by Nick | Apr 7, 2017 | Festivals, News
• FLOR DE LOTO
“Flor De Loto has continued to grow as a musical entity, which means that thanks to them, Peru’s progressive scene remains an interesting point of reference regarding the healthy state of the affairs for current progressive rock around the globe.”
– Cesar Inca, Progarchives.com
Hailing from Lima, Peru, FLOR DE LOTO began in 1998. However it was years later before the band released their eponymous debut. Taking more than six months to record, Flor De Loto was a great success and is regarded by many as one of the best Latin American prog albums of 2005. Since then, the band has become the most well-known proponent of progressive rock from Peru. Often compared to Jethro Tull because of their flute/rock mix, their style also encompasses fusion, psyche, metal, folk (particularly Andean folk music) and film music.
ProgDay is happy to present FLOR DE LOTO for their first performance in the United States.
• SONAR
“…a revolutionary shot across the bow for what we might consider to be the possibilities of modern day guitar music… With so many forms of contemporary music seemingly satisfied to simply regurgitate weary and weathered tropes, Sonar has defied the norm by crafting something singular and magical.”
– Jeff Miers,The Buffalo News
SONAR is a avant-progressive, post-minimal band from Switzerland. Fusing a rigorous minimal esthetic with the power of a rock band, SONAR creates sonic rituals unlike anything you have ever heard before. While pointing to King Crimson, the compositional rigor of Nik Bärtsch, and minimalist composer Steve Reich as some of the band’s more obvious touchstones, the music comes out of the gate sounding like none of them. At a time when most guitarists are measured in notes per second, SONAR is, instead, the meeting place of rigorously considered writing, collective restraint, and a sound instantly recognizable as much for what is not there as for what is.
The band’s new release, Vortex, produced by David Torn, is scheduled to be available at ProgDay 2017.
• INFiNiEN
“Light at the Endless Tunnel takes the listener into a wide-range of directions, blending the familiar with unexpected Middle Eastern elements, Indian vocal percussion, soul and lots more. The band features extremely talented musicians who showcase their talent with looped guitars, creative bass lines, imaginative drum patters, Ethiopian scales, spectacular guitar solos, exquisite keyboard ambience, epic intensity, and Canterbury-ish keyboards… In other words, state of the art progressive rock… Every year, there is at least one progressive music act that stands out from the rest and iNFiNiEN is undoubtedly one of the best. This is one of the progressive rock gems of the past few months. Highly recommended.”
– Angel Romero, ProgressiveRockCentral.com
Philadelphia-born iNFiNiEN combines eclectic musical personalities into a visionary, unified force. Using rock, jazz, soul, world, and classical influences, the band plays intricately composed songs with a focus on the exploration of new territories of sound by using exotic scales, chords, and rhythms. A centerpiece of the band’s sound is the expressive voice of Chrissie Loftus, whose evocative and emotional vocals provide the lyrical glue that binds the widely-ranging compositions together. The band has hit a new peak with their latest release, Light At The Endless Tunnel, which found it’s way onto many “Best Of The Year” lists for 2016.
Join FLOR DE LOTO (Peru), SONAR (Switzerland) and iNFiNiEN (US) for the twenty-third edition of ProgDay. ProgDay 2017 will take place on Saturday and Sunday, September 2nd and 3rd, at Storybook Farm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For more information, please visit us at www.progday.net.
To hear music from all this year’s bands, please visit the ProgDay Music page http://www.progday.net/ProgDay-Music.html
Five more bands to be announced.
by Nick | Nov 16, 2016 | New Releases, News
iNFiNiEN has just released the single ‘Off the Tracks’ as a Free Download from their upcoming album ‘Light at the Endless Tunnel’ to be released tomorrow.
(Music by iNFiNiEN & Justin Carney; Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus & Tom Cullen)
AYA (Music by Matt Hollenberg; Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus)
Oasis (Music and Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus)
Off the Tracks (Music by Matt Hollenberg, Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus)
Bottom of the Food Chain (Music by Jordan Berger and Chrissie Loftus, Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus)
Light at the Endless Tunnel (Music by Matt Hollenberg, Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus)
Love for Yourself (Music by iNFiNiEN, Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus)
Worth The Wait (Music and Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus)
If I Were A Song (Music and Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus)
If You Were A Song (Music by iNFiNiEN, Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus)
Existence (Music by Jordan Berger, Lyrics by Chrissie Loftus & Jordan Berger)
Jordan Berger: Electric and Upright Bass, Background Vocals, Additional Percussion
Tom Cullen: Drums and Percussion
Matt Hollenberg: Guitars, Bulbul Tarang, Tabla, Moog Minitaur
Chrissie Loftus: Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, Organ and Additional PercussionOrchestrations on “Brand New”,
“If I Were a Song” and “If You Were a Song” by Jon Salmon
iNFiNiEN Chamber Orchestra:
Mark Allen – flute, clarinet
Jordan Berger – double-bass
Monique Canniere – violins
Maura Dwyer – violin, cello
Andriana Markano – viola, violin
Ben Mulholland – French horn
Rebecca Schlappich – violins
Recorded and Engineered by Rob Shaffer and Jeff Hiatt
Additional production by Matt Hollenberg and Rob Shaffer
Additional recording by Jay Levin and Sean Svadlenak
Mastered by Jeff Hiatt and Sean Svadlenak
Recorded and mixed at Turtle Studios, Philadelphia
Philadelphia based Experimental Progressive band. Exotic tonalities and thick chords mixed with Jazz, African, Balkan, Pop, Rock and Indian Music.
Philadelphia-born iNFiNiEN combines eclectic musical personalities into a visionary, unified force. Using rock, jazz, soul, world, and classical influences, the quartet plays intricately composed songs with a focus on improvisation. With two albums under their belt the band has found it’s niche as something truly unique within the Philly and National scenes. After playing, touring and writing together for six years, iNFiNiEN has developed their distinctive voice through their consistent dedication to powerful live shows and bold experimentation in the studio. Far from the typical rock band, they explore new territories of sound by using exotic scales, chords, and rhythms. The drums project driving tribal beats, mixing elements of hardcore, funk, and jazz as bass grooves move through a complex and fluidly changing web of pulse. The guitar and keyboard create a wash of texture, deep harmony and colorful melodies while fluid female vocals add a strong emotional element through soulful poetry and deliberatedynamics. Taking cues from all over the music world, their compositions borrow equally from romantic composers like Debussy and Faure; contemporary artists like Bjork, Tori Amos and Radiohead; world music like Indian Classical, African, Middle Eastern and Latin; and even adventurous avant-garde fusion like Mahavishnu Orchestra, John Coltrane and John Zorn. An entity unto itself, iNFiNiEN stirs listeners through a moving musical adventure.
What The Critics are saying about iNFiNiEN
“Calling it “fusion” isn’t even entirely correct, since that smacks of cocktail parties and easy-listening boredom. This is the sublimation of styles, a group of highly trained players sacrificing their training for the sake of something more exciting.”
– Philadelphia City Paper
“iNFiNiEN’s set is dynamic and energizing, with Loftus rolling her head and emoting like a languid seductress. The music is moody, jazzy, lounge-y and dramatic, with dissonant chords resolving into melody and tinkering Middle Eastern sounds. For most of their set, they’re joined by New Orleans saxophonist Kyle Cripps, whose jazzy playing adds another layer to their sonic creations. Their last track, “Perpetual Twilight,” is 10 minutes long, and devolves into a raucous, thrashing collage of sound. It’s the perfect end to a long evening, and I leave feeling like the possibilities for music are truly infinite.”
– Phrequency.com
More info: Facebook
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