DOUBLE-DISC EDITION OF THE 2006 STUDIO DEBUT FROM ANATHEMA’S DANIEL CARDOSO, AND ULVER’S KRISTOFFER RYGG. NOW REMASTERED, INCLUDING EXTRA DISC OF DEMOS AND INSTRUMENTALS, PLUS COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW
Recorded between Portugal and Norway in 2005–2006, and produced and mixed by Cardoso himself. Murder Nature was released to great critical acclaim, and has gained the reputation of being a lost classic of sorts over the years, whilst the compositions themselves remained timeless and ageless, and often requested for a proper and extensive reissue.
This newly remastered double-disc edition of Murder Nature, now includes a special bonus disc of unreleased instrumental and demo material from the time period, along with a cover of Seal’s ‘80s hit “Kiss From a Rose”. The release also includes updated art and layout, and contains a booklet featuring a comprehensive interview delving into the beginnings, endings, and inner workings of the whole project, courtesy of writer Jonathan Rosenthal, (Invisible Oranges, Decibel, Brooklyn Vegan) plus additional words from members of other luminaries of the progressive metal scene, such as Periphery and Between the Buried and Me.Murder Nature stands as a pinnacle of forward-thinking metal from the 2000s, for fans of Tool, A Perfect Circle, Queens of the Stone Age, and Faith No More.
“Murder Nature was a pretty bold album, especially if you put it into the context of when it was made, and how. Looking back, I’m still surprised that we pulled it off, but I’m glad we did ’cause it pretty much paved the way to my long-lasting career as a musician and producer.” – says Daniel Cardoso.
Murder Nature will be available as a double CD and single LP.
MURDER NATURE Track list:
1. Baby Blue [06:34]
2. Skin Flick [04:23]
3. Masterpiece [Of Art] [03:34]
4. Blunt Instrumental [03:49]
5. It Hurts [04:00]
6. Watergate [03:40]
7. Seven [04:00]
8. Kill Me [02:07]
9. Wonderworld [03;38]
10. Rapid Eye Movement [04:48]
11. Falling On Sleep [04:46]
12. Kiss From a Rose [04:18]
DISC 2 (CD ONLY)
1. Baby Blue (Instrumental) [05:18]
2. Skin Flick (instrumental) [04:26]
3. Masterpiece [Of Art] (instrumental) [03:38]
4. Watergate (instrumental) [03:43]
5. Seven (instrumental) [04:03]
6. Wonderworld (instrumental) [04:40]
7. Rapid Eye Movement (instrumental) [04:47]
8. eM lliK (Kill Me reverse) [02:07]
9. Baby Blue (Unreleased Demo) [05:18]
10. Skin Flick (Unreleased Demo) [04:24]
Masterpiece [Of Art] (Unreleased Demo) [03:38
Head Control System was a venture set out by multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Daniel Cardoso (Anathema / Sirius), originally under the moniker of SinDRomE, which developed into a dynamic and what could also be considered a somewhat trailblazing style of alternative metallic rock with prog textures. The missing piece of the puzzle was completed when Daniel was joined by Kristoffer Rygg of long-standing Norwegian experimental – and erstwhile black metal – legends Ulver. Together with Kristoffer’s unmistakable vocal delivery and Daniel’s finely-honed instrumentation, an intricately woven opus of seduction and darkness with abstract existential musings was created in Murder Nature, the band’s only studio album to date. It was originally released back in 2006 through Voices Music & Entertainment (EU) and The End Records (US).
“When, disturbed, a grouse hiccups into flight Low through the mists which are thick with light; When this could be some damp city alley Where children and drunks meet principally
For love, and to solemnly keep their trysts For all that the outside world still exists – Know this, the old walker you overtake Is yourself, setting a different pace.“
Taken from the poem ‘The North York Moors’ by Christopher Woodall
Music can be a soundtrack for many things and the ambient, chilled out and sparse soundscapes delivered by Great North Star remind me of wild places and, coming from Yorkshire as I do, they don’t get much wilder than the North York Moors so this insightful poem really resonated with me when listening to the insightful duos latest album, imaginatively titled ‘II’…
Great North Star are Dean Thom (guitars) and Phil Considine (production), two seasoned musicians from the UK progressive and alternative music scenes. Each brings to the table a wealth of writing, recording and live experience. Through a deep understanding of each other’s compositional strengths, honed through many hours of performing together, the music they create rewards the listener with a complex tapestry of rich textures and shifting moods.
Hailing from the wild moorlands of Northern England, Great North Star mould intricate guitar and muted electronica into a unique whole: haunting, introspective and expansive. Their sound draws from progressive and post-rock, electronica, krautrock and ambient influences to produce a panoramic and cinematic soundscape, the perfect soundtrack for long, lonely walks over rolling hills under brooding skies. Great North Star invite you to explore the lesser trodden path.
Before we delve a bit more into the album itself, more on that title from Dean himself; “I do tend to have a picture of a time and place or a feeling/emotion in my head when I’m writing music, so I find it’s not too difficult to name individual pieces, but as for naming an album it just seemed odd to us to give a collective name to the eight pieces, so we figured calling it ‘II’ was just fine on the reckoning that it was ok for the mighty Led Zep and Queen.“
‘II’ is a musically concise release coming in at a mere forty two minute running time but Dean and Phil manage to fit a lot into that forty minutes. A wide and expansive soundscape where it’s often what’s between the notes that counts, as much as the notes themselves. Nothing is wasted, there’s no filler, any piece of music is there intentionally, down to the last note and this makes for a wonderfully immersive listening experience. Central to this is Dean’s wistful, delicate and eminently expressive guitar playing. Just sit back and listen to tracks like Towers Will Fall, Beginnings and Seven Stones on Hordron Edge with their deeply meaningful feeling, the guitar is like a nostalgic voice going back in time to regale us with tales once lost in the mists of time. Tales of wistful melancholy and sombre reflection that draw the listener into their welcoming embrace.
The ambient soundscapes created by Phil add the requisite mystery and contemplative yearning, especially on opener A Nightime Storm at Sea with its theramin style opening and staccato percussion before the delightful guitar joins in. The intelligent and insightful songwriting is at the core to everything that you hear and creates an ocean of harmonious serenity which comes to place perfectly on the closing piece Northlands, a brilliantly constructed beacon of calm attunement that left me chilled out and at one with the world.
Great North Star create wide, expansive soundscapes that speak of the wild and carefree, of places that our sensitive souls would rush to in a heartbeat, a musical oasis, so to speak and, with their sophomore effort, they have delivered an antidote to the mundanity and horror of the modern world in which we live.
“Music, when soft voices die, vibrates in the memory.” — Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Music is essential and life would not be complete without it, where words fail, music can always express what we are feeling and Galahad have always had that uncanny knack of resonating with me on a sub conscious level. This long revered band have a new album in the offing and I was extremely honoured to have a very early listen and plenty of time to gather my thoughts before writing this review but, first, a short bit of PR…
This latest opus, Galahad’s twelfth studio album, was recorded before, during and after the recent Covid emergency, and, as was the case with the previous album ‘The Last Great Adventurer’, was recorded at several locations over the last couple of years by the various band members and was finally edited, mixed and mastered, as usual, by our engineer/producer supreme Karl Groom.
The album features the same line-up as TLGA of Stu Nicholson (vocals), Dean Baker (keyboards), Spencer Luckman (drums), Lee Abraham (guitars) and Mark Spencer (bass guitar).
As usual, a variety of topics are considered and written about on this album, some very personal, including the title track in which the ageing process and the difficult and tricky subject of early onset dementia is tackled, hopefully with a certain amount of poignancy.
Those familiar with ‘The Last Great Adventurer’ will feel that album’s vibe immediately on the classy opener Behind The Veil Of A Smile. An elegant intro of Lee’s guitar and Dean’s keys leads you on a willing journey into superb prog infused metal, it’s not dissimilar to Threshold but couldn’t have come from anyone but Galahad as it’s much more intricate and ‘proggy’. The song really takes off when you hear Stu’s distinctive vocals, especially on the ever so cool chorus. There’s a brilliant keyboard solo that put a huge grin on my face and the song ends with a short but extremely satisfying solo from Lee, the band have certainly picked up on where they’d finished on TLGA and their creative abilities are still firing on all cylinders! A techno/electronica hue (I never thought I’d write those words about a Galahad release!) is all over the intro to Everything’s Changed, a more subdued piece of music than the opening song but one that is still full of the band’s signature sincerity, especially on Stu’s elegant vocals. There’s a world weary atmosphere to this nostalgic feeling song, it’s full of a wistful, almost melancholy, sentiment for the ages, mainly imbued by Dean’s contemplative keyboards, and blossoms superbly on another bewitchingly catchy chorus. It’s another stylish piece of music and the almost orchestrated ending is a touch of genius. More echoing, dynamic keys dominate the extended opening to Shadow In The Corner before Lee’s punchy guitar enters the fray and adds some drive to the song. Stu’s slow burning vocals add a touch of mystery and suspense to the track before a flowering chorus adds a cinematic, widescreen effect to proceedings. There’s a lush feel to the keyboards and guitar riffs and Lee gets to shine on a superb, funky solo that really gets under your skin. Once again I have to applaud the musicianship, Galahad certainly brings the best out of Lee Abraham who is on extraordinary form on this album especially but everyone is at the top of their game and Stu’s vocals are as immense as ever.
Now to the elephant in the room, the utterly brilliant, but totally left-field, The Righteous And The Damned. This epic piece of music really shouldn’t work but it does and brilliantly! Imagine System Of A Down crossed with ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and you won’t be far wrong. It is one of the best tracks I’ve heard this year but does need perseverance as it doesn’t click immediately. Stu said that,
“Oddly the intro melody for ‘Righteous’ came to me whilst we were in the Jewish quarter in Krakow a few years ago listening to the street musicians, it’s an incredibly atmospheric place. It will a marmite track for sure.”
The band have imbued that feel and atmosphere into an incredibly entertaining and engaging song that has touches of brilliance throughout. The violin is mischievous as hell, Lee’s riffs jump all over the place and, yet, it is still demonstratively a Galahad track. Stu sounds like he’s having the time of his life, Mark’s bass is funky and jazzy as you like and Spencer’s drums have never sounded as complex, it is just amazing and the band should be complimented on delivering a piece of music that could alienate some of their fans, although I would be very surprised if it did!
The final song on the album proper (we’ll come to the CD bonus tracks in a bit) is the glorious, heartfelt and emotional journey that is The Long Goodbye, It’s a wondrous musical journey that tackles the ageing process and the difficult and tricky subject of early onset dementia with pathos and the poignancy that the band intended and it’s one you never want to end. There’s a serious feel to the song as it breaks out from the thoughtful, almost mournful, introduction, Stu’s vocals delivered with calm gravitas and the music slightly subdued but still delivered with feeling. The softly delivered refrain of “I don’t know who I am, I can’t even remember my name, I don’t know what I’ve ever done, I don’t know where I’ve come from” brings home the seriousness of the subject matter in the most dignified of manners. This beautifully constructed piece of music will, at times, bring a lump to your throat and a tear to your eye but it’s the breathtaking final six minutes that take it to a whole other level as Lee delivers some gorgeous guitar, including a sublime soaring solo, and the stunning orchestration from Dean and Mark begins. Stu says he loves this part of the track and you can see why, it is utterly stunning and finishes the song and the album on the highest of high notes.
If you order the CD version then you will get two bonus tracks, Darker Days which harks back to the style of the first three tracks on the album, that high energy, dynamic sound with edgy guitars, pounding drums, forceful bass and compelling keyboards. Add in Stu’s charismatic vocals and another memorable chorus and it has everything you need. Open Water is another matter entirely, it’s a more sparse, sensitive and somewhat reflective track that has an almost ethereal quality with Stu’s laid back vocals, Lee’s exquisite guitar and the celestial piano and keys. Stu says it is probably the newest piece as it was written during lockdown and, to echo Stu’s sentiments, provides a relatively low key finish on the CD after all the bombast.
I chose ‘The Last Great Adventurer’ as my album of the year for 2022 and, in a fast paced world that never stands still, Galahad haven’t rested on their laurels. They have returned with ‘The Long Goodbye’, another wondrous musical journey that mesmerises and bewitches from beginning to end, and even surprises in places. Could this be another contender at the end of the year, I definitely don’t see why not!
Making noise since 2009, Head with Wings has spent years shaping its sound and sculpting its episodic narrative. After emerging from the New Haven, CT music scene in 2012, the band went on to release ‘Living with the Loss’ (EP) in 2013, ‘From Worry to Shame’ (LP) in 2018 and ‘Comfort in Illusion’ (EP)in 2021. The current lineup consists of guitarists, Brandon Cousino and Sayre Whitford, vocalist, JoshuaCorum, drummer, Mike Short and bassist, Joe Elliott, although it was Joshua, Brandon and Mike (with help from Vikram Shankar and Connor Oyster) who recorded the new album.
Head with Wings are storytellers of sound. Textured, ethereal, and blissfully haunting, the U.S. – based quintet creates boundary-pushing rock songs that straddle the aesthetic line between art music and narrative drama. A Head with Wings song is a cinematically evocative listening experience, built on the pillars of alternative rock and forged in the depths of prog. It’s varied, emotionally potent and obsessive by nature. It’s a sound 14 years in the making – one that took its time to get here; to the point of ‘Without Intervention’. The new album is uncompromising in its vision and is acutely aware of the void that it fills in the modern rock landscape — an arena that is all too derivative.
I’ve been a long time fan and supporter of this band and they produce superlative music that just gets more sophisticated every time but the band never lose the connection with the listener. A sophisticated amalgam of alternative rock and prog but a sound that sits firmly in the latter, on ‘Without Intervention’Head With Wings have finally integrated keyboards for the first time and it takes their sound to an even higher level.
It’s a hard hitting album, perhaps inevitable after the tough three year gestation period but there are still those moments of reflection and clarity that marked out the band’s earlier works. Joshua Corum has a very distinctive vocal and adds class and sophistication, though with a incisive cutting edge. The twin guitars give the requisite hard rock/metal chops when needed but also add a refined atmosphere where required. Short and Oyster on drums and bass respectively are an uber tight rhythm unit with Short’s drums especially adding layers of dynamism and added punch. To my ears, this band are like Coheed & Cambria in the early days with that hunger and energy that seems to be lacking from that band nowadays.
‘Without Intervention’, coming in at thirty-six minutes long, is short for a modern album but that leaves you wanting more, rather than outstaying its welcome. The songs are concise and yet deliver emotion filled angst in spades. The overwhelming feeling is one of a deep wistfulness, contemplating the world we live in and its anger, darkness and hatred but trying to find a chink of light and hope because, ultimately, life is worth living and , while it is never always sweetness and light, we need to make the most of it.
From the thunderous riffs of Brandon’s guitar and thoughtful vocals of opener The Dream Broker through the elegantly reflective Task of Breathing and upbeat pop-rock sensibilities of Galaxy, this is intelligently thought out and delivered music that entertains but asks deeply pertinent questions at the same time. I love the way the short interludes of Remnant and 26 Bell Chimes leave a bit of breathing space between songs. This works especially well for the latter as it breaks up the elegant cinematic soundscapes of Comfort In Illusion, eight minutes plus of glorious musical enterprise with Joshua’s passionate vocals and the classy cutting edge of Brandon’s guitar, from the powerfully dramatic and in your face brilliance of Three Months, without a doubt the heaviest track on the album, the intro alone will hit you like a hammer and leave you sat on your backside before this superb track then ebbs and flows between the thoughtful and the thunderous, a really clever piece of music where Vikram’s keyboards are used to wonderful effect. The album closes with Absolute Zero and the band finish on a high with his alt-rock gem. Soaring vocals and sweeping guitars, all backed up by Mike’s fantastic drums, deliver a fitting ending to this excellent album.
‘Without Intervention’, with its sophisticated widescreen soundscape and immersive listening experience, is Head With Wings most accomplished achievement to date. Intelligent songwriting and refined, polished musicianship are rapidly becoming hallmarks of the band’s releases and, with this latest album, the band are cementing their position at the forefront of the modern rock landscape.
‘Inure’ is the fourth single from Isbjörg’s upcoming second full-length album which is expected to be released in the spring of 2024.
Along with the latest singles from 2023, ‘Inure’’ marks a new era for the band who, since the release of their debut album ‘Iridescent’ in 2019, have welcomed JonathanKjærulff Skovlund as their new front figure.
With its calm and atmospheric pace, ‘Inure’ showcases a more fragile and mellow side of Isbjörg. The song is a duet between lead singer Jonathan Kjærulff Skovlund and guest vocalist Margrethe Christine Wellejus and portrays a failing relationship that neither of them has thestrength to end. The conflict and the music escalates slowly and finally culminates in an epic climax in true Isbjörg fashion.
‘Inure’ is available on all major streaming services from Thursday the 26th of October 2023.
Isbjörg is a Danish math-stadium rock band centered around the piano.
The aim of the band has always been to surprise and break musical boundaries without compromising the songwriting. Odd time signatures and polyrhythms combined with catchy hooks and lush melodies captures the listener in an intense and captivating soundscape.
Following the release of two EP’s and singles, Isbjörg released their debut album ‘Iridescent’ in 2019. The album was very acclaimed by both fans and critics for its epic, piano-centered sound and the captivating songwriting.
After the release of ‘Iridescent’ Isbjörg have been touring around Denmark and played everything from small clubs to big festivals such as SmukFest in 2019. The last couple of years Isbjörg have worked intensively on writing their follow-up album. After the departure of singer Niklas Jespersen in early 2022, Isbjörg welcomed Jonathan Kjærulff Jensen (Lara Luna) as their new lead singer and are now standing stronger and more focused than ever with a lot of single releases in 2023 before releasing their second full-length album in early 2024.
In 2008, inspired by old and new progressive rock music, drummer and composer Daniele Giovannoni created Karmamoi , giving life to a musical project that was able to express his idea of music, inspired by old and new progressive rock music. Their unique sound and their continued research about musical form make them one of the most interesting bands in the Italian Prog-rock scene. The band members are Daniele (drums, keyboards and backing vocals), Valerio Sgargi (vocals, backing vocals and keyboards), Alex Massari (guitars) and Alessandro Cefalì (bass).
Fast forward to 2023 and the band have released their sixth studio album, ‘Strings From The Edge Of Sound’. This new release contains four brand new songs plus five songs from the previous albums rearranged and revisited for orchestra that giving them a new powerful sound, and a new vision of Karmamoi’s music.
Karmamoi have never really crossed my path before, though I have heard of the band and people I respect have given them very positive reviews, so when I got the opportunity to listen to this new release, I thought it would be in my interest to check it out. Boy, am I glad I did! This album is a pure joy to listen to, chock full of glorious melodic progressive rock with a highly polished sheen and with pure emotion right to the core.
Key to this, in my opinion, are the absolutely sublime vocals of Valerio Sgargi, who has the voice of an angel and gives what are already incredibly immersive and utterly theatrical songs the final polish that makes them even better. I’ve also not heard the original versions of the orchestrated songs on this album but, Daniele Giovannoniplease take a bow, to create these songs is a work of genius, they are lush, spacious and simply magnificent. That should not detract from the four new tracks though, they are prime progressive rock at its finest.
Opener Black Hole Era is one of the new songs and gets things of to a mighty fine start with Alex Massari’s delicate guitar the foil to Valerio’s earnest vocal. It’s a gentle and low key start as the string like keyboards give an ethereal feel to the music. The energy builds as the music and vocals take on a more enlivened tone and Daniele’s stylish drums drive things along. This is intelligent songwriting and excellent musicianship woking perfectly together to give the songs life and you’d have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by it. As we come towards the end of the track everything ramps up a couple of levels and we are treated to a superb guitar solo from Alex, full of emotion and passion, what a way to start an album! Nashira is the first of the reimagined, orchestrated versions and comes from the band’s third album, ‘Silence Between Sounds’, released in 2016. It is almost ballad-like in its opening, a gentle piano note leads in to the elegant, wistful strings to give a warm nostalgic feel to the song, Valerio, once again, delivers a superb vocal before the song takes on a disturbing edge and things get all mysterious with the drums and Alessandro Cefalì’s dynamic bass giving an ominous feel. The track ebbs and flows between the gentle and the agitated and shows its true progressive nature, very clever and hypnotic in delivery. Take Me Home is from 2018’s ‘The Day Is Done’ and lends itself to the orchestrations perfectly. It’s a slow burning piece of music with cinematic qualities that has you holding your breath in anticipation. The vocals are more laid back and give the music room to move and envelop the listener. It’s like the soundtrack to one of those mysterious independent films in which you have no clue what is going on but they’re really enjoyable in a cool and enigmatic kind of way.
Tell Me is the second new song on the album and opens with an earnest vocal from Valerio over Alex’s chiming guitar, it’s all very contemplative and wishful in feeling and brings a lightness and a feeling of calm to your soul. The music is reflective and dreamlike as it washes over you and the little stabs of guitar are ingenious among the expansive soundscape and when Alex breaks into his soaring solo, it is just majestic. Adding the orchestration to Room 101, taken from 2021’s album of the same name, takes the word enigmatic to new heights, to put it simply, it is melodic progressive rock at it’s absolute finest and shows this impressive band are truly masters of their art. It rises and falls with an impish step and has an almost art-rock feel to it. Intelligence and perception abound in every word and every note and the musicianship is just amazing, the juxtaposition between the pomp and circumstance of the band and the elegance of the orchestra is totally inspired. I Will Come takes progressive rock to a dimly lit lounge where a singer/songwriter and his band are delivering a performance with decades of belief behind it. The vocals bleed emotion and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and the piano is just heavenly and exalted. You may shed a tear and there’s nothing embarrassing in that, it’s just how the music makes you feel and they’ll be tears of joy.
Your Name also come’s from 2018’s ‘The Day Is Done’ and has a really dynamic feel as it dances into your imagination, the orchestra this time adding to the complex and compelling feel. There’s almost a prog-pop sensibility to the music and I could really see this a theme from a Bond movie, it has that dynamism and feeling of exhilaration. Upbeat and fast paced, it’s a real highlight and one where everyone seems to be having fun. The last of the orchestrated versions is of Zealous Man, also from 2021’s ‘Room 101’, and this song has that glorious feel of musical theatre, I think it’s the wonderful vocals added to the brilliant orchestrations that make it like that. I find these versions all to be uplifting and ever so elegant in their composure and delivery and, perhaps, this song is the best of the lot. The track exudes power, nobility and a rock solid sensibility and the musical intricacies on show are just extraordinary, the violin solo is worth the price of entry on its own! The album closes with the short title track Strings From The Edge Of Sound, just under two minutes of music that seems to live right inside your head. The persistent tone and vocals almost hypnotic as this mesmeric piece of music captivates and tantalises leaving you in a state of complete calm.
With ‘Strings From The Edge Of Sound‘ Karmamoi deliver music that feels like it has a life of its own and music that will live with you for a very long time. It is an utterly captivating musical journey and experience that will hold you in its thrall for all of its wonderful sixty-eight minute running time. One of the releases of 2023 and one I advise you to listen to as soon as you can.
Cinematic progressive rock band Proud Peasant (Austin, TX, USA) will release their new album Communion on Basement Avatar Records on October 20, 2023. The album is the follow-up to their debut album, Flight, and the second part of the It Does Not Cease trilogy.
Proud Peasant have forged a reputation for combining classic and modern sounds together, drawing comparisons to Mike Oldfield, Gryphon, Wobbler, and King Crimson, while also incorporating elements of movie and video game soundtracks, metal, thrash, chamber music, avant-garde, Chinese classical music, and ragtime jazz to create a cinematic mix of sounds.
Proud Peasant’s debut album ‘Flight’ was called an “aptly titled escape into musical fancy that masterfully knots together British folk, cinematic symphonic rock, Elizabethan prog, Gentle Giant-ish vocal fugues and even videogame-score-like whimsy.” (Progression Magazine) The album achieved significant acclaim, ending 2014on several best-of lists, reaching #1 on Amazon’s Progressive Rock charts, and spending 11 weeks on the Gagliarchives Top 20 Progressive Rock Albums of the Week.
Their next release was with ‘Peasantsongs’, a collection of rare and unreleased tracks, including covers of classic tracks by Eloy and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, which were featured on Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone on BBC Radio.
The band returns with ‘Communion’, the follow-up to ‘Flight’, and the second part of the ‘It Does Not Cease’ trilogy. Engineered by Chico Jones and mastered by SarahRegister, ‘Communion’ continues the sonic and stylistic shifts from previous albums, but brings a heavier, more modern sensibility, and adds vocals to the mix. Featuring an eclectic mix of six songs, the album culminates in the final track, The Fall, a 19-minute epic exploration of genre, mood, and sound.
Communion will be released on CD, digital download, and all major streaming services on October 20, 2023.
I was contacted on social media and invited to hear this album, released completely independently by Massimo himself as an outlet for his own music, but also seemingly as a kind of therapy for feelings and issues in his own past. This makes this rather gentle album all the more profound really as a journey into new adventures, ‘A New Beginning’ an apt title in that respect. Massimo is a music lecturer and teacher in Rome and he has played in various progressive groups in Italy, his own music is actually rather sensitive and beguiling, it certainly has excellent keyboards (unsurprisingly enough).
This short album is best heard in one continuous setting as it will take you on Massimo’s journey to contentment and completeness. It also makes political comments about Italian society along the way, in addition, it seems a lot of the songs are reflections on relationship issues that Massimo has experienced over the years. The music ranges in style from short vignettes to more pop based structures. Throughput the album there are some good keyboard tones and sounds employed to good effect. Out Of This World uses a sample taken from Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 film TheGreat Dictator to good effect to address the need for democracy in Italy after the era of Ille Duce (Mussolini)
In the information sheet that comes with the album Massimo gives some information that is pertinent to the album. He states “It is a largely autobiographical concept album, through which I tried to express my point of view on today’s society by taking a cue from my own personal problems and life experiences. Of the songs, the most autobiographical ones are Oh Father, Growing Old, Things To Live And To Die For and Family and Business. Other tracks like In November, Is That Girl Right? and Out of this World reflect my passion for cinema and film music. Finally the tracks A New Beginning parts A and B and I Hope You Will Always Be Here With Me are representative of my background in progressive music and my respect for others and environmental concerns.There is also an effort to present circularity in order to merge genres, my important academic studies and previous plays.”
Whether or not this succeeds on that score is possibly up to you, the listener, to decide but, in any respect, Massimo has crafted a deeply personal album with definite progressive elements and some fine keyboards in a very lush sounding recording. He has also started work on a second album that will utilise the talents of John Hackett, Nick Fletcher and Laura Piazzai, to name but three and I eagerly await that one too.
The album opens or commences with the brief but exciting synthesisers of Intro that gently swirl and create an atmosphere of warmth. Oh Father is a recollection of memories of Massimo’s father and the lessons he taught and showed about life and love. It seems the relationship was a difficult one, fraught with conflict but now, looking back with hindsight, Massimo understands his father’s interest was in shaping him. In November is a gentle song, although it has a good guitar line played throughout which sounds exquisite really, as does the the intro and opening section of Growing Old which reflects on ageing, the track is aided by a gorgeous fretless bass which definitely adds to the atmosphere created. Next is the song Is That Girl Right? which reflects on a relationship Massimo experienced, one that seemingly didn’t work out the way it was hoped or expected to.
Out Of This World is a political diatribe against inequality and division. This is followed by a jazzy Interlude with sax, piano and fretless bass that is short and segues into the next track, Things To Live And Die For, which sounds a little like an 80’s song but by whom eludes me at the moment. Family and Business has a harder edge provided by the excellent riff and Bowie-like vocal, it’s a proper rocker and one I really enjoyed. A New Beginning Parts A & B seems to be a call to treat each other with kindness, decency and dignity and also to care for our environment. I Hope You Will Always Be Here With Me is a plea for companionship on life’s journey, its better together than alone. The album proper ends with Intro Reprise which is, you guessed it, a reprise of the elegant opening tot he album and works really well to bring things to a close. The bonus tracks on this album are reworked, stripped down versions of the album tracks In November and Things To Live And Die For with a more spartan approach, This allows the beauty of the songs to shine through more clearly, although some might prefer the original, more layered, versions.
To be honest and fair whilst I have enjoyed this album, I don’t feel that it is one that I will reach for often, rather more one to listen to quietly later in the evening. For now though, there is plenty of thoughtfully considered musical performances on offer on this album. Massimo Pieretti I applaud this fine effort.
The deaths of Ray Thomas in 2017 and Graeme Edge in 2021 were the final nail in the coffin (sorry) for the almost sixty year period of existence for the Moody Blues, an era which the band had seen many highs and lows. This period saw their early transition from humble beginnings as a R n’ B band in Birmingham, along with contemporaries like The Idle Race and the Spencer Davis Group, through to their reinvention and revitalisation with the addition of John Lodge and Justin Hayward, replacing DennyLaine and Clint Warwick. This led to a the string of successes including their debut album ‘Days Of Future Passed’ in 1967 and the legendary Nights In White Satin single that took the charts by storm, not just once but three times, in1967, 1972 and 1979! It was an album that introduced the world to a new sound, aided in part with the unveiling of brand new sounds with the Mellotron.
‘Days Of Future Passed – My Sojourn’, this new interpretation from John Lodge, will take you back to that time in 1967 when ‘Days Of Future Passed’ was initially released on the new progressive imprint of DeccaRecords, Deram, that was created in order to publicise the new Deramic sound from the label. This sound was actually a false stereo sound, until this time most music was released in mixed in mono, both for ease of mixing but also because the public tended to hear music from single speaker playback like the Dansette or transistor radios. The Decca Panoramic Sound (later shortened to Deramic) was a huge step forward to the stereo sounds that emerged shortly afterwards and this album was the flagship release to unveil this new sound and ,with which, Decca hoped to sell their radiograph to the public.
It is possibly hard to conceive today just what a huge improvement in sound this system was. It was actually ground breaking and innovative and this album was able to reap the benefits of the system and, as such, was a major step in sound engineering, even now, nearly 60 years on, this is still astonishing. I often think that The Moody Blues did not receive the full respect and admiration that they were due, as without them their innovations prog as we know it would not have existed. Now, 56 years, on John has revisited this pivotal album and recreated it anew with a few tweaks and additions. To my ears, he has done an excellent reinterpretation of this seminal work.
John has utilised his 10,000 Light YearsBand on this album, with particular mention to musical director Alan Hewitt who has done a wonderful job in the orchestrations the album utilises in such an enlivened manner, meaning it is not just a pale recreation, it is a really impressive piece of work. This new imagining really benefits from the time that has elapsed since the original album, as the technological advances in that time allow for a fuller sound, one in which every instrument has space to be heard clearly. I also really like that John was able to get Graeme Edge involved in the project, with his poetry on Morning Glory opening the album and, on Late Lament, drawing the album to a close.
The album is composed of seven parts across its 17 tracks, these range from very brief interludes to the longer tracks that round out the album and the album sounds really spacious. The record also has Jon Davison of Yes singing on Tuesday Afternoon and Nights In White Satin, alongside John himself. I was especially taken with the great bass sounds the album has and the excellent ensemble playing of the 10,000 Light YearsBand, especially the guitar work of Alan Duffy and the keyboards of Alan Hewitt, who both shine throughout.
You tend to forget just what a huge step forward the original album was and the run of success that followed in its wake, as the run of albums that followed bridged the gap between the past and the present. The Moody Blues were at the forefront of progressive music at the time and were really pushing the envelope in terms of sound and craftsmanship.
It helps if you can hear the two versions together as you can hear the difference in sound immediately and can enjoy the journey the album takes you on. For me, the longer and rockier tracks like Tuesday Afternoon, Peak Hour and Nights In WhiteSatin are the standouts, the guitar runs on Tuesday Afternoon are magical, light and dextrous, as are the two poetry/spoken words segments with Graeme Edge’s Brummie voice clearly present. This is the first time he had actually read his own poems on record, normally Mike Pinder had read them on the albums. This was Graeme’s last ever recording as he sadly died very soon after this, so, for this reason alone, it is good to hear him on this album,
The production is lush, crisp and clear and the album artwork is really warm and wonderfully crafted with the definite touch of Roger Dean, although this is not credited.
This is an album that will reach into your heart with its gentleness and beauty and will refresh your soul as its hidden depths are re-discovered. I urge you to hear this masterpiece as a balm for modern times, it is most highly recommended.
“Music is the tool to express life—and all that makes a difference.” – Herbie Hancock
Music is a unique form of art. It allows us to express our emotions and creativity through beautiful notes, melodies, and lyrics. It can influence and exert a substantial effect on us, making music a compelling art that helps us in so many ways.
Music accompanies us on life’s great highs and gives us solace when we suffer life’s great lows. Without music, life would have no colour and the greatest music lights up our lives in so many ways and, every now and then, these musical gems come unbidden into my life. Thanks to JazzFuel music, this gorgeous album born from a collaboration between renowned vocalist Andreas Schaerer and esteemed jazz guitarist Kalle Kalima, arrived recently and It has been a totally immersive and emotive musical journey while I got to know it.
‘Swiss vocal acrobat Andreas Schaerer and Finnish guitarist Kalle Kalima have some things in common. As artists, each is essentially in a category completely of his own. Both are musicians who can always conjure something special from their chosen instruments. Both are known on the international jazz scene for the completely distinctive and original ways their music constantly crosses genres. Both have played together for several years in the quartet A Novel Of Anomaly. And now they have recorded a first album together in which the focus is on the two of them. However, for this “evolution” (as the album title has it), they have also involved – and drawn inspiration from – a musician whom they both admire, Tim Lefebvre. The American bassist has worked with many pop and jazz stars, notably Sting, ElvisCostello, David Bowie, Mark Guiliana, Wayne Krantz…Lefebvre’s involvement in the Michael Wollny Trio’s breakthrough was, incidentally, anything but tangential. In other words, his playing is at home in practically every context.
Listeners familiar with Schaerer’s and Kalima’s previous work may find “Evolution” somewhat surprising. “An album is such a different platform from playing live on stage,” explains Schaerer. “Over the course of our many recordings, we have become increasingly aware quite how differently one has to play.” That awareness has also resulted in a particularly careful focus on the post-production phase of ‘Evolution’.
Taking turns, Schaerer and Kalima each contributed both an idea and a song text (three of these are in fact by Kalima’s wife Essi) before developing these versions in the studio together. Each piece therefore bears an unmistakable and very personal signature, not just musically, but also in the lyrics. “Kalle and I are also processing some deeply personal and intimate thoughts and experiences in some of the lyrics. And, of course, it’s also about things that are currently bothering us in the world, from artificial intelligence to the question implicit in the album title, as to whether evolution is stagnating.‘
This splendid jazz evolved release opens with the delicate Rapid Eye Movement where Kalle shows his penchant for the ever changing colours of folk music, his guitar dancing lightly in your mind as Andreas’ vocal flows warmly over the top, a superb lesson in how less is more. The haunting, psychedelic tension of Trigger is highly evident in Andreas Schaerer’s falsetto vocal and the edgy, spine-tingling guitar, it’s all very disturbing in a deeply creative way and gets under your skin as it crawls menacingly along. There’s a laid back, almost funky vibe to the stylish charms of Pristine Dawn, Andreas low vocal reminiscent of Bob Dylan in places as Kalle’s chic, jazzy guitar lays down a cool groove. Evolution does just that throughout its five minute running time. There is a definite free-form jazz atmosphere to this clever, intricate piece, especially as we get further into the song and Kalle’s guitar gets wild and dramatic before the song comes to a close with a wonderfully improvised ending.
I’ve got to give special mention to the brilliant bass playing from Tim Lefebvre, a musician who has been such an inspiration for both Andreas and Kalle, on this album he just stays there in the background and delivers the most sublime bass playing, sometimes on electric and sometimes on double bass. “We played with Tim for the first time at the big Jubilee concert celebrating 30 years of ACT. The chemistry was so good, we decided we would keep in touch. When I called him about ‘Evolution’, he didn’t hesitate for a second”, Schaerer remembers. “It was then really impressive how quickly he could connect emotionally with the music. It’s crazy how he grooves on a track like SloMo, and how we were able to play ourselves into a frenzy over Kalle’s guitar track.” And he’s not wrong about SloMo, the bass is simply superb and Kalle’s incendiary guitar trades blows with Andreas’ vocal tricks, clicking and popping sounds, beatboxing and polyphonically layered vocalise, to deliver a free-form jazz extravaganza. Song Yet Untitled has a layered, cinematic feel to its slow burning atmosphere and Kalle’s guitar almost talks to you while Andreas delivers a haunting, ethereal vocal performance that has you holding your breath. There’s a calm reflection about the glorious Untold Stories, a song that has more of a singer/songwriter feel than pure jazz. The guitar has a more of a formal feel to it, as if following guidelines but this does not make it any less than the other pieces on this sublime album, especially on the intricate, flowing solo that Kalle delivers mid way through the track. Andreas’ vocal has a keening edge to it, although there is still a warmth at its core, and the whole piece leaves you in state of rapt contemplation.
Multitasking, with its humorous plays on words and philosophical theme, is typical of Andreas. It’s a fast paced track where his vocal tricks are brought into play again, especially the grin inducing ‘mouth trumpet’ solo and Kalle plays along merrily, his guitar almost dancing as he plucks each note. Despite there being no words, there’s a wondrous lyrical quality to the wistful and nostalgic So Far, a quiet, hushed piece of music that will lift any anger or stress that you may be feeling. Tim Lefebvre leaves his talented mark on Piercing Love with a beautiful solo intro on his elegant double bass before Andreas delivers a mesmerising vocal. Kalle contributes his usual exquisite guitar playing, including a stunning solo, and we are treated to another fine ‘mouth trumpet’ performance by Kalima. The album closes with the hypnotic, melancholy Sphere where Kalle’s superlative guitar once again sings out, entrancing every listener. Andreas’ voice has a sorrowful catch to it which, along with the heartbreaking guitar, gives the song a stark and yet darkly beautiful aura. It is a beautifully plaintive way to close out the song and the album.
To be honest, I don’t know if you can call this ‘Jazz’ in the true sense of the word, with ‘Evolution’Andreas Schaerer and Kalle Kalima have ripped up the rule book and rewritten what a jazz album can really be. What I can say about it is that is is a truly incredible collection of highly personal and intimate songs that will resonate with anyone who takes the time to explore this fascinating musical journey. It certainly expresses life in all its glory and that is so important in this day and age.
