)” which features excellent touch guitar from Markus Reuter, this album really sounds like a greatest hits album. Every single song is so memorable, catchy and yeah very prog at the same time.

One of the most interesting tracks is the cover of the Devo song “Beautiful World” which sounds more like it’s a Peter Gabriel song! And that’s the other interesting thing. Trentini uses interesting percussion and programming that harkens back to the 80s. Listen to tracks like “Guidance” or “Get Along” and you will understand what I mean. Fans of 80s era Crimson and Duke era Genesis will find plenty to enjoy here.
Hopefully, people will find this album and give it a good listen. Trentini has a great voice and “Uncomfortable News from the Moon” is packed with great music, start to finish. This is modern prog with a beautiful sheen on it that will have you listening to it again and again.

Fabio Trentini: music/lyrics, production, lead and backing vocals, bass, guitars, keys, programmings.
With:
Pat Mastelotto (Mr.Mister/King Crimson/ Stick Men): drums and percussion, co-production
Markus Reuter (Centrozoon/Tuner/Toyah/Stick Men/Crimson ProjeKCt): touch guitar, co-production

Guest-Musicians on "Unconfortable News From The Moon":

Steve Farris (guitar), Steve George (piano, soprano saxophone), Tim Pierce (guitar), Tony Levin (Bass), Lisa Fletcher (Vocals), Tim Motzer (guitar), Milan Polak (guitar), Simon Michael Schmitt (drums), Luca Casagranda (drums), William Dotto (guitar)

Moonbound 

Dara

Dara is a world rock band from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dara is a driving confluence of eclectic sounds that carry a message of peace and love through their distinctive style of rock. Their shared purpose has created a unique sound that consists of Benjamin Dara’s guitar and vocals, Kevin Hutson’s bass guitar, and Chris Stilling on drums. Add to this their rich vocal harmonies, they are a force that reaches beyond the music physically into the world. Together Dara explores the inner and outer most edges of what it is to exist in this universe.
Over the past few years Dara has really honed in on a sound they can really call their own. A natural evolution of Benjamin Dara’s debut album “Single Flame” the music pulls from a vast medley of influences from around the world.

Dara’s new album "The Red Tiger Nebula" expands upon the singer songwriter feel into a more psychedelic vision of rock and roll, while remaining true to Ben’s storytelling spirit.


At the age of 11, Benjamin Dara picked up a guitar and fell in love with music. As he grew up, countless musicians, poets, and philosophers influenced his passion. He even incorporates storytelling and wisdom into his songs, and his deep-rooted Persian culture has shaped the sounds of the various bands he performed in. After 15 years of playing guitar, singing, and writing poetry, Ben has perfected his vision with the band Dara.

With more than a three-and-a-half octave singing range and extensive experience with multiple genres, Ben’s songs have been featured on college radio and various west coast radio stations. He was featured in the Salt Lake Tribune, St. George Independent, and Ogden Standard Examiner. He was also an award-winning songwriter on his freshman album as a solo artist, “Single Flame”. Ben’s unique style and years of experience have shaped the sound of Dara, and he is pumped to share this vision with the world.

Dara

Starquake

Starquake is a rock project around singer Mikey Wenzel, who has released one album under the moniker of Mikey and two albums under the moniker Spiritus Mundi.

  
"Times that Matter" is the first release under the Starquake moniker, but it features many of the same musicians as the other releases do.
 

When I first heard the intro of the first tune 'Scenes from a Revolution', I must admit that I groaned. It sounded so cheesy with 80s synthesizer effects. After this, my hopes were not particularly high, but when the rest of the instrumentation kicked in, I was taken completely by surprise. The song turned out to be an epic hard rock track with references to Iron Maiden and 70s progressive rock. Another epic track with 70s prog rock elements is the closer 'Fairytale'. Going straight from a song about failed revolutions to a hard rocking song about UFO sightings, the album has the quirkiness of 70s hard rock. 'I'm Going Mad' seems more inspired by Queen and Gentle Giant with its multi-layered vocals. 'Here I Go Again' is a metallic hard rocker with an awesome sing-along chorus, and a verse line that sounds a lot like the verse line of Iron Maiden's 'Wildest Dreams'. Well, let's give Starquake the benefit of the doubt and classify this as inspiration and not plagiarism, shall we? In any case, it's a nice straightforward track to have following the 21 opus 'Rise and Fall' (which incidentally is my least favorite track). Another Maiden-inspired track is 'No More Hate' which pays homage to 'Wasted Years' and tracks like 'The Clairvoyant'. 

The production is not polished, but a tad fuzzy which gives the album a nice organic character. The combination of heavy metal guitars, hammond organs, and spacey 70s prog rock synths works very well, and "Times that Matter" is a fine tribute to 80s metal and 70s prog and hard rock. Some tracks have a slight Deep Purple feel to them while others are ore inspired by Iron Maiden. Mikey Wenzel deploys a singing stye similar to Bruce Dickinson after Dickinson returned to Maiden, but his voice has a slightly rawer quality to it to the point of being a it volatile at times (in particular in the opening track). But it is this rawness which gives the album an extra injection of energy, I think.
The album, while not all tracks appeal to my taste, is an enjoyable listen, and I actually look forward to more output my Mikey & co. Fans of Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, and 70s prog rock should definitely check this album out!

Starquake 

Karfagen

Karfagen (means Karthago), a symbol of glory and wisdom and also it is a never-ending journey into the world of the forgotten past and un-predictable future.
The name Karfagen was first heard in 1997 when Antony Kalugin formed the band at school. While he was studying at the architectural university (1998) he began to record the first Karfagen album.

The Seventh Karfagen chapter is a journey into the myths and legends, a search for the truth within the figments of the imagination, everything and everywhere. It concerns the mighty luck and inexplicable power of “7”.
Things that impress folk so much that it can even become an obsession taking over there whole lives.
“7” Centred around the epic track “Seven Gates” which was created during spring 2015.

Antony Kalugin is a prolific musician and composer from Ukraina. His bands Karfagen, Sunchild, Hoggwash, AKKO (Antony Kalugin Kinematics Orchestra) and AKP (Antony Kalugin Projects) plus his solo albums has gained him many fans in the progressive rock scene.

Antony Kalugin