Prog legends Happy The Man have returned with the release of a new single, “Only Love,” on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 15, 2024. The song is from the band’s highly anticipated forthcoming album of the same name.
Stanley Whitaker, Ron Riddle, Michael Beck, and Rick Kennell have reunited and recorded a phenomenal new song promising to please fans of the band and prog fans worldwide.
New single available January 15, 2024!
Says Stanley Whitaker, “The basic concept was to not only express my frustration and sadness in the world while shedding light and awareness. In late August 2020, while in a deep meditative state, I wondered what John Lennon would say about the state of affairs in America. I craved his voice and message and prayed for inspiration. In a blast of energy, I wrote over ten pages of lyrics and spent the next two weeks editing and laying down musical ideas. Recently, our former bandmate, Frank Wyatt, passed away on January 10, 2023, and the following morning, I awoke to, ‘Now it’s time to put HTM back together.’ Gobsmacked! I called Rick, Ron, and Michael, and everyone was on board to reunite as Happy the Man. All of the music was developed remotely from our studios across the country.”
Says Ron Riddle, “My work as a film and TV composer/orchestrator and my work as a drummer has always been at odds and very separate from each other. I would say that over 95 percent of the music I’ve written had no drums at all! Stanley and Rick approached me to get the band back together, and Stanley asked me to do the orchestration and drumming. I was smitten, thrilled, and, honestly, a bit nervous. ‘Could both exist in the same song?’ I wondered. It’s like Dr. Jeckel meeting Mr. Hyde!”
Michael Beck says, “Putting Happy The Man back together and creating new music is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I could not be happier and prouder to work with these incredible musicians and friends again.”
Says Rick Kennell, “How can you not enjoy working with musicians of this caliber? What fun!” Born out of the intensely creative and artistic art rock and fusion movements of the 70s, Happy The Man is regarded as one of the most legendary progressive rock bands of all time. Although Happy The Man only released two official albums before breaking up, their impact continues to endear the group to a cult following that has been growing ever since. With the passing of many years, Happy The Man’s music has demonstrated a timeless quality that suggests that it was ahead of its time and beyond this world.
Original members Stanley Whitaker (guitar) and Rick Kennell (bass guitar) first met in Germany. They soon returned to the US, enlisting Frank Wyatt (keyboards, saxes, flute), Kit Watkins (keyboards), and Mike Beck (drums and percussion). They created two of the most deeply admired prog-rock albums of all time on Arista Records: “Happy The Man” (1977) and “Crafty Hands” (1978), with Ron Riddle taking over drumming from Mike Beck.
“This world is on fire, my friends and we desperately need to share our love and light to heal this planet earth!” To purchase: https://ffm.to/happytheman-onlyloveOnly Love (Original Version or OV)Only Love (Radio Edit or RE) For more information: http://www.happytheman.com
Track Listing:SIDE A1. Two Weeks in Spain 3:042. I’m Turning Around 3:583. Betcha Thought We Couldn’t Do It 2:164. Who Do You Think You Are? 3:375. Mountain Time 3:21SIDE B1. As Old As You’re Young 4:212. Memories Of Old Days 7:223. Winning 4:154. For Nobody 4:095. Winning (Outtake) 3:31 (Bonus Track) To pre-order: https://linktree.com/gentlegiantband
Previously unreleased bonus track “Winning (outtake)” In 1977 Gentle Giant recorded their ninth studio album “The Missing Piece.” It was a time of change. Punk, disco and rap were altering the musical landscape and even this well-established progressive rock band were willing to explore new directions. Side one saw them experimenting with quirky pop (“Two weeks in Spain”), a grandiose power ballad (“I’m turning around’), syncopated funk (“Who do you think you are?”) and even the punky aggression of “Betcha thought we couldn’t do it.” Meanwhile the call and response soul shouting of “Mountain Time” hearkened back to the “big sound” of their Simon Dupree R & B revue days.
Normal service was resumed on side two with some of their most sublime and intricate progressive stylings to date. The breezily baroque “As old as you’re young” led into the yearningly elegiac “Memories of Old Days” with a particularly heartfelt vocal from Derek Shulman. The percussive tour de force of “Winning” then set up the blazing finale of “For Nobody,” another mind blowing complex collection of driving intertwining riffs that the band would nonchalantly thunder through with apparent ease.
It remains a polarizing effort amongst fans to this day, some bemused by its diversity, others enchanted by its versatility and sense of humor. “The Missing Piece” certainly proves that Gentle Giant could play anything they set their minds to. It was the last Gentle Giant album to chart in the USA.
Award winning producer and musician Steven Wilson continues his association with the band, remixing the album in Dolby Atmos, Stereo and 5.1 surround sound. In addition, the digipak CD/Blu-ray version also contains an instrumental mix, the original 1977 stereo mix and videos for each track. All remixes except the Atmos contain a bonus track, a previously unreleased outtake of “Winning.”
Gentle Giant’s “The Missing Piece” Steven Wilson remix will be released on CD, 5.1 Blu-Ray, 180g vinyl and Limited Edition Transparent Green Vinyl variant on February 16, 2024.
Personnel: Derek Shulman – Lead Vocals Kerry Minnear – Keyboards, Vocals Ray Shulman – Bass Guitar, 12 string Guitar Gary Green – Electric and Acoustic Guitars John “Pugwash” Weathers – Drums and Percussion
A new force of progressive metal has emerged – Whom Gods Destroy, a formidable new group formed by keyboardist Derek Sherinian, guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, and vocalist Dino Jelusick. Along with the potent rhythm section of bassist Yas Nomura and drummer Bruno Valverde, Whom Gods Destroy have recently signed a worldwide deal with InsideOutMusic.
Sherinian and Bumblefoot have built upon the creative link they developed as two of the key elements of supergroup Sons of Apollo and now set their sights on a new path with Whom Gods Destroy, who are getting ready to present the musical odyssey that is their debut opus, ‘Insanium’, to be released in March 2024.
Bumblefoot explains how Whom Gods Destroy got started: “Derek & I began writing new music in 2020. Soon after, Dino joined, followed by Yas and Bruno. We’d share ideas, and each record parts, building and rebuilding songs, and by June ’23 the album was finished. The songs all went through a lot of changes, developing…you can definitely hear what each person brings to the music – when it adds up, it’s a mix of melody and intense heavy prog.”
Working with powerhouse vocalist Dino Jelusick, as well as Yas Nomura and Bruno Valverde, they knew they were building something special, says Bumblefoot. “These guys are all just mind-blowing…! I’ve known Dino for a few years, we did a collab song a few years ago…his voice is just magic. He’s one of the greatest singers out there. Bruno & Yas are downright frightening, there’s no limit to what they can do, WTF…! And all great guys to hang with.”
Sherinian agrees, “All three of these musicians are super talented with great energy. I think Dino is the real deal. Ron and I knew that we could do something great with him.”
Jelusick expresses his excitement as well, “What I love about this band is that it doesn’t have any limits. It came together back in 2020 when we started talking about it. Yas and I started working separately not knowing we were both asked to do this. Bruno was the last piece of this puzzle and I’m glad the recommendation came from me. Love this line-up. Derek and Ron are wizards.”
While a first single by Whom Gods Destroy will be launched alongside its promotional performance video clip in January, you can already check out various teaser clips and introductory snippets on the band’s social media outlets. So, make sure to follow the band online and stay tuned for a lot more activity as well as further updates on Whom Gods Destroy and “Insanium” coming soon…
WHOM GODS DESTROY line-up: (From left to right on photo Greg Vorobiov) Bruno Valverde – Drums Yas Nomura – Bass Dino Jelusick – Vocals Derek Sherinian – Keyboards Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal – Guitars
Following last Friday’s announcement of the new studio album ‘The Likes Of Us’ by the award-winning progressive rock band Big Big Train to be released on March 1st, 2024, the band are delighted to announce four shows in the USA in March 2024. These shows are in addition to the band’s previously announced co-headlining appearances next year on board Cruise To The Edge in March and at the final Night Of The Prog in Germany in July as well as their debut at Cropredy festival in the UK in August.
The band will perform for the first time ever in the United States as follows: Friday, March 1st, 2024 – Sweetwater Performance Theatre, Fort Wayne, Indiana Saturday, March 2nd, 2024 – Rivoli Theater at The Williams Center, Rutherford, New Jersey Sunday, March 3rd, 2024 – Rivoli Theater at The Williams Center, Rutherford, New Jersey Tuesday, March 5th, 2024 – Regent Theatre, Arlington (Boston), Massachusetts Ticket links for these shows are at www.bigbigtrain.com/live. The band’s two performances at the Rivoli Theater will feature substantially different set lists. Tickets for all shows will go on sale at 10am Eastern US time on Friday, December 15th.
“We could not be more pleased to be bringing Big Big Train to the USA for the first time,” comments lead vocalist Alberto Bravin. “We know that over the years a number of fans have travelled huge distances from North America to see the band play live in the UK and Europe. It’s wonderful that we can now re-pay that commitment so that they will be able to have the opportunity to see us in the States.”
“I’ve wanted Big Big Train to play in North America for many years,” drummer Nick D’Virgilio adds. “We’ve been thwarted a couple of times previously, so this is long overdue. We can’t wait to perform for our North American fans who have been so patient waiting for the band to cross the Atlantic. As we have only have a small time window that works for all of us, this is a very short run of dates, but if the shows go well then we will aim to return soon!”
For these four shows the band’s line-up will consist of Alberto Bravin (lead vocals), Nick D’Virgilio (drums), Oskar Holldorff (keyboards), Clare Lindley (violin), Rikard Sjöblom (guitars/keyboards) and Gregory Spawton (bass) as well as an additional multi-instrumentalist who will play trumpet, guitar and keyboards.
“In an ideal world Big Big Train would include a full brass section at every show, but financial realities just don’t allow us that luxury currently,” explains Gregory Spawton. “Going forwards we want Big Big Train to play as many shows as possible – meaning that we will be performing some shows with and some without the brass section. We’re keen to retain a brass element in all shows however and therefore Dave Foster has very graciously agreed to sit out our North America shows so that we can bring in a trumpet player, whose name we will be announcing soon.”
“Playing with a trumpet player is going to give these US shows a different flavour,” Rikard Sjöblom says. “We’ve got a great set list planned and I’m excited about being able to show what Big Big Train can do as a seven piece live band before we re-unite with a full brass section for the two shows on board Cruise To The Edge.”
Watch the video for “Oblivion,” the first single from ‘The Likes of Us’ here:
‘The Likes Of Us’ will be released as a Limited CD & Blu-ray Mediabook edition that contains the album as 5.1 Surround Sound, 24-bit high-resolution stereo, and for the first time in Dolby Atmos, mixed by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord, while the stereo mixes were undertaken by the band’s regular engineer Rob Aubrey together with Alberto Bravin. The album will also be available as a Gatefold 180g 2LP (available in black, sky blue, olive green and orange formats), Standard CD Jewelcase and Digital Album. The stunning artwork was created by the band’s longstanding collaborator Sarah Louise Ewing, with layouts by Steve Vantsis. Pre-order ‘The Likes of Us’ here: https://bigbigtrain.lnk.to/TheLikesOfUs
EINAR SOLBERG – frontman of Norwegian rock mavericks Leprous – released his debut solo album ‘16’ earlier this year. But back at the beginning of 2022, he took on an entirely different solo endeavour. For a special live streamed performance, he reinterpreted the Leprous album ‘The Congregation’ in full, just piano and voice. Now that performance will see an official audio release as ‘The Congregation Acoustic’ on February 16th, 2024.
Listen to Einar perform the track ‘The Flood’ now here:
Einar comments of the release: “I’m both super excited but also kind of terrified for me to release this live version of “The Congregation”. It’s raw and unedited and exactly how I did it on my livestream. Usually all musicians these days (myself included) are used to fixIng stuff in post-production, but on this one we’ve done nothing! I think it’s cool sometimes to dare to show a more fragile and less “perfect” side of yourself. “The Congregation” is probably the least suitable album we’ve ever done to make an acoustic version of, but I think it turned out surprisingly OK!”
Einar Solberg is as renowned for the tender honesty of his lyrics as he is for the eccentric majesty of Leprous’ music. But even by his usual standards, ‘16’ is an extremely emotional and dynamic piece of work. Einar describes the record as “the closest I’ve ever come to writing a concept album” and explains that the new songs are about a very specific and transformational period in the musician’s life. This is the sound of a restless spirit in his absolute element.
’16’ finds Einar collaborating with everyone from modern prog contemporaries like Bent Knee’s Ben Levin and Agent Fresco’s Toti Gudnason, to experimental cellist (and regular Leprous live musician) Raphael Weinroth-Browne and Magnus Børmark, best known as a member of Norwegian alt-folk troupe Gåte. He also once again collaborates with Ihsahn and Star Of Ash amongst many others. The record was mixed by mixed by Adam Noble (Placebo, Biffy Clyro, Nothing But Thieves) and mastered by Robin Schmidt (The 1975, Placebo, The Gaslight Anthem, etc.). The cover artwork was designed by Elena Sihida. ‘16’ is out on Ltd CD Digipak, Gatefold 180g 2LP + LP-booklet & Digitally. Order here: https://einarsolberg-artist.lnk.to/sixteen
Einar & his solo live band have announced some festival shows for 2024. You can find the full list below: 19.06.2024 Rock Imperium (Spain) – Cartagena 28.06.2024 Hellfest Open Air (France) – Clisson
Leprous have also recently announced further European live dates for February & March 2024. Find the full list below: 29.02.2024 Bochum (Germany) – Zeche 01.03.2024 Nottingham (UK) – Rock City 02.03.2024 Leeds (UK) – Project House 03.03.2024 Dublin (Ireland) – Academy 05.03.2024 Lyon (France) – La Rayonne 06.03.2024 Pratteln (Switzerland) – Z7 Konzertfabrik 07.03.2024 Vienna (Austria) – Arena 08.03.2024 Leipzig (Germany) – Täubchenthal 09.03.2024 Krakow (Poland) – Kamienna12 10.03.2024 Lublin (Poland) – Radio Lublin 12.03.2024 Helsinki (Finland) – House of Culture 13.03.2024 Jyvaskyla (Finland) – Lutakko 14.03.2024 Oulu (Finland) – Kantakrouvi 16.03.2024 Hamar (Norway) – Festiviteten For tickets and further info check here: https://leprous.net/tours
Finnish art rock group Naryan releases a cover of a Mike Oldfield classic “Nuclear” on Friday, December 8th. The track will be included in Naryan’s upcoming fourth album, due to be released in 2024.
“We wanted to craft a version of this great song with a fresh vision while maintaining the spirit of the original. The fact that the track celebrates its 10-year anniversary in 2024 is just the cherry on top“,states vocalist Tommi Niemi.
“The song is also frighteningly topical in the current political climate“, adds guitarist Raino Ketola.
Naryan’s own production is melancholic rock with touches of cinematic, progressive and classical music. On Nuclear, the violin brings a new haunting layer to the track, keeping the band’s trademark sound intact.
Video game references
The original Nuclear is a part of Oldfield’s Man on the Rocks album, but many a fan recognizes the track also from Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain trailer.
“Our own back catalogue features plenty of tracks suitable for cinematic and game productions. It would be great if our version of Nuclear led people to discover our work in more depth“, reflects pianist Linda Kuoppala.
A combination of beauty and darkness
Naryan’s active presence in social media TikTok has brought swathes of new listeners to the band during recent months.
“Feedback from new listeners has pushed us to develop our new material even further. Our fourth album is shaping up to be our best to date“, states guitarist and founding member Lauri Kovero.
Naryan’s next original single is set to be released early 2024. More live dates including domestic and a select few European shows will be released shortly.
About Naryan
Naryan is a Finnish band, founded in 2005, playing melancholic rock. In addition to their homeland, they’ve played in the Netherlands and Belgium. The band has released 3 full length albums so far and the fourth is currently under construction. Naryan’s music is a combination of beauty, darkness and melancholy.
Line-up:
Tommi Niemi -Vocals Lauri Kovero -Guitar Raino Ketola -Guitar Tommi Tanhuanpää -Drums Linda Kuoppala -Piano Jarno Forsman -Bass Henriina Marin -Violin
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