Magenta follows up 2017s much-praised “We Are Legend” with a brand new studio album “Masters of Illusion”. The 60-minute album consists of six songs, including the 17-minute title track. The album’s theme is based around the lives of six famous horror actors of the 1950s and 1960s. Lyricist Steve Reed:
‘My brother and I are both huge fans of the classic Hammer and Universal horror films. I remember as a kid watching the horror double bills on Saturday nights on BBC2 with great fondness. We were looking for a concept for the new album and came up with the idea of basing the songs on some of our favorite actors. The twist is that the stories are about their private lives rather than the characters they portrayed in their films.’ Robert Reed:
‘After making the ‘We Are Legend’ album, which was more contemporary, I really wanted to make a classic PROG album. I was desperate to get back to the original musical template of what Magenta was all about. So there are lots of Moog and guitar solos, 12 string guitar, Mellotrons, and bass pedals, but always with melodies. The song is always king!’ The standard release will feature a CD along with a DVD featuring a 5.1 surround mix of the album, video promos, and interviews.
Tracklisting:
1.Bela 2. A Gift From God 3.Reach For the Moon 4. Snow 5. The Rose 6. Masters of Illusion
Sample Masters of Illusion Here
Also exclusively available from the Magenta shop will be a limited edition V.I.P. Package.
This will include the regular CD/DVD along with a pack of 6 album art Postcards and a special bonus Magenta CD, ‘The Lost Reel’ which is presented in a reproduction mini film canister and will feature 74 minutes of alternative mixes from the new album plus some remixes from the back catalog.
By now, some of you may know that ESP has backed out of this year’s festival. Needless to say, I am extremely saddened by this, but totally respect their wishes. All I’m saying is, it’s a very wise decision on their behalf and I thank them for letting me know so much in advance to give me time to sort a replacement. Now, I did toy with the idea of just absorbing their set, but NO – we sorted it last year when Leafblade had to drop out !! Therefore, I put wheels in motion, sent out scouts, spent some time on the interweb and thus I can now announce their replacement as I had final confirmation this morning – please welcome onboard (drum roll please) – The Blackheart Orchestra !!!! They will be taking the same slot as ESP, 1.25 – 2.10 pm on Saturday 21st………. WooHoo.
Caravan/Motor Home/Tent Hard standing pitch (with water and electric) – £26 per night, Grass Pitch – £22, Small Tent – (max capacity 2 persons) – £17. Non-Electric pitch – deduct £4.00 per night Literally, a 15-20 min walk to thevenue, along the river !!!
Is Prog Rock really progressive anymore? How do the current Prog bands feel about the genre and its legacy? Do they feel that there is progress in the music they perform? Different Prog artists/bands are being interviewed and answer 5 questions about the current status of the Progressive Rock and its culture. This exploratory research focuses on exploring the present and the future of a music genre that survived through the years due to its innovative nature.
While most of the previous Prog books focus on historical facts of the genre, this journalistic effort is a self-criticism of the genre through the looking glass of modern and active Prog musicians. The book starts with an introduction to Prog Rock by VIAJERO INMÓVIL Records (Argentina) and the rest of the material is divided into chapters that include the musicians’ answers to the following discussion themes:
1. What is progress in Progressive Rock? 2. Is Progressive Rock really progressive? 3. Accepting other music genres as progressive music 4. Next step for the progress of Progressive Rock 5. Technology and Progressive Rock
The participating Prog artists/bands that are being interviewed: Aisles, Anubis, Ant-Bee, EchoTest, Evership, Karakorum, Kotebel, Life After Mars, Light Freedom Revival, Lars Eric Mattson, Liquid Orbit, Magenta, Mouth, Process of Illumination, RTFACT, Robert Berry, Seven Impale, Soul Enema, Sproingg, Terra Collective, Time King, Wobbler, Yang.
The book was written by Vasileios Yfantis who has also authored other thematic books on Punk, Metal and music technology. Next plans for Vasileios Yfantis include the release of a Prog musical album in 2020 and a new book on melodic rock scheduled for release during the early 2021.
About the author Vasileios Yfantis has been working in the music industry for more than 20 years as a freelance music journalist. Moreover, he holds 2 Master Degrees in Information Technology and he is a Phd candidate in University of West Attica in Greece. Vasileios has presented conference papers in both Europe and Africa. The main areas of his research interests feature: Musicology, Marketing, Information Communications Technology, Digital Entertainment Industry.
Bibliography 1. V. Yfantis, “The Commercial Exploitation Of Color As A Consumer Stimulus” (Greek Edition), Createspace, 2013. 2. V. Yfantis, “The Lost Lyrics” (Greek Edition), Createspace, 2013. 3. V. Yfantis, “Punk Goes Science: The Academic Punk Bibliography”,CreateSpace, 2014. 4. V. Yfantis, “City Streets Of Europe”, Lulu, 2017. 5. V. Yfantis, “Metal Goes Science”, Createspace 2017. 6. V. Yfantis, “Disadvantaged Populations And Technology In Music”, Createspace 2017. 7. V. Yfantis, “Hip Hop Goes Science: Volume I”, Createspace 2019.
News of the Summer’s End Festival at the Drill Hall, Chepstow on 5th to 7th October 2018.
Unfortunately, September Code from Greece cannot now play the festival due to personal issues affecting a member of the band. We are, however, very pleased to announce that Silhouette from the Netherlands have agreed to make a return to the festival having first played in 2013. The band released their fifth album “The World is Flat” in 2017 to great acclaim, and we’re excited that they have agreed to return on Saturday afternoon.
All ticket types remain on sale, although with 80% of tickets now sold, early purchase is recommended.
Saturday or Sunday day £40. Friday £20. Saturday and Sunday £75. Three-day tickets remain on sale priced £90 for a weekend ticket and £110 for a sponsor ticket (which includes a T-shirt)
Friday, October 5th
Moonparticle (International) will be a new name to most, but the band is awash with pedigree. Led by Nico Tsonev (ex-Steven Wilson / Lifesigns), the bands’ debut album “Hurricane Esmeralda” features Adam Holzman, Theo Travis, and Craig Blundell. This exclusive performance may well be the band’s first gig! www.moonparticle.com
Sky Architect One of the most exciting young bands on the progressive rock scene at the moment, with four albums already under their belts, and we’re very excited that Sky Architect have to join us. www.skyarchitect.com
Saturday, October 6th
Lazuli Much-loved French band Lazuli will make their third appearance at the festival following inspirational sets in 2011 and 2013, and recent tours with Fish that have seen the band massively increase its fan base, so we are thrilled to welcome them to the festival for a third time. www.lazuli-music.com
Landmarq We are also delighted to announce the return of Landmarq to the festival – and indeed to live performance – following the recent departure of Tracey Hitchings, now resident in Australia. Currently working on a new album, the band will showcase their new vocalist at Summers End. www.landmarq.net
Frequency Drift (Germany). Switching from Winter’s End to Summer’s End, German cinematic rock band Frequency Drift return to the festival after a spellbinding performance in 2014. Their new album “Letters to Maro” will be released in 2018. www.frequencydrift.com
Silhouette (Netherlands). We are very pleased to announce that Silhouette from the Netherlands have agreed to make a return to the festival having first played in 2013. The band released their fifth album The World is Flat in 2017 to great acclaim, and we’re excited that they have agreed a return on Saturday afternoon. www.silhouetteband.nl
When Mary (Norway). Combining art rock with electronica, When Mary – fronted by former White Willow vocalist Trude Eidtang, who played the festival with the band back in 2006 – released their 2nd album “Tainted” on Huw and Stephen’s Sonicbond label in November 2017. www.whenmary.no
Sunday, October 7th
Magenta Another returning band are Magenta, making a record-breaking fifth appearance at the festival following their rapturously-received 2017 album “We Are Legend”. www.magenta-web.com
Tim Bowness Making his debut at the festival will be art rock legend Tim Bowness and band, who released his latest solo album “Lost in the Ghost Light” in 2017 alongside a deluxe edition of No Man’s remarkable “Returning Jesus” album. www.timbowness.co.uk
Kaprekar’s Constant Also from the UK are emerging Prog collective Kaprekar’s Constant, whose debut album “Fate Outsmarts Desire” has been very well received for its intricacy and history-based songwriting, with favourable comparisons to Big Big Train. The band will feature ex- VDGG woodwind legend David Jackson alongside his vocalist daughter Dorie and ex Level 42 drummer Phil Gould. www.kaprekarsconstant.com
Edensong (USA). With a 13 year history, this New York-based prog band will make their debut at the festival. Their latest album “Years in the Garden of Years” was released on Laser’s Edge in 2016. www.edensongtheband.com
Golden Caves (Holland).Hailed as one of the best young Prog bands to emerge in recent years, Golden Caves’ superb debut album “Collision” was released by Freia Music in 2017. www.goldencaves.com
If you are of a mind to further support Summer’s End, donations to help us organise, promote and pay for the festival are always very much appreciated. Please note, though, that we are not a charity: your donation is simply added to the festival’s income to help us continue booking bands, hiring/buying equipment etc.
We’ve decided to put a Greatest Hits of Magenta together. So many times we have people coming up to us to say that they didn’t even know we existed, and then discover the band and become fans for life. So the purpose of this album, is to have something that we can point music lovers to. It’s available on all good (and not so good) platforms. ITunes,Spotify,etc,etc. It’s also available as a free download at the bands Magenta Bandcamp site.
This is a FREE Magenta sampler, the essential Magenta tracks.
PLEASE share this link to widen the awareness of the music of Magenta.
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