John Mitchell (Arena, Frost, Lonely Robot, It Bites, Kino…) will be delighting audiences with acoustic shows just before Christmas.
John will be performing acoustic versions of songs from his multiple bands and projects (It Bites, Frost*, Lonely Robot, Kino…) as well as a selection of his favourite covers, sharing personal anecdotes and stories throughout the evening. He will be joined by Jez Fielder (Indigo Down) on guitar and backing vocals. This will certainly be a very special show and a great opportunity to experience a privileged evening not to be missed!
French prog rock band Nine Skies unveil Nine Skies unveil a last single from their album ‘The Lightmaker’ before the release on September 18th.
Marco Minnemann, Adam Holzman, Kristoffer Gildenlöw,
John Mitchell, Riccardo Romano, Martin Wilson, Charlie Bramald, Arnaud Quevedo & Laura Piazzai have been announced as guests on the album.
Riccardo Romano has also been announced as lead vocalist on the upcoming French tour in October.
OVERVIEW
Style: “Frogressive” Rock
Country: France/UK
Label: Independent Release Date: September 18, 2023
Tracklisting
1 Intro: An Fánai (2:38) 2 The Explorer (6:08) – feat. Riccardo Romano 3 The Dreamer (8:01) – feat. Martin Wilson 4 The Chaotic (7:18) – feat. Adam Holzman, Arnaud Quevedo & Laura Piazzai 5 The Lost (9:12) – feat. Kristoffer Gildenlöw 6 Interlude: The Wanderer (1:27) 7 The Haunted (11:25) – feat. Charlie Bramald 8 The Architect (11:18) – feat. John Mitchell & Marco Minnemann
Hailing from the Southeast of the United Kingdom, melodic yet progressive rock act The Room is thrilled to announce their signing to White Star Records, the label owned and operated by Chris Hillman and John Mitchell. This announcement comes shortly after White Star Records added London prog rock outfit Quantum Pig to their growing roster of artists. Both bands now join a label that currently houses the likes of Voices From The Fuselage, Kepler Ten and The Paradox Twin.
Chris Hillman details the journey leading toward this signing event:
“I’d been aware of The Room for some time and became very impressed with their musicianship, however, the thing that really won me over was this huge step up in their melodic, anthemic quality. It feels like The Room is growing and developing with every album, and I find many of their melodies going around in my head after listening – real “earworms” that I think will resonate with a large audience. Get ready for some quality prog with sticky, memorable moments!”
Along with their signing announcement, The Room has simultaneously unveiled early details of a new studio album. Their upcoming third full-length is titled ‘Caught By The Machine’ and will be released on 22nd February 2019. Ahead of this release, the sextet is giving fans and newcomers a taste of things to come with their first video single for the track ‘Broken’.
Binding a broad range of musical influences into a distinct and nostalgic sound, smart songwriting and captivating melodies form the foundation of The Room’s musical core. ‘Broken’ proves no exception, but don’t let it’s bright, foot-tapping, major-key guitar riffing fool you – there’s more to the single than meets the eye…
“I had to think long and hard about how ‘Broken’ was to be approached,” explains vocalist Martin Wilson. “I’d always wanted to play with the idea that most problems people have been brought on by themselves; Wrong life decisions, bad investments, excessive drink, and drugs abuse, mistreatment of others and so on. Often, I have found that people in these positions are the first to complain, but the last to admit fault.”
“With ‘Broken’, the instrumental backdrop is uplifting, with this jaunty feel to it, but I wanted to find something different – a juxtaposition if you like – to the lyrics, adding a little more intrigue to the song. So we’ve got this upbeat instrumental backing, while the lyrics offer a slightly darker picture. Spiraling out of control because of one’s own actions, how life can crash over negativity you’ve brought on yourself and so on…and yet you still complain and pass blame.”
The Room unashamedly admits that they wrote “Broken” as something of a challenge to themselves. All too aware of the modern specifics of genre definition, the band hoped to be able to break prog traditions, writing a three-minute, mainstream song that would merge the great melodies and broad choruses of prog, whilst remaining radio-friendly and accessible.
Despite the strong narrative of ‘Broken’, The Room recognized the bounce and drive of the single and wanted to bring this to life even more with a quirky, fun music video, shot at the 2018 Cambridge Rock Festival by MHG Music Videos.
FROST*, the band masterminded by producer, keyboard player & vocalist Jem Godfrey, has announced that they have re-signed with long-time label partner InsideOutMusic (who this year celebrate their 25th anniversary).
This new deal will encompass several forthcoming releases, including 2 new studio albums, a live album (filmed at 2017’s sold out show in London), as well as reissues of the bands back catalogue. Jem had this to say: “InsideOut have been a long suffering supporter of Frost*. Unwaveringly supportive even when I was lobbing as many toys as I could find out of my pram. As time has passed, I’ve grown up and come to realise what a luxury it is to have a record company of this calibre covering your back. Many bands don’t have that luxury so I’m absolutely raring to go with the new album and the one beyond that.”
InsideOutMusic label-head Thomas Waber adds: “I am really pleased that we managed to extend our partnership with Frost* mastermind Jem Godfrey. His unpredictable nature and humour is a breath of fresh air in this genre and provides for some of the best music we have released on the label. Let’s see what mischief we can come up with in the years to come!”
More news on these forthcoming releases will be released in the coming months.
As mentioned, Frost* played the final show of the Falling Satellites campaign to a sold-out Dingwalls in London in November 2017. The evening was filmed, and will see the light of day as a brand new live release.
Falling Satellites was released in May 2016 to much critical acclaim, with Prog Magazine calling the band “one of the most entertaining and exciting bands on the block”, while Echoes & Dust called the album “essential listening” and Heavy Blog Is Heavy said: “Progressive pop is theirs, and Falling Satellites is the benchmark.”
Jem is joined on ‘Falling Satellites’ by guitarist & vocalist John Mitchell (Lonely Robot, It Bites), drummer Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson) & bassist Nathan King (Level 42). ‘Falling Satellites’ was the band’s first album in 8 years & the follow-up to the acclaimed ‘Experiments In Mass Appeal’. Comprising 11 songs, the final 6 forming a 32-minute long suite, ‘Falling Satellites’ also sees a guest appearance from Grammy-nominated guitar legend Joe Satriani who Godfrey played with on the G3 tour in 2012.
Kino have announced the release of their new album ‘Radio Voltaire’, arriving 13 years after the band’s much-loved debut ‘Picture’ back in 2005. Out on March 23rd, 2018, it sees John Mitchell (It Bites, Lonely Robot) & Pete Trewavas (Marillion) teaming up once more, with Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson) on drums & John Beck (It Bites) guesting on keyboards.
Recorded at the end of 2017, writing began at the end of that Summer. “We actually began the writing process in late August,” says John Mitchell. “Pete had a few tunes and so did I, and we went from there.” Mitchell and Trewavas were both a crucial part of the original band more than a decade ago, with the former providing lead vocals and guitar parts, while the latter played his trademark bass lines and also contributed backing vocals.
Keyboard player John Beck, who is also a bandmate of Mitchell’s in It Bites, has been brought back. But while he was fully involved on the debut album, this time his role is that of a guest musician. “Yes, I am delighted to say we’ve gone John on board. His keyboard playing is splattered throughout the album, and I’ve also done the odd keyboard part myself.” The task of drummer this time fell to Craig Blundell, as Mitchell explains: “This time around Craig was the obvious choice to be the drummer, as far as I was concerned. I have worked with him so much that there was nobody else in the frame.”
Of the album’s direction, Mitchell illustrates: “The title sounds very cool and obviously there’s a connection with the band Cabaret Voltaire. But Voltaire himself (the 18th-century French philosopher) had a fascination with death, which appealed to me. He also stood for freedom of speech and freedom of religion. On top of that, I love the idea of a radio station that would reflect his views on life and cut through the bullshit which seems to be all over politics. Now, that is the type of radio station I think would reflect what a lot of us want to hear.”
The album cover has been designed by Paul Tippett, who is one of the most in-demand artists of the modern era. “I like what he’s done with this sleeve. It reminds me of Moulin Rouge meets ‘Live And Let Die’. It is very striking, and I am sure everyone will have their own interpretation of what it reminds them of.”
The album will be available on Limited CD Digipak (including bonus tracks), Jewel Case CD, Gatefold 180g Double Vinyl (incl. CD) & Digital Download.
The tracklisting can be found below:
1.Radio Voltaire
2.The Dead Club
3.Idlewild
4.I Don’t Know Why
5.I Won’t Break So Easily Any More
6.Temple Tudor
7.Out of Time
8.Warmth of the Sun
9.Grey Shapes on Concrete Fields
10.Keep The Faith
11.The Silent Fighter Pilot
Bonus Tracks
12.Temple Tudor (Piano Mix)
13.The Dead Club (Berlin Headquarter Mix)
14.Keep The Faith (Orchestral Mix)
15.The Kino Funfair
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