After the release of their self-titled debut album in September 2019 Philadelphia-based duo Rise Twain have been keeping busy during the pandemic and are happy to be announcing the release of a new video for the track “The Range” today.
Watch the video here:
J.D. Beck comments: “The Range is a ballad that speaks of survival. This survival, however, carries a price beyond that of mortality and ancestry. It is a reflection of a time when people fought in a common country upon uncommon ground, it is tears from the mother for her son that never returned, a promise of a father to his son or daughter to take hold of destiny, and the song of a soldier who survived. Memories carry cold across water while a warm hat remains – a remnant of that brother lost – all for a greater good. The penance of those left, the memories they must bare, and the forgiveness to carry on is all that remains. The grass drinks the war up and grows another year. It is a calling of peace beyond, unto silence, and a resounding echo into our current time.”
The union of Brett William Kull (producer, audio engineer, and member of Echolyn, Grey Eye Glances, and Francis Dunnery’s New Progressives) and J.D. Beck (The Scenic Route, Beck-Fields, author & playwright) brought their collective years of direct and varied experience in writing, performing and recording music together for their impressive debut.
1. Everspring 2. Golden 3. The Range 4. Lit Up 5. Death of Summer 6. Oh This Life 7. Prayers 8. Falling Skies 9. Into A Dream 10. That Is Love
Talking of how the duo came together: “I produced an album for J.D.’s original band, The Scenic Route”, says Kull, describing his first meeting with Beck in 2007. “They were a rocky, progressive kind of band, like a Jeff Buckley kind of thing. I was immediately drawn to his vocals. He’s such a strong singer.” Kull says he and Beck immediately hit it off, what he describes as an “inevitable connection.”
Adds Beck, “I just knew I had to work with Brett on a higher level. When I came in to cut the vocals on the Scenic Route album, the way we worked together…some people you just gel with, and then some people you have a barrier with. Brett and I gelled.” They spoke of one day collaborating on their own project, which finally surfaces as Rise Twain.
Discussing the album’s musical direction, Beck notes, “There’s not a typical structural theme that we use over and over and over. ‘Organic’ is a word that comes to mind. Seeking openness through simplicity and allowing the complexity of music to exist without the necessity of overly packing it or overly processing it. With that we were able to achieve such a broad spectrum of sound, and a colossal sense of its existence, without having to have a billion guitars and a billion things put over top. There’s some colouring with strings and other embellishments, but it really is something very simple and stripped down, and it’s awesome.”
Kull adds, “There’s a lot of complexity in this, but it’s not overt in the least bit. But yet, when you get into it, there’s all this really rich harmonic and dynamic stuff going on.”
RISE TWAIN are: J.D. Beck: Piano, lead and backing vocals Brett William Kull: Guitars, bass, keys, percussion, lead and backing vocals
;;; In the studio with Martin and Norm., British Columbia, Canada, Isobel Springett
Martin Springett of The Gardening Club talks about the making of the new single “Strange Kingdom” due out this Friday, the single is from the upcoming album of the same name due out sometime in 2020
The Gardening Club is a Canadian progressive rock band that infuses many other styles of music and to create a one of a kind sound, led by UK-born and founding member Martin Springett an accomplished musician and illustrator..
The Gardening Club Martin Springett – Vocals & guitars Norm MacPherson – Guitars, keyboards & bassoon James MacPherson – Drums & keyboards
Anger, disappointment, disbelief … those were the emotions when a rapist, free as a bird because of our rotten justice system, raped and killed a young lady.
Here in Belgium, rapists and child molesters often go free or get a ridiculous punishment, by far not in proportion to their crimes. It seems it’s o.k. to treat women like garbage. Even worse, this happened many times before and it’s not only a problem in Belgium.
Worldwide women get oppressed, tortured, beaten, sold, humiliated, enslaved every day. And the ones who have a normal life, a family, and a job, don’t get paid equally compared with a male who does the same job. This is of course many times better than being violated but still, it just isn’t fair.
World leaders who say it’s no problem to touch women in their private parts without asking first and get away with it don’t help either. ‘No Woman’ can be seen as an old-fashioned protest song. Saying it’s time, the world starts to respect women as it should and punish the violators once and for all. The video clip features people from all around the globe, making a stand together for human treatment of our mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, and grandmas.
Special thanks to Peter Skov for the footage of Japan and Canada. Supah groovy bass by Petri Lindström. Mastered by Marco Ragni.
Vocals Stef Flaming, Marie Vancamp and Kim Mercken Mieke Driesmans as a guest singer All instruments Stef Flaming except bass and Drums Bass Petri Lemmy Lindström Drums Rene Marteaux
On October 30th, 2020 progressive rockers THE FLOWER KINGS will release their new double album “Islands” on InsideOutMusic, just a year after the group’s much celebrated “Waiting For Miracles”. With ‘Broken’, the group now presents a first track from this opus and the band has the following to say about the track:
“Howdy people – how is life on your islands and in your isolation? Good news is – there is music – and even better – there is NEW music from THE FLOWER KINGS. Here is ‘Broken’ – first song from our new double album/triple LP !! ‘Broken’ is a song about addiction, stress and confusion – Not a typical song for the album, because the album has no ‘typical’ style – it is just a wild ride of styles and influences. We’re super excited about you to hear ALL of it, but here is a first glimpse of the progressive smorgasbord. There is more waiting. Get your pre-orders going! Much love from Jonas – Mirkko – Zach – Hasse & Roine!”
The 92 minutes long “Islands” features artwork by legend Roger Dean (Yes, Asia, Gentle Giant, Greenslade, Uriah Heep) and all trademark sounds and melodies, the band is renowned for. From vintage keys to epic guitar solos, from odd drum patterns to symphonic elements, THE FLOWER KINGS present a dynamic and complex record that is bold, bombastic and beautiful.
“Islands” is now available as massive Limited 3LP & 2CD box set with slipcase and 180 gram vinyl housed in one gatefold, one single sleeve; as Limited Edition 2CD Digipak and Digital Album. Presales are available now! https://theflowerkings.lnk.to/IslandsID
Strictly limited coloured vinyl editions are available from these outlets: 100x orange 200x creamy white www.insideoutshop.de
Disc One (49:40) 1 – Racing With Blinders On 4:24 2 – From The Ground 4.02 3 – Black Swan 5:53 4 – Morning News 4:01 5 – Broken 6:38 6 – Goodbye Outrage 2:19 7 – Journeyman 1:43 8 – Tangerine 3:51 9 – Solaris 9:10 10 – Heart Of The Valley 4:18 11- Man In A Two Peace Suit 3:21
Disc Two (43:01) 1 – All I Need Is Love 5:48 2 – A New Species 5:45 3 – Northern Lights 5:43 4 – Hidden Angles 0:50 5 – Serpentine 3:52 6 – Looking For Answers 4:30 7 –Telescope 4:41 8 – Fool’s Gold 3:11 9 – Between Hope & Fear 4:29 10 – Islands 4:12
After almost two years of search, the Chilean rock group Aisles welcome their new singer, Israel Gil, with the re-recording of the song “Smile of Tears”. The track, taken from the album “In Sudden Walks” (2009), has a strong electronic influence from Depeche Mode’s eighties era, brought to the 21st century. “This song affects me a lot because when we recorded it, social distancing and the pandemic were starting in Chile –says Israel- the title makes a lot of sense to me, because in these lockdown days, with video calls and contact through social media, you pretend on camera that you are happy, but you are suffering on the inside”. Germán Vergara, Aisles’ guitarist and producer, points out that they chose this song because “we have rarely played it live and we thought that this was a good opportunity to bring it back and to introduce Israel to our audience”. Israel is replacing longtime vocalist and founding member Sebastián Vergara, who stepped down as frontman of Aisles in October, 2018.
Israel, a classical trained musician and student of Music Theory at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, was discovered through the social network Vampr, an app that connects musicians from all over the world who share interests. German explains, “we liked his voice because it is honest and clear, it is very special”. Israel adds: “I saw this band in the app, German sent me a message because he liked a video I posted, and after that first contact I had a revelatory moment: singing would become my priority. I had never bet this much in my life”.
After an intense audition process, where the musician had to learn old and new songs of the band, Israel was chosen because of his motivation, his discipline, his attention to detail and his friendliness. “We feel that he has been part of the band for years –says German- even though we have really shared just a few months. There has been a lot of chemistry, a lot of conversation. We need to work with someone that makes you feel comfortable, because the creative process is too intimate”. Israel adds: “After the audition process, I realized this is the path I want to follow, I want to see how this mechanism works. In this band, there’s a constant search and there are also different opinions, which makes it complex and also extremely motivating”.
Aisles, formed also by Rodrigo Sepúlveda (guitar), Felipe Candia (drums), Juan Pablo Gaete (keyboards, synth) and Daniel Concha (bass), are working on their fifth studio album, which will be released by June, 2021. “Most of the music is already recorded, we only need to record the voice and we hope to start showing new material starting on January”, says German. This album leaves behind the sound and visual complexity of “Hawaii” (2016), keeping the melancholy and instrumental passages that have defined Aisles throughout their career, adding influences as Porcupine Tree and Animals as Leaders.
Based in Santiago, Chile, and having released four highly acclaimed studio albums, Aisles have become South America’s most important progressive band of the past two decades.
The group has toured the Americas, Europe, and done extensive touring cycles in Chile, opening for household names such as Marillion and Focus.
Their latest studio album, ‘Hawaii’ (2016), was called a “masterpiece” and chosen among the best albums of the year by media outlets such as Prog (England), Neoprog (France), Raw Ramp (England) and Chile’s premiere rock magazine, Rockaxis.
After parting ways with long-time vocalist and founding member Sebastián Vergara in late 2018, Aisles has found a new singer and are starting anew with a different line-up and a new sound. The band will start releasing new music in September 2020, leading up to their fifth studio album, to be released in the second semester of 2021.
Check our live from home video if you want to see Israel in action
For the time being, “Smile of Tears” is only a digital release. But don’t get discouraged, we might release it on a special limited edition in the forthcoming months. You can download it on Bandcamp, and stream it on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, and more.
Aisles are:
Israel Gil: lead singer Germán Vergara: guitar Rodrigo Sepúlveda: guitar Daniel Concha: bass Juan Pablo Gaete: piano, keyboards Felipe Candia: drums, percussion
Follow us on our social media to stay current with all of our news. We will be doing more “Live from home” videos and letting you know about our new releases.
World acclaimed keyboardist Derek Sherinian, (Sons of Apollo, Black Country Communion), one of the most significant keyboard players of the modern era, recently announced the release of his new solo album ‘The Phoenix’ on September 18th, 2020, his first since 2011’s ‘Oceana’. Derek comments: “I truly feel that this is my best solo record to date. Simon Phillips and I put a lot of energy into the writing, and I am grateful to all of the great players that contributed to this recording.”
Today he launches the video for his cover of the Buddy Miles classic ‘Them Changes’, featuring Joe Bonamassa on guitar and vocals. Watch the video now
The album’s first single, Empyrean Sky, which features Sherinian and drummer Simon Phillips joined by Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal on guitar & Jimmy Johnson on bass, and was called a “marvellous voyage of instrumental virtuosity” by Guitar World. Listen now here: https://youtu.be/twHB7YVEXgwAs mentioned, Sherinian has teamed up with drummer extraordinaire Simon Phillips, who not only plays drums but also co-produced and co-wrote the album:“It is always an amazing experience to be able to work with Simon. He’s been a hero of mine for ages, ever since I heard him playing on albums with Jeff Beck and Michael Schenker. And he is such an invaluable part of the way this new record has come out.”
There are a number of top line guests featured on ‘The Phoenix’, as has been the case in the past for Sherinian, on both guitar and bass. Some have become regular contributors to his solo sessions. People such as bassists Tony Franklin (“He’s been on all my albums to date”), Jimmy Johnson and Billy Sheehan (Sherinian’s bandmate in Sons Of Apollo). Plus guitarists Joe Bonamassa and Zakk Wylde. In addition, others are welcomed into the fold for the first time. For instance, there’s master guitarist Steve Vai. “Steve Vai has always been on my hit list. But it was when I played keyboards on the Generation Axe tour of Asia in 2017 that I asked him to play on my record, which he gladly accepted” Also present are Sons Of Apollo bandmate Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal (Sons Of Apollo) and Kiko Loureiro (Megadeth). “Kiko and I have known one another for about 20 years. But this is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to play with him.”
Album. Find the full track-listing below:
1. The Phoenix 2. Empyrean Sky 3. Clouds of Ganymede 4. Dragonfly 5. Temple of Helios 6. Them Changes 7. Octopus Pedigree 8. Pesadelo
The album features 8 tracks, including a cover of Buddy Miles ‘Them Changes’, and will be released as a Limited Edition Digipak CD, 180g LP + CD & as Digital
Derek Sherinian’s far ranging talents have been much in evidence through the music of Alice Cooper (who once called him “The Caligula of keyboards”), Dream Theater, Black Country Communion and current band Sons Of Apollo. Moreover, proving just how much he is demand to work with rock royalty, Sherinian has also toured and recorded extensively with KISS, and Billy Idol, proving his classic and hard rock pedigree, whilst also being voted #9 in Prog Magazines greatest keyboardists of all time.
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