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Abel Ganz
http://www.abelganz.com/download.html De som vil bli nærmere kjent med skottenes musikk er forannevnte URL rett sted å starte.
Mariusz Duda
Lunatic Soul
Frontmannen i polske Riverside kommer med solo album 13-10-2008. http://www.kscopemusic.com/lunaticsoul/ Temaet for skiva er et viktig tema, intet mindre enn døden! En konseptuel reise til verden bortenfor med rikelig refleksjoner, og gjort med omhu slik at lyrikken blir riktig så fengslende. Vi synes dette høres spennende ut, med forventer ikke den mest lystige musikken: nei det blir vel i god Riverside ånd med masse tristesse og flust med melankoli.
Pendragon
Pure
http://www.pendragon.mu/ http://www.pendragon.mu/uk/files/store.htm
I oktober/november 2008 er ”Pure” klar for de kjøpelystne, og med disse sporene,
1.] Indigo
2.] Eraserhead
3.] Comatose
i. View From The Seashore
ii. Space Cadet
iii. Home And Dry
4.] The Freakshow
5.] It's Only Me
Lost Frontier
Sampler
For de som er glad i å høre ny musikk er denne fra Lost Frontier siden nok av interesse, http://www.lostfrontier.org/2006/documents/descargas/sampler_11.html
Heavy Water Experiments
Heavy Water Experiments
Nykommere med 8 strengs bass, og andre uvanelige instrumenter bør kunne ha en sjanse til å skape et lydbilde som er originalt og friskt. Så langt er tilbakemeldingene meget, meget gode, og med førsteskiva klar er det all mulig grunn for våre lesere til å ta en lytt. Heavy Water Experiments morer seg for øvrig med å beskrive musikken, og kommer opp med disse fantasifulle forslagene, "Pink Sabbath," "Doorphine," or "Radio Queens of the Stone Head"?
http://www.heavywaterexperiments.com/
http://www.myspace.com/heavywaterexperiments
HWE hette forøvrig Imogene før, og dette L.A. baserte bandet har gitt ut to skiver som har oppnådd rungende applaus blant prog menigheten. En sniff av disse snart totalt glemte musikalske perlene finnes her,
http://www.mytracks.com/artist306.aspx
Steven Wilson
Insurgentes
Det er rimelig kort tid til Steven Wilson slipper den nye soloskiva, ”Insurgentes”. Imens kan vi hygge oss med disse linkene, http://www.myspace.com/therealstevenwilson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krtkPF1OpOU http://www.swhq.co.uk/index.cfm
Bittertown
Scenes From The Box
Det er noe spesielt med disse nederlenderne når det gjelder prog. Det popper opp med nye og forbausende gode ensembler For ikke lenge siden var det spennende Tom De Witt og hans TDW, med disse linkene til TDW og bandmedlemmene,
http://www.freewebs.com/michielvdwerff/
http://www.myspace.com/michielvanderwerff
http://www.myspace.com/baneblademusic
Nå dukker jammen et totalt nytt bekjentskap opp, Bittertown.
http://www.f2music.co.uk/ http://www.progrock.co.uk/
Nemo
Franske Nemo som har gledet oss med flere skiver av skyhøy kvalitet, er klar med nytt material. Dette vil sannsynligvis nå oss en gang rundt skiftet mellom 2008 og 2009. Sjangeren de tilhører kalles noen plasser eklektisk prog, vi liker å kalle det herlig musikk! Imens kan vi følge med her, http://www.nemo-world.com/
Syrinx
Qualia
Etter en aldeles fabelaktig førsteskive med jazzrock for fem år siden er forventingene store til franske Syrinx, som har slippdato i oktober 2008. For å korte ventetiden kan vi lese hva som ble sagt om forrige opus:
Syrinx
Reflections
Reification is another of those CD's that have been in and out of my player over the last month or so, without me being able to form any concrete and lasting impressions. On the first listening through, I was totally knocked out by the musicianship and the general atmosphere of the tracks. Although the playing remains exemplary, I have since been unable to recapture all of the original aura that I first experienced.
A concept album in itself is not a new idea, nor is the fact that there are plans to continue these ideas through the following releases. The fact that band have also chosen to remain anonymous was a little surprising, however one assumes this is to add further mystery to Reification. The concept behind the music is absorbing and does add to the overall enjoyment. Although on the surface it may appear to surround Greek mythology the ideas are far more reaching, covering Gnostic beliefs where Archons are planetory rulers and guardians of the spiritual plans. The tale also has some familiar rings to it, as Sophia [Wisdom], the soul of the world is captured by the jealous Aoens... I do not wish to delve deeper or in fact trivialise the story, suffice to say this is the stuff of legend and conceptual albums.
Syrinxes is comprised of four musicians and as mentioned early have chosen to remain anonymous, classing themselves as "transcribers" and therefore their identity is unimportant. The instrumentation of our transcribers is fairly standard in many respects, with guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and occasional flute. What does add uniqueness to the sound is that all of the guitar parts are played on acoustic guitars and this combined with the complex arrangements lends a different texture to the music.
The lengthy title track, Reification, opens the proceedings and certainly sets the tone for the album - it also serves as my favorite track. The bass and drums, although complex throughout, work as a tight and complementary unit; the fretless bass blends well with the acoustic guitar and then finally are all held in balance by the keyboards. Much of the keyboard presence is that of sweeping synth washes, drifting melody lines and underpinning textures, which form the mysterious and "spacy" ambience. A cautionary note though - this is not merely an textural album, which perhaps may be implied by some of my previous words. Yes there are ambient sections with delicate acoustic interludes, but the majority of the music is encapsulated within a complex progressive, jazz/rock/fusion domain.
The odd metering of tracks is also a wonder to behold, requiring much time to fully analyze. I think this will have to go down as "work in progress", for the moment. There were innumerate highlights within each of the tracks and so difficult to quantize. Perhaps mention of the delicate acoustic and flute section from Le Vingtieme Cercle or the wonderful up-tempo end section of the same track. L'Hypostase Des Archontes also has some peculating rhythms during some of the solo sections. I mused the idea of a combination of Bruford, Berlin, Fripp and an acoustic John McLaughlin.
The artwork and detail that has gone into Reification project is also well worthy of note and can be seen on the Syrinx's 'complex' website.
I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable album, perhaps a little meandering at times, but on the whole a satisfactory piece of work. I can offer very little in the way of comparisons although the atmospheres and some of the arrangements brought to mind another excellent French band Nil, who received a favorable review for their Quarante Jours Sur Le Sinai release earlier this year. Reification is currently available from the bands site or in the UK from GFT-Cyclops. So if your interest lies with absorbing and complex instrumentals, that do not delve into the sphere of jazz, then this may be one of 2003's more pleasant treats.
Tracklist: Reification (16:56), Emanescence (8:32), Le Vingtieme Cercle (7:30), Orbis Ubique (14:41), L'Hypostase Des Archontes (7:04)
TDW
The Haunts
“The Haunts” fra de symfoniske progmetallerne ble klar for musikkelskerne i begynnelsen av juli 2008. Maestro bak musikk, tekst og eventyrfortellingen er Tom De Wit, en 21 år ung Hollandsk musiker, som vi nok får høre mye av i fremtiden. Denne skiva brukte De Wit for øvrig to år på, og hvorvidt den er verdt å lytte til vet vi faktisk ikke i skrivende stund.
http://www.tdwmusic.com/ http://www.myspace.com/TDWmusic
3 RP Prog Festival
Et spennende lag av musikere for å si det mildt, og kanskje dukker Transatlantic også opp?!
Saturday - 23 August 2008
11:00 am - 11:45 am : Manifesto
12:30 pm - 02:00 pm : Mandrake Project
03:15 pm - 04:45 pm : Gongzilla
06:00 pm - 08:00 pm : Spock's Beard
09:30 pm - 11:45 pm : Neal Morse
Sunday - 24 August 2008
11:00 am - 11:45 am : Kalon
12:30 pm - 02:00 pm : IZZ
03:15 pm - 04:45 pm : Rocket Scientists
06:00 pm - 08:00 pm : California Guitar Trio
09:30 pm - 11:45 pm : The Flower Kings
Byrne og Eno
Evrything That Happens Will Happen Today
For første gang på 30 år slår David Byrne ( Talking Heads ) og Brian Eno sine musikalske genier sammen og kommer opp med en CD som slippes 18 august 2008. http://www.everythingthathappens.com/ http://www.davidbyrne.com/ http://www.enoshop.co.uk/
Richard Barbiere
Stranger Inside
Brettisten i Porcupine Tree kommer med sin andre soloskive 15 september 2008 med disse sporene,
Cave
All Fall Down
Hypnotek
Decay
Abyssn
Byzantium
Morphia
Retina Blur
Stranger Inside
http://www.kscopemusic.com/?p=95
Kotobel
Ny webside for disse musikerne fra Spania og Venezuela, http://www.reverbnation.com/kotebel?add_email=true som kanskje kan være interessant å ta en titt på selv om de skulle være totalt ukjente. At det er rimelig dyktige musikere er definitivt sikkert, og identitet og særpreg er det også rikelig med.
Henry Cow
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
Legendariske Henry Cow fyller 40, og gir ut en 9 CD-ers boks. Her skulle det være masse snacks for fansen, http://www.rermegacorp.com/
HENRY COW
40th ANNIVERSARY BOX SET Volumes 1 & 2
9 CDs and 1 DVD with 2 substantial books - in two solid Boxes.
LIMITED EDITION.
Assembled over 15 years, this
collection gives for the first time some idea of the breadth and depth
of Henry Cow’s work. Always very much a live band, performance was their
metier, and a concert might range far - always driven by an intense
dialogue between tightly knit compositions and radically open
improvisation. The officially released LPs tell at best only half this
story, and one purpose of this definitive collection is to set the work
back into its broader context. These are all previously unreleased
recordings, that include many compositions and improvisations new to
anyone who only knows the official releases, documentation of a number
of one-off projects and events and - where
different or remarkable enough to justify inclusion - live versions of
parts of the LP repertoire. Many of these recordings are high quality
radio transcriptions taken directly from the original masters, others
are less hi-fi, but justified we think by their historic and musical
quality. And everything has been carefully transferred and re-mastered
by Bob Drake to the best audio quality that current technology allows
without interference or tampering. It’s all a million times better than
the terrible bootlegs that are swimming around.
Altogether, these 9 CDs embody
some extraordinary, and occasionally prescient music. Taking this box
together with the officially released albums, it is possible at last to
get some impression of the extensive ground Henry Cow covered in it’s 10
short years. Finally, there is the DVD: 80 minutes
of the 1976 Cow (with Georgina Born and Dagmar Krause) performing many
unreleased pieces as well as Living in the Heart of The Beast, Beautiful
as the Moon &c. This is the only known video recording in existence -
professionally made, multi camera - and has not been recovered since its
original broadcast (just scour U-Tube, HC is conspicuous by its total
absence). And last but not least, there
is a great deal of written, photographic and textual documentation.
Since this will probably be the last and definitive collection, it has
to be thorough. For reasons of fairness and cost we have decided to
split the set into two boxes - which can be bought separately or
together. VOL 1 covers the period
1971 to the 1976 Hamburg radio show which documents John Greaves’ last
concert with the band, as well as the extraordinary Trondheim concert
from the quartet tour that immediately followed. VOL 2 takes the story
through to 1978 and includes more previously undocumented compositions
as well as the Bremen radio recording. The Stockholm CD belongs to this
second box, which also contains the DVD.
British progressive pioneers Henry Cow (who actually didn't take their name from early Twentieth-Century American composer Henry Cowell) gave birth to a whole school of bands whose uncompromisingly anti-commercial musical stance had less to do with punk's DIY ethic than with Theodore Adorno's argument that radical ideas require radical forms of expression. Like Robert Wyatt, the members of Henry Cow were openly communist, but they partook of a somewhat academic, insular communism, whereby mainstream bourgeois culture - perceived as an essential foundation for unfair economic practices - comes under attack despite the potential such a strategy has for alienating those in the lower and middle classes who enjoy this same culture being rejected. As so often occurs with self-conscious experimentalists, Henry Cow's version of radical music-making placed them in the vanguard not of the culture at large but of a vibrant artistic sub-culture.
Although the Rock-In-Opposition "collective" wasn't formed until 1977, it has become so inextricably linked with Henry Cow in the public-consciousness that it deserves early mention. Basically a loose confederation of musically and politically like-minded (but by no means uniform) bands from all over Europe, R.I.O. was perhaps principally intended to facilitate the organization of gigs and collaborative efforts for the artists involved (among them Art Zoyd, Univers Zero, Stormy Six, Zamla Mammaz Manna, Aksaq Maboul, and Etron Fou), but it soon came to signify at least three other things. (ED NOTE: see the end of this article for more about RIO)
To the extent that R.I.O. remains a living part of the critical vocabulary in 1996, it refers first to a sound and a style that thears pick up quickly and identify easily. The musical blueprint for R.I.O. can be found on side one of 1974's Unrest, Henry Cow's second album. It is here that H.C. not only synthesize all of their influences - which include Zappa circa Uncle Meat, Soft Machine, Bartok, Weil, maybe Antheil and Milhaud - but transcend them by constucting remarkable themes and submitting them to a gruelling regimen of studio manipulations and instrumental convolutions. Drummer Chris Cutler's patently weird technique is a model of enigmatic power and subtlety, while Fred Frith's guitar work manages to be searingly raw, dazzlingly precise, and no-nonsense virtuosic, all at the same time.
While it's not easy to encapsulate exactly what R.I.O. "sounds like," one might say that it bears about the same relation to symphonic progressive rock that much post-WWII classical music bears to Romantic 19th Century symphonism: although both champion large-scale works, complexity of composition, and accomplished musicianship, the latter favors sentiment, beauty, expansive melody and sumptuous harmonies, whereas the former tends toward angularity, the use of dissonance, a cetain seriousness and darkness of tone, and a more confrontational stance vis-a-vis the "audience."
Secondly, Chris Cutler's 1978 launching of the Recommended label and distribution service made explicit R.I.O.'s alternative to the official channels for producing, promoting, and selling recordings. Cutler explains "Recommended- it is a positive idea. I recommened things in a positive way. It was a positive initiative of enablement instead of complaining or being against the record industry. I just ignored it and tried to set up a system to bypass it." Previously Henry Cow had been on the Virgin roster, but their last album, Western Culture, came out on the Broadcast label (which run by Henry Cow itself, formed specifically to get away from the ridiculousness of Virgin Records, a one-time independent turned commercially huge), and many future works by band members were released by Recommended (ReR). Recommended was, and is, one of the finest labels in the world dedicated to the idea of small, independent, artist-run enterprise.
Finally, Rock-In-Opposition is also a vague but highly evocative slogan for Cow's leftist politics. It really just sounds like a good, angry thing to be. Cutler, when asked by AUDION's Alan Freeman (in issue #33) what the idea behind R.I.O. was, said "I can't really remember what we were thinking at the time. [...] we were independents. But what else we were in opposition to, I don't know." Nevertheless, R.I.O. is one tenacious tag - and it remains useful, even if only as another way of saying "sounds like Henry Cow."
By way of skimpy background info, Henry Cow was founded in 1968 by then-students Tim Hodgkinson (organ, piano, clarinet, etc.) and Fred Frith (guitar and sundry noisemakers). It was soon joined by bassist John Greaves, saxophonist and flutist Geoff Leigh, and drummer Chris Cutler. After LegEnd, Leigh was replaced by bassoonist and oboe player Lindsay Cooper, and former Slapp Happy singer Dagmar Krause was in the band during 1975-76. There is a lot of historical, biographical, and discographical information on Henry Cow and its offshoots (Art Bears, News From Babel, The Work, etc.) to be found at Aymeric Leroy's wonderful Canterbury music site, Calyx, but for the benefit of curious newcomers, I humbly offer these capsule descriptions/reviews of the Cow catalogue. These are all available on CD, but the first and fourth have been remixed to somewhat ill-effect, so the LPs are worth seeking out.
LegEnd (1973)
Features the first of the infamous sock covers, this one in glorious red, white, and blue. Henry Cow kick off their career on record with a full-on blower, the Frith-penned, Leigh-dominated "Nirvana For Mice." From then on the style is a singular and sensational variation on the instrumental Canterbury sound of Hatfield & The North, Matching Mole, and (some) Caravan. Constructed much more loosely than later albums, LegEnd balances Cow's gift for musical tension and drama with a freewheeling charm and off-the-cuff sophistication. An early-King Crimson influence is undeniable, as well. The band's political concerns don't emerge unitl the final track, Hodgkinson's "Nine Funerals of the Citizen King," on which the whole band sings dourly (and cryptically) of the gulf separating democracy's pomp and spectacle from the real-life horrors of consumer capitalism.
Unrest
(1974)
Installment number two in the footwear triptych, this cover's sock sports an elegant grey, black, white, and beige weave. Unrest presents two sides of the Cow character: side A contains through-composed pieces of fantastically trenchant, moving, and occasionally morbid chamber-rock, while side B presents a series of experiments in studio sound manipulation and free improvisation, generally dismissed as a failed exercise in avant-garde extremism, but not without its compelling passages. The three side A compositions show the band moving away from LegEnd's Canterbury-fusion, and toward a hyper-complex amalgam of spiky classicism and strident progressive rock. John Greaves' "Half Asleep;Half Awake" boasts a great melody and some beautiful piano work, giving the lie to the charge that H.C. were too dry and cold to produce emotionally affecting music.
Desperate Straits
(1975)
Like In Praise of Learning, this was a collaboration with Slapp Happy, which featured Krause, Peter Blegvad and Anthony Moore. Unlike that album, this one is essentially S.H. with some help from H.C., and thus is only included here for the sake of completeness. Usually described as being self-consciously derived from the Brecht/Weill art-song style, Slapp Happy had an enjoyably inter-war Berlin feel to them, and are worth checking out. However, they sound nothing like Henry Cow.
In Praise of Learning
(1975)
Something else altogether. Not only is this a full-fledged Cowdisc (with significant Slapp Happy contributions), it also completes the trinity of eye-catching art-sock covers, this time going for a monochrome in red. Slapp's Dagmar Krause graces most of IPoL with her utterly unique and blood-curdling declamatory howl. It is an acquired taste that you are almost certain to acquire if you like Cow's experimental rock. "Living in the Heart of the Beast," written by Hodgkinson, is the definitive Henry Cow statement, both politically and musically. Its fifteen episodic minutes cover a lot of ground , all the while relating a narrative of working-class oppression that climaxes with a stirringly anthemic call for action. Time to sweep capital's kings from power, indeed. Elsewhere can be found another epic ("Beautiful As The Moon Terrible As An Army With Banners- Though The Spanners Might Come In Handy Later"), a concise song ("War"), and a couple of meandering, druggily free pieces that I like.
Concerts
(1976)
In 1976 Henry Cow toured Europe with Robert Wyatt and Dagmar Krause (whom they'd smuggled out of Slapp Happy), and this double-LP documents that tour's performances of both composed pieces and the lengthy improvs on which Cow would embark at every show. Concerts is now available on a two-CD set that tacks on Cow's *very* far-out (and twenty-miunte long) contribution to the Greasy Truckers compilation. This release is a must for the true Cow-head, as it illustrates the flexibility with which the band approached its own works, constantly re-arranging, writing new bridges, and otherwise re-inventing the material. Robert Wyatt's presence is another boon, as is the extraordinary version of his "Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road." More recordings from this tour and others are said to exist, and Cutler has mentioned possibly putting out "two or three CDs" of this stuff at some point. Commence holding of breath.
Western Culture (1978)
Though HC seemed to not exist for a while, they acutally were touring heavily over Europe from '76 to '78. The Cow then recorded this, their swan song. The band members had regrettably matured enough by this point to no longer care much for putting socks on their album covers. Whatever disappointment this may have engendered in long-time fans was quickly forgotten once they heard the music, which is surely the most advanced and consistently rewarding that Cow ever put to tape. Consisting of two entirely instrumental side-long suites, composed by Hodgkinson ("History and Prospects") and Cooper ("Day by Day"), respectively, Western Culture is possibly the finest, most persuasive argument available for the desirability and feasability of a rock/classical fusion. By turns menacing and melancholy, intricately contapuntal and rhythmically elastic, aggressively propulsive and mournfully dirge-like, Western Culture is a work of total focus and group cohesion - and is all the more remarkable an accomplishment for being achieved just before Henry Cow's dissolution.
Lost Tunes
For de som er på jakt etter sjelden musikk kan Lost Tunes kanskje være rett plass å søke, http://www.losttunes.com/
Keith Emerson Band
Keith Emerson Band Featuring Marc Bonilla
Cover art er ved Martin Cornick, og skiva er klar i løpet av august 2008, http://www.keithemerson.com/Music/discography.html
19 spor som klokker inn på 35 minutter,
1. IGNITION
2. 1ST PRESENCE
3. LAST HORIZON
4. MILES AWAY PT 1
5. MILES AWAY PT 2
6. SONATA
7. FUGUE
8. 2ND PRESENCE
9. MARCHE TRAIN
10. BLUE INFERNO
11. 3RD PRESENCE
12. PRELUDE TO A HOPE
13. A PLACE TO HIDE
14. MILES AWAY PT 3
15. FINALE
16. THE ART OF FALLING DOWN
17. MALAMBO (from "Estancia Suite")
18.
GAMETIME
19. THE PARTING
Musikkfestivaler i Sverige
'2008: a space rock odyssey
30:e Augusti
Pris : 150 Sek
'2008: a space rock odyssey is a festival promoting genres like space
rock/art and psychedelia.
The event are sponsored, financed and arranged by the band 'Mass of the
Sun'.
The festival takes place august the 30th at a stage called 'parksnäckan'
in uppsala, Sweden.
Some of the best space rock and psychedelic rock bands from scandinavia
will participate.
The lineup are:
The Spacious Mind (SWE)
Träd Gräs och Stenar (SWE)
Öresund Space Collective (DE)
First Band From Outer Space (SWE)
Mass of the Sun (SWE)
Porcelain (FIN)
For more info about the bands, links, location, contact, tickets etc.
visit the events official website at
http://massofthesun.se/asro/
Hope to see you there!
"Slottsskogen Goes Progressive -08"
16:de Augusti.
För 9:de året i rad arrangerar Göteborgs Artrockförening (GARF) sin
utomhus, entréfria progfestival i Slottsskogen Göteborg.
Årets starka line upp ser ut som följer:
(preliminära tider:)
15.00 Johan Randen & Synkopaterna
16.30 Moon Safari
18.00 Darkwater
19.30 Anekdoten
21.15 Öresund Space Collective
Slut 23.00
Info, bilder, kartor samt länkar till bandens hemsidor och myspace mm
finns på
www.artrock.se
MEN för er som vill har en liten aptitretare eller inte hinner logga
in på artrock.se just nu kommer lite kortfattad info om banden:
JOHAN RANDÉN & SYNKOPATERNA.....spelar en smakfull och innovativ
fusion med stänk av westcoast och AOR. Låtar från Johans senaste album
blandas med nyskrivet material och klassiska fusioncovers.
MOON SAFARIs ..... senast alster "Blomljud" hyllas av en enig
kritikerkår som ett mästerverk. En kärna av genuin gammaldags
symfonirock á la tidig Genisis parad med mer nutida proginfluenser,
korsade med Beatlesharmonier och kryddade med flerstämmig sång i bästa
"The Realgroup"-stil.
DARKWATER.... hämtar ofta sin inspiration från den tyngre skolan och
då framför allt från gruppen Dream Theater, Mycket duktiga musiker och
starka arrangemang och en passande, tight scennärvaro.
ANEKDOTEN.... Stilbildare in genren. Komplext och suggestivt.
Stundtals mycket energiskt och stökigt, á la King Crimson "Red",
stundtals vackert med ett behagligt nordiskt vemod och puls, som manar
till djup eftertanke och meditation.
ÖRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE - består av medlemmar från såväl Danmark, USA
som Sverige. Med sin instrumentala freeform-spacerock vet man aldrig
riktigt i vilket kosmos man hamnar. Musiken är komplext och varierad
och spänner över flera subgenrer samtidigt; spacerock, prog, jazz,
worldmusic mm, Alltid läge för överraskingar!
Extra....
Festivalen kommar att filma för DVD och en tappning till extern
hårddisk från alla 48-kanalerna på mixerbordet kommer göras! Spännande
värre tycker vi....
Vi hoppas att vi även i år lockar omkring 1000 personer till arret.
Komihåg att första bandet börjar lira kl. 3.
SO BE THERE AT 15.00 SHARP!!!!
Jamendo
Jamendo bør være en plass for deg som vil laste ned musikk gratis, trygt og lovlig. Her er det bare å shoppe gratis, og lytte til ørene blir såre. Vi har funnet mye spennende som for eksempel her, http://www.jamendo.com/en/tag/progressive http://www.jamendo.com/en/tag/psychedelic og her http://www.jamendo.com/en/tag/experimental og her http://www.jamendo.com/en/tag/folk og her http://www.jamendo.com/en/tag/alternative
Selve hovedsiden er her, http://www.jamendo.com/en/
Pendragon
Pure
1 oktober 2008 er Pendragon klar med sitt nyeste tilskudd til neosjangeren. Albumet har fått navnet ”Pure”, men de ivrigste kan bestille fra Pendragons hjemmeside allerede i august. http://www.pendragon.mu/
Travis & Fripp
Thread
Eksentriske Robert Fripp har funnet en han kan samarbeide med, og valget falt på Theo Tarvis, og disse herrene forener krefter på albumet ”Thread”. Panegyric Records står som utgiver, og dette er for oss et temmelig ubeskrevet blad, men selve konseptet borger jo for at musikken som utgis er rimelig original. Sporene er disse:
01 Land Beyond The Forest
02 The Apparent Chaos of Blue
03 As Snow Falls
04 Before Then
05 One Whirl
06 The Silence Beneath
07 Curious Liquids
08 The Unspoken
09 Pastorale
Prog Bibel
http://www.progrockrecords.com/
PROGRESSIVE ROCK HANDBOOK: Author, broadcaster and music historian Jerry Lucky releases his latest book on progreesive rock - the aptly titled The Progressive Rock Handbook. The book is now being shipped and is acompanied by a CD Sampler, courtesy of ProgRock Records...
Detailed
and comprehensive this guide covers all aspects of progressive rock
across decades of music history. Old and new fans will delight in the
extensively researched, alphabetical listing of more than 3,200 bands
and artists, which includes biographical information, a description,
band history, and a discography for each entry, providing quick-and-easy
access to a wealth of information on lesser known bands and forgotten
favorites.
Further information is provided in helpful listings of fan and band
websites, books and music festivals that bring fans of the genre
together, making this the ultimate guide to prog rock.
Jerry Lucky is a broadcaster and music historian. He is the author of
20th Century Rock & Roll - Progressive Rock, The Progressive Rock Files
and The Psychedelic Rock Files. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia.
PROGROCK RECORDS
provides an exclusive CD sampler for The Progressive Rock Handbook.
Bands on the sampler include: Rocket Scientist, Third Ending, Chinese
Firedrill, Frameshift, Sylvan, Amaran's Plight, Invisigoth, Ghost
Circus, Expedition Delta, Soul Secre, Jim Gilmour, Project Creation,
Under The Sun
Andormeda
The Immunity Zone
Nytt album slippes 16-09-2008, http://www.andromedaonline.com/
01. Recognizing Fate
02. Slaves Of The Plethoria Season
03. Ghosts On Retinas
04. Censoring Truth
05. Worst Enemy
06. My Star
07. Another Step
08. Shadow Of Lucent Moon
09.
Veil Of Illumination
For de som ikke kjenner Andromeda kan vi vise til glimrende anmeldelser av deres tidligere utgivelser.
Andromeda
Extension Of The Wish
Question: what is the similarity between Flower Kings, Pain Of Salvation, A.C.T, Evergrey, and Wolverine? Indeed, these are all Swedish prog/metal bands that have gained quite a reputation outside the land of elks and IKEA. I would not be very surprised if Andromeda could soon be added to this list, since their debut album Extension Of The Wish immediately managed to conquer a spot on my high-rotation list and that certainly does not happen to each and every CD that I receive for review purposes.
Andromeda was formed in June 1999, but did not manage to record their
debut album until last year, because of their problems finding a
suitable vocalist. They actually ended up using a session vocalist on
Extension Of The Wish, Lawrence Mackrory (ex-Darkane). By now they seem
to have found a permanent singer in David Fremberg, though. Apart from
him, Andromeda consists of Thomas Lejon (drums), Gert Daun (bass),
Martin Hedin (keyboards), and Johan Reinholdz (guitar).
The cover of Extension Of The Wish is interesting: a branded, doll-like
figure is standing waist-deep in water, stirring the fabric of the
universe where the water ends. The inside of the booklet is nice, but
not very adventurous. It contains all lyrics, which have been printed on
a background of stylised letters, and mainly deal with the
(psychological) problems which so many people have to face every day
(e.g. problems with a loved one, betrayal, fear, thoughts of suicide).
Although Andromeda is centered around guitarist Reinholdz, Extension Of The Wish has not become a collection of tracks filled with "guitar masturbation". Reinholdz is responsible for all the music and lyrics, but the seven tracks on the CD are definitely proper songs (i.e. not endlessly repeated chord progressions over which a continuous stream of flashy guitar licks and solos is played, like one can often find on CDs by the likes of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai) in which the keyboards play a large role.
The first track, The Words Unspoken, kicks off with a great, reverbed
guitar riff. When the other instruments join in, the music becomes a
nice mixture of Dream Theater and Evergrey, though some of the keyboard
sounds remind me very much of A.C.T. Especially the parts where the
keyboard melody is doubled by the guitar are very nice.
Mackrory's vocals are not your typical high-pitched metal screams. They
carry a great deal of emotion and - as will become clear in the other
songs - are very versatile in sound. I do detect a slight accent and the
way the words are stressed is not always entirely correct, but I have
heard much, much worse, so this is only a minor complaint. The
information sheet accompanying the CD mentions that Mackrory had never
heard either the music or lyrics before stepping into the studio with
Andromeda, but it sounds like the guy has been singing with the band for
ages. Impressive!
Apart from some Dream Theater-like sections (in the style of Awake), Crescendo Of Thoughts contains some (keyboard) parts that remind me strongly of Ayreon (Into The Electric Castle). Very much in the vein of the previous song, but different enough to be a great track as well.
Track 3, In The Deepest Of Waters, is one of the heaviest songs on the album. It starts with a massive wall of power chords, the sound of which reminds me a lot of some Rammstein tracks, but then three times as fast, and Metallica's Sad But True. When the vocals join in, the track gets a different feel. Mackrory's (sometimes distorted) vocals and the floating keyboards create a threatening atmosphere very much like the one on Faith No More's Midlife Crisis. This combination, plus some great guitar solos, killer-keyboard parts, a brilliant job by the rhythm section, and the very quiet middle of the song, make me play this track again and again. This is definitely my favourite on the album!
Chameleon Carneval seems to be the odd one out on this album. Contrary to the other tracks, this one is without vocals and it sounds a lot like an extended jam. Using a recurring theme as a basis, all instruments get the chance to take center stage in their respective solos. It does not do very much for me, though. Good musicianship, sure, but this track just does not seem to be in place on this album.
Track 5, Star Shooter Supreme, also contains some nice guitar melodies doubled by keyboards (once more, Dream Theater seems to have had a large influence on the band). The vocals are distorted and all but shouted into the microphone. They bear a strong reminiscence to Junkie XL's Rude Boy on, for instance, Saturday Teenage Kick and Billy Club. A couple of great keyboard and guitar solos add some extra spice to this song.
The title track, Extension Of The Wish, is the longest one on the album
(10:03). It starts very quietly with some undistorted guitar and I must
say that that is a nice resting point after all the violence of the
previous songs. After a nice guitar solo the band change gear and the
heavy guitars return, accompanied by some lovely keyboard licks. As if
to demonstrate that he possesses even more different vocal styles,
Mackrory now takes on the guise of Steve Wilson (Porcupine Tree) as he
sounded in The Nostalgia Factory (from On The Sunday Of Life...) mixed
with a bit of Babylon Zoo's vocal sound on their only hit Space Man.
At 4:15 minutes the song seems to end abruptly, but it continues with a
long instrumental section which I think is a bit too repetitive at
times. Once more one can hear a big hint of Dream Theater, especially in
the parts where the guitar melody is doubled by the keyboards.
Arch Angel starts like a somewhat average metal track, but soon becomes more complicated both in melody and in rhythm changes. The first few verses and choruses are delivered over a rather calm section with undistorted guitar, after which the music becomes as heavy as before. I think this is very fitting considering the lyrics (the narrator is looking for protection from the violence around him). Apart from some more Dream Theater references, this track contains some nice oriental influences. Sadly though, it ends with a rather cheapish fade-out.
Andromeda's debut album Extension Of The Wish is highly recommended to
anyone who enjoys the heavy side of prog. On this album you will find
some high-powered music in which both guitar and keyboards play a large
role, and which includes a steaming rhythm tandem and a versatile
singer. Related bands: Dream Theater, Evergrey and Pain Of Salvation.
Knowing how much I appreciate Mackrory's vocals, I really hope that the
"new" singer David Fremberg has the same kind of voice. I have seen that
Andromeda will play at
ProgPower 2001
and that (as well as the rest of the bands that have been confirmed by
now) sure makes it worth visiting this festival!
Tracklist: The Words Unspoken (5:28), Crescendo Of Thoughts (5:25), In The Deepest Of Waters (7:07), Chameleon Carneval (5:00), Star Shooter Supreme (5:18), Extension Of The Wish (10:03), Arch Angel (5:55)
Andromeda
II=I
This is the second review of an Andromeda album to be featured in DPRP CD Reviews Page, and because Hester included a band bio in her review of Extension Of The Wish, I have omitted it here. For their previous album, Andromeda used a session vocalist, but on II=I, a permanent vocalist in David Fremberg, has been added to the band. Although I have not been able to listen to the previous album, the mp3 samples from the Andromeda website give me the impression that this new singer is an improvement (although the session vocalist was also pretty good). I also get the feeling that Andromeda has moved towards Dream Theater-like music even further.
Encyclopedia starts off with a keyboard loop that fades in, right after that the metal guitars kick in. The song is a rich collection of tempo changes, something that can be said of all songs on this album. Andromeda is not a band that likes to drag melodies endlessly with heavier guitars, and more screaming guitars following each other constantly, and at the end comes a slow keyboard tune with a screaming guitar fade out. The beginning of Mirages reminds me of The Gathering's Strange Machines. The refrain has been stuck in my head for days. I find myself yelling "Mirages" (in my mind of course) all the time.
In Reaching Deep Within the keyboard takes the prominent role and has a haunting sound that supports the refrain. This does not mean that other instruments have a lesser role, as on all the other songs on this album, they are nicely balanced. The first half of Two is One is a slow ballad and shows that David Fremberg is an excellent singer. In the second half of the song, the transitory ballad becomes more up-tempo as the metal guitars and then the speedy loops of the guitars emerge. This song is not only the longest on the album but really is the masterpiece as well.
Morphing Into Nothing could have been a song on a Dream Theater album, with a large number of tempo changes, the drums not only determine the rhythm but also are part of the melody. This instrumental song is impressive. Castaway is a slower piece that does stay interesting throughout the complete song, because of the vocals and backing vocals which sound good together. Parasite takes some getting used to, at first it seems a bit incoherent reminding me of the earlier Pain of Salvation songs. David Fremberg proves here that high pitched vocals are also within his reach. The first piano tones of One In My Head could be the start of a subtle horror movie. The uptempo piano and guitar parts further on however, are too straight-forward for that same horror movie. This Fragile Surface closes the album and it leaves you wanting for more. The dramatic keyboards and again the tempo changes of subtle guitars and metal guitars. Drums that are right all the time.
Andromeda is a band of good musicians, and although I am not a Death Metal lover, the fact that Andromeda's guitarist Johan Reinholdz also plays in NonExist makes me curious to explore their music too.
Comparison sometimes is the best way to give an idea of what a band or songs sound like, but Andromeda is in no way a copy of any other. I immediately liked this album and after listening more often, I think I can safely say: this one is a keeper. I am really impressed. I have not written a lot of reviews yet so you cannot know if I would say this easily. I think not, as Andromeda really deserves it. Find out for yourself!
A final point to note is that the excellent cover artwork is by former DPRP team member, Mattias Noren.
Tracklist: Encyclopedia (7:35), Mirages (5:42), Reaching Deep Within (4:50), Two Is One (10:09), Morphing Into Nothing (7:34), Castaway (6:16), Parasite (6:54), One In My Head (8:02), This Fragile Surface (8:04)
Andromeda
Chimera
The last album that I acquired 'On Import' was the debut release from a little-known New Jersey band called Bon Jovi. Thanks to the worldwide reach of the internet and online record stores, the whole concept of 'import' albums has pretty much disappeared.
However the third album from Swedish ProgMetal masters Andromeda was actually released in Japan way back on January 21, yet for some reason, unless you live in France where it came out on the Replica label on March 27, it won't get a worldwide release until June 23 on the Massacre label. Therefore grabbing my second ever import album, was the only way to avoid a frustrating wait.
The band's first two releases, the intense, riff-based Prog of Extension of the Wish and the more refined II=I, have set this band as one of my favourite purveyors of classic progressive metal. No Dream Theater clones here. Thanks to the amazingly gifted voice of David Fremberg and the even more amazing guitar work of Johan Reinholdz, Andromeda have crafted a sound that is immediately recognisable as their own. Indeed you won't read any comparisons here. Andromeda stands alone, in their own corner of this ever expanding genre.
Chimera is certainly not as heavy or complex as the band's debut. That may be off-putting to some, but will probably be more attractive to a great number of people. It really is a natural, albeit slightly simpler version, of II=I. Slightly more accessible, slightly more melodic and, at the present time for me, slightly more enjoyable.
The opener, Periscope, leaves you with jaw dropping ever downwards, as it's one of the best song's the band has ever recorded - and will be a major contender for my favourite tracks of the year. From then on, the music just takes the listener to wonderful places - constantly moving, never stagnating. This is no musical ego trip but progressive metal with the song at its heart.
And if you splash out for the import - then you get the pleasant bonus of the instrumental track, Chameleon Carnival, captured live in concert.
I said this with their last album, and I'll say it again with this time around, Andromeda really should be one of the big players in the ProgMetal genre - equal in quality to the likes of Threshold, VandenPlas and Fates Warning. Hopefully the worldwide deal with Massacre will help them on the way. And if you're put off by the price of an import, then put the date of June 23 in your diary now! Awesome.
Tracklist: Periscope (6:11), In The End (4:58), The Hidden Riddle (5:51), Going Under (6:27), The Cage Of Me (7:08), No Guidelines (6:23), Inner Circle (7:03), Iskenderun (5:30), Blink Of An Eye (12:29) Bonus: Chameleon carnival - Live! (5:12)
Big Elf
Cheat The Gallows
Omsider er ventetiden over. Oppfølgeren til ”Hex” er klar 12-08-2008. Vi må bare bryte sammen og tilstå at vi gleder oss vol