(Art Rock Wizard Derek Ferguson Dealing with Darkness, Depth of Light and Darkness)
Coming May 4 is “Intourist,” the third album from Refestramus, and the album’s new music video “Smiling.” The video premiere is set for 12 PM CT/10 AM PT (Friday night/Saturday morning) on May 4 at https://youtu.be/WYJ_I0f236c
Bandcamp fans will be able to hear and download the ArtRock album, “Intourist” this Thursday night/Friday morning (April 4 and 5) at midnight on https://refestramus.bandcamp.com/
“I’m the writer, I play drums, I pay for everything,” states Derek Ferguson, the Wizard who leads the progressive rock studio ensemble known as Refestramus. Named after a word his mother made up to mean “rearrange,” Derek and his producer – Colouratura’s Ian Beabout – liked it because it wasn’t a legitimate word, “A web search will only turn up our band!,” which means the latest search for “Refestramus” will show their new album, Intourist (Melodic Revolution Records)!
As the bearer of this music, Derek’s powers are rooted in inspiration through his writing and finding musicians. He discovered many on the Internet gig site, Fiverr.com: Gifted voices adorn Intourist: Induction lead singer Craig Cairns, rock vocalists NIDA, Denisse Ferrara, and Vedrana Lina. Brazilian keyboardist maestro Rogelio Desouza is also a Fiverr artist.
Derek writes from the depth of emotion. The album’s first video, “Smiling,” he says, “delves into the complexity of concealing one’s sadness to maintain others’ happiness, offering a poignant reflection on the masks we wear in society.”
Refestramus was born May 2020 as Derek’s home studio project during the COVID pandemic. Having been in a variety of progressive rock bands in his native Chicago and an avid listener of Ian Beabout’s Internet radio program “Prog Rock Deep Cuts,” he reached out to Ian to mix and master the recordings. Ian, who plays flute and sings on some tracks on Intourist, introduced Derek to Colouratura bandmates Derek Pavlic and Nathan James, Saxophonist Mitch Lawrence and Wisconsin multi-instrumentalist Jerry King, who plays bass on Intourist. Adding prog multi-instrumentalist Dave Newhouse, who contributed accordion, helped Derek Ferguson guide the album to completion.
Favorite songs on Intourist include “The Red Apple” based on Maxim Gorkiy’s story about a gypsy horse thief and themes of rejection and longing. “Asunción” is a heartfelt tribute to the city of Asunción, “You know how bands used to say ‘we’re big in Japan’? We’re big in Paraguay – they even play us on their national radio station there from time to time!” “Side Hustle” is a Jethro Tull inspired song. “‘Mr. Darwin’ offers a lighthearted take on human survival and natural selection.” The album’s title track is a 3-part epic that combines themes of resilience with the supernatural realms on earth including “zombie love” in the third part of the track, “Intourist.”
In addition to acoustic versions of “Asunción” and “The Red Apple,” the physical CD features a cover of Spirit’s “Mr. Skin.” Spirit is one of Derek’s favorite bands, and he points out, “the songwriter here also has the last name Ferguson”
Refestramus’ debut album, Decoupage, was released in December of 2021. Expose’s Peter Thelen, who has reviewed thousands of Progressive Rock albums over the years, declared it a “Solid opening move.” In 2022, Refestramus released the EP, From the Sublime to the Ridiculous, which featured possibly the “Prog-iest” track on the album “The Devil Returns” – drawing inspiration heavily from Bulgakov’s famous novel “The Master and Margarita.”
Swedish metal veterans EVERGREY, known for their dark and profound compositions, have unveiled a haunting new video for their captivating song “Ominous”. The song is cut from their latest and highly acclaimed chart-topping opus, ‘A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)’, which entered the charts worldwide at #3 in Sweden (Metal), #5 in the United States (Top New Artist Albums), #7 in Finland, and #12 in Germany. The gripping new visual for “Ominous” marks the closure of this chapter, while EVERGREY is more than ready to head into new sonic adventures.
EVERGREY’s journey shows no sign of slowing down – their new album will be released this year. Stay tuned for more exciting news coming soon!
Throughout over 30 years of existence, Gothenburg’s finest export of darkness has gathered numerous worldwide chart positions with thirteen studio albums in total and has enthralled fans around the globe. The band, centered around mastermind Tom S. Englund, has been a consistent presence in the metal scene, leaving an indelible mark with their powerful performances, also appearing at renowned festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Bloodstock, Summer Breeze, and Graspop.
EVERGREY states:
“This is the last song to be released as a stunning feature film-like video from the ‘Heartless Portrait‘ album, however, it is at the same time also the beginning. This will become much clearer VERY soon! Stay excited! :D”
Watch the enchanting official video for “Ominous”
‘A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)’, the follow-up to the unit’s highly successful 2021 full-length, ‘Escape of the Phoenix’ (which landed at numerous chart positions worldwide), reveals a 10 track mélange of which every note, every riff and every word seeps pure poetry – creating a ceaseless intensity that mesmerizes from the very first second.
‘A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)’ was recorded at Top Floor Studios Gothenburg, engineered by Jakob Herrman, and produced by Tom S. Englund and Jonas Ekdahl, with mixing and mastering by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios (Volbeat, Destruction, Epica and many more), whereas the hauntingly beautiful album artwork was conjured by Giannis Nakos at Remedy Art Design. Nakos is known for creating artworks for acts like Oceans Of Slumber, Amaranthe, The Agonist, and The Crown as well as merchandise for Morbid Angel, Suffocation, and Cryptopsy – just to name a few.
Artwork by Giannis Nakos, Remedy Art Design
‘A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)’ is a striking testament to the fact that while the Swedish five-piece doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone at this phase, they still impressively showcase that their creativity sees no bounds – dropping yet another sensation within their impressive catalog!
‘A Heartless Portrait(The Orphean Testament)’Track List:
Following the overwhelming success of their 2023 tour, Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks today announce the first 22 shows of the 2024 “YES Epics, Classics, and More” tour. The tour begins on May 30th at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. Like the 2023 tour, the set list will contain numerous YES songs from all stages of the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career that feature Jon as their lead vocalist and songwriter. The tour also promises the introduction of new material created by Jon and The Band Geeks.
Jon and the Band Geeks are currently putting the finishing touches on a brand new nine track cd set for release in late summer with a first single and video targeted for release in late June.
Tour Dates :
5/30/24 Thursday – New Brunswick NJ @ State Theatre
6/1/2024 Saturday – Englewood NJ @ Bergen PAC
6/3/2024 Monday – Rochester NY @ Kodak Center Theatre
6/6/2024 Thursday – Albany NY @ Hart Theatre
6/8/2024 Saturday – Hammondsport NY @ Point of The Bluff Concert Pavilion
6/13/2024 Thursday – Chicago IL @ Copernicus
6/15/2024 Saturday – Maryland Heights MO
6/18/2024 Tuesday – Greensburg PA @ Palace Theater
6/20/2024 Thursday – Hershey PA @ Hershey Theatre
6/22/2024 Saturday – Concord NH @ Capitol Center for the Arts
We’re thrilled to announce that on March 22, 2024, our label will unleash Ruud Jolie’s For All We Know‘s latest masterpiece, ‘By Design Or By Disaster’. The album will be available on CD and on vinyl!
Since 2011, For All We Know has been the side project of Ruud Jolie, known from Within Temptation. The debut album was released in the same year, followed by the second album called ‘Take Me Home’ in 2017. In 2023, both albums were released on vinyl via prog rock/metal label Construction Records. The brand new third album, entitled ‘By Design Or By Disaster’, will also be released on CD and colored vinyl via Construction Records.
During the writing process, Jolie again worked closely with singer Wudstik, and the band consists of the same musicians who were featured on the first two albums: Léo Margarit (Pain of Salvation), Kristoffer Gildenlöw (ex Pain of Salvation), and Marco Kuypers (ex Cloud Machine). The 11 songs on the album were produced by Jolie himself and range from metal to calm melodies.
Compared to the previous two albums, ‘By Design Or By Disaster‘ takes the listener to even more extreme corners, ranging from beautiful atmospheric strings to powerful rhythms and heavy guitars. Despite this diversity, Jolie continues to search for unexpected melodies and harmonies, where he is not afraid to go off the beaten path. There are also some ‘Easter eggs’ hidden for the attentive listener; melodies from the previous albums that return in an innovative way on this new album, making the first two albums together with this album a kind of trinity, which also applies to the artwork. First single and video ‘The Future That Came Too Soon’ Second single and video ‘Lifeline’
They appear alongside a line up of great artists including That Joe Payne, The Paradox Twin, Amanda Lehmann, Storm Deva & more
Saturday 24th August to Monday 26th August 2024, Cantley Park, Wokingham
Wokingham Festival has announced its three day line up featuring a wide range of musical genres including a showcase of some of the best current progressive music artists.
Taking place on Saturday, Sunday & Monday of the August Bank Holiday weekend with over 40 artists appearing, the festival has announced that the Monday line up on August 26th, which focuses on the best of prog & rock, will feature one of the most influential bands to emerge from the 1980’s festival scene, Ozric Tentacles as headliners. The band are the creative vision of multi-instrumentalist, Ed Wynne and their uniquely trippy soundscapes connect fans of progressive rock, psychedelia and dance culture. Ozric Tentacles released their 17th studio album, ‘Lotus Unfolding’ in October 2023 to great acclaim in in their 40th anniversary year.
Photo : Ozric Tentacles. Credit : Artist Also appearing on the main stage on the day will be That Joe Payne, performing a full band set with his
incredible group of musicians, plus The Paradox Twin, Spriggan Mist, Hoopy Frood & Amanda Lehmann.
There is also a second stage with no cross over so that every minute of music on the day can be enjoyed by all. The stage features a great mix of prog, blues & indie from some excellent artists. Headliners are the fast rising band from the Netherlands, Sonic Whip and there will also be performances from Chloe Mogg, San Demas,
Jimmy the Dog & Storm Deva. Gates open at 11.00am, Music starts at 12.00 midday and finishes at 8pm on the Monday (10.30 on Sat &
Sun) so not a late night if working the next day.
The first two days of the festival on the Saturday & Sunday feature a wide range of musical style including tribute artists, cover artists as well as original artists. Original prog and rock will also be represented on those days with Flutatious headlining the second stage on the Sunday, The Room playing the main stage on the Saturday and The Cold Blooded Hearts playing the main stage on the Sunday. There will also be performances from a number of excellent young indie bands.
About Wokingham Festival :-
Wokingham Festival was set up over 16 years ago by founder Stan Hetherington, who also runs the renowned Wokingham Music Club and it has built a solid and growing reputation over the years as a quality family friendly festival run by the community for the community. As well as the music across its two stages there is a great range of food and drink stalls in addition to the well stocked bar and beer tent.
The festival was traditionally a two day festival but in 2019 Stan asked Chris Hillman of White Star Records, if he would help set up a new day 3 of the festival to focus on the best of prog and rock. Chris was happy to oblige and the day was so successful that it has continued with 2024 being the 6th year since that first event!
Stan Hetherington has decided to step down from the festival as part of his retirement and has handed over the reins to a new team that will be run by Dean Nelson, known in the prog scene and beyond as manager of Kyros and owner of Generation Studio. Dean and his new team will be assisted with ongoing advice from Stan & Chris.
Chris Hillman spoke about this year’s event :
‘It’s been wonderful to see the reputation of Wokingham Festival growing further since we added a day of prog and rock to the event. The crowd has grown each year so hopefully that means we are doing something right.The aim has been to bring established bands to the area and also to help support up and coming artists in a fun friendly music loving environment. We are really excited that Ozric Tentacles are able to join us this year, alongside a great line up of quality artists’
Photo : Wokingham Festival Day 3 Crowd. Credit Andrew Merritt
Early Bird Tickets for Wokingham Festival which offer great value have already gone on sale, and may be purchased via the web site at www.wokinghamfestival.co.uk
For more information and to stay updated on Wokingham Festival, follow their social media at www.facebook.com/wokinghamfestival www.instagram.com/wokinghamfestival www.twitter.com/wokinghamfest
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