Abel Ganz is very pleased to once again stage our ‘Prog Before Christmas’ event in 2018!
As some of you may know – last year’s event, thanks to the generosity of all the bands and audience members, managed to smash our previous total and we raised the fantastic sum of almost £2500 on behalf of cancer care charity https://www.maggiescentres.org/
We are sure you will all by now be aware, we decided to donate all proceeds from our event to this great cause as it has been such an important source of support to our dear friend [and founding member of Abel Ganz] Hugh Carter – who has become something of a champion for this charity. We are very happy indeed to say that this continues to be the case and so we will again be running this year’s show on the same basis.
As has become customary we are delighted to have some very specially invited guests who have agreed to come along to help make this what is sure to be another exceptional event.
This year – we are running things just a little differently. We noticed last year that not everyone could stay on till the end of the night [as the event ran on till 1am]. Some of the feedback we got back was that, for some, a slightly earlier finish would mean people could enjoy all the music and atmosphere of the event and still make it in time for last trains and buses home. We have taken that on board and so this year we will start earlier and finish just a little earlier.
Indeed, by adding one more band to the bill our event now becomes almost a ‘mini’ one day Prog Fest. A five band bill with two bands in the afternoon, then a break, then three bands in the evening. Our line up looks like this:
Afternoon
Glen Brielle– Hugh Carter’s solo project. Joined by several close friends in a full band line up, Hugh will debut selections from forthcoming solo release ‘Still‘ – a very personal album including epic track The Journey: a musical record of the voyage of discovery that Hugh and his wife Maria set off on after his diagnosis.
Halo Tora– Recently featured in Prog magazine this young and vital band from Glasgow are rightly drawing a great deal of attention at the moment. With a fresh and exciting sound, they really do have the potential to go very far and we are, frankly, fortunate to have them join the bill while it’s still possible to see them up close and personal! The band has just released new album ‘Man of Stone: First Chapter’.
Break
Evening
Grand Tour – Hew Montgomery solo project. Joined by Joe Cairney from Comedy of Errors on lead vocals, and with full band line up, we are absolutely thrilled that this year’s event will feature the first live performances of Hew’s solo material. Playing selections from debut album ‘On the Beach’, and tracks from new, forthcoming album ‘Clocks that tick – but never talk’ this is sure to be a highlight of this year’s event.
Abel Ganz – Organizers / hosts will showcase new material from forthcoming album ‘The Life of The Honey Bee – and other moments of clarity’ as well as some favourites from back catalogue.
Galahad– Headline act. With a long and illustrious history, Galahad have in recent years released one great album after another! Their 2018 release ‘Seas Of Change’, the follow up to the 2017 ‘QuietStorms‘ album consists of just one massive, hugely ambitious ‘Magnum Opus’ track exceeding 42-minutes of imaginative and dramatic modern Progressive Rock. Nominated for the 2018 UK PROG awards in the ‘UK Band/Artist of the year’ category, Galahad have, astonishingly, never before played in Scotland! We are so very pleased to welcome them to The Prog before Xmas and have them remedy that fact!
We hope you will agree that this is sure to be another night to remember and we would remind you all – as before, the aim is to raise as much money for the Maggie’s charity as we possibly can!!
The event will be held on Saturday December 15th in the Drygate Brewery in Glasgow and we expect to have tickets on sale from Sat 25th August. Please come along and enjoy a great night and support the event if you can.
This is the first video from Phideaux’s upcoming double album release Infernal his first album in seven years to be released on September 9th.
Infernal is the final installment of Phideaux’s trilogy of albums that began in 2006 with The Great Leap.
Grab your favourite drone and join us as we survey the surveillance world of Infernal, the concluding chapter of Phideaux’s “Doom Trilogy”. Feast your eyes on this surreal spooky film by Jake Brebes. A call to action in this 2018 Phideaux song. We Only Have Eyes For You music and lyrics by Phideaux Xavier animation by Jake Brebes (c) 2018 Bloodfish Music (BMI) (p) 2018 Bloodfish Media WARNING: This video may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.
n the ongoing series of rare live Magma recordings, “AKT XVIII – Marquee – Londres 17 mars 1974” 2CD is now available on Seventh Records!
At the time of this concert, “Köhntarkösz” was still in its phase of elaboration, although the recording of the studio album began only 2 months later. Large sequences were still not composed, others were borrowed from “Köhntarkösz Anteria” and were taken away, then used later in the “K. A” recording of 2004. In a similar way, “Theusz Hamtaahk” did not have its final shape and its coda was cut soon after.
ZÜND 1
KÖHNTARKÖSZ (Christian Vander)
(Work in progress)
SO›ILOÏ (Christian Vander)
KMX B XII opus 7 (Jannick Top)
SONS ET CHORUS DE BATTERIE (Christian Vander)
(PTAH)
PÄR LINDH was scheduled to perform a special solo piano performance at ProgDay 2017. Unfortunately, travel issues prevented him from making the show. We’re happy to invite him back to ProgDay 2018.
PÄR LINDH’s musical career stretches back to 1977 when he formed Antenna Baroque. In 1979 he founded the symphonic trio Vincebus Ereptum. But with the changing musical times, he spent his following years as organist, classical pianist, harpsichordist, and drummer. While successful, he missed the calling of progressive rock.
Beginning with his return to Sweden in 1989, he resurrected his early symphonic spirit with a band called Manticore, built the Crimsonian Label studio, and chaired The Swedish Art Rock Society. In 1994 he released the first Pär Lindh Project album, Gothic Impressions. The rest, as they say, is history.
PÄR LINDH has a long-established reputation as a composer, master keyboardist, and musical interpreter. For his ProgDay appearance, PÄR will be performing solo and paying tribute to the late Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, performing music from ELP, the Pär Lindh Project, and more.
KING LLAMA at ProgDay 2018!
Photo Credit: Lauren Elle Jaye
This California instrumental fusion power trio came together with the idea of combining eclectic stylings from the history of adventurous music. What resulted is a mix of rock, jazz, funk, fusion, and a touch of hip-hop that brings to mind a range of music from King Crimson and Phish, to Yes and Rush. The band has toured extensively, taking their music from Illinois to Argentina, and honing their sound at individual shows and numerous festivals. KING LLAMA will be performing music from their album Return To Ox.
FRIDAY NIGHT PRESHOW: INTERSTELLAR OVERDRIVE with special guest JIMMY ROBINSON!
INTERSTELLAR OVERDRIVE is committed to presenting the full Pink Floyd audio/visual experience with music spanning the band’s entire history. This year’s pre-show will feature full album performances of Animals and Dark Side Of The Moon.
ProgDay attendees will remember ProgDay alumni JIMMY ROBINSON not only for his wonderful fusion band Woodenhead but also as a master guitarist known for his impressive and emotional performances on acoustic guitar. Jimmy will be opening the preshow with a 45-minute solo performance.
As part of the 2018 ProgDay Program, we are pleased to announce a FREE screening of a 30-minute segment of the upcoming feature documentary, Romantic Warriors 4 – Krautrock (Part 1), by Adele Schmidt and José Zegarra Holder. The screening is part of an IndieGoGo Fundraising Campaign that the filmmakers will launch in late August to raise finishing funds for the film. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.
When: Saturday, September 1, 9:30 pm.
Where: Hotel Comfort Inn University Durham,
3508 Mt. Moriah Rd., Durham, NC 27707
Join PÄR LINDH, KING LLAMA, EDENSONG, OVRFWRD, GEPH, KARMIC JUGGERNAUT, ALEC K. REDFEARN & THE EYESORES, FERNANDO PERDOMO & THE OUT TO SEA BAND, PIXIE NINJA and SOFTEN THE GLARE for the twenty-fourth edition of ProgDay. ProgDay is a two day outdoor festival of progressive rock. ProgDay 2018 will take place on Saturday and Sunday, September 1st and 2nd, at Storybook Farm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For more information, please visit us at www.progday.net.
Brussels, Belgium – “Monty” is the new album by Italian music artist Emiliano Deferrari, conceived, written and recorded in Brussels, Belgium, where he lives since 2015. The album was recorded between November 2016 and September 2017 at his Monty Studio. It was mixed in Valencia, Spain by Matteo Nahum, music composer, film scorer, and musical partner of Emiliano in their art-rock oriented project Nanaue. Finally, it was mastered in Brooklyn, NY by internationally acclaimed drummer, bass player, and sound engineer Nate Wood.
All songs are written by Emiliano with Italian lyrics. Emiliano plays all instruments heard on the tracks (piano and keys, fretless bass, drums, classical, acoustic and electric guitars, violins, pocket sax, voices, and programming), like on all his solo releases.
Matteo Nahum mixed creatively the album, indulging with some of his preferred effects and reverberations. Nate Wood mastered the album with a balance between deep bass and the subtle textures of cymbals. Great presence but no big compression, maintaining a coherent ratio between loudest and lower sounds, giving the album a jazzier listening experience. Three different masters were made for the CD/downloads, the vinyl and a special “mastered for iTunes” version. The cover photo for the album was shot by celebrated Italian visual artist Pietro Fortuna. The album is produced for Emiliano’s personal label Rattsburg Records.
Says Emiliano, “In 2016, after 1 year of life in Belgium, I started producing music with a new mood. I recorded and published 2 new singles with Nanaue, one of which, “As Love is Naked,” was featured on the English movie “Hanging In There” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3822076/?ref_=ttsnd_snd_tt). During the recordings, I realized that my last solo work was dated 2010, and I had the urgency of a catharsis from some of my deepest emotions and fears. So I closed myself in the studio for long sessions of writing and improvising (heritage of my first moves in jazz). Most of the songs came out in less than a month, and for the first time in years, I used Italian lyrics. Then I started with a work of ‘selection’, ‘subtraction’, and recording instruments playing in a less conventional way (like the deconstructed and expressionist drums in the first tracks of the album, or combined with samples and drum-machine in the second part), and forcing myself on new territories (like the extensive use of fretless bass and electric piano clusters, counterbalanced by a sparse and rare use of guitar throughout the album). I also wanted to use the voice differently, to underline the visions showed with the lyrics. The lyrics are in general brief, with cut-ups and direct speech, helping to express the two moods of the album.”
As for the album’s concept, Emiliano explains, “The album describes a slow descent into hell, followed by a slow resurgence in search of a balance between the diverting forces, attitudes, and wills of a man. It is evidently an autobiographic representation of common states of mind of mankind. As always the place in which the album is recorded affects the music. The recording studio is placed inside the old Brussels cinema studios Sonart, in a room which still keeps the original audio isolation and some of the equipment. It was a great place to concentrate and listen to your deafening silence, in search of some of your monsters. After an experience like that, it is crucial to find your balance, to reset your mind and body. Meditation helps, but the tendency of building infinite layers of superstructures makes your exercises hard and frustrating. The last resort is surviving in light of this indispensable instability.
“Over the album sounds and instruments perform specific and recurrent characters of the play (the acoustic drums represent the human unpredictable touch, while the drum machines represent the mantras we use to fine-tune our weighted minds; brasses represent Brussels, or more precisely remind of the band’s parade of James Ensor’s ‘Christ’s Entry Into Brussels’. After all, it is quite easy to divide the album into two parts, the first musically jazzier and apparently improvised, while the second is mainly more rhythm driven, with recurrent chorus and mantras bringing to the last song ‘Fuoco’ (fire), the musical zenith of the album. There is also space for improvised drones (the short intro ‘Aria’, made with looped guitar effected with mellotron-like sounds), and a classical guitar piece, the eponymous ‘Monty’ (disturbed by field recordings of a tram).”
Everything was recorded and premixed by Emiliano in solitude. Tracks were passed to Matteo Nahum in Valencia, where he spent November and December 2017 mixing creatively. “He knows me very well, as we work together since 2008, and he could get the best of the tracks. I credit him in every song for his work at the mixing desk, as it was crucial for the album, like an added musician. As well crucial was the master by Nate Wood. I had already listened to his great masters of the albums of Donny McCaslin, Kneebody, and Tigran Hamasyan, so I am honored he accepted to work for ‘Monty’.”
When it came to finding a name and a visual identity for the album, “I had my studio in mind, and Monty is the nickname of Montgomery, the area of Brussels where the studio is. I wanted the cover to show what I could see every day from the window in front of the recording booth. Pietro Fortuna was so nice to shoot a photo for the cover and the Italian film-maker Alessandra Populin directed the video-clip of ‘Fuoco’.”
Emiliano was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1977. He started playing guitar at 6 and recording his own music at 11. He played and sang jazz, rock and world music with different bands in Italy. In 2005, after settling in Rome, he produced his first solo album “SO_LO” with Rattsburg Records, with good reviews. Since then he started touring Italy with his solo show with guitar, voice, and effects. Between 2007/2011, Emiliano toured as The Loop Duo with Adriano Arena, with guitars, voices and live loops, producing an album (THE LOOP DUO/BMA and Rattsburg, 2009). In 2009/2010, he produced a new EP (O.S.T./Rattsburg, 2009) and LP “LIGHT EARS” (Rattsburg 2010). Since 2008 he’s been working on the project Nanaue with Matteo Nahum. Between 2011 and 2017 they published 8 singles (Rattsburg Records and Gutenberg Music) and 1 album (Nanaue/Gutenberg Music, 2013) plus 3 recordings for tribute albums of Italian prog label Mellow Records. In 2014 Emiliano moved to Brussels, Belgium. In September 2017 he re-published his seminal album “Small Engines” (2002, Rattsburg).
2018 is the year of “Monty”! In support of his new solo release, Emiliano will work hard to perform the album live, recruiting a small group of talented musicians, able to improvise and to recreate both the brooding atmospheres and the uprising against the brink.
The video clip of “Fuoco”, the last song of the album, by Italian film-maker Alessandra Populin was filmed at Monty Studio and around in a “mad day out” in Brussels
Here’s what the press has said about Emiliano:
“For his debut, Genoese multi-instrumentalist Emiliano Deferrari, based in Rome for his musical activities, shows on more than one occasion brilliant skills as composer and performer, skills he could cultivate in his important past experiences…the voice works, the guitars work, the rhythms work, the mix works in this personal reflection in the form of music. Inspired, humble, really pleasant.” – Rockerilla
“You listen to the first song and you feel like falling down on an enchanted land between Genesis’ “the lamb” and the first Gabriel. With Gilmour’s Floydian guitars. Unknown land, sinuous and fascinating. Nanaue is a duo of composers and multi-instrumentalists, often active in completely different musical contexts, but when they go for art-rock, they adhere strictly to what it should be: a memory of a unique past melted altogether with the sounds of the future.” – Il Manifesto
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