by Kev Rowland | Jun 18, 2018 | News, Reviews
Only two years since their album, and there have yet again been some fairly significant changes in the Frequency Drift line-up. Lead singer Melanie Mau and guitarist Martin Schnella have both departed (they can be found in Gray Matters together, as well as other projects individually), as has bassist Rainer Wolf. But Andreas Hack (keyboards, guitar, bass, and mandolin) has been there since the beginning, as has drummer Wolfgang Osterman while long-time member and songwriter Nerissa Schwartz (quick aside, if you haven’t heard her solo album you owe it to yourself to do so) on harp and Mellotron is still there. The line-up is completed by new singer Irinia Alexia, and let’s hope that she lasts longer than just the odd album as she has a presence, range and clear singing voice which totally fits the music.
Musically the band are quite different to many, due in no small part to both Andreas and Nerissa having such a strong song-writing relationship and they are both keyboard players while the use of the harp is also quite different. They layer the music so that the arrangements are complex and quite dense in some ways, but then produce it so that the vocals are always first and foremost, rising clearly above everything else. There is a professionalism and restraint within the music, each note clearly having an important part to play in the whole proceedings. They may not all be playing at the same time, and the use of space is also important in everything they do, with bass pedals and keyboards often taking the part of the real instrument, which also has an impact on the overall sound. The warmth and “heaviness” of certain parts of the arrangements are in direct contrast to the clarity and “lightness’ of the harp and vocals, which provides a neat counterpoint. Let’s hope we get another album out of them before they change the singer again.
8/10
by Kev Roland
by Kev Rowland | Jun 18, 2018 | Festivals, News
FERNANDO PERDOMO is a powerhouse of the LA music scene who lives and breathes music. The product of the eclectic record collection he put together at an early age as a regular customer in every thrift store and flea market in Miami, the LA Weekly dubbed him “The millennial answer to Todd Rundgren.” A veteran at 37, he has made a name for himself as an in-demand producer, singer/songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
As owner and operator of Reseda Ranch Studios (Reseda, CA), he has been involved in a wide range of musical productions. Some of his current projects include folk legend Linda Perhacs, Dean Ford, Andy Pratt, Rebecca Pidgeon, Cristina Vane, Jacob Jeffries, The Dirty Diamond, Ex Norwegian, Alih Jey, Emitt Rhodes (as bass player), Dave Kerzner (as bassist and guitarist), Cait Brennan, Ken Sharp, as well as TV music for Honda, Target, McDonalds, Goya, Dunkin Donuts, Toyota,
Shameless, and Dexter.
Fernando Perdomo photo
FERNANDO released his first solo album, Home Is Wherever You Are, in 2012, followed by Warm in 2014. In 2014, FERNANDO also joined acclaimed LA band The Dirty Diamond and performed at The Greek Theater, House of Blues, The Avalon, The Roxy, and The Troubadour.
In 2015, he recorded most of the bass and guitars on the acclaimed album New World by Dave Kerzner. The album also features Steve Hackett (Genesis), Keith Emerson (ELP), Simon Phillips (The Who), Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree), Durga McBroom Hudson (Pink Floyd), Francis Dunnery, Nick D’Virgilio, and Billy Sherwood. In October, Fernando was one of the guitar players at the “Echo In The Canyon” concert in Los Angeles with Fiona Apple, Jakob Dylan, Regina Spektor, Beck, Cat Power, and Jade Castrinos. Fernando will also be on the companion album of the project scheduled for release in 2018.
2016 saw the release of his third solo album, Voyeurs.
In the summer of 2017 FERNANDO released, The Golden Hour. The album was recorded at the iconic Ardent Studios in Memphis, TN, with engineer Adam Hill, and at his own Reseda Ranch Studios, mixed and mastered by Grammy Award winner Zach Ziskin. 2017 also found FERNANDO recording most of the bass and guitars on Kerzner’s highly-acclaimed second solo album, Static.
His fifth solo album, and his first instrumental progressive rock album, was released by Forward Motion Records on February 9, 2018. Out To Sea was recorded and produced by FERNANDO at Reseda Ranch Studios, mixed and mastered by Zach Ziskin, and features cover art by Paul Whitehead (Trespass, Nursery Cryme, and Foxtrot by Genesis).
Fernando Perdomo photo
FERNANDO PERDOMO’s touring and recording credits include Christian Castro, Paulina Rubio, Soraya, Mika, Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave), Frankie Negron, Hilary McCrae, Elsten Torres, and Dave Kerzner. As guitarist for the Dave Kerzner Band, he performs annually on the progressive rock music cruise experience Cruise To The Edge. In 2017, he performed with Dave Kerzner Band at ProgDay, ProgStock, Progtoberfest III, and at the ProgDreams VII festival in Amsterdam in March of 2018.
by Kev Rowland | Jun 18, 2018 | New Releases, News
Bad Elephant Music is proud to announce that renowned and respected Oxfordshire-based progressive rock outfit Sanguine Hum is joining the BEM family, and will be releasing their long-awaited new album, ‘Now We Have Power’, this October.
The follow-up and sequel to 2015’s acclaimed double CD ‘Now We Have Light’ continues the story of Don through a surreal lyrical and musical landscape. ‘Now We Have Power’ also sees the return of original drummer Paul Mallyon to the fold as a special guest.
Joff Winks, Sanguine Hum’s guitarist and vocalist: “Making Now We Have Power has been a long, but enjoyable process and we’re really thrilled that Bad Elephant are on board with us to present the album to the world. There is an exciting vibe at BEM that is totally about putting interesting and unique music first and we’re really happy to be part of their enthusiastic team for this release.”
“It’s a real honour to be working with a band as respected as Sanguine Hum”, says BEM’s label manager, David Elliott. “Now We Have Power builds on its predecessor, a true progression in every way. It’s been great working with Matt Baber on his solo album, and now having The Hum as part of the family is just brilliant”.
‘Now We Have Power’ will be released on CD and high-quality digital download on 12th October, with pre-orders opening in late August.
by Kev Rowland | Jun 10, 2018 | Reviews
It is some five years since Deafening Opera released their second album, but finally, they are back with their third. Even before putting it in the player I was impressed with the effort that had been put into the presentation, with all lyrics contained in the booklet. This is a concept album, but interestingly there is no explanation of that in the booklet, or in the press release, or on their website as there is an expectation that the listener will work the story out for themselves. I don’t know why it has taken so long for a follow-up, but it is good to see that the six-man line-up are the same as last time, and there is a continuity and tightness that only comes from a band that knows each other well.
They have moved firmly into hard prog territory this time, keeping it tight but never really pushing into prog metal, although they do have their moments. Adrian Daleore has a good clean voice, and by often staying more baritone than many, it definitely provides a distinctive front sound to the band. They state that the sounds they are using are more modern now, and in many ways that is true, although I did feel that they probably have more in common with many of the 90’s neo-prog acts than many of the others that around today, although Riverside continues to be an obvious influence. They are playing some gigs in the near future, and they need to get out and capitalize on this, as they have been taking too long between albums to build a real momentum. The lack of reviews for this album on the web also shows how much they need to build their profile, which is a real shame as yet again they have produced a strong album, with some interesting ideas that have been well produced. It may not be essential, but it is certainly well worth investigating. www.deafening-opera.de
7/10
by Kev Rowland
by Kev Rowland | Jun 10, 2018 | Reviews
The latest album from Welsh proggers Godsticks showed some changes in the band, as for the first time it sees them as a four-piece with drummer Tom Price, who replaces Steve Roberts (who had been in the band since 2010) and additional guitarist Gavin Bushell, which allows the band to be more aggressive and punchy than previously. They join Darran Charles (who also performed on The Pineapple Thief’s 2016 hit album ‘Your Wilderness’ and is part of their live touring band) who provides vocals and guitar along with bassist Dan Nelson. Lyrically, ‘Faced With Rage’ explores the theme of people dealing with emotional conflict in different scenarios, and who have a powerful desire to change their behavior or situation.
These guys are very much in the modern field of progressive rock, taking influences from Tool, Porcupine Tree, System of a Down, Radiohead and the aforementioned The Pineapple Thief and Bruce Soord. Actually, unless they’re careful they might even find themselves becoming beloved of the mainstream media as they are far more angular and indie rocky than one would normally think of with a prog act. With their approach and layering wall of sound there are also times when they come across as a more vibrant and energized Muse, and when listening to this I often find myself having closed my eyes and am just moving to the beat, not something one would normally expect from prog! I know I am late to the piece, as the album has already been out six months, but I am incredibly glad that I have finally heard it, as it is well worth investigating by anyone who has ever bemoaned that too many prog acts sound like Genesis.
8/10
by Kev Rowland
