PROG PRESENTS…

Discovering

Bloody Well Write

Send your letters to us at: Prog, Future Publishing, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London, W2 6JR, or email prog@futurenet.com. Letters may be edited for length. We regret that we cannot reply to phone calls. For more comment and prog news and views, find us on facebook.com under Prog.

STEVE HACKETT GETS CONCEPTUAL

IF IT’S OUT THERE, IT’S IN HERE

PORCUPINE TREE RELEASE LIVE SET

Closure/Continuation Live captures 2022 Dutch show in variety of formats.

LOUISE PATRICIA CRANE SINGLE HERALDS ALBUM

Covers of King Crimson and Johnny Winter lead the way.

PALLAS ARE BACK WITH NEW ALBUM

Reunited with singer Alan Reed, new LP The Messenger is “their darkest album yet.”

NEW ALBUM AND TOUR FROM ELBOW

Expect some “very big songs” that have been written with arenas in mind.

CHELSEA WOLFE RETURNS WITH NEW STUDIO ALBUM

The mysterious singer is also set to play London in April.

CALIGULA’S HORSE COME RIDING BACK

Charcoal Grace is the Australian band’s first album of new material in four years.

NO-MAN ANNOUNCE BOX SET OVERVIEW

The early years of the Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness band are lavishly curated.

STORM DEVA ANNOUNCE SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM

The duo catch lightning in a bottle for a December release.

FAD GADGETS

Rhodri Marsden on three of the latest must-have gizmos currently putting the prog in progress.

LOL TOLHURST

Inspiring the wider music world…

SKÁLD

French prog-folk collective take Nordic mythology on a vibrant sonic adventure.

MIDLAKE

THE TRIALS OF VAN OCCUPANTHER (Bella Union, 2006)

UNDER THE SURFACE

Our far-out trip to far-flung prog

JERBOAH

Eclectic combination of jazz rock and art-pop from multinational quartet.

US, THEM &YOU

What got us all grooving this month…

ZAHN

Experimental Berliners bear their post-rock teeth on motorik beats.

SPURV

Norwegian six-piece take post-rock to explosive new heights.

NICK FLETCHER

The jazz rock guitarist and John Hackett Band member discusses his classical influences and the threads of mysticism that run through his work.

THE PROG INTERVIEW EDGAR BROUGHTON

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s Edgar Broughton. Leader of his titular band, Broughton’s musical career began in earnest in the late 1960s when The Edgar Broughton Blues Band swapped blues for the emerging psychedelic sounds of the age, setting them on a more progressive path than first intended. Although the band’s initial phase came to an end in the early 80s, the multi-instrumentalist and vocalist has released a handful of solo albums, including his latest, Break The Dark, which sees him reuniting with members of the EBB’s alumni. Here, he discusses his former band’s heyday, making a “Sunday afternoon” album, and reveals why he thinks politics has a place in music.

PETER GABRIEL

New spins

THE FIERCE & THE DEAD

There’s not much room to manoeuvre in Camden’s

HAWKWIND

And we have lift-off! PHOTOS: CARSTEN WINDHOORST. EXCEPT

BRUCE SOORD

There’s a horizontal A4 sign hanging at the

L.O.E

Storm Babet threatens to make tonight’s show, the

PROGSTOCK FESTIVAL

A music festival is an embarrassment of riches,

BRIDGET ST JOHN

Before tonight’s concert Prog overhears an audience member

SUMMER’S END FESTIVAL

Karnakata rule the stage. IMAGES: CHRIS WALKDEN Chepstow,

TOOL

Tool have come a long way from the

THE FLOWER KINGS

Given that tonight’s show is one of only

JAMES DONALDSON (TEMPLES ON MARS)

The great and good of progressive music give us a glimpse into their prog worlds. As told to Grant Moon.

Ed’s Letter

Hello and welcome to the latest issue of

MOVING THROUGH SOME Changes – How 90125 Saved Yes

The short-lived Drama era in 1980 was almost the death of Yes. Yet three years later, the heroes of British progressive rock had been complete ly reinvented with massi ve worldwide success. In 90125 they had their biggest-selling album and a worldwide hit single. On the record’s 40th anniversary, we look back on how a new band without a deal became an 80s success story.

Lucky For Some

By his own admission, when Fish originally released 13th Star in 2007, his life was a mess. Broke, directionless and dumped just before his wedding, the Scottish singer-songwriter was close to rock-bottom but had turned his frustration and grief into an album that contains some of his finest solo material. To coincide with the record’s deluxe reissue, Fish looks back on the turmoil that inspired it.

Tales From The Bar

Magenta’s lead singer Christina Booth is back with a new solo album, Bar Stool Prophet. Emotional and uplifting, haunting and lyrical, the album’s 10 tracks explore themes ranging from politics, war and religion to ageing, life and death. Prog catches up with Booth to discover more about the inspiration behind her latest music.

MISSION Critical

When Gong’s founder Daevid Allen died in 2015, many of the veteran act’s fans assumed they were gone for good – but the truth is that the Kavus Torabi-led Gong are better than ever, just as Allen knew they would be. “He always loved to throw a grenade into situations!” says Torabi, beckoning us into the caverns of the mind.

Time Passages

Cornwall-based symphonic proggers The Emerald Dawn explore the idea of time, both sonically and lyrically, on In Time, their latest album. Prog catches up with band founders Ally Carter and Tree Stewart at their Kernow hilltop base to find out more about the complex ideas and themes behind the new work.

Acoustic Solace

Lonely hotel rooms, deathbed reflections and the undeniable lure of strings have all fed into the making of the third solo album from The Pineapple Thief’s driving force, Bruce Soord. He takes Prog inside the creative process that spawned Luminescence, taking care not to let his brain explode in the process

TALK TO ME LIKE HUMANS DO

On the follow-up to 2020’s more traditional Folkesange, Myrkur’s Amalie Bruun has created an experimental album of contrasts that takes the listener on a journey through motherhood and bereavement. Bruun tells Prog about the healing power of Spine and the life changes that inspired it.

Winds Of Change

From the personal lyrics to the focus on the acoustic guitar, Peter Jones has gone back to basics with his latest Tiger Moth Tales album, The Turning Of The World. But as the multi-instrumentalist and vocalist tells Prog, it’s an album that he needed to write.

CHILDREN OF THE STONES

Heavy music is often associated with industrial clamour. Green Lung, however, are imbuing sturdy rock with folk and fairy tales from the English countryside on their third album, This Heathen Land. In the process, they want to emulate the prog-inspired ambition of 70s icons Deep Purple and Rainbow. Prog catches up with guitarist Scott Black and vocalist Tom Templar to find out more

Empire Reborn

It’s been five years since Southern Empire’s critically acclaimed Civilisation was released and now the Australian five-piece are back with Another World. Keyboard player Sean Timms and new singer Shaun Holton reveal what was going on behind the scenes, and why the current line-up are looking forward to a vibrant future.