YES has issued the 2019 boxset From a Page featuring Live in Lyon on digital platforms. The 4 tracks created as new content for the miniature five-piece box set of recordings from that era, are joined by a single edit of To The Moment complete with original Roger Dean Artwork.
Watch the video of the single edit for To The Moment here:
All tracks were recorded by the line-up of Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Benoit David and Oliver Wakeman: 1. To The Moment (6:09)
2. Words on a Page (6:18)
3. From the Turn of a Card (3:24)
4. The Gift of Love (9:52)
5. To the Moment (single edit)
Oliver Wakeman has personally overseen the preparation of the previously unreleased recordings which were mixed by Karl Groom and mastered by Mike Pietrini.
The double CD album Live From Lyon was first released in 2010 and this edition restored “Second Initial” which was previously a Japanese only bonus track. This is the first time this has been made available on digital platforms.
Oliver Wakeman says: “Following Chris Squire’s passing, I felt that the new music we’d created, but not released, should be heard and not sit unfinished on a shelf. And with Steve, Alan and Benoit’s enthusiasm for the project, I am proud to know that this music will get to see the light of day and, hopefully, be enjoyed by YES fans as a piece of previously hidden Yes history.”
Alan White added: “I’m pleased to see a gem of YES history coming to fruition in the form of this mini box set. New songs from the past and I’m hoping we can find even more music in the archives for future releases.”
About Oliver Wakeman Eldest son of prog legend Rick, Wakeman filled the keyboard role, once held by his father, with YES from 2008 to 2011. His work with YES includes the triple live album In The Present – Live From Lyon, Fly From Here and the From A Page box set featuring recordings from his time in the band and released in 2019. During his tenure with YES, Wakeman also toured and recorded as a member of The Strawbs.
Wakeman’s debut album (1997) Heaven’s Isle was inspired by the island of Lundy, and he has since released a number of solo and Oliver Wakeman Band albums. He has also released several collaborations with renowned musicians, including Steve Howe, band mate to both Oliver and his father in YES for The Three Ages of Magick album, as well as uniting with another guitar legend Gordon Giltrap for the award-winning Ravens & Lullabies album, both of which are set to be part of an upcoming box set. Most recently Wakeman has been working on The Tales by Gaslight box set which contains classic albums Hound of the Baskervilles and Jabberwocky, plus a previously unreleased disc of recording from the never made third album from the trilogy made in collaboration with Clive Nolan. Each album is accompanied 16-page booklets including lyrics, previously unseen artwork and many stories behind the creativity from both Wakeman and Nolan. Tales by Gaslight will be released by Burning Shed on 23rd April available from www.burningshed.com/oliverwakeman
Oliver Wakeman and Clive Nolan release a lyric video for Coming to Town taken from their box set, Tales by Gaslight – out on 23rd April. The track is taken from the first album in the box set Jabberwocky and features Bob Catley (Magnum) on vocals and the late Peter Banks on guitar. Oliver says: “This is a fun upbeat track which I have always enjoyed playing live and it became an ever-present song in my bands live set. Revisiting the original for this box set reminded me of what a great job Bob Catley did with his vocal performance, and it is always lovely to listen to Peter playing a wonderful guitar solo.”
Watch the video here:
Jabberwocky, released in 1999, was based on the famous Lewis Carroll poem. It was followed by The Hound of The Baskervilles (2002), inspired by the Sherlock Holmes novel penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The project was always intended to be a trilogy of musical interpretations of literary classics, but an album inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was shelved because of a lack of record company funding.
Oliver Wakeman reunites with Clive Nolan after 20 years to issue a 3CD Box Set – Tales by Gaslight featuring remastered versions of their ‘future prog classics’ Jabberwocky and The Hound Of The Baskervilles along with a new disc Dark Fables.
This box set package also includes a third disc, featuring previously unreleased pieces that were intended to complete the trilogy. This third disc, Dark Fables, contains over 30 minutes of music conceived for the abandoned Frankenstein album.
Unusually for the time, the first two albums featured a host of guest performances, including narration by Wakeman’s father Rick and actor Robert Powell. Former YES guitarist, the late Peter Banks, Magnum vocalist Bob Catley and singer Tracy Hitchings appeared on both albums. Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen lent his talent to The Hound of the Baskervilles along with members from the bands IQ and Threshold. The unique artwork was created by Rodney Matthews for the original Jabberwocky release. Peter Pracownik was the creativity behind The Hound of The Baskervilles artwork 20 years ago and has returned to this trilogy by lending his talents to the new Dark Fables artwork.
In keeping with the spirit of the two previous albums, the new recordings feature the talents of, amongst others, Gordon Giltrap, Paul Manzi (Arena, Oliver Wakeman Band, Sweet) Andy Sears (Twelfth Night) and David Mark Pearce (Oliver Wakeman Band). Also included is an original reading of the Jabberwocky poem by Rick Wakeman.
The Tales by Gaslight box set contains 3 CDs each with 16-page booklets including lyrics, previously unseen artwork and many stories behind the creativity from both Wakeman and Nolan. The first 250 box sets will also include a 4th limited edition numbered art print of the box set cover signed by Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman.
About Oliver Wakeman Eldest son of prog legend Rick, Wakeman filled the keyboard role, once held by his father, with YES from 2008 to 2011. His work with YES includes the triple live album In The Present – Live From Lyon, Fly From Here and the From A Page box set featuring recordings from his time in the band and released in 2019. During his tenure with YES, Wakeman also toured and recorded as a member of The Strawbs.
Wakeman’s debut album (1997) Heaven’s Isle was inspired by the island of Lundy, and he has since released a number of solo and Oliver Wakeman Band albums. He has also released several collaborations with renowned musicians, including Steve Howe, band mate to both Oliver and his father in YES for The Three Ages of Magick album, as well as uniting with another guitar legend Gordon Giltrap for the award-winning Ravens & Lullabies album, both of which are set to be part of an upcoming box set.
About Clive Nolan Aged just sixteen, multi-instrumentalist Nolan became the youngest musician (at that time) to gain an A.L.C.M. composition diploma from the London College of Music. At university he studied composition, orchestration, musical arrangement and conducting, gaining a BMus and MMus. He has played a prominent role in the development of progressive music, as a member of Pendragon since 1986 and as a member of Shadowland (1992 – present), Strangers on A Train (1993 – 1994) and by forming his own band Arena in 1995.
Nolan’s interest in rock opera extends beyond his collaborations with Wakeman. In 2008 he wrote She, based upon the novel by Sir H Rider Haggard, and two musicals Alchemy and King’s Ransom. This year will also see the release of a new ‘Viking Inspired’ album Song of the Wildlands, as well as the new Arena album The Theory of Molecular Inheritance.
Frost* recently announced ‘Day And Age’, their first new studio album in 5 years, set for release on the 14th May 2021. The band’s fourth record features Jem Godfrey once again joined by John Mitchell & Nathan King, as well as 3 guest drummers: Kaz Rodriguez (Chaka Khan, Josh Groban), Darby Todd (The Darkness, Martin Barre) & Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson, Mister Mister). The album also features actor Jason Isaacs.
Today the band are pleased to launch ‘Terrestrial’, the first single taken from ‘Day And Age’, and you can watch the video here:
Jem Godfrey comments: “Terrestrial is about Donald Crowhurst who disappeared while competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race never to be found.The last page of his logbook contained the words: “I have no need to prolong the game. It is finished – It is finished IT IS THE MERCY.”
‘Day And Age’ was recorded over the course of 2019 and 2020, featuring 8 tracks and striking cover artwork by Carl Glover of Aleph Studios (Steven Wilson, Marillion, Steve Jansen). The album will be released on Limited 2CD (including a bonus disc of instrumentals), Gatefold 180g 2LP + CD (with etching on Side D), and as Digital Album. Pre-order now here: https://frost-band.lnk.to/DayAndAge
The full track-listing is below:
1. Day And Age 11:49
2. Terrestrial 5:13
3. Waiting For The Lie 4:31
4. The Boy Who Stood Still 7:33
5. Island Life 4:14
6. Skywards 4:13
7. Kill The Orchestra 9:27
8. Repeat To Fade 6:14
In September 2019 Godfrey and Mitchell rented a cottage for a week in Helford, Cornwall and set about converting it into a recording studio. Day one saw them write and record “Skywards”, “Island Life” was written on day two. On day three, the duo wrote what was to become the title and defining track of the new album, “Day And Age”.
The following January, the band setup a new temporary studio for a further week in a converted coastguard tower at Dungeness in East Sussex. “We were 30 feet by the sea, next to a nuclear power station and a lighthouse, in midwinter. So there was hardly any daylight and the weather was dreadful”, laughs bassist Nathan King, “We wrote “Terrestrial” and “Repeat To Fade” there and you can definitely hear the bleak isolated oppression having an effect on us. The songs we wrote were far darker – the wind howling round the building at night, the power station generating crackles on the audio, a huge lighthouse next door sweeping light into the fog every 30 seconds and John screaming “ENJOY YOURSELVES YOU SCUM” into a microphone. It was absolutely brilliant!”.
In November 2020, Frost* released the career-retrospective collection ‘13 Winters’ which featured all their studio albums to date, plus live material, b-sides & last years ‘Others’ EP, all packaged in a beautiful artbook.
Frost* was formed in 2004 by keyboard player and singer Jem Godfrey, Released in 2006 the band’s debut album “Milliontown” was an instant success and is regarded by many as a classic in the modern prog rock genre featuring John Mitchell on guitar, John Jowitt on bass and Andy Edwards on drums. The band quickly followed it up with “Experiments In Mass Appeal” in 2008, in many ways the antithesis of “Milliontown” featuring a much more stripped back sound, more concise songs and a new band member and singer in the form of Dec Burke.
The live album “The Philadelphia Experiment” followed in 2009 and the a long gap followed before 3rd album “Falling Satellites” was released in 2016 with a new line-up of Nathan King on bass and Craig Blundell on drums, plus returning guitarist and singer John Mitchell on guitar who also co-wrote much of the album with Jem Godfrey.
Legendary Dutch progressive rockers Kayak recently announced they will return with their 18th studio album ‘Out Of This World’ on the 7th May 2021. Now they are pleased to reveal the first single taken from that album, and you can watch the video for ‘Mystery’ here:
Founding member Ton Scherpenzeel comments: “This song is about the, in my view, unfathomable mystery and wonder that is the world around us. No matter what stunning progress science makes, and whatever religion wants us to believe, the essence will always be that: a mystery. Which doesn’t mean we have to stop trying to figure it all out.”The album is now also available for pre-order, arriving as a Limited CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP + CD, and as Digital Album. An exclusive blood red vinyl edition is available directly from the band. Pre-order now here: https://kayak.lnk.to/OutOfThisWorld
‘Out Of This World’, the band’s eighteenth studio album, with 15 new tracks, spanning 70 minutes of energetic and incredibly diverse material- though still very much recognizable as Kayak. It is clear that the new found energy has gained even more momentum since Hans Eijkenaar rejoined the group. Although they were forced to cancel all tours because Ton Scherpenzeel suffered a heart attack at the end of 2019, and immediately after that because of the Covid pandemic, we’re hearing a band that, since the demise of Pim Koopman in 2009, has not sounded more together, balanced and motivated. The current line-up of the band is as follows:
Ton Scherpenzeel – Keyboards, lead and backing vocals
Bart Schwertmann – Lead and backing vocals
Marcel Singor – Guitar, lead and backing vocals
Kristoffer Gildenlöw – Bass, lead and backing vocals
Hans Eijkenaar- Drums
Kayak History:
KAYAK was formed in Hilversum, The Netherlands, back in 1972, by keyboard player Ton Scherpenzeel and drummer Pim Koopman who struck up a friendship in their early teens after meeting at a local volley ball club. They were committed to writing original material. With loads of melodic, symphonic songs in their pocket they recruited fellow music conservatory student Max Werner (lead vocals) and Johan Slager (guitar). After bass player Cees van Leeuwen joined, the first lineup of KAYAK was complete with the new band being signed by EMI Records being launched as a new supergroup. Their debut album ‘See See The Sun’(1973) featured a minor hit single , ‘Lyrics’, with ‘Mammoth’ and the title track also reaching the top 40. The album sold well in Holland, earning the band significant critical acclaim and developing a growing army of passionate followers.
After a series of successful albums and several hit singles in their homeland KAYAK was on the verge of an international breakthrough in 1977 when the single ‘Want you to be Mine’, from ‘Starlight Dancer’ achieved chart success in the U.S, peaking at #55 in the Billboard Charts. KAYAK was even voted Most Promising Band of the Year by the influential American music magazine Record World. Due to the fact that charismatic lead singer Max Werner wanted to fill the vacant position of drummer meaning the band was suddenly without a lead singer, making it impossible to embark on an American tour. KAYAK focused on finding a vocalist instead. The search began with advertisements placed in British magazine ‘Melody Maker’, spotted by Edward Reekers, a huge fan of the band since the early days. Passing the audition with flying colors he became the new frontman for KAYAK and with the addition of two female singers the band returned to the recording studio to create their 6th album, the award winning ‘Phantom of the Night, which turned out to be their commercial peak. The blend of progressive rock and immaculate pop brought them phenomenal success. The album went to number one on the charts, reaching platinum status and ‘Ruthless Queen,’ became their highest charting single, (#4 in the Dutch charts).
The next album, ‘Periscope Life’ (1980), was similar in style and recorded in Los Angeles. It consolidated KAYAK’s position as one of Holland’s most popular bands.
With their next effort, ‘Merlin’ (1981), KAYAK returned to its original progressive and symphonic rock roots, with a suite about the legendary medieval magician on side A. Many music fans considered this a milestone in the bands career. Personal and musical struggles within the band however led to a break up in 1982. The first era of KAYAK ended after the release of the semi live album ‘Eyewitness’.
The next chapter in KAYAK’s career began in 2006 with ‘Kayakoustic’, presenting the now seven-piece band in an intimate setting.In the new millennium KAYAK was resurrected after an 18 year pause and came back with the strong symphonic crossover album ‘Close to the Fire’ (2000) with again Pim Koopman on drums and Max Werner on vocals. Unfortunately, due to ill health Max was soon forced to leave, with ex- Vandenberg singer Bert Heerink, who already joined the band on stage, taking over. With Heerink three studio albums were recorded, including the rock opera’s ‘Merlin – Bard of the Unseen’ and ‘Nostradamus – The Fate of Man’, their most ambitious efforts yet. The rock opera’s, dominated by longer, prog-based compositions, also showed KAYAK’s theatrical side with an extended cast of singers and dancers contributing to an impressive first rate live experience. It also marked the return of Edward Reekers and introduced Cindy Oudshoorn as first female lead singer.
2008 was an important year celebrating their 35th anniversary and embarking on a large tour taking the group to the theaters and clubs. ‘The Anniversary Box’, a DVD containing the Paradiso concert as well as a collection of fan chosen tracks is released.
The tragic, unexpected death of drummer and composer Pim Koopman one year later in the middle of the ‘Letters From Utopia’ tour almost led to KAYAK’s downfall, but two years later the group re- emerged with Hans Eijkenaar on drums and the album ‘Anywhere But Here’, dedicated to Koopman. After a period of two years preparing and recording the new rock opera ‘Cleopatra- The Crown of Isis’ was released in 2014. Shortly before the tour, lead singers Reekers and Oudshoorn unexpectedly and inconveniently announced their departure, leaving the band in disarray. But as they say “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and like the proverbial cat with nine lives – in 2018 KAYAK came back with a vengeance and ‘Seventeen’.
Look out for more information on the bands 18th studio album ‘Out Of This World’ in the coming months.
After a very successful release of the first single “The Fisherman”, Nad Sylvan is now proud to be presenting the second song “The Stolen Child” off of his new album “Spiritus Mundi”, to be released on April 9th 2021. The album’s lyrics are based on poems by W.B. Yeats.
Nad comments on the new song as follows:
”The Stolen Child” is one of W B Yeats’ most popular early poems first published in Irish Monthly in 1896. Like much of his early work, it is based on the myths and legends he heard from local people while growing up in County Sligo.
I feel this song is a very captivating take on the lyrical content and will place you in a colorful dreamy landscape which will take you back to your own gullible childhood.
Let the fairies come and get you.”
You can watch the video for “The Stolen Child” here:
“Spiritus Mundi” is available as Special Edition CD Digipak (incl. 2 bonus tracks), 180g Gatefold LP Vinyl Edition (incl. the entire album on CD) and as Digital Download. You can pre-order the album here:
OUT NOW Downes Braide Association (DBA) fourth album Halcyon Hymns CD. DBA also launch the video and radio edit of the third track to be taken from the album entitled Today – today!
Buy Halcyon Hymns here: CD/DVD OUT NOW – Pre-order the 2LP White Vinyl out 26th March: https://downesbraide.co.uk/
Today is an anthemic celebration of life and making the most of what we have, here and now, something we have all come to appreciate in these unprecedented times.
Today’s a perfect day, so spend it with me. The sun is high, the wheel of time. It will turn. You know it goes by so fast. No time to dwell in the past. I wish today would never end..
“Today Is about being in love with a moment that can never last,” says Chris Braide, “and treasuring the feeling that fleeting moment, brings. The lyric is truly from the heart.”
Geoff Downes adds: “Today is DBA’s 21st Century take on the romance of spending a perfect day with someone you love. Here’s to more perfect days – today, together and beyond.”
Geoff Downes (keyboards, programming) and Chris Braide (vocals) are joined on the album and Today by Ash Soan on drums, Andy Hodge (bass) and Dave Bainbridge who provides a particularly tasty guitar throughout the track. Today sends out a positive message while the infectious melody promises to make this a radio delight.
Halcyon Hymns is the fifth DBA collaboration and follows their previous critically-acclaimed studio albums Pictures of You (2012), Suburban Ghosts (2015) and Skyscraper Souls (2017). The duo have also released Live In England (2019) recorded at their first ever concert at Trading Boundaries, East Sussex, in 2018.
About Downes Braide Association Downes Braide Association was formed as a studio-based project by Geoff Downes and Chris Braide and has already produced three acclaimed studio albums: Pictures Of You (2012), Suburban Ghosts (2015) and Skyscraper Souls (2017) together with a live album Live In England (2019). The project draws on Downes’ and Braide’s rich musical heritage to create a delightfully accessible brand of progressive rock.
Keyboard wizard Geoff Downes was thrust into the limelight with the worldwide success of Video Killed The Radio Star in 1979. The single topped the charts chart in 16 countries for The Buggles duo of Geoff and Trevor Horn (vocals, bass guitar). They briefly joined prog legends YES before Downes became a founder member of the supergroup Asia with YES guitarist Steve Howe, ELP drummer Carl Palmer and the late John Wetton (vocals, bass guitar).
The Wetton-Downes composition Heat Of The Moment became a world-wide hit in 1982 heralding many years of success for Asia with their FM radio-friendly brand of rock. Downes later returned to YES in 2012 and remains with the band alongside Steve Howe.
British singer-songwriter-pianist Chris Braide has recently returned to UK shores after many years based in California. He enjoys enormous success writing and producing music for film scores, advertising campaigns and working closely with artists including Toni Braxton, Sia, Lana Del Rey, Marc Almond, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Paloma Faith, Britney Spears, David Guetta, Chris also co-wrote the music with Hans Zimmer and Sia for Seven Worlds One Planet – David Attenborough series.
Downes Braide Association release both the single Today and CD version of Halcyon Hymns, today 5th February.
Downes Braide Association: Halcyon Hymns buy it here:CD/DVD Out Now – Pre-order the 2LP White Vinyl out 26th March: https://downesbraide.co.uk/
Nad Sylvan ended 2020 on a rather happy note. He released “You’ve Got To Find A Way” in December 2020, a bonus track on his upcoming album “Spiritus Mundi”.
Today Nad is excited to be releasing the first proper album track “The Fisherman” off of said album to the world.
Nad comments:
“No one is a prophet in their own land”. W.B Yeats, the famous Irish poet penned the poem “The Fisherman” in 1914 that this song is based on. At this point in time, he felt misunderstood by his contemporaries, just like I have done growing up in a small minded world. Yeats poems are filled with double and hidden messages. So is this video.
Watch the video for “The Fisherman” here:
After concluding the Vampirate’s trilogy, Nad now changes course on his upcoming fourth album by converting poems of WB Yeats into music. The new album is due for release on April 9th 2021 featuring the stunning new cover artwork by Robin Damore.
The pre-order for “Spiritus Mundi” will start on February 12th 2021.
For two decades, MONO have defined and re-fined a kind of orchestral rock that is as emotional as it is experimental. Their 10 studio albums over those 20 years have established MONO as what Pitchfork described as “one of the most distinctive bands of the 21st Century.” Meanwhile, their live concerts are typically more subdued in instrumentation – and more supercharged in volume and voltage. Rarely is there the opportunity to combine those two experiences.
In their 20-year history as a band, MONO have presented no more than a half-dozen live concerts featuring the support of an orchestra. Such events are not only unusual they are also unforgettable.
Released on 19th March (Pelagic Records), Beyond the Past • Live in London with the Platinum Anniversary Orchestra documents MONO’s extraordinary performance from the Beyond the Past event that celebrated the band’s 20th anniversary, which took place at the historic Barbican Centre in London, England on December 14, 2019.
For that once-in-a-life- time event, MONO selected a memorable lineup of old and new friends, including fellow Japanese underground icons, Boris and Envy, as well as French post-metal legends, Alcest, and UK collaborators A.A. Williams and Jo Quail. The event culminated with MONO performing with The Platinum Anniversary Orchestra, featuring National Youth String Orchestra to a rapt, sold-out audience of 2,000.
Playing through a two-hour set that touches on the band’s entire history, the sheer euphoria and dynamic resonance that engulfed the massive crowd was captured in brilliant detail by MONO’s live sound engineer, Matt Cook.
Listen to ‘Meet Us Where the Night Ends (Live in London)’ for a taster:
Meticulously mastered by Bob Weston and presented here in its entire two-hour glory, Beyond the Past is one of the most essential MONO recordings. Packaged in a triple gatefold with accompanying 40-page photo book, this is the rare document of an event that is an event in and of itself.
HeKz’s fourth album ‘TERRA NOVA’ will see lead singer and bassist Matt Young joined by a new line up of international talent.
“HeKz has always been a musical chimera, fusing elements of heavy metal, hard rock and progressive music,” explains Young. “The new line up reflects that perfectly – we’ve got a prog guy, a metal guy and a rock guy. On paper, that’s an odd mix but the chemistry is undeniable. This album is the next logical step in the band’s evolution.”
Pieter Beemsterboer – pic by Arthur Haggenburg
The new guitarist cannot yet be revealed due to contractual reasons, and ‘TERRA NOVA’ will see Pieter Beemsterboer (ex-Black Rabbit) on keyboards and Moyano el Buffalo (5th Avenue Hamburg) on drums.
Moyano el Buffalo – Pic by Jesus Figueirido
“Working with this new line up has already been so rewarding. The guys have so much talent, but also the taste to hold back when necessary. Everybody plays to serve the song, and when they get their moment, it’s quite extraordinary to behold!”
A concept piece, ‘TERRA NOVA’ was written by Young over a two year period. A familiar story with a unique flavour, the album weaves a tale of ambition, duality and the desperate fight to overcome the darkest parts of your personality in order to become the person you were born to be.
“We’re making a double concept album in 4 different countries, working remotely and all during a pandemic. It’s completely mad but tremendously exciting. We’re proud to share this first taste of new music and can’t wait to take you on this journey with us.”
The first part of the album will be released as an EP in late 2021, with the full double album to follow in early 2022.
The first single from ‘TERRA NOVA’ will be released in Spring 2021.
Arc of Life is Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen (additional drummer) from YES together with Dave Kerzner on keyboards and Jimmy Haun on guitar.
The new band release their debut, eponymous, album on February 12th and have just released a video for the second single from the album, ‘Just In Sight’.
