CD/DVD Releases: April Showers Bring Musea Releases...
In Musea Records' spring bouquet of releases - or distributions, as the case may be, we find these roses from ProgRock Records (aka The Record Label):
Centric Jones - The Antikythera Method: The Antikythera Method bears witness to the growing musical abilities of and friendship between Chris Fournier and Tobe London over the nearly two years spanning early 2010 to late 2011. Starting off as a re-connection between them after a break following their first Centric Jones album (Foreign Tea), the album sessions evolved into the band gaining deeper insights into their composition, recording, production, and rehearsal methods - the result is an album that flows like the Northern Lights across the sky and rewards the listener with ever-deeper layers of complexity and delight to discover with each listen.
The songs contained within were composed gradually and practiced repeatedly before recording, enabling them to naturally grow and improve until they were tracked and mastered. Fans of progressive rock (and well-composed music in general) will find The Antikythera Method and Centric Jones a new intellectual and emotional diversion to enjoy!
The Colourphonics - The Colourphonics: The Colourphonics have been kicking around the Adelaide music scene since 2007 where they’ve angrily sliced through various musical genres, thrown them into a cliff-bound clown car and greased the steering wheel. The Colourphonics exist to entertain those who like their music live and alive. Album tracks are doomed to the past as a predilection for unplanned musical excursions means history will not be repeated here, son.
The album was engineered at Hillside Recordings in Adelaide by Matt Hills and mastered by the legendary David Briggs, former guitarist of The Little River Band and producer for many classic Australian bands such as Australian Crawl and No Fixed Address. The exact feel of the album was intended to be that of a live performance so, to that end, the album was entirely tracked live with minimal fix-ups and overdubs. In the case of the "Sunset Trilogy," all three tracks were played consecutively.
Heads inextricably tilted towards the future, you just never know what genre ties these musical maniacs will sever and knot together next. In the words of the spiritual leader of the band, Frank Zappa, "You can't always write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say, so sometimes you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream."
Dimension Act - Manifestation Of Progress: Drawing inspiration from bands such as Dream Theater, Evergrey, Pagan's Mind and Ayreon, the sonic appearance of Manifestation Of Progress will surely appeal to fans of both progressive and melodic metal. Nevertheless, the solid portion of double bass drumming and huge sounding vocal parts should even leave the power metal fans satisfied. Having said that, the album displays subtle, dynamic qualities, with calm pianos and jazzy guitar parts. In other words, Manifestation Of Progress moves in landscapes that could and should be enjoyed by every fan of progressive music.
With Progrock Records, the band has found their perfect partner in crime. "Just like Dimension Act," Marius Nilsen, the band's co- founder and driving force, explains, "Shawn Gordon and Progrock Records are all about the music and the endless dedication and admiration of the progressive rock and metal genre. Our newfound home at Progrock Records brings a great sense of both achievement and fulfillment, and we are confident that Dimension Act and Progrock Records together can build the foundation needed for a long and prosperous career. Sharing label with Frameshift, who is responsible for one of the greatest debut prog albums the last 10 years is also quite a bonus, to say the least. And what about those Roswell Six albums? Home sweet home!."
"One of the things I like best about having a record label is discovering new bands and music. Dimension Act scratches that itch I've had for some heavy material with just whispers of Dream Theater with high level of musicianship with great melodies. I think you're going to love this," said Shawn Gordon, President of ProgRock Records.
Gekko Project - Electric Forest: Symphonic keyboards, progressive guitars, driving bass and adventurous drums provide the backbone of this debut release by Gekko Projekt. The album opens with "Particle Dance," an energetic instrumental that contains all the elements of classic Yes. "Black Hole" sounds like it could be a hit single for the band without betraying the progressive nature of the album. Echoes of Weather Report and jazz-rock are evident in the following two instrumentals, "Cognitive Dissonance" and "London Vibe" before the band launches into its epic song "Avatar Jones." This tells the story of a skateboarder that finds his blogs have taken on mythical proportions and reflects his struggle to disassociate himself from his followers. It features symphonic keyboards and a moving guitar solo reminiscent of Tony Banks and Steve Hackett at their combined best with Genesis. The next instrumental is "Erdinger" and is driven by a strong, heavy yet melodic bass riff that features intriguing time changes that are made to sound natural by some tight rhythmic yet quite expressive drums. "State Of Siege" is an up-tempo instrumental that almost brings to mind a musical interlude by King Crimson. The album closes with "October Skies," a song about a computer program that gains intelligence beyond the control of humans, with pulsating verses and an anthemic chorus that delve into an experimental jam over a fast-paced bass arpeggiator.
Edward Heppenstall - Parts That Hate Me: Though it was recorded and released in 2005, there's an oddly 1980s quality to Edward Heppenstall's debut album, not in the sense of new wave revivalists like Interpol or Franz Ferdinand but in the sense of mainstream '80s pop/rockers along the lines of Corey Hart or Richard Marx. A booming-voiced singer whose emotional sensor seems permanently set on "urgent," Heppenstall blares his way through every song even when a little more restraint would seem appropriate, as on the Night Ranger-like power ballad "Don't Take Me Down." Musically, the album's familiar sheen of glossy keyboards, crunchy-catchy guitar riffs, and funk-oriented basslines is equally retro-friendly.
Lizette& - This Is: This album is strongly influenced by the production and writing style of Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails with a bit of older Alanis Morissette thrown in for good measure. Great industrial pop.
Peter Matuchniak - Uncover Me: In an album that features mood swings and roundabouts, this is a musical journey through melodic rock songs driven by edgy electric guitar riffs, progressive keyboards and sultry sax combined with acoustic music, melodic flute and elements of jazz. There is a mix of short and long tracks that allow the compositions to develop without ever becoming complacent and repetitive.
In an online study this music appealed to fans of the following artists, to name but a few: Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Eagles, 10cc, Coldplay, U2, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Supertramp, Dire Straits, etc.
The album is bookended by two halves of the "Landscape Burning" suite, opening with the powerful "Falling Ash" and closing with "Rising Sun" which begins by gently echoing the same progressive rock themes but with an entirely different arrangement, before climaxing with a grandiose finale. The lyrical theme centers around the struggle of identity and integrity in a world of make believe that we create and destroy, imagine and reimagine."
Peter handles the guitar work with ambient solos, graceful chords, fretboard tapping and gentle picking, and is backed an incredible array of talented musicians. Jimmy Keegan, drummer for Spock’s Beard, entertains throughout with driving rhythms and explosive technique. Powerful female vocals from Natalie Azerad reflect the Dark Side Of The Moon (and it’s evident why she was recently chosen to sing live with Alan Parsons at the mixing desk). Ted Zahn provides contrasting male vocals that are reminiscent of Richie Havens, Cat Stevens and the whole Woodstock era. Rick Meadows' strong bass lock in to provide the perfect backbone while David Gilman shows off his classically trained talents on flute with Conor Jonson lending his jazz talents on sax.
Do you miss listening to albums that feature strong individual songs that stand alone, and yet only when they are all put together can you truly define the album as a whole? Where you couldn't gauge the album in the first three songs and anything thereafter was not just more of the same, but worse? When it actually felt worth your while to check out the entire album, and be ready to go back and listen again? Then maybe this album is for you. It's certainly not formulaic.
And finally from ProgRock Records, there's Profusion - RewoTower: A spiral of genres, tones and rhythms, melted and tangled together, builds an original message which deals with the musical flexibility and research of Profusion. RewoToweR, the second album by Profusion, is conceived as a path that guides the listener into a tower. Each song reveals a new plan, a new step that allows you to reach the top.
There are many languages that lead the climb: rock, metal, fusion, pop, acoustic-tango. Each floor is a different dimension from the previous, but never isolated. Just as you can look at the title letters in both directions, the tower is also an ascent and descent together, until it gets to be a maze.
The RewoToweR building is not like a "Babel of different languages" but the attempt to speak, through experimentation, a new and modern language.
Also newly out through Musea are:
Awenson - Saphonic: Awenson, alias Joël Bernard, offers to relive the spirit of the innovative creations stemming from the electronic musics in the Seventies. This French keyboards player was particularly influenced by Germany and the Berlin School. Hence it is no wonder if his second album Wizard (his debut was self-produced under the name of Awen) reminds so much of the atmospheres created by Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze. It wouldn't be right to only see imitation there, and disregard the impact that the artist got from another one in the genre, namely Jean-Michel Jarre. Awenson draws a really personal music from all this, and it should delight the
connoisseurs. Released in 2010 on the Dreaming label, Wizard includes two long instrumental pieces with evocative titles, one of 41 minutes and the other clocking half an hour: "Psychedelic Dream" and "Hypnotic Ways." To be discovered!
The latest release is Saphonic, which was released this year.
Peter Hammill - Consequences: Peter Hammill is undoubtedly one of the "cult artists" the world of rock, as musicians as diverse as David Bowie, Peter Gabriel and Fish mention influences or admiration. In more than forty albums (more than half issued by his own label Fie!, distributed exclusively by French Musea), the poet-musician has been eclectic, prolific, and has often been a pioneer for various rock styles of the past thirty years: Progressive rock with Van der Graaf Generator in 1967, punk before its time with Nadir's Big Chance in 1974l new-wave in 1980 with the K Group ... He has also created a poetic universe very special, because of
meditations and "visions" of unusual strength. Albums of the late eighties and the following decade were marked by a constant will for change, even if the musicians that accompany Hammill are often the same: David Jackson on sax and flutes, Stuart Gordon on violin, Manny Elias on drums ... Fool's Mate is his first solo album, recorded in 1971. Following were Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night in 1973, and Over four years later. Released in 1988, In A Foreign Town is a collection of various songs, a transitional album but with his usual intensity. Fireships shows an artist peaceful and serene, a follower ample layers of keyboards and melodies of great beauty. There Goes The Daylight, instead, shows the concerts of the period 1993 to 1995, electric moments of rage and the indescribable unleashed.
Recorded in 1992, the most excellent rock opera The Fall Of The House Of Usher (inspired by the famous story by Edgar Allan Poe) was successfully release in 1999, and has a host of guests (Lene Lovich, Herbert Groenemeyer ...), a work of darkness and a lyrical album. X My Heart, Roaring Forties or the youngest What, Now? (2001, an excellent year!) show a gradual evolution towards ambitious tracks, sometimes close in their arrangements and intensity to the gold standard of Van der Graaf Generator, sometimes more intimate and meditative ("None Of The Above"). In order to present a comprehensive overview of his work, Peter Hammill offers the compilation The Thin Man Sings Ballads. This disc contains twelve tracks covering the period from 1982 to 2001, extracts of nine albums including Fireships & Everyone You Hold, or the recent What, Now? Then Clutch (2002) arrives on us ... The first thing is clear: this is a work of goldsmith! Again, one might be tempted to say. One finds again the former mentor of Van Der Graaf Generator playing himself, alone with his acoustic guitar and emotive lyrics. Order to fill the sound space, the artist has chosen to complete his instrumental palette by adding elegant parts of lute. One can also hear the sound of interventions Stuart Gordon (violin) and David Jackson (saxophone & flute) on some tracks. There is no doubt that this major work once we leave more speechless.
Not surprisingly, facing one of the most moving voices of all the musical production of the last three decades ... Incoherence (2004) includes a single eponymous range of 41 minutes (divided into fourteen cycles). It sees the participation of accomplices always, Stuart Gordon (violin) and David Jackson (sax & flute). The music alternates between unbridled experimentation and orchestrations learned, intended to illustrate our communication difficulties, all with expertise and a truly unique personality! An event must ...
Parallel to the long-awaited reunion of Van der Graaf Generator, his solo career has not weakened, barely interrupted by a heart attack that has a time away from the music scene. Recorded in the year 2009, Thin Air is the thirty-first album of the Thin Man! Alone with his voice and his array of instruments, he delivers nine original compositions, which sometimes might recall to the nostalgic A Black Box (1983). Excellent!
And now comes Consequences about which Burning Shed say: "Consequences is Peter Hammill's thirtieth solo studio album of original songs and includes ten new pieces. Sometimes the pieces stray into the territory of the short story or screenplay and a strong narrative thread runs through the heart of each piece. The instrumentation revolves around electric guitars, pianos and sparse percussion, while the occasional addition of instrumental textures enhances the album's unique 'sonic picture'. The album is written, performed, sung and recorded entirely solo by PH."
[Source: Musea Records, ProgRock Records/The Record Label, Burning Shed]
