Los Angeles, CA – It’s a music hipster’s dream come true, a pairing that will make legions of fans weak at the knees. A recorded collaboration between the ever-innovating producer, songwriter and Rock Hall Of Fame nominee Todd Rundgren and one of the most eclectic, quixotic and highly celebrated musical acts in modern music, Sparks! Not since Sparks’ Rundgren-produced 1971 debut album have these two titanically talented acts worked so closely together.
And now Rundgren and Sparks are proud to release “Your Fandango,” the third single from Rundgren’s forthcoming Space Force album, which also features collaborations with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and hip hop artist Narcy, and the timing couldn’t be better. Rundgren just recently completed a highly publicized and hugely successful virtual tour, the “Clearly Human” Tour, while Ron and Russell Mael have been generating their own buzz ahead of the Cannes premiere of the Sparks-penned movie musical ‘Annette’ (starring Adam Driver & Marion Cotillard) and the full-length, Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver) directed documentary ‘The Sparks Brothers’ about their career. In fact, it was the filming of Rundgren’s interview for the latter that reunited him with Sparks and formed the idea of a collaboration.
The result is a masterful piece of polyphonic pop that elegantly layers Spanish music, Neopolitan cantatas, baroque fugues and glam rock for one truly epic composition.
“It’s been a truly heartwarming experience to once again be working with Todd, our first-ever producer, after a brief 50-year hiatus.” – Ron and Russell Mael
“It’s been a long way since Simple Ballet, but we finally got the old dance troupe back together!” – Todd Rundgren
In addition to making the track available on all digital platforms, acclaimed Finnish media artist Liisa Vääriskoski has created a mesmerizing and eye-popping video. The video will be premiering on Sparks’ YouTube channel Friday (April 23) at 6pm BST/10am PST/1pm EST.
26th March 2021: Downes Braide Association (DBA) release the 2LP White Vinyl of their fourth studio album Halcyon Hymns today.
Buy Halcyon Hymns (all formats) here: https://downesbraide.co.uk/ Geoff Downes says: “The vinyl release of “Halcyon Hymns” really is the icing on the cake for Chris & I. We have had an amazing amount of positivity from all quarters, and the incredible response to the album has been way beyond our greatest expectations. Now, to see the album in all its white vinyl glory, with the wonderful Roger Dean artwork really takes it a step beyond and makes it extra special for us. We’re sure you will appreciate our sincere endeavours and hard work to present you with what we hope will be a real keepsake for you all. Many thanks for your continued support.”
Chris Braide adds: “Geoff and I really feel that our music was made for vinyl and Roger Dean’s stunning art is at its optimum when printed as a 12-inch LP sleeve. We also know that our wonderful and dedicated fans would love to see “Halcyon Hymns” presented in this format so this if for them too!”
Chris Braide (vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, programming) and Geoff Downes (piano, keyboards, programming) are joined on Halcyon Hymns by Ash Soan on drums and Andy Hodge (bass). Additional guests are Dave Bainbridge, Barney Ashton-Bullock, Marc Almond, Tim Weller, Joe Catcheside, David Longdon, Elijah and Sascha Braide.
Halcyon Hymns is the fifth DBA collaboration and follows their three previous critically acclaimed studio albums Pictures of You (2012), Suburban Ghosts (2015) and Skyscraper Souls (2017). The duo has also released Live In England (2019) recorded at their first ever concert at Trading Boundaries, East Sussex, in 2018.
About Downes Braide Association Downes Braide Association was formed as a studio-based project by Geoff Downes and Chris Braide and has already produced three acclaimed studio albums: Pictures Of You (2012), Suburban Ghosts (2015) and Skyscraper Souls (2017) together with a live album Live In England (2019). The project draws on Downes’ and Braide’s rich musical heritage to create a delightfully accessible brand of progressive rock.
British singer-songwriter-pianist Chris Braide has recently returned to UK shores after many years based in California. He enjoys enormous success writing and producing music for film scores, advertising campaigns and working closely with artists including Sia – he co-wrote Music from her new album, Toni Braxton, Lana Del Rey, Marc Almond, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Paloma Faith, Britney Spears, David Guetta, Chris also co-wrote the music with Hans Zimmer and Sia for Seven Worlds One Planet – David Attenborough series. He has won an Ivor Novello Award and was nominated for a Grammy.
Keyboard wizard Geoff Downes was thrust into the limelight with the worldwide success of Video Killed The Radio Star in 1979. The single topped the charts chart in 16 countries for The Buggles duo of Geoff and Trevor Horn (vocals, bass guitar). They briefly joined prog legends YES before Downes became a founder member of the supergroup Asia with YES guitarist Steve Howe, ELP drummer Carl Palmer and the late John Wetton (vocals, bass guitar).
The Wetton-Downes composition Heat Of The Moment became a world-wide hit in 1982 heralding many years of success for Asia with their FM radio-friendly brand of rock. Downes later returned to YES in 2012 and remains with the band alongside Steve Howe.
26th March 2021: KANSAS, America’s legendary progressive rock band has released the track Point Of Know Return (Live 2019-20), taken from their upcoming, new live album Point of Know Return Live & Beyond out 28th May. The song was recorded on April 4, 2019 at the Balboa Theater in San Diego, CA.
This is the first live album since 2017 for the band that has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and is famous for classic hits such as ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ and ‘Dust in the Wind,’ to progressive epics like ‘Song for America.’
Point of Know Return Live & Beyond is co-produced by Phil Ehart and Richard Williams, and is recorded and mixed by Chad Singer. The album features 22 songs selected from 12 shows recorded in 2019 and 2020 during KANSAS’s Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour. The setlist includes classic hits, deep cuts, and culminates with the band’s sextuple-platinum album, Point of Know Return, performed in its entirety.
Following the success of the band’s Leftoverture Anniversary Tour, KANSAS followed that tour up with the even more popular Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour. The overwhelming success of that tour, and the previous live album, Leftoverture Live & Beyond, led the band, along with Inside Out Music, to release selected songs from the tour as a live album.
“We knew we wanted to release a live album of the Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour. Being unable to tour for more than a year has given us the opportunity to work on Point of Know Return Live & Beyond and release it for our fans who are missing live concerts as much as we are,” said KANSAS drummer and album co-producer, Phil Ehart. “When we discussed who would mix the album, we thought the best possible person would be the guy who mixes the band live every night and recorded the shows on the road. Nobody knows better how KANSAS sounds live than our front of house engineer, Chad Singer!”
“This live album sounds great,” adds KANSAS guitarist and album co-producer, Richard Williams. “We wanted to make sure this album captures and represents how KANSAS sounds live in concert. Point of Know Return Live & Beyond does just that.”
Along with original KANSAS band members Phil Ehart on drums and Richard Williams on lead guitar, Point of Know Return Live & Beyond, features Tom Brislin on keyboards and vocals, Billy Greer on bass and vocals, Ronnie Platt on lead vocals and keyboards, David Ragsdale on violin and vocals, and Zak Rizvi on guitar and vocals.
Point of Know Return Live & Beyond, will be released May 28, 2021, on Inside Out Music and is distributed by The Orchard. The album will be available as a double CD digipak, triple 180-gram vinyl + 2 CD box-set, and digitally on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, iTunes, and other fine digital retailers.
Point of Know Return Live & Beyond
Track Listing:
1.) Cold Grey Morning
2.) Two Cents Worth
3.) The Wall
4.) Song for America
5.) Summer
6.) Musicatto
7.) Taking in the View
8.) Miracles Out of Nowhere
9.) Point of Know Return
10.) Paradox
11.) The Spider
12.) Portrait (He Knew)
13.) Closet Chronicles
14.) Lightning’s Hand
15.) Dust in the Wind
16.) Sparks of the Tempest
17.) Nobody’s Home
18.) Hopelessly Human
19.) Carry On Wayward Son
20.) People of the South Wind
21.) Refugee
22.) Lonely Wind
When touring resumes, KANSAS will continue rescheduled Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour dates as well as KANSAS Classics tour dates. More information on the tour, including specific Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour dates, can be found at www.kansasband.com. The band recently announced that their European Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour dates had been rescheduled to 2022. The full list of dates can be found below:
11 October 2022 – Amsterdam, Netherlands: Carre Theater
12 October 2022 – Hamburg, Germany: Docks
14 October 2022 – Helsinki, Finland: Culture House
15 October 2022 – Tampere, Finland: Tamperetalo
17 October 2022 – Stockholm, Sweden: Cirkus
18 October 2022 – Oslo, Norway: Sentrum Scene
20 October 2022 – Berlin, Germany: Tempodrom
22 October 2022 – Bochum, Germany: Ruhrcongress Center
23 October 2022 – Brussels, Belgium: Cirque Royale
25 October 2022 – Paris, France: Olympia Theater
28 October 2022 – Frankfurt, Germany: Jahrhunderthalle
Corrado Rustici, the renowned guitarist and producer, has released a brand new instrumental solo album entitled Interfulgent. The album is available from Friday February 26th and a video for one of its tracks “Night of the Jackal” can be seen below.
A founding member of celebrated 70’s prog act Cervello, as well as the jazz-rock group Nova alongside his brother Danilo, Corrado’s status within the world of progressive music is legendary. He has performed and recorded with the likes of Phil Collins, Allan Holdsworth, Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis through his illustrious 40 year career, which has also seen him become one of Italy’s most successful producers. Working with international artists as well as stars from his home country, Corrado has been involved with some of the biggest albums of recent years, creating a hugely impressive body of work.
Having released several solo albums throughout his career, his latest work Interfulgent seeks to place his chosen instrument and voice, the electric guitar, into a more contemporary musical context. Characterised by wholly unique guitar sounds created from his own range of signature pedals and effects, Corrado’s guitar work is incredibly expressive, original, and liberating for what the instrument is truly capable of.
WATCH THE “NIGHT OF THE JACKAL” VIDEO HERE
Interfulgent Track list:
1. Halo Drive 2. Night of the Jackal 3. The man from Yorkshire 4. Black Swan 5. Anna 6. Interfulgent 7. Khetwadi Lane 8. ZuZu Blues 9. The waters of Enceladus 10. G. on a sunny day
Interfulgent is now available to buy as a limited edition CD (signed by Corrado) or digital album from Corrado’s official website and his Bandcamp store:
With their upcoming EP “Til Nord” (Eng.: “Northward”) legendary Norwegian folk rockers GÅTE achieve a stunning transformation. The band from Trøndelag, the area surrounding the ancient west coast harbour city of Trondheim, is delivering an emotive, epic collection of tracks revisiting some of their own classics and adding a new track as a taste of great things to come. They are delving even deeper into the musical past of their country, with a contemporary approach. “Kjærleik” (Eng.: Love) is the first single from the coming EP!
Gåte comments on the first single: “Kjærleik is a song that urges those who love each other to act with honour, pride and kindness. It’s about trust and the opportunity to unfold oneself. To regard one another as a gift, but not an asset. If these elements are fulfilled, love can make people flourish. Equally, it is a song that tells how limiting a relationship can be if sustaining elements of love are absent.”
What Gåte have done to their songs is both breathtakingly bold and amazing to hear. The first single and opening track ‘Kjærleik’ is the perfect example of how they have reimagined their sound. Taking away keyboards, electric guitar, and rock drumming, Gåte have added an archaic percussion style and used acoustic instrumentation. Gunnhild Sundli, whose exceptional vocals which played a major role in catapulting the band to stardom in Norway, has stripped out some of the technical complexity from her singing style and placed emphasis upon folk attitude and expression. In stylistic terms, we see a shift from their energetic folk rock to a darker, more down to earth, Norse-atmospheric folk expression. Yet Gåte remain true to themselves, even when exploring new possibilities within a musical territory pioneered by among others their compatriots Warduna and Faeroese singer Eivør Pálsdóttir.
Playing the old and the new version of ‘Kjærleik’ back-to-back demonstrates that the original remains an outstanding piece, while the reworking amazes with its fresh perspective. Both clearly have the stamp of “Gåte” and revolve around a traditional axis which is given a modern reinterpretation.
Gåte were founded in 1999 by violin player and keyboardist Sveinung Sundli, who recruited his sister Gunnhild as singer. Sveinung’s violin and Gunnhild’s folk song technique “kveding” brought to the sound a firm base in traditional music, which was complemented and contrasted by modern bass, drums, and electric guitars. The resulting folk rock blew both minds and ears. With the self-titled EPs “Gåte” in 2001 and 2002, and their debut album “Jygri” (2002), the band exploded onto their country’s music scene. Their records and celebrated wild live performances won them the Norwegian Grammy (“Spellemannprisen”) for best new band and they stormed the charts. With their second album “Iselilja” (2004), Gåte started to gain international recognition, but singer Gunnhild Sundli moved on to pursue other successful career paths. The Norwegians went into a hiatus at this time, but with their massive National success, they still managed to enter the charts with their live album “Liva” (2006) while in hiatus.
During their absence, the reputation of Gåte kept growing as no other band was able to fill the gap they had left behind. When out of the blue the band announced a tour and returned in 2017, venues sold out at record speed. With their third album, “Svevn” (2018), they again underlined their exceptional status and musical prowess.
Now, instead of comfortably resting on their well-deserved laurels, the band that has always been eager to break new ground and expand their artistic horizon dares to explore a fascinating new path as illustrated by “Til Nord”. At the beginning of an exciting journey into the uncharted corners of Nordic folk, Gåte are standing firmly on home ground as they present yet another stunning masterclass in musical innovation. Here come the Vikings again and this time they bring beautiful gifts.
Credits “Kjærleik”: Gunnhild Sundli – Vocal Magnus Børmark – Guitar, vocal, percussion Sveinung Sundli – Hardingfele (main instrument from Norwegian folk music), violin, pedal organ, vocal and percussion Lyrics and melody by Knut Buen, arrangement by Gåte
Pyrrha’s Song will be the first track to be released by the new project Troubleshooting Pandora’s Box due out in mid-march. Nick Katona of Melodic Revolution Records is offering a free download of the debut song from his new project, Troubleshooting Pandora’s Box, to all contributors to Potter’s Daughter’s campaign. The debut single, Pyrrha’s Song, features Dyanne and Jan from Potter’s Daughter and Jimmy Keegan, of Pattern-Seeking Animals.
About The song Pyrrha was Pandora’s daughter, her father was the Titan Epimetheus. Pyrrha and her husband Deukalion (Deucalion) were the sole survivors of the Great Deluge. To repopulate the earth, Hermes instructed them to cast stones over their shoulder, which formed a new race of men and women. Ralph Shephard’s lyrics speak to Pyrrha’s story facing the Great Flood and her duty to repopulate the world.
About Troubleshooting Pandora’s Box? The project is an exploration into what lies behind beauty, sometimes it is evil and corrupt. These concepts will provide a lush platform for rich storytelling lending insight to our modern age with a focus on how to make our lives and world better. This is not a project by a band but instead, it comes from a collaboration of artists, whose styles, backgrounds, and interpretation through their cultural lens provide beautiful music filled with great hooks and lyrics that will resonate with each of us. Each song will be a digital-only release initially, with a full album of the best to follow in the future. Stay tuned, we have our first piece releasing shortly, full details to follow.
The concept of Troubleshooting Pandora’s Box was born over 20 years ago during the dawn of the computer age and is finally ready to be unleashed upon the world.
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