Having released four solo albums (2 studio and 2 live), Peter has turned his attention to working with other musicians’ projects and bands such as Kinetic Element (USA), The Steve Bonino Project (USA), Marco Ragni (Italy), Bomber Goggles (USA), Transport Aerian (Belgium), Lobate Scarp (USA), The Steppes (USA), and Gekko Projekt (USA).
“I have a lot of new material, for at least two or three more solo albums, but I wanted to work on other projects to develop myself further as a guitarist and musician. So I took on a lot of session work with several artists around the world covering over 30 songs. At the moment I am finishing up my second album with Kinetic Element – Live in New York and my upcoming 3rd studio solo album.
About Peter Matuchniak favors a progressive style of guitar that features melodic solos and graceful chording, clearly influenced by the likes of Steve Hackett (Genesis), Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Andy Latimer (Camel) and Mike Oldfield. Always drawn more to composition and melody above pure technique and over-indulgence, Peter Matuchniak lets sounds and textures guide the music first and foremost.
His compositional style draws from the varied genres he was exposed to at home: a brother into jazz-rock, a sister listening to the latest radio hits, and parents who raised them all on classical music. But the basic element is always progressive rock, and Peter Matuchniak has played with a number of bands in this genre that have garnered attention and reviews, both in London where he grew up as well as in his adopted Southern California home.
Peter has received enthusiastic reviews from around the world (the latter winning a Grindie Award from RadioINDY). Back in the 1980’s Peter was part of the so-called neo-progressive rock movement with Janysium and Mach One (that were represented by Keith Goodwin, press agent for Yes, Marillion and Rod Argent. He also wrote and recorded jingles in Bombay for commercials that were aired on Indian TV with high-profile artists and accounts, with one such ad winning a CLIO award for public safety.
Discography Solo Album / TBA (2020) Kinetic Element – Live From New York 2020 Kinetic Element – The Face of Life (2019) Bomber Goggles – GyreLand (2018) Marco Ragni – The Wondering Caravan (2018) Transport Aerian – Therianthrope (2017) Marco Ragni – Land of Blue Echoes (2016) Peter Matuchniak – A Live Destination (2015) Peter Matuchniak – A Live Destination Video (2015) Free with CD Gekko Projekt – Reya of Titan (2015) Peter Matuchniak – Destiny (2014) Peter Matuchniak – Uncovered Live in L.A. (2014) Gekko Projekt – Electric Forest (2012) Peter Matuchniak- DVD Uncover Me CD (2012) Evolve IV – Decadent Light (2007)
Although I have previously heard some albums in which Steve has been involved, most notably the awesome Bomber Goggles and their incredible album ‘Gyreland’ (if you haven’t already bought this then you need to), this is the first time I have come across one of his solo albums. Steve provides guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and vocals, and is joined by Böhn (acoustic and electric guitars and backing vocals) and Bingo Brown (drums, percussion, and backing vocals). ‘Stargazer’ is a concept album, and is the nickname given to the hero of our story born into a dystopian future in which man’s neglect has made Earth no longer habitable. This is a similar theme to ‘Gyreland’ and the impact of humanity’s impact on the earth, and at this point, it is not possible to save the planet so people have to leave.
Steve has a knack of bringing together multiple musical themes and styles and bringing them together in a fashion that is best thought of as crossover progressive rock, with large elements of power pop styles. The songs are all short, with only a couple daring to break the five-minute barrier and are incredibly infectious. In fact, one can imagine quite a number of these being played on the radio to great effect. Take “Phoenix Rising” for example, here we have find Steve channeling Weezer while with “In The Darkness” it is much more like Nik Kershaw! The music is fluid, sonorous, and always with stacks of melody and hooks.
It is an incredibly accessible album, one that I knew I was going to enjoy from the very first note, as the title cut opens proceedings with layered harmony vocals. This is a poppy funky rocking number that shows inspiration from Utopia, and I defy anyone not to sing along with the chorus when it returns. Straight away I was smiling, grooving in my chair, knowing that this was yet another to add to my list of albums of the year – and given that ‘Gyreland’ is also in the Top Ten, Steve’s not doing badly. He has a real knack of producing catchy songs, giving them enough depth so that they have a real presence, but also showing restraint. There is the impression that ‘Stargazer’ could have been a lot heavier, it wouldn’t have taken much in the mix but it works great as it is. There are also little touches, like the bass slide up and down the frets in the chorus, which definitely add to the overall piece, and from that we go into the far more jagged “The Celestial Show” which has a very different attack both in terms of arrangement and vocals, yet is also another great number. This is quite some album, highly recommended. 10/10 Kev Rowland
Bomber Goggles Multi-instrumentalist Steve Bonino will be releasing his new album Stargazer under the guise of The Steve Bonino Project, the album will be released worldwide on October 5th 20,18 and be available at ProgSock.
About the album
Stargazer is the nickname given to the hero of our story born into a dystopian future in which man’s neglect has made Earth no longer habitable. Ever since he was a child he has been enamored with telescopes, growing up to be a leading scientist working for the Hubble Telescope Project. The Earth has reached the point of no return and our leading minds built the starship Phoenix whose mission is to carry a select group of people to our nearest habitable planet, Proxima b in the Alpha Centauri system. Stargazer is chosen for his astrological and scientific expertise. Leaving seven billion souls behind, The Phoenix takes off on the most perilous and hopeful voyage in mankind’s history.
To celebrate the upcoming album Stargazer:
Steve has launched a new Bandcamp Superstore called “The Steve Bonino Projects”; here you will be able to find his many projects past, present and upcoming including releases he is involved with such as the critically acclaimed Bomber Goggles, Zabocus, Children of The Moon, Peter Matuchniak, and previous solo releases.
Track-listing:
01. Stargazer
02. The Celestial Show
03. Written In The Stars
04. Telescope
05. It’s In Our Blood
06. Dark Matter
07. Phoenix Rising
08. Earth 2
09. In The Darkness
10. Phoenix Descending
11. Under The Red Dwarf Sun
12. On A New World
13. 20 Years Later
14. The Dream Lives On
15. Through The Eyes Of A Child
16. Nova
The Steve Bonino Project Line-Up Is:
Steve Bonino: Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards & Drum Programming
Böhn: Acoustic & Electric Guitars and Backing Vocals
Bingo Brown: Drums, Percussions and Backing Vocals
Special Guest: Pamela George: Orchestral arrangements for The Eyes Of A Child
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