Home Archive by category "Prog Rock ekr4" (Page 3)

Category: Prog Rock ekr4

Exploring the Psychedelic/Space Rock of the UK’s Amplifier – Mystoria!

So yesterday the soundtrack for my run (you can read about the run here) was the latest release MystoriaMystoria from the UK psychedelic/Space rock band Amplifier. Amplifier plays highly original material using deeply personal lyrics with walls of noise and stunning melodies. Mystoria is the fifth studio album from the band. They have also released several singles and EPs and one live album.  The original members of the band were Sel Balamir lead guitarist and vocalist, Matt Brobin on drums and bassist Neil Mahony. After there 2011 release the band members changed with former Oceansize guitarist Steve Durose and bassist Alex “Magnum” Redhead joining the band in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The last two years have been a very prolific period in the band’s history. Between Echo Street and Mystoria the band released the EP Sunriders, which was followed by Live in Barcelona 2013. This contrasts with the release of only one EP Eternity that they release in the five years between Insider (2006) and The Octopus (2011). Balamir explains it like this…. Read More

Exploring the Ambient,New Age, Prog of Netherlands’ Forest Field- Onwards and Upwards!

On Tuesday of this week the soundtrack for my run was Forest Field’s second release Onwards and Onwards and UpwardsUpwards. According to their website……

  • Forest Field is not a band
  • Forest Field is a project
  • Forest Field is lead by Chinawhite guitarist Peter Cox
  • Expect some guests announcements soon…
  • The music is a combination of ambient, new age, progressive rock
  • with vintage sounds like mellotron, piano and organ
  • but also electric and acoustic guitars
  • and bass and drums where the song needs it

The project is the child of Chinawhite guitarist Peter Cox of the Netherlands. Onwards and Upwards is a combination of instrumental tracks (odd-numbered) and vocal tracks (the even-numbered ones). Central theme is “it´s not the falling down, it´s the getting up again” (from Stronger)..All of the instruments are played by Cox with the exception of the Native American flute on the song “Hope”. The flute is played by Sue Straw. The vocals are ably provided by Phil Vincent. I knda’ like the instrumental tracks more than the vocal ones, but I really do like Vincent’s vocals, so I guess it’s really a toss-up. Cox is more than able on all the instruments, but I do think that he is at his best when his guitar is soaring through a track!! Read More

Exploring the Prog/Post-Rock Music of Tampa’s Tides of Man – Young and Courageous

So far this week  I have run two days, first on Sunday and then again yesterday. Young and CourageousSunday’s run was a struggle, and yesterday’s while only slightly faster was a bit easier! The soundtracks for each run was a progressive rock band. On Sunday  I listened to Tides of Man and their release Young and Courageous and yesterday, the soundtrack was Forest Field and their current release Onwards and Upwards. Read More

Exploring the Symphonic Prog of Germany’s Traumhaus – Ausgeliefert and Das Geheimnis!

AusgeliefertSo one of the things that I really like about Prog Rock is that the genre is global in nature, and the bands can virtually come from anywhere in the world!! Typically, most of the vocals are in English making it harder to pinpoint the homeland of the band. That is not a problem with Traumhaus, whose vocals are in their native language – German!! I discovered the band on progstreaming, where I saw their latest release Das Geheimnis (The Secret) I listened for a bit and then went to Spotify to find the album so that I could download it, to listen to it more fully. The album was not a Spotify, I did find though a just released album Ausgeleiffert. The album is a re-release of the band’s self-titled first album, which was released in 2001. The re-re-release includes some new cover art work and two bonus tracks “Die Reise” (The Journey) and Die Andere Seite (The Other Side). Read More

Exploring the Dynamic Jazz Piano of Hiromi Uehara – Alive!!

Hiromi's Alive

Originally posted at Let’s Explore Jazz

So while I did really enjoy all of the albums on the Jazz playlist that I created yesterday. There was one album though, that caught my attention very quickly and  that was Alive by Hiromi! The album was released on June 17th on the Telarc label and currently the album is No, 37 on the JazzWeek Chart and No 11 on the Billboard Jazz Chart. Alive is Hiromi’s ninth studio release and her third release as Hiromi’s  Trio Project.  The current trio features: Simon Phillips on drums and Anthony Jackson on bass. Her first four releases were as Hiromi, For the next two releases guitarist David Fiuczynski  joined the group and the band became Hiromi’s Sonicboom.  As a composer Hiromi blends a variety of musical genres like post-bop, progressive rock, classical, and jazz fusion,  into her compositions. Wait prog rock? Does she have a page at ProgArchives….Yes, she does, she is included in the Jazz/Rock Fusion sub-genre. From her biography at ProgArchives…. Read More

Exploring Neo Prog from the United States’ Roy Strattman – The Lie of the Beholder!

Lie of the BeholderThis morning I took a moment and gave a quick listen to a few of the albums now on progstreaming, I picked two, found the albums on Spotify, put them on the iPhone and listened today. The two albums were from Roy Strattman: The Lie of the Beholder and Mike Kershaw’s Ice Age. Of the two I listened to more of Strattman than Kershaw, so I guess I’ll begin there. Read More