KOSMODOME, another rising star in the firmament of Norway’s flourishing Prog Music scene, has found its way into Karisma Records capacious arms, with the label preparing to release the band’s debut full-length album later this year.
The brainchild of the two Sandvik brothers, Sturle on guitars and vocals, and Severin on drums, KOSMODOME’s music is riff-based Rock with Stoner elements all of which are placed within a progressive universe to great effect. Together, the duo have an explosive drive, where the melodic can often be found hand in hand with the hard and the heavy.
Having self- released an EP via streaming in 2019, KOSMODOME add a bassist and guitarist to their live performances, appearing on stage as a four-piece, and they are, understandably, excited to be working with Karisma Records for their first full-length release, as the band explains:
We feel very humble and honoured to have signed with Karisma Records alongside all their great and inspiring bands. This already feels like the start of a fun and lasting relationship, and we look forward to showing people what Kosmodome is all about!
The title track from “Madness and Magic”, the upcoming album from Prog Rockers ARABS IN ASPIC, is the song that Karisma Records have chosen to release as a single today. Drawing their inspiration for both the title and subject matter from EDGAR BROUGHTON, the band had this to say about the track:
“Madness and Magic” is a description of how helpless one becomes when suffering from serious illness. Putting one’s life in the hands of others is frightening, especially when so heavily medicated that the boundary between reality and fiction is blurred. It gets particularly bad when it turns out the expertise is unable to relate to the human aspect of the situation. The song was written after a meeting with Doctor Death, who clearly was affected by working with people on their last journey.
Based in Trondheim, Norway, ARABS IN ASPIC is a band with a lineup that has both the skill and musical knowledge to perform a variety of styles, ranging from classic rock to funk, pop, prog, heavy rock, bossanova and a capella, all rooted in what is known as the “Golden Era” of rock.
Jostein Smeby on Guitars + vocals, Stig Jørgensen on Organs + vocals, Erik Paulsen on Bass + vocals, Eskil Nyhus on Drums + cymbals and Alessandro G. Elide on Percussion + gongs, are an ensemble who create a distinctive sound that is best described as a sweet mixture of loud, heavy guitars and drums, 12 string acoustics, funky bass and percussion, screaming Hammond organs, soft Rhodes, Mellotrons and 70’s Synths, topped with plentiful vocal harmonies.
“Madness and Magic” will be the seventh full-length album from the Prog Rockers, and recently the band let fans know more about what went into making it, and the subject matter:
“Madness and Magic” is the first Arabs in Aspic album written for two drummers, with more acoustic guitar parts than previous albums. All the music was written and arranged in our studio and carefully put together like a puzzle with 50,000 pieces, to take the listener on a journey through life’s “Madness and Magic”, both musically and lyrically.
The lyrics for “Madness and Magic” reflect on how easily both children and adults are affected in the digital age, but also how helpless we are when we have to put our lives in the hands of specialists. Many ideas came up after a brief meeting with Doctor Death. The message of “Madness and Magic” is up to the listener to decide. For you are capable of thinking for yourself, right?
With ethereal artwork by Julia Proszowska, tracklisting for the “Madness and Magic” is as follows:
1. I Vow to Thee, My Screen 2. Lullaby for Modern Kids, Part 1 3. Lullaby for Modern Kids, Part 2 4. High-Tech Parent 5. Madness and Magic 6. Heaven in Your Eye
“Madness and Magic” will be released on the 12th June and will be available in CD, black vinyl and Limited Edition Green and Yellow Splatter vinyl, and Digital formats, and is now available to pre-order at:
Just over a year ago, Karisma Records announced that they would be releasing the entire six-album back catalog of ’70’s Norwegian Prog legends RUPHUS. And now, with the band’s first three albums “New Born Day”, “Ranshart” and, “Let Your Light Shine” already released, the time has come for the fourth album, “Inner Voice” to be released.
By the time “Inner Voice” was released in 1977, and spurred on the by the massive success its predecessor, “Let Your Light Shine”, had found there, RUPHUS had relocated to Germany, where they stayed for some time, touring extensively around Europe, and releasing a further two albums (Flying Colours” and “Manmade”), which will also be available from Karisma Records in the coming months.
“Inner Voice”, was once again produced by the legendary Terje Rypdal, and, with new members, Sylvi Lillegaard (vocals) and Jan Simonsen (keyboards), bringing with them fresh blood and musical influences, the album was a prime example of the Norwegian Proggy Jazz Rock genre of the ’70’s, and cemented the band’s reputation as one of the leading lights on the European Jazz-Rock Scene.
As with all the re-releases in the series, “Inner Voice” has been mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow, The Opium Cartel, etc), and with cover design by Jan Ole Norum and cover photo by Kim Hart, track listing for “Inner Voice” is as follows:
1. Inner Voice
2. Come Into View
3. No Deal
4. Too Late
5. Within The Walls
6. Left Behind
“Inner Voice” will be released on the 22nd of May and will be available in CD, black vinyl, and a 250 copy limited edition in transparent blue vinyl. It is now available to pre-order from https://www.karismarecords.no/artists/ruphus/
A versatile and ground-breaking band, RUPHUS, with their long, melodic, compositions, and multiple, intertwined themes, were regarded as being the Norwegian equivalent of YES, not just in style, but also in skill. The band’s revolving door policy as regards their lineup meant that, as members left and others joined, RUPHUS’ sound changed accordingly, taking them from their early days playing hard progressive rock, to becoming one of the leaders in the field of jazz-rock. Only Kjell Larsen (guitar) and Asle Nilsen (bass, flute) would go on to play on all of RUPHUS’ albums.
Four years since the release of “Disconnected”, Prog Rockers AIRBAG are set to release their fifth full-length album. Titled “A Day at the Beach”, the album will be released on the 19th June on Karisma Records, and today the label has given the band’s many fans a taste of what they can look forward to by releasing a track from the album.
The track is titled “Machines and Men”, and AIRBAG describe it thus: “This was one of the very first songs written for the album. The initial demo was basically just guitars, drums and vocals and during a period of working in the studio, rehearsing, and playing the song live, it slowly evolved into something new and fresh that defined most of the material we were working on. The lyrics describe the facts of war in a cold and objective fashion, only to turn to the spectator with a warning and a chance to look away“.
Hailed as one of the most important bands to emerge from the Norwegian prog scene over the past decades, AIRBAG was formed in the mid-2000s by five high school classmates, which included two of today’s members Asle Tostrup (vocals) and Bjørn Riis (guitars). AIRBAG is a band that is able to blend diverse musical styles and sounds, with a strong narrative listening experience. Today’s lineup also includes Henrik Bergan Fossum (drums) and “A Day at the Beach” will be AIRBAG’s first album as a trio, and will also feature talented guest musicians including WOBBLER’s Kristian Hultgren.
Featuring six new songs recorded during the autumn and winter of 2019-20, and inspired by the resurgence of 1980s electronica, new wave and movie scores, “A Day at the Beach” sees AIRBAG creating a powerful sound combining ethereal soundscapes with their signature guitar driven progressive rock. The result is a stunning selection of songs revealing a mature band looking forward from its already impressive legacy.
Once again teaming up with long-time collaborator and engineer Vegard Sleipnes, “A Day at the Beach” was mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo and produced by Asle Tostrup and Bjørn Riis. Cover design, is, as always, by vocalist Tostrup.
1. Machines and Men 2. A Day at the Beach (Part 1) 3. Into the Unknown 4. Sunsets 5. A Day at the Beach (Part 2) 6. Megalomaniac
Airbag explains:
The album is the result of a strong collaboration between all three of us. Having lost two original members since our last album, we were forced to rethink how we write and create new music, but it also allowed us to venture into something new that turned out to be very inspiring.
Lyrically, “A Day at the Beach” is very much a story of us and them, told by a husband, father and brother leaving his family behind into an unknown future. It’s the contrast between the desperate individual struggling to survive and people in power observing at a safe distance.
“A Day at the Beach” will be available in CD, black and coloured vinyls and Digital formats and is now available to pre-order from:
Karisma Records have set the 12th June as the release date for “Madness and Magic” the seventh full-length album from Prog Rockers ARABS IN ASPIC, who are greatly looking forward to the fact that working with the label means that they will be able to focus solely on making and playing their music and bringing it to a wider audience, both in a studio setting and live.
“Madness and Magic” will be available in CD, Vinyl and Digital formats, and with artwork by Julia Proszowska, tracklisting for the album is as follows:
1. I Vow to Thee, My Screen 2. Lullaby for Modern Kids, Part 1 3. Lullaby for Modern Kids, Part 2 4. High-Tech Parent 5. Madness and Magic 6. Heaven in Your Eye
“Madness and Magic” is the first Arabs in Aspic album written for two drummers, with more acoustic guitar parts than previous albums. All the music was written and arranged in our studio and carefully put together like a puzzle with 50,000 pieces, to take the listener on a journey through life’s “Madness and Magic”, both musically and lyrically.
The lyrics for “Madness and Magic” reflect on how easily both children and adults are affected in the digital age, but also how helpless we are when we have to put our lives in the hands of specialists. Many ideas came up after a brief meeting with Doctor Death. The message of “Madness and Magic” is up to the listener to decide. For you are capable of thinking for yourself, right?
With their musical roots embedded in what is known as the “Golden Era” of rock, and hailing from Trondheim in Norway, ARABS IN ASPIC’s lineup comprises Jostein Smeby on Guitars + vocals, Stig Jørgensen on Organs + vocals, Erik Paulsen on Bass + vocals, Eskil Nyhus on Drums + cymbals and Alessandro G. Elide on Percussion + gongs. Together they form an ensemble of musicians whose playing includes aspects classic rock, funk, pop, prog, heavy rock, bossanova, a capella.
ARABS IN ASPIC will bring their distinctive sound, which can be described as “a sweet mixture of loud, heavy guitars and drums, 12 string acoustics, funky bass and percussion, screaming Hammond organs, soft Rhodes, Mellotrons and 70’s Synths, topped with plentiful vocal harmonies”, to the John Dee in Oslo on the 13 June when they celebrate the release of “Madness and Magic”, along with support THE FLYING NORSEMEN.
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