Category: New album releases

AWARD-WINNING IAMTHEMORNING SINGER-SONGWRITER – MARJANA SEMKINA RELEASES HER DEBUT SOLO ALBUM SLEEPWALKING

Following the success of four highly praised albums with Iamthemorning, the lyricist, singer and co-songwriter Marjana Semkina releases her spellbinding debut solo album, Sleepwalking on 14th February 2020 through Kscope. The album will be released under an alternative spelling – Mariana Semkina.

Characterised by her composed and unique voice, complex melodic lines and poetic lyrics with literary references, Semkina has often compared favourably with Kate Bush. The new material draws from the Iamthemorning soundscape but exists fully in Marjana’s world; a compelling mixture of alternative folk, pop, drama, beauty and emotionally purging lyrics. 

Marjana explains the motivation behind releasing a solo album “It wasn’t my plan to ascribe any profound meaning or concept to creating Sleepwalking, it’s purpose was more personally therapeutic, it was supposed just to help me get through some dark times, and at the end of that period in my life I found myself, not only renewed but with a collection of songs that were too personal to release under any other name other than my own.”

She continues “I wanted to use Sleepwalking as a way to translate emotions in the most sincere and unrefined way. No sugarcoating, no filters, just creative, honest thought caught in the moment. Turning those dark times and feelings into pure creative energy, something beautiful, something that has purpose”

Sleepwalking is a musical blend akin to the darker folk of Aldous Harding, Marissa Nadler, Sumie and Florist. To aid her vision for Sleepwalking, Marjana invited renowned keyboardist, drummer and bassist Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Craig Blundell and Nick Beggs (Steven Wilson), as well as the St. Petersburg Orchestra “1703” and frequent collaborator Vlad Avy.

Marjana is teasing fans with a glimpse into what to expect with this trailer featuring four songs from Sleepwalking – “Am I Sleeping Or Am I Dead”, “Invisible”, “Turn Back Time”, “Mermaid Song” and “Still Life”. WATCH & LISTEN HERE

The stunning album artwork makes reference to Semkina’s love for classical art, unifying photography with the 17th-Century Vanitas movement; “I am a big lover of classical art, and with this cover I wanted to create some sort of a unity between medium of photography and the Vanitas  art movement, a genre of still life painting. The paintings of the genre usually contain collections of objects symbolic of the inevitability of death and the transience and vanity of earthly achievements and pleasures; it exhorts the viewer to consider mortality, which is extremely close to where this album came from.”

Sleepwalking will be available on CD / LP and digitally and is available to PRE-ORDER HERE

Sleepwalking tracklisting 

1. Dark Matter [03:12] 

2. Am I Sleeping Or Am I Dead [04:27] 

3. Turn Back Time [04:06] 

4. Ars Longa Vita Brevis [03:03] 

5. Invisible [03:07] 

6. Lost At Sea [04:59] 

7. Skin [04:52] 

8. How To Be Alone [02:50] 

9. Everything Burns [03:14] 

10. Mermaid Song [04:32] 

11. Still Life [04:08] 

Marjana Semkina will be performing as Iamthemorning in support to The Flower Kings in December, in promotion of the band’s recent album The Bell.

01/12 – Bahnhof Pauli, Hamburg, Germany

02/12– Musik Zentrum, Hannover, Germany

03/12 – OK Andaluzia, Piekary Slaskie, Poland

04/12 – Klub U Bazyla, Poznan, Poland

06/12 – Burgerweeshuis, Deventer, Netherlands

07/12 – De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands

08/12 – Scala, London, UK

09/12 – Piano, Dortmund, Germany

10/12 – Columbia Theater, Berlin, Germany

11/12 – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark

12/12 – Brewhouse, Gothenburg, Sweden

14/12 –  Kraken, Stockholm, Sweden


Human Pyramids announce new album “Power Pose” Release Date: Christmas Day 2019 -Pre-Orders Now Open!!

Human Pyramids is a Cinematic, Orchestral Supergroup from Glasgow, Scotland. Led by Composer/Producer Paul Russell, the new album features musicians from Axes, Suicide Bid, Admiral Fallow, Scottish Ballet and Puff Uproar. 

Their 3rd album “Power Pose” was recorded all over Scotland, London and Berlin. Luscious Strings, Rousing Horns, Shimmering Woodwinds and Bubbling Synths abound! The album expands upon their trademark euphoric sound from the first 2 records which have soundtracked countless TV Shows, Documentaries and Films. 

The album was mastered by Joe Lambert (Dirty Projectors / Animal Collective) in Jersey City. Human Pyramids have shared main stages with Tame Impala, And So I Watch You from Afar and Kamasi Washington at End of the Road, 2000 Trees and Glastonbury Festivals. 

The ground-breaking 360-degree VR video for “Crackle Pop” was nominated for “Best Debut VR Experience” at Raindance Film Festival and “Best Interactive Music Video” at the UK Music Video Awards (Alongside LCD Soundsystem, Foster the People and Pup). Both debut album “Planet Shhh!” and 2nd album “Home” received glowing reviews/features in The Guardian, The Skinny, Prog Magazine and the 405. Steve Lamacq called the last release “A Late Contender for Album of the Year” and Gideon Coe, Stuart Maconie and Don Letts also championed the release. (Don Letts using “Crackle Pop” for his own advert).  

You can pre-order the album and stream the track ‘4000 Miles’ at bandcamp here:

https://humanpyramids.bandcamp.com/album/power-pose

Godsticks announce new album ‘Inescapable’ and Share first single ‘Denigrate’ feat. TesseracT’s Daniel Tompkins

Godsticks open 2020 with their new and most accomplished studio album, Inescapable. Their mix of heavy rock, progressive and alternative metal with a dynamic range of angular riffs and emotional depth will leave listeners reeling. The band’s sound has refined over their releases on Kscope, beginning with the technically astounding metal on Emergence to the more industrial and progressive-influenced Faced With Rage. Now, with Inescapable, the band have channelled their energy and technical ability into the melody, phrasing and vocal performance, allowing emotion to take centre stage.

The band found themselves wanting a definitive theme running through Inescapable, without turning it into a concept album, of being more open, more personal and ultimately one that shines an inquisitive light on Charles’s struggle with inner demons which gave the songs a new level of intimacy.

“Lyrically, I’ve always shared personal thoughts, feelings and experiences but in a very ambiguous way. For Inescapable – in a conscious effort not to repeat ourselves – I thought I’d be a little more self-reflective and perhaps examine some of my inner demons. I have a strange relationship with music, and especially playing guitar. I would struggle to survive without either, but equally they have made my life mentally torturous because my own self-worth is completely wrapped up in them. I used to be very much a perfectionist in my early years, and whilst some people may wear that as a badge of honour, I eventually viewed it as huge heavy weight dragging down. It was a long time before I arrived at the realisation that perfection was impossible to achieve.” elaborates Darran Charles.

Perfectly highlighting the album’s leitmotif, the band reveal their first single “Denigrate”, “the writing of this song was a sort of analysis of my ongoing battle with perfectionism and the general feeling that nothing you do ever meets the impossibly high standards you set for yourself”. The songfeatures additional vocals from TesseracT’s gifted vocalist Daniel Tompkins to record vocal harmonies, adding an extra layer of aggression and energy.

The shoot for the quirky video, directed by George Laycock (Blacktide Audio/Visual) proved to be a memorable day for the band as Godsticks drummer Tom Price recalls “Everyone in the band was so excited about the concept, but when we arrived on set and saw a large table full of cakes, sweets, chocolate, sugar, sprinkles, honey and all manners of confectionary, the magnitude of what we had all let ourselves in for finally dawned on us! By the end of the shoot we were completely covered in everything – it was like ‘The Great British Bake Off’ meets ‘Apocalypse Now’! It was so much fun to make, but despite several spins in the washing machine I still can‘t get that sweet sickly smell out of my jeans!” Charles chimes in “It wasn’t fun, it was horrible!”

Inescapable was produced by James Loughrey (Skindred) and recorded at the famed heritage Monnow Valley studio.


Godsticks are supporting the new material beginning in April with a UK tour followed by summer festivals

2/4/2020 – Cardiff – Fuel Rock Club
3/4/2020 – London – Black Heart
4/4/2020 – Edinburgh – Opium
5/4/2020 – Manchester – Gullivers
Tickets available https://www.facebook.com/godsticks/

Inescapable will be released on CD, LP & digitally. (“Denigrate is available as an instant download on digital pre-orders) on 7th February through Kscope and is available to PRE-ORDER HERE NOW

Godsticks are:

Darran Charles: Vocals, guitars, keys, synths

Dan Nelson: Bass

Gavin Bushell: Guitars

Tom Price: Drums

Backing vocals on ‘Denigrate’ – Daniel Tompkins

Follow Godsticks:

Website: www.godsticks.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/godsticks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/godsticksmusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Godsticks

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/godsticksmusic

SONS OF APOLLO LAUNCH VIDEO FOR ‘GOODBYE DIVINITY’; FIRST SINGLE FROM ‘MMXX’

SONS OF APOLLO–former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force)–are ready to ring in the new decade with a sonic boom with their second studio album, appropriately titled, ‘MMXX’ (pronounced: 20/20).

Produced by The Del Fuvio Brothers (Portnoy and Sherinian), ‘MMXX’ will be released on the 17th January 2020 via InsideOutMusic/Sony as a standard CD package, Limited Edition 2 CD package (which includes instrumental mixes and a cappella excerpts), 2 LP + CD package, and on all digital formats.

Today they launch the Vicente Cordero-directed video for the albums lead single ‘Goodbye Divinity’. Watch it now here: 


Mike Portnoy comments: “From the minute we finished writing Goodbye Divinity, I knew we had our album opener and the first release off the album. I even remember posting on social media how excited I was about the song the day I tracked it!

The song has an immediacy that grabs you right away: great riffs, flashy playing and hooky vocal melodies. All of the elements that make up the SOA sound.

The video was directed by Vicente Cordero who I have now done over 20 music videos with and its look helps catapult the band from the Greek mythological past of the last album into the 21st century with this new album.“

Pre-orders are available from today, with digital pre-orders on iTunes & Amazon receiving an immediate download of ‘Goodbye Divinity’.

Pre-order now here:

https://soa.lnk.to/MMXX

AlphaJorge Release First Full Length Album

Brazilian band AlphaJorge have just released their first full-length album, Storm Ahead, on November 16th.

The band started in 2015 with its main goal being not to have a comfort zone. This can be seen not only in the band’s songwriting, but, especially in their live shows.

AlphaJorge is Arthur Rodrigues (guitar/vocals/keyboards), Nick Medeiros (guitar/backing vocals), Thiago Darós (bass/backing vocals) and Diego Rapoport (drums/backing vocals). 

After releasing their first EP, Island House (2017), the band rapidly gained some traction in the local rock scene, playing some of the most important stages in the region. In 2018 One More Day was released as a single, as part of a compilation showcasing some of the local scene’s most prominent bands.

Storm Ahead showcases the band leaving their past blues rock influences aside and embracing progressive rock at last, along with more complex and detailed songwriting.

When playing live, these challenging compositions are enhanced with extended and lively improvisation segments that travel through many different genres, from reggae to blues, from EDM to heavy metal. This, along with everchanging setlists, brings every single AlphaJorge concert a nice dose of unpredictability, making each and every show an unique experience.

Listen to the full album here

Follow AlphaJorge on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlphaJorge/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alphajorgee/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3efSKrie6NOPpZb8zYCDnK

(Band picture by Lais Welter)

New Moonshot Compilation to Be Released 17th January 2020 Through Plane Groovy Records.

Curated by Tim Bowness, Worlds Of Yesterday is Moonshot‘s first official compilation since Shot Hits in 1979.

From the Crimson-esque grandeur of The Sweetest Bitter Pill to the straightforward beauty of Before That Before, via the warped creativity of Lost In The Ghost Light and the engaging Pop of Stupid Things That Mean The World, WOY contains the band’s strongest work from 1971-1992.

Though Moonshot may not have reached the commercial and creative peaks of celebrated Progressive peers such as Genesis, Pink Floyd, Yes and King Crimson, they were arguably one of the best of the chasing pack and fully deserve to be named alongside the likes of Gentle Giant, Camel, Greenslade, The Yorkshire Parkin Experiment, BJH, Gryphon, PFM, Prawn, Ange and others.Worlds Of Yesterday is a fine testament to a fine band.

The album is available from Plane Groovy Records and includes the bands’ hit singles Before That Before and Stupid Things That Mean The World.

“My 2017 release Lost In The Ghost Light was a homage to the classic Rock album era. The album revolved around my interpretation of the contemporary musings of Moonshot leader Jeff Harrison, though the events in the songs took place between 1967 and 2017. During this period, Rock music had gone from a revolutionary force that defined the zeitgeist to the exact opposite (a safe and nostalgic reminder of a better time). Jeff’s career was of interest to me because he came from my home town and was born on the same date as me in exactly the same place (Victoria Park Maternity Home in Warrington as I’m sure you’re eager to know). It was 16 years earlier, but how could I not be curious?“, says Tim Bowness.

“In the 1970s and 1980s, there were no local musicians of note from the area, so (in both a good and a bad way) Jeff became something of a home town legend regularly played by DJs such as The Longford Lover.” Tim carries on to say.

“On a personal level, I was interested in how Jeff and Moonshot had been passionately principled for its first 10 years, but seemed a little exhausted and compromised from that point on. Where did the inspiration / drive go? How was all relevance and credibility lost? Why did Jeff make the career choices he did?”

The Moonshot album will be available via Burning Shed and will come with a free download of the album plus extra tracks.  Details of the extras will be confirmed closer to the release date, pre-order at the link below.

https://burningshed.com/moonshot_worlds-of-yesterday_vinyl?filter_name=Moonshot&filter_sub_category=true

Here is the title track from the album:

Moonshot are

John Comish – keyboards

James Cooper – drums and percussion

Darren Dean – guitars

David K. Jones – bass guitar, bass pedals, 12 string guitar and backing vocals

John Wilkinson – vocals

with

Sian Doyle, Janet McKinney and Selina Wexler – vocals and Colin McKay – additional programming.

SONS OF APOLLO RETURN WITH NEW ALBUM MMXX 17TH JANUARY

SONS OF APOLLO – former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force)–are ready to ring in the new decade with a sonic boom with their second studio album, appropriately titled, ‘MMXX’ (pronounced: 20/20).

Produced by The Del Fuvio Brothers (Portnoy and Sherinian), ‘MMXX will be released on the 17th January 2020 via InsideOutMusic/Sony as a standard CD package, Limited Edition 2 CD package (which includes instrumental mixes and a cappella excerpts), 2 LP + CD package, and on all digital formats. Pre-orders for all formats will be available starting November 15th, which will include an instant download of the album’s first single, ‘Goodbye Divinity,’ on iTunes and Amazon.

A teaser trailer was released on Inside Out’s official YouTube page here


“Stylistically, we have followed the same path as the debut,” outlines drummer Mike Portnoy. “But we feel that it has come out stronger, simply because we know one another better. ‘PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY’ was the first time the five of us had worked together, so there was bound to be an air of experimentation happening. Now, we can draw on having the experience not only of recording that album, but also of touring together a lot. And now there is clearly a lot more obvious chemistry going on.”

“We did 83 shows on the last tour,” adds keyboardist Derek Sherinian. “And it was so worthwhile, because we came out of it with a stronger bond, and that is certainly reflected in what we wrote.”

The writing process began at the start of the year, as Portnoy, Sherinian and guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal got together. “The three of us were at my home studio in Pennsylvania,” explains Portnoy. “And it took about three weeks to get all the music written. That was a very smooth process. The last time, it certainly must have felt a little weird for Bumblefoot to be writing with Derek and me, because we were strangers to him. Now, we know one another better and that helped things push along.”

“Because we all have our home studios, it meant everyone could record there as and when they had opportunity,” continues Sherinian. “We all had the luxury of being able to take our time to get all the parts done, which was a huge help in the way the album’s come out. I suppose in all, it took about eight months to record everything.”

The lyrics were written by Soto, who also came up with the melody lines with input from Sherinian. “While Jeff was left to come up with the words on his own, as the melody lines are part of the music, it made sense for me to be involved with that part,” says the keyboard player.

There are eight tracks on ‘MMXX’, with variations in length totalling 60 minutes. “The final song is ‘New World Today, which is 16 minutes long,” says Portnoy. “This one has elements similar to ‘Opus Maximus’ and ‘Labyrinth’ on the previous album. It has some insane, brilliant instrumental moments, which I am sure the fans will love.”

“We wanted to do something epic here, as we did with ‘Opus Maximus’ last time around,” adds Sherinian. “You have to remember that Mike and I come from Dream Theater, where we never bothered about how long a song was. So, for us doing a 16 minute track is not a problem.”

Here’s the track listing for MMXX:
1. Goodbye Divinity (7:16)

2. Wither To Black (4:48)

3. Asphyxiation (5:09)

4. Desolate July (6:11)

5. King Of Delusion (8:49)

6. Fall To Ascend (5:07)

7. Resurrection Day (5:51)

8. New World Today (16:38)


The album title was inspired by a simple chronological fact. “This will be released in mid-January 2020,” says Portnoy. “That means it will be one of the first releases in what is a new decade. So I came up with the idea of calling it ‘2020,” except having it written in the Latin form of ‘MMXX’.”

And the album’s artwork has been created by Thomas Ewerhard (who was responsible for the cover design of ‘PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY’), which inevitably reflects the title.

As Portnoy explains, “For the first record, we had a mythological feel. This time around though, there’s a much more futuristic style to what we’ve got. It has a very 21st century appeal. And the band crest is more polished, cleaned up and a lot more modern than last time, when it had an old fashioned look.”

“Each member of this band has their own signature sound on their instrument,” adds Sherinian. “And when you put all of this together what you get is a wonderful five-headed beast. It makes this a sonically special band, which is definitely what comes across on ‘MMXX’. You can hear odd time signatures and amazingly crazy performances here. Overall, we’ve been satisfyingly more adventurous this time than we were before, and I know people are sure to love what we’ve done.”

In touring news, the band’s headlining ‘MMXX World Tour’ will launch January 24th in Pomona, CA, USA and will take them around the world throughout the new year. They have also just announced European tour dates for March 2020, and you can find those below:
Europe 2020
Mon 2nd March Drammen, Norway Union Scene

Tue 3rd March Gothenburg, Sweden Traedgarn

Thu 5th March Kyiv, Ukraine N.A.U Theatre

Sat 7th March Moscow, Russia RED

Sun 9th March St Petersburg, Russia Aurora

Tue 10th March Pratteln, Switzerland Z7

Wed 11th March Milan, Italy Live Club

Fri 13th March Bilbao, Spain Santana 27

Sat 14th March Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz 2

Sun 15th March Madrid, Spain La Riviera

Thu 19th March London, U.K. Islington Assembly Hall

Fri 20th March Eindhoven, Netherlands Prognosis Festival

Sun 22nd March Show Brno, Czech Republic Sono

Tue 24th March Kosice, Slovakia Colosseum

Wed 25th March Budapest, Hungary Barba Negra

The Pretty Things Announce ‘The Final Bow’ deluxe boxset (Featuring David Gilmour & Van Morrison)

The Pretty Things – Credit Judy Totton

British music icons The Pretty Things will release ‘The Final Bow’ via Madfish on 1st November. Celebrating 55 years of the greatest band most people have never heard of, The Final Bow captures The Pretty Things at their riotous, unique & mercurial best.  Recorded across 3 sets of classic tracks featuring special guest appearances from good friends David Gilmour and Van Morrison at Indigo at the 02 in December 2018. The Final Bow will be released as a beautiful and carefully curated deluxe edition and as a 2xLP soundtrack set as well.

Featuring 2 concert film DVDs and 2 live recording CDs, the deluxe edition will also feature a special 10″ of Phil May and Dick Taylor’s track selections and a 52-page hardback book packed with live photography by acclaimed photographer Judy Totton, ‘The Gospel according to Mark St. John’ extensive sleeve notes and Phil & Dick’s individual sleeve notes telling their story as a ground-breaking, ballsy and ambitious band. As Rock and Roll’s greatest nearly men.

Invaluable to the development of British music, The Pretty Things have been a critical success and a huge influence on artists as diverse as David Bowie, Aerosmith, The Ramones, Bob Dylan, The Sex Pistols, The White Stripes, Kasabian, The Lightning Seeds and countless more. A who’s who of music icons site The Pretty Things and their outrageous behaviour, incandescent stage performances and astonishing catalogue of remarkable, ground-breaking recordings as fundamental in the creation of their own work.

Still creating significant music today and with a rich catalogue including top-level albums such as The Pretty Things, S.F. Sorrow & Parachute, they remain a hugely significant artistic and creative force. They are a band to revere with no other first-wave artist but The Rolling Stones outselling their frontline recordings today and probably no artist at all out-performing them live.

This electric performance features all of the youthful and incendiary vigour from their 60s beginnings, showing off a technical prowess by performing tracks from their full range of styles: first wave R’n’B, psychedelic rock, and the blues. Led by founding vocalist and guitarist Phil May & Dick Taylor, the band was driven by their current line-up consisting Frank Holland, Jack Greenwood & George Woosey and featured returns from original recording band members Skip Allen, Wally Waller & John Povey. The evening was transformed from unmissable to sensational with the guest performances of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour on classics including “Cries from the Midnight Circus” & “L.S.D.“, and legendary vocalist Van Morrison on blues classic “Baby, Please Don’t Go” & soul standard “You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover“.

The Final Bow is a startling and essential snapshot of a band who, for over 55 years, have never stopped pushing, growing and honing their craft – a record 5 decades in the making.

Phil May: – The Pretty Things: “After 55 years, saying goodbye to The Pretty Things electric band was a seismic, emotional blow and a genuine life loss, for all the band and our manager.  But, to be forced into it on health grounds, when the band was riding high, creating great new music and touring so successfully, throughout the world, made matters worse. But, life’s a bitch and then you die…

That said, this box set and what it represents, as a lasting tribute to the band I love, the life we have lived, and the way we have lived it, in music and performance, is unparalleled. I know I’m lucky, I, and the band, made it through a 2-hour 45-minute performance, in the best form we could have hoped for and we all feel that we created a performance, worthy of “The Pretty Things” at their best. That we captured it on film and on record, that we had our great, old friends, David Gilmour and Van Morrison alongside us and creating the moment and that, most of all, the o2 was sold out with our friends, old and new, young and old, and the people that we have done it for and who made it possible for us, was the icing on the cake.

This is a great representation of a great night, a wonderful gig, a heart-breaking moment and – a life in rock and roll. We love it, I hope you do, too..”

‘The Final Bow’ can be pre-ordered from Madfish now with the first 500 orders of the deluxe edition receiving a signed Insert by Phil May & Dick Taylor.

AFENGINN – Scandinavia’s leading neo-folk, post-classical voice to release new album

Afenginn, which means “intoxication and strength” in old norse, is Danish composer and musician, Kim Rafael Nyberg, one of the leading neo-folk, post-classical voices in Scandinavia. Having toured all over Europe, Australia and the US and performed at numerous festivals, concert halls and venues, Nyberg’s deeply ambitious, orchestrated compositions are based on his seemingly mercurial creative impulses with a strong DIY underpinning, with each of his previous bodies of work being a clear departure from the last. Obvious comparisons would be Hauschka, Goldmund, Jonny Greenwood and Dustin O’Halloran.

On his new album ‘Klingra’, released 11th October via , Nyberg has crafted a gentle yet fervent post-classical exploration into the temperament of intertwined cycles. Both the music and poetry (in Faroese) are composed by using interlocked cyclical patterns. Like the gears in a clock, the parallel themes intersect at points, creating contracted dissonance or lifting consonance. The overarching experience is deeply contemplative and melancholic, with a light of emancipation always just ahead.

With a sound palette of two pianos, a string quartet (The Danish String Quartet), pedal steel guitar, synth bass and two drummers supporting the haunting vocals of Ólavur Jákupsson (Yann Tiersen), Klingra’s eight tracks flow one into the other, rippling with layers of ostinatos of unequal lengths, leading to a feeling of constantly being driven forward on an obscured path. The listener can be excited by both the mathematical design of the music as well as the raw emotional expression.

Afenginn has picked up numerous accolades back home in his native Denmark including ‘Composer of the Year’ (2014, 2016), ‘Album of the Year’ (2005, 2010, 2016) and ‘Best Live Act’ (2016) at the Danish Music Awards.

Kim Nyberg

“Klingra (circle in Faroese) is one of my more delicate and introspective pieces that leans one degree further into the neo-classical realm. I’ve been working with the theme of circles/cycles to inspire both the way the music is composed and the story within the poetry”, says Nyberg

There’s a norse melancholy and cheerful madness that runs deep through the heart of ‘Klingra’, no more evident than on the opening three compositions. The rhythmic and melodic finesse of ‘Skjálvtin’ (The Impact), makes way for a deeply emotive ‘Litirnir’ (The Colours), before ‘Himnakroppanir’ (Celestial Bodies), is the crest on a wave that’s been building over the last two pieces, as it surges with urgent interlocking patterns, as the tension gradually builds.

Common in Nyberg’s work is the use of minimalistic patterning (akin to the techniques of Philip Glass and Arvo Pärt), which fluctuate between creating a tidal propulsion and a sense of austere fragility. This is consistently contrasted against epic post-rock swells that are both sensual and disbanding.

Available on CD, vinyl and digital formats, the vinyl edition has been utilized as a compositional tool. Two different introductions are pressed into parallel grooves on the record, offering the listener two alternate listening experiences depending on where the needle begins on the circle. The B side ends with a closed loop that musically brings one back to the start of the album.

Track listing:

1.      ‘Skjálvtin’ (The Impact)

2.      ‘Litirnir’ (The Colours)

3.      ‘Himnakropparnir’ (Celestial Bodies)

4.      ‘Ivin T’ (The Doubt)

5.      ‘Vitin’ (The Lighthouse)

6.      ‘Skapanin’ (The Creation)

7.      ‘Tøkkin’ (The Thanking)

8.      ‘Eftirskjálvtin’ (The Aftershock)

https://afenginn.dk/
https://en-gb.facebook.com/afenginn

EXPLORING BIRDSONG sign to Long Branch Records

New single ‘The River’ released 2nd October

Band’s debut EP expected in Autumn

Rarely are new groups as exciting, talented or unique as EXPLORING BIRDSONG, the piano-led guitarless trio from Liverpool who have announced their signing to German independent label Long Branch Records.

Having recently graduated from Liverpool’s Institute of Performing Arts, the young group have already caught the eyes Prog Magazine, Kerrang! Magazine, Kerrang! Radio and Classic Rock Magazine as well as achieved two Progressive Music Awards nominations in 2019. Having only released two singles at this point, EXPLORING BIRDSONG have been hand-picked to support Sleep Token, toured with proggers Godsticks, caught the attention of Florence and the Machine, and performed at HRH Prog. Unplaceable for the most part, the band bring to mind elements of Steven Wilson, Kate Bush, Rush, Sleep Token, and Agent Fresco.

The young trio are comprised of drummer Matt Harrison, bassist and keyboardist Jonny Knight (capable of playing both instruments simultaneously), and topped by keyboardist and vocalist Lynsey Ward‘s stunning, otherworldly vocals. 

“We are so excited to be signing with Long Branch Records. We’re extremely proud to be working with a label that is home to some of our favourite bands, and feel our music couldn’t be in better hands.” says Exploring Birdsong drummer Matt Harrison.

Long Branch Records label manager Manuel Schönfeld adds: “Exploring Birdsong are undoubtedly one of the most interesting new bands in the British progressive music scene. We’re super excited about the signing and are looking forward to a successful partnership.” 

Exploring Birdsong’s new single “The River” will be released on October 2nd, 2019 followed by their debut EP release in Autumn 2019.

Watch the band live:

03.10. UK, London – Underworld /w Sleep Token (sold out)
04.10. UK, Manchester – Manchester Academy 3 /w Sleep Token (sold out)