;;; In the studio with Martin and Norm., British Columbia, Canada, Isobel Springett
Martin Springett of The Gardening Club talks about the making of the new single “Strange Kingdom” due out this Friday, the single is from the upcoming album of the same name due out sometime in 2020
The Gardening Club is a Canadian progressive rock band that infuses many other styles of music and to create a one of a kind sound, led by UK-born and founding member Martin Springett an accomplished musician and illustrator..
The Gardening Club Martin Springett – Vocals & guitars Norm MacPherson – Guitars, keyboards & bassoon James MacPherson – Drums & keyboards
Melodic Revolution Records is thrilled to announce that US symphonic act Phoen1x will release Immaterial Witness on October 23rd, in all popular Digital formats and a very limited-run Compact Disc.
Immaterial Witness is a collection of ten songs written over the last couple of decades that have been recorded by an all-star outfit featuring members of Vertical Alignment, Proto-Kaw, Evership, Time Horizon, Stratospheerius, among many other talented musicians.
Tracklisting 01 Immaterial Witness 02 Dreamer Awaken 03 Sunrise 04 Home of the Brave 05 Small Charade 06 Legend of Brick House 07 The Opera 08 Song of Life (Phyl’s Song) 09 Tomorrows 10 Angels
Phoen1x is. Jake Livgren – Lead and Back Vocals, Saxophone Seth Trotman – Bass Michael Adams – Percussion and Drums Phoen1x – Vocals, Keyboards, Guitars, Cherokee Flute
Additional Musicians Bill Rebsamen – Keyboards Deron Freeman – Trumpet Kev Rowland – Narration Jaymi Millard – Bass Mike FitzPatrick – Lead Vocals Mark Thompson – Lead Guitar Erikson Silva – Lead Guitar Joe Deninzon – Vocals, Electric Violin (Viper) Lyda Livgren – Back Vocals Chuck Tidwell – Lead Guitar Greg Wollan – 12 String Guitar Ralph Otteson – Keyboards Mike Florio – Lead Vocals Bill Coan – Vocals, Bass
Petri Lindström Project (PLP) album “Imaginary Soundtrack” is now available worldwide in both CD and Digital formats.
“Imaginary Soundtrack” pays tribute to film music, especially the music of Ennio Morricone. This will be my tribute to him. The album was also influenced by other great film music composers, in the ’60-’70s style. These are original compositions, but they’re very much paraphrasing Ennio.
“I have always liked film music, especially Ennio Morricone’s music. Certainly, one of the first songs that attracted interest as I recall is The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Even to this day, Morricone’s music is very timeless.
Imaginary SoundtrackTracklisting
Las Flores Estancia
Shelter Me
A New Day
Rosa’s Smile
Gone But Not Forgotten
Through Her Child’s Eyes
The last moments before justice
Spirit of My Thoughts
Prayers of Afterlife
When we Meet Again (in the other place)
Imaginary Soundtrackby Petri Lindström: guitars, bass, keys, and programming Juha-Matti Koppelomäki: mixing, mastering, and producerFollow PLP Track Titles: Nick Katona
Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius will be live-streaming their first full band performance since March 2020 from a friend’s (Matt Vanacoro) studio! The performance will culminate with the WORLD PREMIERE of a new Song & Video STORM SURGE!
STORM SURGE will NOT be available to the public until late September early October. The band are making this early access to the song an EXCLUSIVE for Virtual Progstock attendees.
A little over a year ago, my son Max was playing a short piano piece by 19th-century composer Friedrich Burgmüller, called “The Storm.” The piece was stuck in my head because I would hear him practicing it every day. I started to imagine it as a rock power ballad and began to sketch out a slowed-down version with the basic chord changes and structure.
I was imagining a cello replacing the ostinato part played by the left hand on the piano, so I asked my friend Ruti Celli, who I met on Cruise to the Edge last year when we played with Dave Kerzner and In Continuum, to contribute her beautiful part.
Our drummer, Jason Gianni, had a sketch he never finished that he thought would be a perfect fit in the middle of the song. I layered a huge string orchestra on top of that section and recruited the great guitarist/producer Fernando Perdomoto laid down a soaring guitar solo.
Next, I was hearing a flute during the breakdown section that followed. We have never had a flute, or any woodwinds for that matter, on one of our recordings! I asked the genius multi-instrumentalist Rachel Flowers to play the flute and lay down a piano track for the song. Rachel has been blind since age 3 and plays piano, flute, bass, guitar, drums, stick, sings, and records and mixes her own albums! I’ve met and worked with a lot of gifted people in my career, but don’t think I have ever met a person with this level of talent! Check out the documentary about her, Hearing is Believing, on Amazon Prime.
Finally, I’ve been into the idea of using outside singers inStratospheerius. Up until his time, I have always been the lead vocalist. The new album we are slowly putting together will feature many special guests.
We’ve been longtime fans of the 80’s Canadian band SAGA best known for hits like “Wind Him Up” and “On The Loose.” When we played the afterparty at ProgStock Festival afterparty back in 2018, Saga’s lead singer Michael Sadler caught our set after his performance at the festival, and was raving about the band! We were incredibly humbled to receive such words of encouragement from such an iconic artist.
We felt Michael’s voice would be perfect for this song! He ended up contributing a jaw-dropping vocal performance, enhancing the melody, and adding Queenesque harmonies. As a side note, he and his wife Gwen turned out to be some of the nicest and most gracious people I have ever worked with.
Storm Surge is about the anxiety we all feel in these uncertain times. With the global pandemic, the fight against racism and the continuing struggle for social justice, climate change, political upheaval, economic turmoil, and a future of uncertainty, there is a storm that’s raging inside of us right now.
Stratospheerius is: Joe Deninzon – lead vocals/electric violin Jason Gianni- drums Michelangelo Quirinale – guitar Paul Ranieri – bass
Storm Surge Video and Single Special Guests Michael Sadler: Vocals Rachel Flowers: Keys and Flute RutiCelli – Cello Fernando Perdomo Guitar Tracked by Rave Tesar (Renaissance) Mixed and mastered by Rich Mouser (Spocks Beard, Dream Theater) Label: Melodic Revolution Records
Although Peter Matuchniak is known for his solo releases, as well as being in bands such as Mach One, Gekko Projekt, Bomber Goggles, and many others, he is also an in-demand session guitarist. This album sees him revisit songs he originally recorded for five different musicians, Marco Ragni, Hamlet Tinae. Shawn Gordon, Steve Bonino, and Simon Strevens, and re-interpret them. This may mean the song has been rearranged, or it may be an earlier draft of what finally appeared on the album itself. Details are also provided as to who played on what track, as well as which albums the songs are taken from. Given his long relationship with Marco Ragni, it is of no surprise that of the 21 songs on offer, 14 were originally on work undertaken for that artist: there is just 1 from Strevens, and 2 each from the others.
Given that the artists are very different in their approach, it is not surprising to discover many different styles at play during the course of the album, which is mostly instrumental with only a few containing vocals. Peter has an incredibly fluid style, and his leads are always in keeping with the music at hand, much more than providing a million notes to the bar. Although there are times when he shows he can be strident with staccato chords and breaks, his most common approach is to provide strong melodic counterparts which emphasise the music and song itself as opposed to “See how clever I am”. The guitarist which has had most impact on Peter’s playing is probably Steve Hackett but given how diverse that particularly musician is in his own playing that is a wide palette. Peter also has the innate melodic understanding and style of both Gilmour and Latimer, while his phrasing is also reminiscent of Gary Chandler at times.
Put it all together and here is a guitarist who adds to the music of whatever performer he is working with, not taking over but always becoming an essential part of the sound while rarely dominating. I must confess to having not previously heard all of the songs on offer but do have many of the albums from which they have been taken. Hearing the songs in this format has inspired me to dust off the likes of Psychic For Radio (Shawn Gordon)’s album from 2012, while I need to check out more of Marco’s material, and one can never hear too much Steve Bonino. This is a great introduction not only to the wonderful melodic guitar work of Peter Matuchniak but also to the albums from whence they originally came. Incredibly diverse, always enjoyable, with Peter being the link between them all, this is a wonderful way to discover his music.
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