Ed’s Letter

Hello and welcome to the latest issue of

Bloody Well Write

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BE PROG! MY FRIEND READIES THEATRICS AND SURPRISES FOR THIS YEAR’S BARCELONA WEEKEND

IF IT’S OUT THERE, IT’S IN HERE

CARDIACS RETURN WITH A NEW TRIP

The beloved Brit art-proggers gather once more to finish long-lost album LSD .

ATOMIC ROOSTER ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM

Revived band promise a return to their roots.

RICK WAKEMAN DIGS DEEP INTO EMOTIONS

Melancholia is the keyboard virtuoso’s first-ever LP of self-composed instrumentals.

INTRO extras

GILMOUR: LIVE RECORDINGS INCOMING David Gilmour’s 2024 Luck

THE EMERALD DAWN SEE GREEN TWICE!

Cornish proggers release the first part of an environmentally-themed double LP.

CATE LE BON TO RETURN WITH SEVENTH ALBUM

Welsh musician is joined by guests including John Cale.

GAZPACHO BACK AFTER FIVE YEARS

The art-rockers’ original album plans were inadvertently scuppered by Hollywood.

INTRO extras

APP TO REISSUE I, ROBOT The

SPRIGGAN MIST DAZZLE ON NEW LP

Pagan rockers announce new record deal for seventh album The Glare.

STEELEYE SPAN HIT THE ROAD FOR WINTER TOUR

The veteran also outfit swell their ranks with new member.

FAD GADGETS

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

ACE

Inspiring the wider music world…

,PROG IN BRIEF

London-based alt prog band Temples On Mars (right)

SONECHKO

Square Wild’s Lucy Shevchuk taps into her inner darkness on a ghostly solo venture.

TRICKY MAXINQUAYE

(Fourth And Broadway Records, 1995)

HIPOKAMP PROJECT

Our far-out trip to far-flung prog

PROG IN BRIEF

Finnish prog-metal quartet Royal Sorrow (right) have announced

THE HARE AND HOOFE

Meet the atmospheric London quartet who struggle to be pigeonholed.

WIN!

HAWKWIND BOX SET!

Now our turn…

The Editor Jerry Ewing PETER GABRIEL

JACK O’ THE CLOCK

US avant-gardists discover the joys of the bassoon and more!

EDENSONG

New York proggers return with first studio album in almost a decade.

Q&A MARK PRITCHARD

The Thom Yorke collaborator and electronic musician discusses working with the Radiohead singer, their latest release Tall Tales and the genius of Gentle Giant.

THE PROG INTERVIEW ROY HARPER

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue: Roy Harper . Since the mid-60s, the progressive folk singer-songwriter has enjoyed a successful solo career that’s also found him collaborating with everyone from Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel to Kate Bush and Ian Anderson. But he’s never quite reached the commercial heights of his peers. As his Final Tour: Part Two fast approaches, he looks back over highlights from his career so far and teases a brand-new album.

GENESIS

The grand parade of lifeless packaging? Far from it, as this much-delayed blockbuster reissue of one of prog’s most fascinating and frustrating albums finally proves.

PROG FOR PEART

Amarok prove they’re more than worthy of their

LANKUM

VENUE SOUTH FACING FESTIVAL, CRYSTAL PALACE BOWL, LONDON

MOGWAI

VENUE SOUTH FACING FESTIVAL, CRYSTAL PALACE BOWL, LONDON

JUDGE SMITH’S REQUIEM MASS

VENUE 12/07/2025 DATE HOLY SEPULCHRE CHURCH, LONDON

THE EMERALD DAWN

VENUE THE CAMDEN CLUB, LONDON DATE 20/07/2025 SUPPORT

L.O.E.

VENUE 33 OLDHAM STREET, MANCHESTER DATE 08/08/2025 SUPPORT

EPPYFEST 12

VENUE SMOKEY JOE’S DINER, CHELTENHAM DATE 26/07/2025-27/07/2025 L

VON HERTZEN BROTHERS

VENUE THE DOME, LONDON DATE 08/08/2025 Hands in

THE FLAMING LIPS

VENUE TD PAVILION AT THE MANN, PHILADELPHIA, USA

CHIMPAN A AND FRIENDS

VENUE ACAPELA STUDIO, PENTYRCH, WALES DATE 02/08/2025 Twenty

DAVE BAINBRIDGE & SALLY MINNEAR

VENUE THE BEDFORD, LONDON DATE 16/07/2025 SUPPORT WHIMSICAL

BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL

VENUE CATTON HALL, WALTON-ON-TRENT, DERBYSHIRE DATE 08/10/2025-10/08/2025 Props

CRAYOLA LECTERN

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

GET ME OUT OF THE CAGE!

The curious tale of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway on tour

Brave New Worlds

Nearly half a century after Jeff Wayne took a leap of faith with his Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds , the US composer and lyricist returns to his best-known work with some deluxe new collectors’ box sets. Prog catches up with him to discuss grand reimaginings, almost working with Peter Gabriel, and how AI could shape his future tours.

Sending Signals

British prog rockers Ihlo are back with their long-awaited second album. Legacy affirms their status as a force to be reckoned with and takes their synth-infused dynamic sound to a whole new level. Vocalist Andy Robison, guitarist Phil Monro, and drummer Clark McMenemy discuss tapping into videogame soundtracks, finding their own sound and the challenges of playing their complex parts live.

In Search Of New Space

After the success of their Space Ritual tour, Hawkwind were keen to explore new possibilities for their music. The result was the eclectic but much-loved Hall Of The Mountain Grill , now released as a nine-disc box set including three live shows from 1974. Prog looks back on the making of a classic.

Art Music

Robert Reed and Steve Balsamo’s progressive electronic duo Chimpan A are back with their long-awaited third album, the teasingly-titled Music Is Art – Vol. 1 . Comprising original material and some surprising cover versions, the double-length record also includes a host of impressive musical guests. The pair discuss making big-sounding songs, fanboy moments in the studio and their plans to cast us all under the Chimp spell!

Magic The Number

Green Carnation first spoke about creating a three-album saga in the mid-2000s. Two decades later, the Norwegians are finally releasing the first chapter of their A Dark Poem series: The Shores Of Melancholia . Singer Kjetil Nordhus talks to Prog about the themes and backstory of their long-gestated trilogy.

Who Do You Think You Are?

On his latest solo album, Jakko MJakszyk has embarked on a very personal journey after a period of self-doubt. Son Of Glen is a companion piece of sorts to his acclaimed memoir, Who’s The Boy With The Lovely Hair? , on which he explores themes of identity and familial bonds. He tells Prog about “the proggiest thing” he’s ever done and what the future might hold for King Crimson.

Spirit Guide

Folk-proggers Kindred Spirit Band have teamed up with members of Gryphon, Stuckfish, Haze, Spriggan Mist and more on their seventh studio album. Bandleader Elaine Samuels tells Prog about the personal story that lies behind the conceptual The Journey Within , and the fantastical characters she conjured up to tell it.

Watching Me Watching You

Following their 1990s heyday as one of the most unusual bands in the new wave of US progressive rock, Discipline continue their second coming with an album full of intricate detail. Prog catches up with songwriter and vocalist Matthew Parmenter to get the lowdown on Breadcrumbs and the band’s musical philosophy.

Guided By The Light

Swedish proggers Gaupa have gone from five members to four, but it isn’t holding them back. With new mini-album Fyr the group have started afresh – and as guitarist David Rosberg and bassist Erik Sävström tell Prog , change isn’t always a bad thing.

The Power of Three

Despite a musical pedigree that includes prog luminaries like Mostly Autumn, Riversea and Lee Abraham, Moon Halo remain relatively undiscovered. Following the release of Trichotomy , their third studio album, Prog caught up with Marc Atkinson, David Clements and Iain Jennings to find out how their three-way creative collaboration works.