Transport Aerian on Progarchives!

by | Oct 31, 2013 | Uncategorized

Dear friends, music lovers and random passers by!

I’m happy to announce that Transport Aerian is now featured on the biggest and probably oldest progressive-oriented network Progarchives!
I’m extremely thankful to those who made it happen, and its a big honor for us to be featured there, along with the other fellow progressive rock projects. Now, as one big (literally and metaphorically) progressive rock artist once said, its not enough to be featured, there must be people to visit the page!
What I would love to ask you is – if you have an account there, please – visit the page, rate our music, write a note about it – help it to be seen.

Here is the link. I need your help. As usual.
TRANSPORT AERIAN ON PROGARCHIVES.

Kind regards,

Hamlet,
Transport Aerian Project.

Andy John Bradford’s Oceans 5 ~ Mingulay Bay

by | Oct 25, 2013 | Uncategorized

Andy John Bradford’s Oceans 5 ~ Return To Mingulay

Normally when one thinks of a genre and decides to waffle over a sub-genre for an album… they will eventually pigeon hole it somewhere.  That is how many minds work.  Those who do suffer from genre overload will be happy to know that there is no genre for the album.  Give it a good listen and I think you will agree.

Return to Mingulay is accessible to all ages and audiences.  It can be listened to anywhere and with anyone.  Whether it is with three generations of family around the fire or in your car while driving to work.  Every track is a pleasure to listen to and there is no need to listen to every track in order as is often the case in “prog” releases.

Andy John Bradford’s Oceans 5 is the brainchild of AJB who has surrounded himself with like minded and goodhearted musicians who have each added their own flavor to the mix.  This is not your average band.  Special guests musicians such as Lorelei McBroom of Australian Pink Floyd and Andres Guazzelli add even more to this great mix.  Colin Tench of Corvus Stone/BunChakeze/CTP, Marco Chiapinni of Gandalf’s project, Stef Fleming of Murky Red and Victor Tassone of Unified past are all brilliant in their own right.  Remarkably I find this new band sounds nothing like any of the others.   Yes, we may know it is Andy’s voice and not Lorelei’s and we may say “hmmm that is a Colin Tench riff there”, but none of the tracks sound like anything I have heard from any of the above mentioned artists/bands.

There is no way to explain the likability factor of this album even to myself.  Something just sticks and you wake up with it in your head  and before you know it you’re singing it in the shower.  It’s happened to me and sometimes I shake my head and say “this can’t be happening”.  I suspect subliminal messages.  6000 Friends should be a released as a single if it hasn’t already in this reviewers humble opinion; however, each song on “Return to Mingulay”  stands alone so there is the possibility that some single releases may be warranted.  The flow of the album is amazing if you enjoy listening to something in it’s entirety as I do. 

Sonia Mota (aka Oceans 6th) created the spectacular Album Cover Artwork.  The knowledge of Mingulay combined with her knowledge of music / history create a vivid accompaniment to the music. The ship moving towards what seems it’s inevitable end. Their shining countenances from on high saying… ” HA,,, Not this time! ”  Make time to take a good look at the art whilst listening.  There is much more than than meets the eye on first take.  Here is where I feel comfortable using the word “prog”.  The depth and meaning of the art is remincent of many classic “prog” albums because it allows the viewer/listener to decide for themselves what means what.

Discussing each tracks individual nuances or going on about my opinions of what sounds like this group and so on seems counterproductive.  Instead I’d like to simply suggest that you just enjoy the music and art and take away from it your feelings and thoughts.  That is why these great people got together and made this masterpiece.  They certainly didn’t do it because they wanted to send a message to the world or make money.  They did it for all of us and for the love of music and the arts.  The soulfulness is clear once you decide to listen and not just hear.

Sea shanty music this is not.  Songs that will stand the test of time and harmonies that will make your spine tingle are in your near future…..

Review on Progarchives.com

Andy John Bradford’s Oceans 5 Release Return to Mingulay

by | Oct 14, 2013 | Uncategorized

We are pleased to announce the release of “Return to Mingulay” The Debut album Andy John Bradford’s Oceans 5 featuring 9 beautifully crafted songs.

Andy John Bradford’s Oceans 5 is a progressive folk rock band fronted by UK singer songwriter and solo artist Andy John Bradford. When you think of Progressive music, you tend not to imagine a 200 year old traditional tune with sea shanty lyrics. However, “prog” is exactly what Folk Singer/Songwriter Andy John Bradford had in mind when he approached guitarist Colin Tench, with The Mingulay Boat Song. Colin Tench (BunChakeze, Corvus Stone & The Minstrel’s Ghost) to help out.

 

They assembled an unlikely band, purely to record this one song, and they produced a version of The Mingulay Boat Song unlike any version before. They cared not if anybody actually wanted to hear such a version.

 

This lineup clearly had great chemistry and despite the fact that they were all busy with their own bands, and they all agreed that this band has something to say. Andy has a great feel for songwriting and Oceans 5 are proving to be rather good at twisting music into a whole new art form, from bouncy sing-along songs to songs with an epic feel.
The debut album “Return to Mingulay” could be considered a progressive folk rock album with an old fashioned crossover style. Nothing too clever or extreme just oceans of melodies, there are 5 core members in Oceans 5 and although they are all influenced by progressive music they all have very different approaches to composition and style. This combination has resulted in songs that really don’t sound like something you’ve heard before. The music owes more to the “anything goes” philosophy of the 70s than the finely tuned precision of 2013.  There are clearly echoes of The Strawbs, Pink Floyd and even Thin Lizzy here.

Side Note: Music should never be a perfect science. It should be a conversation with many opinions, unrestricted by language or bias.

Meet The Band:

Andy John Bradford (Solo Artist): 12 String Guitar and Vocals
Colin Tench (BunChakeze, Corvus Stone & The Minstrel’s Ghost): Guitars
Marco Chiappini (Gandalf’s Project): Keyboards
Stef Flaming (Murky Red): Bass Guitar
Victor Tassone (Unified Past): Drums & Percussion

Artist: Andy John Bradford’s Oceans 5
 Album Title: Return to Mingulay
Label: Melodic Revolution Records
Catalog Number: MRR CD 22021
Release Date: October 7th 2013

Track Listing:
01. The Mingulay Boat Song
02. The Whitby Smugglers Song
03. Empty Hands
04. Five O’clock Line
05. Dancing With The Rhythm Of The Shore
06. Invictus The Captain Of My Soul
07. Sails Off The Bay
08. 6000 Friends
09. Fly Away

Featured Guests:
Lorelei McBroom (Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones & Rod Stewart): Vocals (6000 Friends)
Andres Guazzelli (The Nekare Project, Corvus Stone): Piano & Orchestration (6000 Friends, Fly Away)

Artwork :
Sonia Mota

Official Website: http://www.oceans5.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndyJohnBradfordsOceans5