HeKz breaks new ground with their latest single release, ‘Sabotage’. This powerful, anthemic track showcases the band’s unique approach to progressive rock, which blends elements of classic and contemporary influences.
From its thunderous opening to its climactic finale, ‘Sabotage’ is a sonic rollercoaster that is a testament to HeKz’s ability to fuse intricate musicality with raw emotion. Combining soaring vocals, intricate guitar riffs, and a rhythm section that drives like a locomotive, ‘Sabotage’ showcases the band’s mastery of their craft.
Fronted by the charismatic and dynamic lead vocalist Matt Young, HeKz delivers an impassioned performance that captivates from start to finish. Guitarist Mark Bogert shows that his command of the instrument is awe-inspiring, whilst violinist Irina Markevich’s contribution to the track showcases her singular voice as a musician and cements her role as an integral part of HeKz’s sound. With an unwavering sense of precision and impeccable timing, drummer Moyano el Buffalo creates a rhythmic foundation that propels the song forward with relentless energy.
The song features a surprise appearance by special guest Nic Weaver, who provides a full brass section to ‘Sabotage.’ Weaver’s arrangements elevate HeKz’s sound to new heights, and his performance on ‘Sabotage’ is sure to leave a lasting impression on listeners.
The lyrics of ‘Sabotage’ depict a protagonist caught in the depths of their own struggle, yearning to break free from the shackles of their tumultuous reality and desperately yearning for a rejuvenating new beginning. Young’s versatile voice delivers the intense and introspective lyrics with conviction and depth. Inspired by Jules Verne’s timeless classic “Around the World in 80 Days,” the lyric video for “Sabotage” is a visual journey which begins in the suffocating grip of an oppressive city before soaring high in a vibrant hot air balloon, then finally venturing into the unknown in search of a fresh start. The video perfectly captures the essence of breaking free from the confines of everyday life and embracing the exhilarating possibilities of a new beginning.
With a growing fan base and a reputation for delivering captivating live performances, HeKz has established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the progressive rock scene. ‘Sabotage’ further solidifies their standing as a band that refuses to be confined by musical expectations, carving their own path with a distinctive and recognisable sound. ‘Sabotage’ is now available for streaming on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp. This captivating new single will satisfy the cravings of listeners hungry for fresh progressive rock that they can bang their heads to!
Ethereal, Indie-folk musician Jo Beth Young (fka Talitha Rise) announces the release of Electro-Folk single Wolf Song, the third single from her third album due for release via Wise Queen Records in October 2023.
The ethereal dream-folk track spins a bitter-sweet tale of warning and sympathy for a curious wolf like character. Ethereal vocals weave through an emotive Cello (from Silver Moth’s Ben Roberts) guitar and electronic landscape that conjures up a woodland scene.
Jo Beth Says:
“Wolf song is one of the oldest tracks on the album and was originally written on a broken guitar at a friends house. The Wolf I think is very much an exploration of being on the end of a narcissist’s confusing behaviour.There is a conflict of feeling the danger and cruelty of such a character but also the sympathy you might have for them, because ultimately, they are damaged in some way and lonely. Originally the track more of a acoustic, ethereal sound but I shaped it with the brilliant Matt Blackie (Engineer and Producer) who worked with me to add the beats and more electronic elements which is what I wanted to explore on the new album.
I was also delighted with Ben Roberts’s incredible Cello playing which is answering the vocals in such a delightful, emotional way that to me, it sounds like the wolf in the song. Jules Bangs’s bass playing is also always sublime. When I was creating and producing the track I think I wanted it to sound a little bit like a modern fairy tale, hence all the harps and other dream like instrumentation and hopefully I’ve achieved that.“
SHADOW NAVIGATION TOUR – UK & IRELAND 2023
To celebrate the release of her third album ‘Broken Spell’s Jo Beth will be on tour for the first time in 4 years with Sussex based Roots and Folk Artist Serious Child this October and November.
The joint tour is the fulfilment of one of Young’s longterm dreams to create a night of stories and songs combined exploring the shadows of human existence and how to traverse them in beautiful and unusual venues including old churches and even a castle!The show features songs from her new album and back catalogue with folk stories, anecdotes, theistic tales and more. The tour is a more intimate affair and will feature Ben Roberts (Cello) Pete Lamb (Guitars and Effects) and Ella Partington (Fiddle) alongside the highly accomplished Serious Child himself who will be sharing his own beautiful and thought provoking songs and stories.
Jo Beth’s new album Broken Spells will be the first official release under her own name and not under her previous stage names of Talitha Rise and RISE . It features members of her touring band ‘The Abandoned Orchestra’ as well as long term collaborator Peter Yates (Fields Of The Nephillim). Recorded and Produced between England, Ireland and Spain, the album is a thematic exploration of ‘spells’ breaking from both the personal and collective point of view. She has been working on the record since she finished touring her last album STRANGERS in 2019. Though the album has taken longer to complete than hoped, there are some remarkable stories to tell about how and why, to be revealed later.
Jo Beth Young is a visionary English singer-songwriter, musician and producer whose debut album An Abandoned Orchid House (2018 under the moniker Talitha Rise) received critical acclaim internationally, becoming ECHOES radio Album of the Year (which was remarkable for a previously unknown artist). With increasing support from PROG, BBC Introducing, BBC Radio 6 Music, Record Collector and Louder Than War, she released her second album STRANGERS (under RISE) in 2019 and has continued to enchant live audiences and her growing fan base across the UK with emotionally moving performance with her band ‘the abandoned orchestra’ that have been described as ‘exquisite’ (PROG) and saw her winning Female Soul West Artist Of The Year from Devon’s Listen With Monger.
She has recorded with and opened for a host of renowned artists including Chris Difford, Renaissance, Boo Hewerdine, Erik Visser, Shriekback, Juldeh Camara, Julia Biel and continues to work with Peter Yates (Fields Of The Nephilim) oh her past and current projects including their Yates and Young collaboration. She has been delighted to work with the prog label Sonic Bond, BMG publishing and Engineers such as Adi 800 (Bjork, Sigur Ros). Last year, as part of folk collaboration NIGHTSONG with John Reed and producer Ali Karim, the album ‘The Peasants’ Revolt’ was released under No Date For Prom Records.
Piano virtuoso GLEB KOLYADIN unveils new solo album ‘The Outland’ out July 21st via Kscope.
Written throughout the past years, the record speaks to the introspective nature of the Iamthemorning pianist, whilst exploring facets of his sound that have yet still to be uncovered.
Utilising the silence afforded from the pandemic, it offered a new perspective of introspection and the perfect outlet to mould his melancholic creativity. Entirely instrumental, the album emphasises melodic themes through different tracks to create a six part symphonic suite in a way that only Gleb Kolyadin could.
The piano mastermind himself had the following to say regarding the album:
“The Outland was recorded over 2020 and 2021 which was a very troublesome time for us all and I wanted to capture this feeling. During the period of covid when we were unable to travel I found I would create new worlds in my head, as a way of being able to escape.”
Over time however, this idea transformed into something much deeper for me. I’ve since moved to the UK, and now it represents a new beginning. A rebirth if you will and ironically has more of an escapist air around it and has been given a new lease of life.
Gleb continues:
It’s a combination of being both an uplifting and introspective work that has been a long time coming. I am happy to finally share the music that is The Outland. A world within a world, assembled from disparate fragments, in many ways, like all of us.
Acting as the protagonist in ‘The Outland’, piano is certainly the focal point of the album yet there are some truly stunning performances alongside Kolyadin. They come from an all star cast in the form of Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree / King Crimson) on drums, Tony Levin (King Crimson / Peter Gabriel) on upright bass and Vlad Avy on guitar.
Not confined to genre, the pianist traverses the landscape of classical piano to jazz-rock and fusion effortlessly as he glides across ‘The Outland’. The album is bookended by both the longest tracks of the record, ‘Voyager’ and ‘Hermitage’ each just as vital yet different as the other. The first opens with a ten minute symbiosis of Jazz-Rock and Fusion whereas the latter ‘Hermitage’ offers more of a look into the world of Jazz.
Moments of self analysis are littered throughout ‘The Outland’. They vary in the form of the introverted ‘Ascension’ that ruminates on darker moments which are then counterpointed by the contemplative shimmering of ‘Cascades’. Matched only in scope by the experimental ‘Apparatus’.
The Outland’s musical inspirations reflect Kolyadin’s increasingly varied musical palette that include, Pat Metheny and Hiromi, Steve Reich, 1970’s Progressive Rock in the vein of legends Gong and Mike Oldfield alongside British Folk adorned with a cinematic edge. Welcome to The Outland.
The artwork, designed by Andhika Ramadhian, is an abstract portrayal of a hermit, trapped within a geometrically paradoxical space symbolising the turbulent times that ‘The Outland’ was penned in. However as time has gone on since it’s original writing,
The Outland tracklisting:
1. Voyager
2. Ascension
3. Cascades
4. Mercurial
5. Apparatus
6. Hermitage
The Outland will be available on CD / black LP and digitally on July 21st via Kscope.
Big Big Train will be on tour this summer and to celebrate and promote the forthcoming ‘The Journey Continues’ Tour this August & September, the group have been sharing videos of songs filmed on tour last year. The band recently shared the videos for “The Florentine” and “The First Rebreather” recorded in September 2022 at The Boerderij in The Netherlands.
The band is pleased to share the performance clip of “Atlantic Cable” recorded live at Friars, Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury, UK in September 2022. The live audio recording of the song is included on the band’s forthcoming Ingenious Devices album to be released on 30th June 2023 (full details below).
You can see the video of that performance here:
Bassist Gregory Spawton says: “One of the recurrent themes we’ve explored in Big Big Train over the years is how humans have been able to harness technology to make the world a better place. Atlantic Cable is a song about the laying of the first telegraph cables across the Atlantic Ocean in the 19th century. It was a mighty endeavour which helped to bring people together. We really enjoyed playing Atlantic Cable at the legendary Friars, Aylesbury last year and are pleased to share this film of the performance.”
Keyboardist Oskar Holldorff adds: “Following a warm-up show the night before, the gig in Aylesbury was my first official performance with Big Big Train, and what a night it was! Atlantic Cable was positioned early on in the set, and it felt great to work our way through a proper BBT epic in the beautiful Waterside Theatre. I particularly enjoyed the instrumental section starting at the 11-minute mark, in which Rikard Sjöblom’s brilliant clavinet solo was followed by Dave Foster shredding the house down!”
Saturday 26th August – Cultuurpodium Boerderij, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands Sunday 27th August – Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany Monday 28th August – Stora Teatern, Gothenburg, Sweden Tuesday 29th August – Cosmopolite, Oslo, Norway Wednesday 30th August – Fryshuset Klubben, Stockholm, Sweden Thursday 31st August – Viften, Copenhagen, Denmark
Saturday 2nd September – 2 Days + 1 Festival, Revislate, Italy Sunday 3rd September – Z7, Pratteln (Basel), Switzerland Tuesday 5th September – Neuberinhaus, Reichenbach, Germany Wednesday 6th September – Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne, Germany Thursday 7th September – Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany Friday 8th September – Mozart-Saal, Stuttgart, Germany
Sunday 10th September – The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, UK Monday 11th September – Town Hall, Birmingham, UK Tuesday 12th September – Cadogan Hall, London, UK Wednesday 13th September – Cadogan Hall, London, UK
Support at all shows except Wednesday 13th September comes from rising Norwegian stars Dim Gray, who feature BBT’s Oskar Holldorff. There will be no support at the Wednesday 13th September show.
Big Big Train will release the album titled ‘Ingenious Devices’ on 30th June 2023 on CD, double vinyl (black and sky blue vinyl) and hi-resolution (24/96) Bandcamp download. ‘Ingenious Devices’ will be available on all major streaming platforms from 28th July 2023.
‘Ingenious Devices’ features 59 minutes of music, including new versions of “East Coast Racer”, “Brooklands” and “Voyager,” which prominently feature an elite 17 piece string section recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London and have been re-mixed for this release.
Additionally, ‘Ingenious Devices’ includes a previously unreleased orchestral piece called “The Book of Ingenious Devices”, which links “East Coast Racer” and “Brooklands”, as well as a live version of “Atlantic Cable”, which was recorded on the band’s tour in September 2022.
YES, who are Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood & Jay Schellen, are pleased to announce their new studio album Mirror To The Sky on InsideOutMusic/Sony Music on the 19th May 2023. “This is a very important album for the band,”says Steve Howe, Yes’ longest serving member, master guitarist, and producer of Mirror To The Sky. “We kept the continuity in the approach we established on The Quest, but we haven’t repeated ourselves. That was the main thing. As Yes did in the seventies from one album to another, we’re growing and moving forward. In later years, Yes often got going but then didn’t do the next thing. This album is demonstrative of us growing, and building again.” For Yes, that “next thing” is a collection of high energy, intricate, lush and layered new studio songs for an album which adds to the band’s much heralded legacy, while charting a path to exciting future times ahead.
Today, the band are pleased to launch the video for the album’s second single. Listen to and watch ‘All Connected’ here:
Jon Davison comments: “I, along with my Yes band mates are excited to announce that the second single from our new album, Mirror to the Sky is out now. It’s entitled, All Connected, and it’s a longer piece, clocking in at a challenging 9 minutes. Steve added a beautifully poignant instrumental steel part which starts the journey. This section emotionally builds and crescendos into a glorious lead way for the vocals to begin telling their story. Billy composed complex and compelling musical themes which I helped to arrange, and we both composed vocals and lyrics, each of us singing our respective parts, making for a rich vocal tapestry.”
Billy Sherwood adds: “The initial idea came from a musical sketch I’d created using the idea of our “connectivity” in regards to communications in the modern age. It’s very exciting to know YES are maintaining that edge and energy we all know and love, this track is firing on all cylinders. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did creating it.”
As they were wrapping up The Quest, Yes found themselves with song sketches, structures, and ideas that were demanding attention. Yes received unconditional support from InsideOut boss Thomas Waber, who encouraged them to keep going in the studio, months before The Quest would even go on sale. It was like throwing gasoline on their creative fire.
“When we delivered everything, and they were just getting the vinyl and everything into production for manufacturing, we were still very much in that creative zone,” explains Steve Howe. “That belief that Thomas had in us really meant a lot,” he says.
“We truly get along as people,” says Jon Davison. “I feel like everyone’s focused inward to the greater circle, concentric to the core of highest standards that define Yes. It’s a wonderful thing to witness and of which to play a part. I believe this reflects vibrantly in the music and the creative input that each one is willing to apply, not for the benefit of the individual, but for the greater whole that is Yes.”
“There was a lot of material floating around because the band hadn’t done anything in the studio for so long. Ideas were just copious,”says bassist Billy Sherwood. “The pace of it was fast. As soon as we were finished with The Quest, and the mix had come out, we took a couple of little breaks there to catch our breath. But there was still music flowing around in the loop. It was just constantly being looked at and worked on. As we were all home and in that mode, things started progressing quite swiftly. We just went one album into another without really announcing, ‘Hey, we’re working on a second record right now.’ We just continued to work on material. It came about pretty naturally, and then we refined it as the process went on. But the initial bursts — there was a lot of material around!”
Much to everyone’s delight, including that of longtime-fan Thomas Waber, Yes have pushed into territory they practically invented — the prog rock epic — albeit in a thoroughly new and modern way. “I always felt that it would be great to have stuff that’s a little bit more epic,”he says, although he resisted the temptation to push for something that would be too formatted and could come off as contrived. He just gave the band space to do what they do and let things develop. “They were so excited by The Quest and the momentum they had that they went straight back in to the studio. What they were writing, even early on, was obviously headed in that epic direction — what Yes music really is to me. It is almost a genre onto itself. It is ‘Yes Music.’ Mirror To The Sky certainly is Yes Music.”
Mirror To The Sky features not one, but four tracks clocking in at over eight minutes, with the sweeping and cinematic title track coming in just shy of fourteen minutes. What’s more, the tracks, like Yes’ best, take the listener on a wide dynamically ranging journey of soundscapes which also showcase Steve Howe’s dazzling guitars, Jon Davison’s angelic, crystalline vocals, Billy Sherwood’s deftly dancing bass, keyboard wizard Geoff Downes’ impeccable sounds, exquisite melodies and fills, and Jay Schellen’s masterfully controlled explosions, on drums.
Jay Schellen, who has been touring with the band since 2016, was hand-picked to step into his mentor and friend Alan White’s role when White sadly passed away in 2022. “I had done the 2016 Topographic Drama tour on my own for Alan,” says Jay. “From late 2017 onwards, we had a partnership, and a beautiful partnership, I might add. I learned so much, and discovered so much about Alan’s style, and why it was the way it was. It fit his personality so perfectly. This album has Alan’s presence all over it. It is inside of us. So this is still, in my heart, Alan just being present and with us, and with me, in a big way.”
Barber Q is a band that has won the hearts of the Polish community living in Scotland and caught the attention of music editors thanks to their unique sound. The band initially started out as a cover band and then transformed into a tribute band playing songs from the Polish band Dżem.
However, in 2020, the band’s vocalist, Mateusz Psonak, took part in one of the biggest music programs in Poland, The Voice of Poland, where he reached the quarternals under the guidance of Michał Szpak. This success became the impetus for creating their own material which was very well received by listeners.
The band’s first single was the song Dynamite which received great reviews in Scotland and Poland and reached over 30,000 plays on Spotify without the support of music labels. Barber Q also played as a support act for the band Ørganek at a Polish-Scottish festival in Aberdeen, which led to a later musical collaboration, RobertMarkiewicz, the band’s drummer, recorded the drums for 5 upcoming singles, including the newest song Afraid, which will premiere on 5.05.23.
Afraid is a song that tackles important topics related to emotional issues and addictions. The song encourages courage, taking on challenges, and pushing one’s own limits, but also reminds us that we are not alone and can count on the support of others. The lyrics also contain a message that mistakes and failures are a part of life and that it’s worth learning from them rather than focusing on them.
This powerful track is an addictive slice of grunge and post-rock with a fantastic, harmonised chorus, some uber-cool riffs and staccato drumming that is full of a youthful energy but has maturity at its core. Mateusz Psonak delivers a commanding vocal performance that grabs your attention immediately and the twin guitar attack of Lukasz Pfeifer and Dawid Kutarnia is edgy, dynamic and exciting. If this is a taste of what is to come from this talented quartet then we are surely in for a musical treat!
Check out the video for their first single Dynamite here:
Norwegian progressive rock group AVKRVST have announced they will release their album ‘The Approbation’ on 16th June, 2023.
Today, the band are pleased to release the track “Arcane Clouds”, the 2nd single taken from the upcoming album.
In addition, ‘The Approbation’ is now available for pre-order.
The band had this to say about the track:
“Arcane Clouds is the second single off the concept debut albumThe Approbation, and the anthem of forsaken hope. An inner voice trying to convince you to fight back and keep your head above water, while the ghosts are hunting you down.”
You can listen to the song on streaming services and pre-order “The Approbation’ here:
The Approbationis a concept album about a bleak soul who is left solely with his thoughts, isolated on a cabin deep into the dark forests, far away from civilization. The 49 minutes long concept album contains 7 songs, which take the listener though the thoughts of a man struggling towards the acceptance of death, being hauled into the abyss.
The whole album is written and recorded at a cabin in Alvdal (Norway) during a rainy, cold fall and winter. Throughout the album, the sounds of rain and train horns from afar can be heard, which are actual sounds recorded outside the cabin at night under the stars.
Sonically, The Approbationis a massive sounding piece of music. It’s everything from lush, melancholy moods to heavy, more aggressive atmospheres. It tries to capture the feeling of a cold, gloomy fall – a dark sky, filled with gazing stars above the mist.
Artwork by Eliran Kantor
Tracklisting:
1.Østerdalen 0:26
2.The Pale Moon 6:15
3.Isolation 5:41
4.The Great White River 6:30
5.Arcane Clouds 6:05
6.Anodyne 10:15
7.The Approbation 13:37
The band have also shared a video on how to pronounce “AVKRVST” which you can see here:
Watch the video for the first single “The Pale Moon” here:
Earlier this year the band shared a teaser video of them working in the studio which you can see here:
At the young age of 7 years old, Martin Utby and Simon Bergseth made a pact that they would form a band when they got older. Now, 22 years later they’ve done just that. An album is ready – 55 minutes of music inspired by everything they grew up listening to – everything from Mew, Anekdoten and Porcupine Tree to Opeth, Neal Morse and King Crimson.
All the music has been written at a small cabin, deep into the Norwegian forests (Alvdal, Nor- way). Simon (composer, guitars, bass and vocals) and Martin (composer, drummer and synths) have later been joined by Øystein Aadland on bass/keys, Edvard Seim on guitars and Auver Gaaren on keys.
First solo live performance this weekend at Prognosis Festival
EINAR SOLBERG – frontman of Norwegian rock mavericks Leprous – recently announced the release of his debut solo album ‘16’ on June 2nd, 2023. Wildly diverse, but spiritually rooted in Einar’s well-established musical world, ‘16’ is an album that brims with surprises and spinning curveballs and features a collection of intimate but extravagant collaborations. Today, ahead of his first ever live performance of his solo material at Prognosis Festival in the Netherlands, Einar is pleased to announce his cinematic new single ‘Over The Top’. Watch the video, directed by Elena Sihida, here:
As mentioned, Einar will be performing this material for the first time ever at Prognosis Festival in the Netherlands this weekend, with an appearance at the London edition the following weekend. For these shows he will be joined by Hrafnkell Örn Guðjónsson (Agent Fresco), Ben Levin (ex-Bent Knee), Chris Baum (Bent Knee), Ari Karason (Mezzoforte) and Ruben Aksnes (Maraton). You can find more details here: https://www.prognosis-festival.nl/
Einar Solberg is as renowned for the tender honesty of his lyrics as he is for the eccentric majesty of Leprous’ music. But even by his usual standards, ‘16’ is an extremely emotional and dynamic piece of work. Einar describes the record as “the closest I’ve ever come to writing a concept album” and explains that the new songs are about a very specific and transformational period in the musician’s life. This is the sound of a restless spirit in his absolute element.
“It’s called 16 because that’s when the first really, really bad things started happening to me in life. From 16 to 19, there were a lot of very life-defining moments that happened to me, and that changed me,” he says. “That’s when I kind of lost my innocence and I started realising that life is serious and bad shit can happen. A lot of pretty drastic things happened within those three years. But this album is not only about the bad things. It’s also about some of the career-defining moments, like the moment I started playing with the band and began to find a community to belong to. Emotionally, I’m a bit of everything, so it covers the entire emotional spectrum!”
’16’ finds Einar collaborating with everyone from modern prog contemporaries like Bent Knee’s Ben Levin and Agent Fresco’s Toti Gudnason, to experimental cellist (and regular Leprous live musician) Raphael Weinroth-Browne and Magnus Børmark, best known as a member of Norwegian alt-folk troupe Gåte. He also once again collaborates with Ihsahn and Star Of Ash amongst many others. The record was mixed by mixed by Adam Noble (Placebo, Biffy Clyro, Nothing But Thieves) and mastered by Robin Schmidt (The 1975, Placebo, The Gaslight Anthem, etc.). The cover artwork was designed by Elena Sihida.
The full track-listing is as follows:1. 16 (feat. Raphael Weinroth-Browne) 2.Remember Me 3.A Beautiful Life 4.Where All The Twigs Broke (feat. Star Of Ash) 5.Metacognitive (feat. Raphael Weinroth-Browne) 6.Home (feat. Ben Levin) 7.Blue Light (feat. Asger Mygind) 8.Grotto (feat. Magnus Børmark) 9.Splitting The Soul (feat. Ihsahn) 10.Over The Top 11.The Glass Is Empty (feat. Tóti Guðnason)
Einar will debut his solo material live with two exclusive shows at the Eindhoven & London editions of Prognosis Festival (15th & 22nd April respectively). You can find more details here: https://www.prognosis-festival.nl/
To celebrate and promote the forthcoming ‘The Journey Continues’ Tour this August & September, Big Big Train will be sharing videos of a couple of songs filmed on tour last year. The band recently shared the video for “The Florentine” recorded in September 2022 at The Boerderij in The Netherlands. Today, the band is pleased to share the performance clip of “The First Rebreather”, originally the opening track from their English Electric Pt.1 album.
You can see the video here:
Guitarist/keyboardist Rikard Sjöblom comments: “The First Rebreather was the first song I totally fell in love with when I joined Big Big Train back in 2014, so I’m always really happy when we include it in a setlist. The performance of it here at the Boerderij from last September is great and I’m glad the cameras were rolling! The moody intro, upbeat chorus and the eerie mid section, followed by the bombastic end section – it’s a masterpiece! I can say that, because I didn’t write the song! There’s something about the storytelling in this one that always gets me and Alberto delivers it really well.”
Bassist Gregory Spawton adds: “This song is based on the exploits of diver Alexander Lambert, who was the first man to use experimental rebreather diving equipment in a flooded tunnel. I remember drawing from Dante and Beowulf when I was writing the lyrics. The ebb and flow of the music also helps to deliver the story.”
Saturday 26th August – Cultuurpodium Boerderij, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands Sunday 27th August – Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany Monday 28th August – Stora Teatern, Gothenburg, Sweden Tuesday 29th August – Cosmopolite, Oslo, Norway Wednesday 30th August – Fryshuset Klubben, Stockholm, Sweden Thursday 31st August – Viften, Copenhagen, Denmark
Saturday 2nd September – 2 Days + 1 Festival, Revislate, Italy Sunday 3rd September – Z7, Pratteln (Basel), Switzerland Tuesday 5th September – Neuberinhaus, Reichenbach, Germany Wednesday 6th September – Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne, Germany Thursday 7th September – Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany Friday 8th September – Mozart-Saal, Stuttgart, Germany
Sunday 10th September – The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, UK Monday 11th September – Town Hall, Birmingham, UK Tuesday 12th September – Cadogan Hall, London, UK Wednesday 13th September – Cadogan Hall, London, UK
Support at all shows except Wednesday 13th September comes from rising Norwegian stars Dim Gray, who feature BBT’s Oskar Holldorff. There will be no support at the Wednesday 13th September show.
Big Big Train will release the album titled ‘Ingenious Devices’ on 30th June 2023 on CD, double vinyl (black and sky blue vinyl) and hi-resolution (24/96) Bandcamp download. ‘Ingenious Devices’ will be available on all major streaming platforms from 28th July 2023.
‘Ingenious Devices’ features 59 minutes of music, including new versions of “East Coast Racer”, “Brooklands” and “Voyager,” which prominently feature an elite 17 piece string section recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London and have been re-mixed for this release.
Additionally, ‘Ingenious Devices’ includes a previously unreleased orchestral piece called “The Book of Ingenious Devices”, which links “East Coast Racer” and “Brooklands”, as well as a live version of “Atlantic Cable”, which was recorded on the band’s tour in September 2022.
Afterglow is Isbjörg’s second release from their upcoming second full-length album which is expected to be released in early 2024.
Along with the latest release ‘Ornament’, ‘Afterglow’ marks a new era for the band who, since the release of their debut album ‘Iridescent’ in 2019, have welcomed Jonathan Kjærulff Larsen as their new front figure.
‘Afterglow’ is a grand, energetic and modern rock ballad that engulfs the listener in a melancholic soundscape driven by lead singer Jonathan Kjærulff Jensen’s powerful voice and balanced by Isbjörgs characteristic piano-centered rock sound. Lyrically, the song is centered around two people’s loss of control, whose carelessness and unusual actions result in a negative spiral of which they can’t escape.
‘Afterglow’ is available on all major streaming services today:
Bio: 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 planned for 2023 before releasing their second full-length album in early 2024.
