I can’t believe there are any progheads out there who don’t have at least one copy of the ELP album in their collection, and if they are anything like me then they probably have it on vinyl, a couple of different CD releases as well as the accompanying DVD.
But of course the music which is the inspiration for this album is from far earlier, in fact in many ways it dates all the way back to 1868 when composer Modest Mussorgsky first met artist, architect, and designer Viktor Hartmann, who gave him two of the pictures that later formed the basis of the inspiration. When Hartmann passed away at the age of 39, Mussorgsky was affected quite badly, and this led to him writing the score in just three weeks. However, a version wasn’t published until some five years after his own death, and it wasn’t until the 50th Anniversary of that event that a complete score was produced.
Over the years it has been recorded multiple times, and within the progressive scene, it was, of course, the inspiration for ELP’s 1971 live album.
Now, nearly fifty years on from that, and some 150 years since the original paintings were given to Mussorgsky, we have a new version from German quartet Voyager IV. The line-up is Marcus Schinkel (piano and keyboards), Johannes Kuchta (vocals and drums), Fritz Roppel (bass) and Wim de Vries (drums). That they have been inspired to undertake this piece of work due to the ELP release is never in doubt, as although they do have ten tracks inspired by the original classical work, they also include both Lake’s “Lucky Man’ and King Crimson’s “I Talk To The Wind” which of course also featured Lake on vocals.
In some ways it is an album which confused me quite a great deal, just because they have been inspired by the original score, just as Emerson was, which means that some themes are familiar yet others are quite different as apart from the two numbers already mentioned the rest were all composed either by Schinkel or in collaboration with Kuchta. Also, there is no use whatsoever of guitar on the album (although there are two drummers it doesn’t sound to me as if they are both playing at the same time, although that could be different in concert), plus this is a studio album which has allowed some layering. Then in Roppel they have a bassist who uses a six-string as his instrument of choice, and sounds to me as if he is approaching music from a jazz background and is certainly not content just to be pinning down the bottom end but is adding his own styles and runs.
It is as bombastic as one would expect, but not heavy-handed, and songs such as “Bydlo” are incredibly accessible, exciting and invigorating. It would also be wrong of me not to mention the packaging on this release – as it comes as a hardback digipak containing multiple pages of photos and lyrics, quite something for what I believe is a debut release. This really is the total package, and fans of the original, ELP, Isao Tomita or any of the many other artists who have taken this as inspiration will find much on here to enjoy. Well worth discovering. 8/10
It is with great pleasure that PeacockSunrise Records (PSR) can finally announce the addition of UK Psych-roots folk pop artist Elfin Bow to its family of musicians. Elfin Bow truly is unique and offers up something very special both musically and artisticlly. We look forward to introducing this talented artist to an audience that embraces quality music drawn from the heart, music that inspires and gives us hope, music that just makes us feel good. Nick Katona President of PeacockSunrise Records
Elfin Bow’s music has been described as a fairy tale experience; pastoral psych-folk, deeply rooted in the life and nature that surrounds her. Her self-penned songs and stories weave a tapestry that combines mysterious characters, myths, and legends, with the heartache and adventure of real life. With imagery that blends her twin passions of music and art, her songs and stage presence exude color, charisma and a gentle charm.
In a statement from Elfin Bow? Peacock Sunrise Records is a label that puts the artist at the centre of everything they do, encouraging full and authentic creative expression. Joining the PSR family is a truly exciting opportunity to take my music to an international audience.
Bringing together some of the worlds most accomplished musicians, DEEPER IMAGININGS by Paul Adams and Elizabeth Geyer is a follow up to 2015’s IMAGININGS which debuted #1 on the iTunes new age chart and was the Zone Music Reporter’s best Contemporary Instrumental Album of the year. It was a journey of happenstance, whimsy and the joy of sharing music and love between cultures. Elizabeth came all the way from Australia. Pravin Godkhindi played bansuri flute in India. Alp Akmaz who played the balaban (similar to duduk) is from Turkey. Former trumpet soloist and arranger David Hoffman is based in Illinois, and Gary Green of the legendary UK band Gentle Giant added gentle guitar.
Adams, with over 102 million streams on Pandora has shown that walking the road less traveled can work. “We all love to create much like a painter. The choice of color and hue is from the artist’s whim and is independent from corporate dictate. I was thrilled to be able to use some of the instruments I built in my earlier years as a luthier. Guitars, dulcimer and electric sitar was blended with the natural genius of Elizabeth Geyer’s piano, flugelhorn and voice, used in a textural and ambient way. Her ear is stunning and her musical intuition and training in jazz blended well with my rather improvised gentle folk approach, as well as training in ethnomusicology”
For Adams and Geyer, meeting Pravin Godkhindi on YouTube and Alp Akmaz on Instagram seems appropriate given today’s ease of technology. The fact that the musical co-operation was so natural shows what a tool it is to embrace and grow as the world shrinks around us. Adams comments that “there was an intuitive vibe in connecting with these musicians. A lot of freedom was encouraged. We had faith that each knew the best way to fill their role, and they really did.”
DEEPER IMAGININGS can be found on the web and all digital sites like iTunes, Amazon, Bandcamp, CD Baby, Spotify and Pandora
Italian music artists EMILIANO DEFERRARI & MARCO MACHERA are releasing their debut self-titled album of free-form improvisation on November 15, 2019. Long-time musical friends, Emiliano and Marco had never worked together, but always liked each other’s music, and attended each other’s performances. Emiliano’s band Nanaue used to cover one of Marco’s great tunes “The Ugly Song.” Throughout the years, the two musicians discovered very similar taste in music, from no-wave jazz, to art rock and more non-conventional styles. So, when Marco moved to Brussels from Italy, it felt quite natural to do something together. They could have started writing songs, but eventually they preferred to start with “something completely different”.
Emiliano explains, “They call it non-idiomatic free improvisation. We don’t agree 100% with the definition, it’s a philosophical quarrel, but that is what we do. We are both improvisers, inspired by free-form music and wanted to perform together this way. The album is documenting an excerpt from two recording sessions on cold mornings in March and May 2019 in Brussels, at Monty Studio. Two condenser microphones in the room plus a dynamic one pointed on a twin reverb, to capture the sound of us on prepared acoustic and jazz guitars, baglama, violin and objects found in the studio. No overdubs, no post-production, a rough mixing and a transparent pre-mastering. The beauty of the moment without pre-ordered languages to fit into, not against but beyond rules.”
Watch the promotional video:
“We took a walk through Matonge, the Congolese neighborhood of Brussels, and had fun mixing (us Italians), with those picturesque African vibes on a cold northern European afternoon, last October. That’s the joy of living in an open city like Brussels.”
Marco says, “We have decided to release this material outside of any self-indulgent snobbery, we just decided to give something to the listeners so they could satisfy their possible curiosity. We liked the atmosphere we created, the interplay and the amount of chance which helped the development of those four improvisations. We are eager to perform live and have fun with our audience. You may also consider this album as ‘another side of us’. In fact, for instance, we realize now that we didn’t sing during the sessions, even though both of us are frontmen. We were so focused on creating the momentum that we forgot rules, roles and habits.”
From Brussels the duo will start presenting the album and performing live on November 30th at seeU, the ephemeral neighbourhood at the old ‘Casernes d’Ixelles’.”
EMILIANO DEFERRARI
Emiliano was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1977. He started playing guitar at 6 and recording his own music at 11. He played and sang jazz, rock and world music with different bands in Italy. In 2005, after settling in Rome, he produced his first solo album “SO_LO” with Rattsburg Records, with good reviews. Since then he started touring Italy with his solo show with guitar, voice and effects. Between 2007/2011, Emiliano toured as The Loop Duo with Adriano Arena, with guitars, voices and live loops, producing an album (THE LOOP DUO/BMA and Rattsburg, 2009). In 2009/2010, he produced a new EP (O.S.T./Rattsburg, 2009) and LP “LIGHT EARS” (Rattsburg 2010). Since 2008 he’s been working on the project Nanaue with Matteo Nahum. Between 2011 and 2017 they published 8 singles (Rattsburg Records and Gutenberg Music) and 1 album (Nanaue/Gutenberg Music, 2013) plus 3 recordings for tribute albums of Italian prog label Mellow Records. In 2014 Emiliano moved to Brussels, Belgium where he re-published his seminal album “Small Engines” (2002, Rattsburg) and in 2018 he released “MONTY” (Rattsburg) which received great recognition from the art-rock, prog and jazz reviewers.
PRESS for Emiliano
“Monty is a fascinating journey through the wild mind of a maverick.” – PROG magazine, UK
“Monty, the surprise of the year” – (tr.) Fabio Zuffanti’s TOP 5, PsycandProg, Italy
“Experimental and disturbing, Monty is a bold mix of jazz, world and avant-garde” – (tr.) Corto, Music Waves, France
“Nothing is impossible for one who’s ready to go all the way and make a strange land his own…” – Dmitry M. Epstein, DMME Let it Rock, Canada
“The music rises, it takes us up, and from up there, it shows us how we can be satisfied when listening to – finally – a disruptive album” – (tr.) Enrico Storti, Asterischi di Musiche, Italy
MARCO MACHERA
Marco Machera is an Italian singer-songwriter. He likes to say: “I don’t play music – I make it happen.” He released the debut-album “One Time, Somewhere” in 2012: the recording, a unique melting pot of pop and art rock, won early stamps of approval from the likes of Peter Gabriel bassist Tony Levin and ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, who praised its “interesting atmospheres and contrasting moods.” His second solo effort, “Dime Novels” (2014), is once again a uniquely fresh take on the pop song formula, and features incredible musicians Pat Mastelotto, Tony Levin, Markus Reuter, among others. A third solo record, “Small Music From Broken Windows,” was released in 2017: an intimate and reflective concept album inspired by “The Outsider,” a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. Since 2014, Marco has also been collaborating with American bassist Julie Slick (from the Adrian Belew Power Trio) and drummer Alessandro Inolti on the EchoTest project. In the ever-evolving and experimental worlds of modern progressive rock and avant garde jazz rock, their free-flowing improvisations and strongly melodic songwriting have combined to help them shape an unique identity and garner a growing reputation for their intriguing and surprising albums and their rare and captivating live shows alike.
PRESS for Marco
“Along the way, Dime Novels finds Marco furiously pushing at the walls of musical convention. There are moments when the album sounds like prog, others when it sounds like an ambient fever dream, others still when it sounds like something that couldn’t be farther away from either construct. Dime Novels is as challenging as it is entertaining — and a huge leap forward for Machera.” – Nick DeRiso, Something Else Reviews, US
“[EchoTest] has just released its latest album, ‘Daughter of Ocean,’ whose nine songs form one vast movement of music that weaves thematic crescendos with ominous and dark undertones. The interplay of Slick and Machera is highly rhythmic throughout, often finding peaks in melodic moments like ‘Sleep’ and ‘Tiger Races.’ […] the album is as enjoyable, wildly impressive, and unconventional as it gets.” – Jon D’Auria, Bass Magazine
To purchase “Emiliano Deferrari, Marco Machera”: Available for download and streaming on all major digital stores from November 15th https://show.co/5HhTWd9
King Crimson Tribute Album “The Crimson Guitar” Released by American Guitarist Fernando Perdomo – OUT NOW!
“The Crimson Guitar” is the eagerly anticipated fifth full-length album by Fernando Perdomo, guitarist and bassist of The Dave Kerzner Band and Jakob Dylan’s Echo In The Canyon Band.
This NEW STUDIO ALBUM is a tribute to KING CRIMSON and has been a labour of love for Perdomo.
Fernando Perdomo said of the release: “’The Crimson Guitar’ is my passionate love letter to the amazing King Crimson music that fascinated me when I was first learning classical guitar in my early teens… I created these arrangements with the upmost respect to the music and legacy of the band. My hope is to bring light to the delicate beauty of the songs”
The album has been released by Forward Motion Records, via Cherry Red.
TRACK LISTING 1. PEACE (A THEME) 2. ISLANDS 3. I TALK TO THE WIND 4. FORMENTERA LADY 5. STARLESS 6. PRINCE RUPERT AWAKES 7. ERUDITE EYES 8. MOONCHILD 9. BOOK OF SATURDAY 10. THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING
Electric Regions is the latest solo album by the current bass player of FOCUS and skilled composer, Udo Pannekeet.
The album features an epic length track, along with new compositions written throughout Udo Pannekeet’s career and recorded here for the first time.
The album features guest appearances by current Focus guitarist Menno Gootjes and a former member of Focus, Eef Albers.
Udo Pannekeet said of the album: “I’m so pleased to finally share this music with you! I worked on it for quite a while. Thanks to the amazing musicians I worked with on the album, it has become more than I could have imagined. I’m humbled by the beautiful reactions I received so far from all over the world!”
The album is the tenth release on the band’s own IN AND OUT OF FOCUS RECORDS, via Cherry Red.
TRACK LISTING:
1. ELECTRIC REGIONS PART ONE 2. INTEGRATION YES 3. LITTLE NURA 4. THE ANTIBES SITUATION 5. COCON COCON
The album is OUT NOW and available via the below links:
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