Ed’s Letter

H ello, and welcome to the new issue

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INTRO

IF IT’S OUT THERE, IT’S IN HERE

FAD GADGETS

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

MANSUR

International trio wrestle a mythical beast with their unusual blend of live improv

WIN!

CARAVAN BOX SET!

Now our turn…

The Editor Jerry Ewing SEL BALAMIR Swell ROCKOSMOS

KARI BAND

Fusion and prog collide as Babymetal’s backing group flex some musical muscle

DOMINIC SANDERSON

Youthful one-man-band shows the future of prog is in safe hands

SERGE FIORI

Harmonium’s leader dusts off his old band’s back catalogue on a reissue of his most ambitious undertaking and explains why he’s happy staying out of the limelight

A Kingdom Beyond The Skies

In the year that four-fifths of the band turned 21, Genesis came of age with Nursery Cryme, their third album, and the first to feature Phil Collins and Steve Hackett. Prog looks back on this tale of huge imaginations, faulty equipment, tapping, croquet mallets and, most importantly, a growing confidence that was to help establish the band, who, 50 years on, are hitting the stadiums again

Genesis And Aylesbury: Stopps Starts A Salvation

David Stopps talks about how his peripatetic venue provided redemption for Gabriel’s Angels

For Absent Friends: The Curious World Of Frankly Arthur

Who or what was Frankly Arthur? Prog goes on the trail of the long-lost band

Nirvana

No, not that one! The London-based baroque pop duo became unwitting trailblazers of progressive rock when they created one of the first narrative concept albums ever released with 1967’s The Story Of Simon Simopath. Perhaps best known for the singles Tiny Goddess and Rainbow Chaser, Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos’ left-field music won the approval of John Peel, and even Salvador Dalí. So now we have to ask: how prog were Nirvana?

CARAVAN

Eccentric brilliance, double entendres and Canterbury tales: prog’s gentlest geniuses get the careerspanning treatment they deserve on this epic 37-disc box set

MY PROG

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

“If you’d heard of us, you’d have been told that we were shit.”

Opeth were maligned in the Swedish metal scene… then Blackwater Park made them heroes of progressive music. Singer, guitarist and principal songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt reflects on the story behind their magnum opus

Tripping Yarns

Self-proclaimed collagists with a passion for prog and spirituality, The Amorphous Androgynous have ventured into the world of progressive rock on current album We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal. Musician and vocalist Garry Cobain tells Prog how the former Future Sound Of London duo came to conjure up something new and exciting with Van der Graaf Generator’s Peter Hammill

“This Is Too Much Fun!”

The name might not be immediately familiar but its virtuoso players will be. Trifecta finds Nick Beggs teaming up with Adam Holzman and Craig Blundell for Fragments ’ ‘fission’ noodle stew. Prog catches up with the trio to discuss zombie houses, guerrilla recording sessions and that time the former Kajagoogoo bassist nearly joined Slade

The Elephant’s Blues

Matt Berry takes listeners on a sensory joyride with his thought-provoking new album, The Blue Elephant. Prog catches up with the actor, writer and musician to discuss his love of analogue equipment, working with Craig Blundell and why he decided to make the kind of album he really enjoys listening to

English Gothic

Musical partnerships between keyboard players aren’t too common. In the case of Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman, theirs has lasted 25 years so far, but their acclaimed Gothic trilogy project remained unfinished – until now. Prog uncovers the happy ending to the fables old and new on Tales By Gaslight.

Careful What You Wish For

On her latest solo album, The Most Dangerous Woman In America, IZZ’s Laura Meade turns history into her story. The conceptual piece explores Hollywood’s love-hate relationship with female celebrities and takes the singer and keyboard player on a musical escapade. Prog catches up with her to find out more

Enter… Stage Left

In the Before Times: Marillion at London’s Royal

A STONE ALONE

There are few musical genres that Stone Giants’ creative mastermind Amon Tobin hasn’t explored, but on his current album, West Coast Love Stories, he’s found his home. He tells Prog about creative freedom, romantic inspiration and why playing live isn’t a top priority

Crime Writers

Norwegian psychedelic folk band Tusmørke have, with their latest release, Nordisk Krim, realised an idea as old as the band itself. The double concept album, wrapped in the mysteries of bog bodies, revels in their singer, Benedikt ‘Benediktator’ Momrak’s lifelong fascination with gruesome finds, inspiring the band’s most extraordinary record yet. Prog finds out more about it

SWIRLING SOUNDS

Finnish occult rockers Jess And The Ancient Ones have emerged from the shadows with their own take on 60s psychedelia. Prog catches up with guitarist Thomas Corpse to find out more about current release Vertigo and his surprising passion for Iron Maiden

THE INTERVIEW BILL NELSON

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s Bill Nelson. The Yorkshire-born vocalist and musician launched his solo career in the early 1970s just before Be-Bop Deluxe started gathering momentum. As bandleader, he steered them through several line-ups and styles before dissolving the group to form Red Noise. Post Be-Bop, he turned his hand to producing and has also built up an impressive solo career. He looks back on some of his highs and lows, and explains why he decided to revisit Live! In The Air Age.