English alternative progressive rock band The Pineapple Thief will release an album titled Give It Back on May 13th via Kscope. This is an album of newly recorded, re-worked classic tracks, that now feature drum legend Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson), from the band’s impressive catalog.
The Pineapple Thief is one of the leading lights of Europe’s experimental rock domain, led by post-progressive mastermind Bruce Soord and reinforced by Gavin Harrison (King Crimson) on drums.
In the lead up to their extensive forthcoming 2022 European and US tour (23 Feb through to June) in support of their latest studio album ‘Versions Of The Truth’, The Pineapple Thief present ‘Give It Back’ which is due for release on the 13th May through Kscope.
‘Give It Back’ is a new album featuring 12 new versions of earlier works including songs taken from the albums ‘Little Man’, ‘All The Wars’, ‘Tightly Unwound’. The band has completely re-recorded all of the tracks to complement brand new Gavin Harrison drum parts and new song arrangements. The result of this process is a unique release of reworked songs which showcases the evolution of The Pineapple Thief. Bruce Soord explains the idea behind the album “Gavin went through the entire TPT back catalog and picked out some songs he felt we could revisit. As soon as I heard what Gavin was doing, it inspired me to completely rework the songs too. Gavin would suggest adding new parts, chopping things around, bringing in extra verses and I was completely open to all of it. I also ‘closed the story’ lyrically on a lot of the songs which I felt were left too open-ended. It was a lot of fun to do, even if it felt a little strange at times going back in time.”
The Pineapple Thief – Give it Back (Rewired) [Official Lyric Video]
Gavin Harrison comments “When I first started working with The Pineapple Thief I had only played on the album “Your Wilderness”, so when the time came to play live, I obviously had to approach quite a few songs I didn’t know and hadn’t played before. Having spent some years in King Crimson (where this challenge was often presented to me), Robert Fripp suggested that you should approach every song as if it were new regardless of when it was written. So with the blessing of The Pineapple Thief, I developed my own take on some of the earlier material. As the tours went by, I got curious about their huge back catalog and found myself listening through and applying the ‘old song/new song’ process and imagining how I could (sometimes radically) rework them – initially just for the purposes of finding other songs to play live. However, Bruce encouraged me to go as far out as I wanted (including writing whole new sections) – after all, the original already existed – so why not breathe new life into these earlier songs? This isn’t a compilation album or any kind of selected ‘best of’ record – but rather the tunes that gave me inspiration to rearrange, rework, rewire.”
The title track from the album is the first single to be released on 22nd February. Bruce explains“One of the first songs that Gavin picked out from the back catalog was Give it Back. We completely re-recorded and re-worked the entire piece. It feels like a completely new song and it’s already part of our live set.”
The ‘Give It Back’ album artwork has been created by Carl Glover.
‘Give It Back’ will be released as a 2 disc CD & Blu-ray (Audio – Hi-res Stereo/DTS-HD MA 5.1/Dolby Atmos), CD, black vinyl LP, and digitally and is available to PRE-ORDER HERE (https://TPT.lnk.to/GiveItBack )
‘Give It Back’ Tracklisting
Wretched Soul (Rewired) [05:26]
Dead In The Water (Rewired) [04:43]
Shoot First (Rewired) [03:43]
Build A World (Rewired) [03:42]
Start Your Descent (Rewired) [04:23]
Give It Back (Rewired) [06:20]
Boxing Day (Rewired) [03:25]
Someone Pull Me Out (Rewired) [04:00]
Last Man Standing (Rewired) [05:15]
Little Man (Rewired) [03:51]
137 (Rewired) [05:06]
Warm Seas (Rewired) [03:59]
The band will also be touring North America for the first time in years in support of the record.
The Pineapple Thief – Dead In The Water Rewired (Lyric Video)
Big Big Train has recruited Alberto Bravin as lead vocalist following the tragic death of David Longdon in November 2021.
Based in Trieste in Italy, Bravin’s career includes performing around 200 shows with progressive rock legends PFM between 2015 and January 2022, both in Italy and internationally, singing lead and backing vocals and playing keyboards.
Alberto Bravin says: “I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to join Big Big Train. I was already a huge BBT fan and am looking forward to play my part in taking this great band forward while also honoring the memory of David Longdon.”
Big Big Train bassist and founder Gregory Spawton comments: “Before Covid-19 hit, Nick D’Virgilio and I had both seen Alberto perform with PFM. We were very impressed with his abilities as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist and therefore approached him earlier this year.
“We know that David is irreplaceable and we miss him deeply both musically and personally,” Spawton continues. “We were very clear that we didn’t want to bring someone into the band who would seek to mimic David; that just felt fundamentally wrong. Instead, we wanted someone who could do justice with their own musical skills and personality to the songs that David sang for Big Big Train as well as being able to help to drive the band forwards. From his first audition singing some BBT classic songs and subsequently his work on some new material that we’re working on, we’re confident that we’ve found the right person in Alberto.”
“Aside from Alberto’s great voice and all-around musical skills, it was also vital for us to find the right personal fit, particularly after being struck with David’s sudden death,” drummer Nick D’Virgilio comments. “We flew Alberto to London several weeks ago so we could hang together for a few days and the chemistry immediately felt right.”
AboutAlberto Bravin
Alberto was born in Trieste, on Italy’s north-eastern border with Slovenia.
His involvement in music began at the age of three when he started taking piano lessons. Later on, he developed an interest in electronic keyboards and synthesizers and this paved the way for his love of progressive rock music.
At the age of 17, Alberto began studying opera singing at the Trieste Conservatory and after a couple of years, he moved to London where he graduated in modern singing. Alongside his singing and piano playing, Alberto is also a self-taught guitarist, bassist, and drummer.
After his studies in London, Alberto returned to Trieste where he opened his own recording studios (Echoes Recording Studios) and released two albums (Sinestesia and The Day After Flower) with his band Sinestesia (featuring Alberto, Roby De Micheli, Alessandro Sala, and Paolo Marchesich of Rhapsody Of Fire). Both albums were produced by Franz Di Cioccio of Italian progressive rock legends PFM – Premiata Forneria Marconi. Alberto also recorded and mixed Rhapsody Of Fire’s eleventh album, 2016’s Into The Legend.
In 2015 Alberto joined PFM (alongside Marco Sfogli) as a singer and additional guitarist and keyboard player. With PFM he played around 200 shows, both in Italy and worldwide, and released two albums (2017’s Emotional Tattoos and 2021’s I Dreamed Of Electric Sheep). Alberto is a Beatles fanatic and at the same time a progressive rock and metal aficionado.
Big Big Train is pleased to confirm that their two previously announced UK shows in September 2022 will take place. In addition, the band has scheduled six further shows for September in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and France.
Keyboardist/vocalist Carly Bryant is unable to tour with the band in September 2022 for family reasons. “After over two years of being part of Big Big Train and involved in two studio albums, I was extremely keen to go on the road with the band. However a recent change in my family situation means that sadly I cannot be away from home in the autumn,” Bryant explains. “I love being part of BBT and will be on stage with the band at the earliest opportunity when my family commitments permit.”
Alongside Bravin, D’Virgilio, Spawton, and longstanding guitarist Rikard Sjöblom, the Big Big Train line-up for the September 2022 shows will consist of guitarist Dave Foster, violinist/vocalist Clare Lindley, keyboardist Oskar Holldorff and the Big Big Train brass section led by Dave Desmond. Holldorff leads Norwegian band Dim Gray, whose debut album Flown was much acclaimed last year and who are preparing to release their second album later this year.
“Oskar came to our attention from his work with Dim Gray and is another tremendous talent to involve in Big Big Train,” Sjöblom says. “We’re very grateful to him for stepping in while Carly is unavailable. It’s also exciting that Big Big Train is becoming an increasingly international band – in September we will have an American, a Swede, an Italian, and a Norwegian on stage with the Brits.”
During the September tour, Big Big Train will be playing material from various stages of their career and also one new song.
“We were originally scheduled to play live shows in spring 2020 but then Covid-19 derailed our live plans repeatedly and since then we’ve prepared numerous different setlists,” Sjöblom continues. “We’ve released two full albums since we last played live and are spoilt for choice with the setlist for September.”
“In addition to our UK shows, I’m really looking forward to getting back into continental Europe,” D’Virgilio adds. “As well as visiting the prog strongholds of the Boerderij and Z7, we thought it would be cool to play some smaller venues in France and Germany as we re-establish BBT as a live band. We can’t wait to get out and play again and show what this band can do!”
Legendary Guitarist With Frank Zappa, David Bowie, King Crimson, Talking Heads
First Single “a13” Now Available!
Adrian Belew is a legendary guitarist well-known for his diverse travels around the musical map. He is a multi-instrumentalist whose solo records are critically acclaimed. His moving singing voice and prolific songwriting has endeared a loyal fan base of music lovers. His music is being discovered everyday by more and more listeners thirsty for great music with a creative standard not often pushed by the commercial music industry.
Adrian has signed with Bliss Entertainment, distributed exclusively by Ingrooves Music Group. “Elevator” will be the first Adrian Belew solo recording released through streaming. Adrian and management chose the Ingrooves Music Group channel based on the Ingrooves technology and the Universal global distribution channel. As with all artists, the optimization of music sales revenue is key to picking their distribution and marketing partners. The first single “a13” is now available!
“Elevator” is Adrian’s 25th solo record and as with most of his solo releases, he writes the songs, produces the record, and plays and sings everything. “Elevator” includes 38 of Adrian’s recent digital paintings as well as the lyrics to his songs. There are 12 new songs, ranging from delicate ballads to raging art rock as well as Adrian’s unique brand of avant-pop music.
To promote his new solo album and digital distribution deal, Adrian will be touring the US and Canada this summer starting July 13th in St. Paul, MN. Adrian’s touring trio will include bassist Julie Slick and drummer Johnnie Luca. Adrian describes the “Elevator” show as “part ‘classic’ power trio, new power trio songs never performed before, and a short solo acoustic performance of favorites and new songs from ‘Elevator.’” Adrian will be performing fan favorites spanning his whole career!
Adrian also continues to perform with the Remain In Light tour featuring Adrian and Jerry Harrison, and will finish out the year touring the states as guest artist alongside Todd Rundgren for the “Celebrating David Bowie” show.
Adrian Belew first appeared on the guitar-world radar when he toured with Frank Zappa in 1977 who later said, “Adrian reinvented electric guitar”. Adrian’s signature tones, unique use of effects and whammy bar remains completely different, and his techniques continue to be a huge influence on today’s guitarists. He was guitarist, songwriter and frontman Progressive Rock Powerhouse King Crimson for over 30 years. “Discipline”, Adrian’s first record with King Crimson, is listed among the most important rock records ever made.
Adrian has had a career that commands both awe and respect from fellow musicians and loyal fans, from his first solo record “The Lone Rhino” to the Atlantic Records hit album “Mr. Music Head” or any of his other solo records (25 total) that push sonic boundaries while maintaining artistic integrity. Adrian shreds on guitar but also writes beautiful songs that will make you cry. Yes, Adrian has taken his fans on a wild ride through countless world tours and albums with David Bowie, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, and Paul Simon. He truly is the Twang Bar King!
Tour Dates:
7/13/22 – Turf Club, St. Paul, MN 7/14/22 – Shank Hall, Milwaukee, WI 7/15/22 – Arcada Theatre, St. Charles, IL 7/16/22 – Hi-Fi Annex, Indianapolis, IN 7/18/22 – City Winery, Chicago, IL 7/19/22 – City Winery, Chicago, IL 7/21/22 – The Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati, OH 7/22/22 – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH 7/23/22 – Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI 7/24/22 – The Oaks Theater, Oakmont, PA 7/26/22 – City Winery, Nashville, TN 7/27/22 – City Winery, Atlanta, GA 7/29/22 – The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC 7/30/22 – City Winery, Washington, DC 7/31/22 – Rams Head, Annapolis, MD 8/1/22 – Ashland Theatre, Ashland, VA 8/3/22 – Higher Ground, South Burlington, VT 8/4/22 – The Flying Monkey, Plymouth, NH 8/5/22 – City Winery, Boston, MA 8/6/22 – The Newton Theatre, Newton, NJ 8/14/22 – Center for the Arts of Homer, Homer, NY 8/16/22 – City Winery, Philadelphia, PA 8/18/22 – City Winery, New York, NY 8/19/22 – The Egg, Albany, NY 8/20/22 – Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT
Penguin Cafe are back with a lovingly produced 10th anniversary reissue of their debut album, titled A Matter of Life… 2021. Besides being completely remastered and pressed on vinyl for the very first time, the record also features a brand new 2021 recording of lead single Harry Piers, a song commemorating Arthur Jeffes’ late father and Penguin Cafe Orchestra founder Simon Jeffes.
A Matter of Life… 2021 is a chance for a classic example of the beauty that’s found in collaboration to reach fresh ears, and an opportunity to breathe new life into fan favourites. The album, performed by a mix of personalities — including Neil Codling of Suede and, on percussion, Cass Browne of Gorillaz — incorporates the aesthetics of the original PCO, seasoned into a confident and redefined style, maintaining that quintessentially English sound, but adding a fresh direction and a sense that they are evolving into something new and very much their own.
“I originally wrote Harry Piers to play at my dad‘s memorial service 24 years ago, and I played it at the end of pretty much every gig (and soundcheck) we’ve done since, so I’ve probably played it hundreds if not thousands of times since we originally released A Matter of Life… So when we decided to reissue the album, Robert and I both felt it would be fun to record an up-to-date version of this song, because it has changed over time and it continues to evolve. So while this is still very much the same tune, I think it has a lot more nuance and detail that reflect the years that have passed since 2011” — Arthur Jeffes
The cover artwork also received an update in the shape of a beautiful photograph taken by the UK photographer and long-time collaborator Alex Kozobolis, who was sent to visit Arthur in his second home in Tuscany. Raths’ concept for this was to not only reenact the original painting by Emily Young, but to express the generational change by putting Arthur and his daughter in place of the little boy and the emperor penguin figure that suggest father and son.
The remastered 10th anniversary edition of A Matter of Life… 2021 will be available digitally, on 12” vinyl and on CD from April 29, 2022.
“it’s been really lovely to come back to these old friends — and with this re-issue we’ll be bringing them all out to play live again. Now four albums on, and with our new home at Erased Tapes, it makes a lot of sense for us to go back and pull this record out and brush it off for today” — Arthur Jeffes
mobiUS are an English Progressive Rock group. Their eclectic style echo artists such as Pink Floyd, Yes and Porcupine Tree. They build on this established and imaginative genre and have developed a style unique to themselves. White Knight are excited to be working with this band, who will shake the world of progressive rock and become a major player.
The band was first imagined as a concept by the composer and keyboard player Tim Newcombe back in 2012. He began writing and after several experiments with various musicians, the concept lay dormant. However, Tim remained frustrated with the offerings by mass market mundane radio stations and vowed to produce something which had the spark of originality.
In 2020 Tim met Alistair McCaig at a music venue in the South of England. Tim shared his ideas and enthusiasm for the genre and Alistair’s experience within the production and mastering space opened the door to the creation of mobiUS Tim had played session with the drummer Andy Clifton and knew by reputation the burgeoning talents of the irrepressible Andy Hughes on guitar and vocals and swiftly moved to establish the vital core of the group. From there Tim enlisted his wife Louise to sing harmonies and play the soulful saxophone riffs that are so evocative in ‘Rain another Day’ Bringing in Sandra Morris and Monika Welch to enrich the performance with their gospel-esque style, was the final puzzle piece in the creation of mobiUS.
During late 2020 and the early months of 2021, Tim was fully engaged in writing and distributing material to the rest of the band. All recording was carried out remotely due to covid restrictions and the final mixes and masters were completed in April with an album release date of 23rd May 2021
A chance meeting led them to a partnership with Caerlyssi Music and White Knight Records, through whom, mobiUS are unleashed onto the world with their unique and immersive style.
In a recent interview, Tim was asked about his motivation and inspiration for the ‘Make the Promise’ album: “This is a collection of musical ideas I’ve been mulling over for some time. I am passionate that music should be a deep form of expression. Something that transcends the standard chord progressions and lyrical subjects of much contemporary music. It seems to me that imagination and ideas are constrained by what is considered a standard chord progression, or fettered by time. I especially like a song or tune to evolve. To develop. To exist and breath as an identity by itself. I love to experiment with time signatures, styles, tempo and timbre changes within the same piece.This allows the piece find it’s own direction analogous to a stream finding its way through a variety of terrains” This brings us nicely to his description of the album.
Watch mobiUS Rain Another Day. Official Video here
Track Breakdown:
Odyssey As the name suggests, this instrumental carries the listener on a voyage of musical discovery. Superficially, it’s a journey into the world, from comfort to danger and returning home. However, subconsciously it evolved into a story of my personal musical journey. Reflective and returning to my roots and love of progressive music. This piece is subdivided into sections – Farewell, Borderland, Beyond, One Step Closer, Alone, Louise’s Theme/Sunshine Eyes, Sub-Fractal, City of a Million Dreams, Escape, Home. Each imbued with excitement, melancholy, drama, peace and hope as befits the particular episode of the track.
Rain Another Day My mother was the muse behind this track. The ethos of the song is moving forward. Keep hold of the past, remember and treasure it. However there is a time to keep those memories but think of the future. As the lines of the song state ‘Embrace the morning sunshine, move towards the summertime’ The piano is evocative of a range of emotions and Andy’s strident vocals bring them to life
So They Tell Me A song about mental health. In particular multiple personality disorders. I hope that it comes across as sensitive. My intention was not to be flippant or sensationalist about this. The complexity in rhythm and the deep and sometimes ethereal layering of timbre’s create a captivating and engaging pastiche.
Spider It wouldn’t be right or correct to not include a track about the pressures of writing or producing music. This song is in fact about that and is an allegory for achievement in any scenario. It’ a song about juggling priorities. Commitments that you may feel inclined to hold onto that directly compete with dreams, aspirations and ambitions. We all face it, we al go through it and we all manage it. Why not make a song about it!
Track Listing 1. Odyssey 1.1 Farewell – 1:50 1.2 Borderland – 2:35 1.3 And Beyond – 3:38 1.4 One Step Closer – 5:33 1.5 Alone – 7:00 1.6 Louise’s Theme/Sunshine Eyes- 11:07 1.7 Sub Fractal – 11:50 1.8 City of a Million Dreams – 14:14
Line up: Andy Hughes Vocals Guitar Tim Newcombe Keyboards Andy Clifton Drums Alistair McCaig Bass Louise Newcombe Backing Vocals, sax Monika Welch Backing Vocals Sandra. Morris Backing Vocals
Credits: All songs written by Tim Newcombe Recording Engineer Tim Newcombe Recorded at BlueSkies Studios Mastered by Alistair McCaig
The festival’s motto. And never could it have proved to be more appropriate than now.
When King’s X found themselves forced to cancel, after realizing that even daily physio was not going to suffice to get Ty Tybor’s fret finger back into good enough shape to prepare properly for their performance at this year’s RoSFest, the festival organizers found themselves in a bit of a fix.
But ‘community’ is a keyword for the annual Rites Of Spring Festival, and a group of musicians, captained by Dave Kerzner stepped up to ensure that the weekend’s entertainment would not be marred by a gaping hole in the line-up.
Sunday night’s headliner spot will now feature Dave KerZner and his newly formed All Star Prog Band featuring world-famous session man, Fernando Perdomo (Carmine Appice, Out to Sea, Echo in the Canyon…), Durga McBroom (Pink Floyd, Steve Hackett, Blue Pearl…), Billy Sherwood (Yes, Arc of Life, Circa, Asia…), Nick D’Virgilio (Big Big Train, Spock’s Beard, The Fringe, Genesis…). Dave also promises to surprise the audience with a magnificent set-list and a few surprises and special guests.
Performers & Schedule
Friday, April 15th 08:30 – 10:30 PM – Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew Remain in Light
Saturday, April 16th 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Lobate Scarp 02:00 PM – 03:00 PM – Ten Jinn 05:00 PM – 06:30 PM – Robert Berry’s 3.2 08:30 PM – 10:00 PM – Jon Anderson with The Paul Green Rock Academy
Sunday, April 17th 11: 00 AM –12:00 PM – Head With Wings 02:00 PM – 03:00 PM – The Tea Club 05:00 PM – 06:30 PM – Pattern-Seeking Animals 08:30 PM – 10:00 PM – Dave KerZner All Star Prog Band Thank you for supporting RoSFest.
RoSFest is set to end with a fantastic party atmosphere for musicians, fans, and organizers!
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