Norwegian Rock outfit LEPROUS are pleased to announce the coming of their new, 8th studio album entitled “Melodies Of Atonement” to be released in August via InsideOutMusic worldwide.
LEPROUS checked in with the following comment about “Melodies Of Atonement”: “’Melodies of Atonement’ is the name of our new album and like every band on earth thinks about their new album, we feel like it’s our best one so far! But in this case, it happens to be true…The orchestral elements are gone, which gives more space for each individual band member to shine. It’s straight to the point, and heavier than what we’ve been in a while…It’s a new sound. But it’s still Leprous. We can’t wait for you to hear it!”
LEPROUS recorded “Melodies Of Atonement” across the last months with David Castillo at Ghost Ward Studios in Sweden, while mixing with Adam Noble (Placebo, Biffy Clyro, Nothing But Thieves, etc.) and mastering with Robin Schmidt (The 1975, Placebo, The Gaslight Anthem, etc.). The album’s front cover artwork (To be seen below!) was created based on photography by John Dolan and design by Ritxi Ostáriz.
Further details and information about the new album as well as its first single will be made available soon…
But in the meantime, LEPROUS can already announce a first North American headline tour with special guests Monuments and supports Fight The Fight for September and October 2024.
LEPROUS comment about their return to North America as follows: “We can’t wait to tour North America again together with our good friends in Monuments and Fight The Fight. It’s been too long and we’re super eager to come back!”
LEPROUS, Monuments & Fight The Fight “Melodies Of Atonement” US 2024 Tour 09/04 – Nashville, TN – Eastside Bowl 09/05 – Atlanta, GA – Progpower USA 09/06 – Charlotte, NC – The Underground 09/07 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live! 09/08 – Mckees Rocks, PA – Roxian Theatre 09/10 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom 09/11 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House 09/12 – Montreal, QC – Beanfield Theatre 09/13 – New York, NY – Webster Hall 09/14 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair 09/15 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer 09/17 – Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot Ballroom 09/18 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues 09/19 – Chicago, IL – Metro 09/20 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre 09/21 – Minneapolis, MN – The Lyric at Skyway Theatre 09/23 – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre 09/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Soundwell 09/26 – San Francisco, CA – August Hall 09/27 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues 09/28 – Mesa, AZ – The Nile Theatre Underground 09/30 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater 10/01 – Austin, TX – Mohawk 10/02 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall 10/04 – Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live 10/05 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
Other upcoming international shows by LEPROUS are as follows:
LEPROUS – Live 2024: 23.05.2024 Hammamet (Tunisia) – Mena Rock Festival 07.06.2024 Gdansk (Poland) – Mystic Festival 14.06.2024 Zamora (Spain) – Z!Live Rock Fest 15.06.2024 Tomar (Portugal) – Comendatio Music Fest 03.07.2024 Athens (Greece) – Rockwave Nights / Lycabettus Theater 05.07.2024 Joensuu (Finland) – Ilovaariock 11.07.2024 Brønnøysund (Norway) – Rootsfestivalen 28.07.2024 Manchester (UK) – Radar Festival 03.08.2024 Brasov (Romania) – Rockstadt Extreme Fest And more shows to be announced soon…
LEPROUS – “Melodies Of Atonement” Cover Artwork
LEPROUS line-up: Einar Solberg – vocals/keys Tor Oddmund Suhrke – guitars Robin Ognedal – guitars Simen Børven – bass Baard Kolstad – drums
Recorded in 2016, “Powertron” has languished in the Bill Nelson archives for eight years.
A potent collection of twelve pieces that highlight Nelson’s prowess and invention as a guitarist.
“Its genesis came whilst recording tracks for ‘The Jewel’ album. Amongst these was a track titled ‘Drive Shaft’ which I considered too brash for ‘The Jewel’, but too good to abandon. I decided to create a suitable album to house ‘Drive Shaft’ and ‘Powertron’ was the result. It’s an album of left-field rock songs, mainly vocal but layered with loud and edgy guitars. It will appeal to those who enjoy the wilder side of my work.” – Bill Nelson
Track list: 01) Fascinating Noise 02) A River On The Edge Of Time 03) Dreams And Smoke (Flow With The River) 04) The Moon Came In My Window 05) Where’s The Wonder? 06) Loose Chippings 07) When I Don’t Feel Blue 08) Moments In The Day 09) Fair Winds And Steam Machines 10) Sailing My Boat 11) Laughing Sailors, Raging Seas 12) Drive Shaft
(Art Rock Wizard Derek Ferguson Dealing with Darkness, Depth of Light and Darkness)
Coming May 4 is “Intourist,” the third album from Refestramus, and the album’s new music video “Smiling.” The video premiere is set for 12 PM CT/10 AM PT (Friday night/Saturday morning) on May 4 at https://youtu.be/WYJ_I0f236c
Bandcamp fans will be able to hear and download the ArtRock album, “Intourist” this Thursday night/Friday morning (April 4 and 5) at midnight on https://refestramus.bandcamp.com/
“I’m the writer, I play drums, I pay for everything,” states Derek Ferguson, the Wizard who leads the progressive rock studio ensemble known as Refestramus. Named after a word his mother made up to mean “rearrange,” Derek and his producer – Colouratura’s Ian Beabout – liked it because it wasn’t a legitimate word, “A web search will only turn up our band!,” which means the latest search for “Refestramus” will show their new album, Intourist (Melodic Revolution Records)!
As the bearer of this music, Derek’s powers are rooted in inspiration through his writing and finding musicians. He discovered many on the Internet gig site, Fiverr.com: Gifted voices adorn Intourist: Induction lead singer Craig Cairns, rock vocalists NIDA, Denisse Ferrara, and Vedrana Lina. Brazilian keyboardist maestro Rogelio Desouza is also a Fiverr artist.
Derek writes from the depth of emotion. The album’s first video, “Smiling,” he says, “delves into the complexity of concealing one’s sadness to maintain others’ happiness, offering a poignant reflection on the masks we wear in society.”
Refestramus was born May 2020 as Derek’s home studio project during the COVID pandemic. Having been in a variety of progressive rock bands in his native Chicago and an avid listener of Ian Beabout’s Internet radio program “Prog Rock Deep Cuts,” he reached out to Ian to mix and master the recordings. Ian, who plays flute and sings on some tracks on Intourist, introduced Derek to Colouratura bandmates Derek Pavlic and Nathan James, Saxophonist Mitch Lawrence and Wisconsin multi-instrumentalist Jerry King, who plays bass on Intourist. Adding prog multi-instrumentalist Dave Newhouse, who contributed accordion, helped Derek Ferguson guide the album to completion.
Favorite songs on Intourist include “The Red Apple” based on Maxim Gorkiy’s story about a gypsy horse thief and themes of rejection and longing. “Asunción” is a heartfelt tribute to the city of Asunción, “You know how bands used to say ‘we’re big in Japan’? We’re big in Paraguay – they even play us on their national radio station there from time to time!” “Side Hustle” is a Jethro Tull inspired song. “‘Mr. Darwin’ offers a lighthearted take on human survival and natural selection.” The album’s title track is a 3-part epic that combines themes of resilience with the supernatural realms on earth including “zombie love” in the third part of the track, “Intourist.”
In addition to acoustic versions of “Asunción” and “The Red Apple,” the physical CD features a cover of Spirit’s “Mr. Skin.” Spirit is one of Derek’s favorite bands, and he points out, “the songwriter here also has the last name Ferguson”
Refestramus’ debut album, Decoupage, was released in December of 2021. Expose’s Peter Thelen, who has reviewed thousands of Progressive Rock albums over the years, declared it a “Solid opening move.” In 2022, Refestramus released the EP, From the Sublime to the Ridiculous, which featured possibly the “Prog-iest” track on the album “The Devil Returns” – drawing inspiration heavily from Bulgakov’s famous novel “The Master and Margarita.”
We’re thrilled to announce that on March 22, 2024, our label will unleash Ruud Jolie’s For All We Know‘s latest masterpiece, ‘By Design Or By Disaster’. The album will be available on CD and on vinyl!
Since 2011, For All We Know has been the side project of Ruud Jolie, known from Within Temptation. The debut album was released in the same year, followed by the second album called ‘Take Me Home’ in 2017. In 2023, both albums were released on vinyl via prog rock/metal label Construction Records. The brand new third album, entitled ‘By Design Or By Disaster’, will also be released on CD and colored vinyl via Construction Records.
During the writing process, Jolie again worked closely with singer Wudstik, and the band consists of the same musicians who were featured on the first two albums: Léo Margarit (Pain of Salvation), Kristoffer Gildenlöw (ex Pain of Salvation), and Marco Kuypers (ex Cloud Machine). The 11 songs on the album were produced by Jolie himself and range from metal to calm melodies.
Compared to the previous two albums, ‘By Design Or By Disaster‘ takes the listener to even more extreme corners, ranging from beautiful atmospheric strings to powerful rhythms and heavy guitars. Despite this diversity, Jolie continues to search for unexpected melodies and harmonies, where he is not afraid to go off the beaten path. There are also some ‘Easter eggs’ hidden for the attentive listener; melodies from the previous albums that return in an innovative way on this new album, making the first two albums together with this album a kind of trinity, which also applies to the artwork. First single and video ‘The Future That Came Too Soon’ Second single and video ‘Lifeline’
They appear alongside a line up of great artists including That Joe Payne, The Paradox Twin, Amanda Lehmann, Storm Deva & more
Saturday 24th August to Monday 26th August 2024, Cantley Park, Wokingham
Wokingham Festival has announced its three day line up featuring a wide range of musical genres including a showcase of some of the best current progressive music artists.
Taking place on Saturday, Sunday & Monday of the August Bank Holiday weekend with over 40 artists appearing, the festival has announced that the Monday line up on August 26th, which focuses on the best of prog & rock, will feature one of the most influential bands to emerge from the 1980’s festival scene, Ozric Tentacles as headliners. The band are the creative vision of multi-instrumentalist, Ed Wynne and their uniquely trippy soundscapes connect fans of progressive rock, psychedelia and dance culture. Ozric Tentacles released their 17th studio album, ‘Lotus Unfolding’ in October 2023 to great acclaim in in their 40th anniversary year.
Photo : Ozric Tentacles. Credit : Artist Also appearing on the main stage on the day will be That Joe Payne, performing a full band set with his
incredible group of musicians, plus The Paradox Twin, Spriggan Mist, Hoopy Frood & Amanda Lehmann.
There is also a second stage with no cross over so that every minute of music on the day can be enjoyed by all. The stage features a great mix of prog, blues & indie from some excellent artists. Headliners are the fast rising band from the Netherlands, Sonic Whip and there will also be performances from Chloe Mogg, San Demas,
Jimmy the Dog & Storm Deva. Gates open at 11.00am, Music starts at 12.00 midday and finishes at 8pm on the Monday (10.30 on Sat &
Sun) so not a late night if working the next day.
The first two days of the festival on the Saturday & Sunday feature a wide range of musical style including tribute artists, cover artists as well as original artists. Original prog and rock will also be represented on those days with Flutatious headlining the second stage on the Sunday, The Room playing the main stage on the Saturday and The Cold Blooded Hearts playing the main stage on the Sunday. There will also be performances from a number of excellent young indie bands.
About Wokingham Festival :-
Wokingham Festival was set up over 16 years ago by founder Stan Hetherington, who also runs the renowned Wokingham Music Club and it has built a solid and growing reputation over the years as a quality family friendly festival run by the community for the community. As well as the music across its two stages there is a great range of food and drink stalls in addition to the well stocked bar and beer tent.
The festival was traditionally a two day festival but in 2019 Stan asked Chris Hillman of White Star Records, if he would help set up a new day 3 of the festival to focus on the best of prog and rock. Chris was happy to oblige and the day was so successful that it has continued with 2024 being the 6th year since that first event!
Stan Hetherington has decided to step down from the festival as part of his retirement and has handed over the reins to a new team that will be run by Dean Nelson, known in the prog scene and beyond as manager of Kyros and owner of Generation Studio. Dean and his new team will be assisted with ongoing advice from Stan & Chris.
Chris Hillman spoke about this year’s event :
‘It’s been wonderful to see the reputation of Wokingham Festival growing further since we added a day of prog and rock to the event. The crowd has grown each year so hopefully that means we are doing something right.The aim has been to bring established bands to the area and also to help support up and coming artists in a fun friendly music loving environment. We are really excited that Ozric Tentacles are able to join us this year, alongside a great line up of quality artists’
Photo : Wokingham Festival Day 3 Crowd. Credit Andrew Merritt
Early Bird Tickets for Wokingham Festival which offer great value have already gone on sale, and may be purchased via the web site at www.wokinghamfestival.co.uk
For more information and to stay updated on Wokingham Festival, follow their social media at www.facebook.com/wokinghamfestival www.instagram.com/wokinghamfestival www.twitter.com/wokinghamfest
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