PROG PRESENTS…

Discovering

Ed’s Letter

Hello, and welcome to the new issue of

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.

JON ANDERSON ANNOUNCES RARE UK SHOWS THIS SUMMER

IF IT’S OUT THERE, IT’S IN HERE

TFATD FIND THEIR VOICE ON ALBUM FOUR

The London troupe’s new release is their first full-length record to feature vocals.

HALIFAX POST-ROCKERS L.O.E READY DEBUT ALBUM

Quartet ponder our time on Earth on their new LP.

NEW STRAWBS ALBUM CAUSES STIR

Strawbs frontman details the band’s upcoming studio album, The Magic Of It All.

INTRO extras

ANCHORESS ANNOUNCES NEW LONDON SHOW Fresh from

LE ORME PLOT THEIR GRAND FAREWELL

Italian legends to bow out with original members on final album and tour.

SOEN PREPARE TO RELEASE THEIR LATEST MEMORIAL

Prog metallers’ new long-player due in September.

BIRKS REKINDLES BEATRIX PLAYERS

The now-eight-piece chamber pop group to release their comeback album in September.

INTRO extras

KOLYADIN SOLO ALBUM GETS GENERAL RELEASE DATE Iamthemorning

NEW CD FOR DREAM THE ELECTRIC SLEEP

US trio to release American Mystic, their first new album for seven years.

KARNATAKA’S NEW ALBUM IS FIRST IN EIGHT YEARS

Delayed Requiem For A Dream will be out in July.

FAD GADGETS

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

ANDY CAIRNS

Inspiring the wider music world…

PROG IN BRIEF

Devin Townsend’s (right) Devolution #3 – Empath Live

AVKRVST

The nihilistic Norwegians with prog rock running in their blood.

THE BLUE NILE

A WALK ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS (Linn Records/A&M, 1984)

OCEAN DISTRICTS

Our far-out trip to far-flung prog

PROG IN BRIEF

Tarja Turunen and Torsten Stenzel’s Outlanders release their

EMMA TRICCA

Italian-born singer-songwriter taps into her family’s past for some dreamy psych-folk.

WISHBONE ASH BOX SET

It was the album that put Wishbone Ash

JEGONG

A fortuitous loan of a drum kit has led to a meeting and melting of minds.

MARTIN MILLER

Meet the much-loved YouTube guitarist who’s given in to his prog temptations.

GALEN AYERS & PAUL SIMONON

The unlikely duo discuss art as inspiration, tapping into the creative spirit of Mallorca and the forthcoming Kevin Ayers’ reissues.

IN MEMORY OF FRANCIS MONKMAN

Despite a long career, classical musician-turned-founder member of Curved Air, Francis Monkman preferred to avoid the spotlight and allow his playing to take centre-stage instead. A key member of Sky and the supergroup 801, his recent death from cancer at the age of 73 has left behind a remarkable musical legacy that combines his passions for all things progressive and classical. We pay tribute to the pioneering instrumentalist.

THE PROG INTERVIEW

ROD ARGENT

THE PINEAPPLE THIEF

Bruce Soord and co’s first five albums, bonus tracks and more collected on this wide-ranging early years retrospective.

THE FIERCE & THE DEAD

News From The Invisible World  SPM RECORDS

THE 3 CLUBMEN

The 3 Clubmen EP BURNING SHED RECORDS XTC’s

5TH SEASON

5th Season ECLIPSE

RAY ALDER

II INSIDEOUT

THE ANCHORET

It All Began With Loneliness WILLOWTIP RECORDS

THE DEVIL’S TRADE

Vidékek Vannak Idebenn SEASON OF MIST

ECHO US

Inland Empire ECHOUS.BANDCAMP.COM

GODSTICKS

This Is What A Winner Looks Like KSCOPE

STEVE HOGARTH & RICHARD BARBIERI

Waiting To Be Born EP MARILLIONOFFICIAL.BANDCAMP.COM

HENGE

Alpha Test 4 COSMIC DROSS

I AM THE MANIC WHALE

Bumper Book Of Mystery Stories IAMTHEMANICWHALE.BANDCAMP.COM

JEGONG

Come To The Center PELAGIC

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD

PetroDragonic Apocalypse KGLW

LOAM

Featherbrained LOAM-MUSIC.BANDCAMP.COM

BEREN MATTHEWS FEAT GRIP-LIKE VICE

Place//Circumstance GRIPLIKEVICE.BANDCAMP.COM

SOFT MACHINE

Other Doors DYAD

MOTORPSYCHO

Yay! RUNE GRAMMOFON

NEOLIA

Neolia CD BABY

THE PARALLAX METHOD

Folie À Trois THEPARALLAXMETHOD.BANDCAMP.COM

PROGRESSIVE METAL

Dom Lawson buckles up for a delve into the darker, heavier side.

NORTH ATLANTIC OSCILLATION

United Wire VINELAND MUSIC

PENGUIN CAFE

Rain Before Seven… ERASED TAPES

POLYCHROME

Equilibrium BAD DOG PROMOTIONS

THE NEAL MORSE BAND

An Evening of Innocence & Danger INSIDEOUT

REDSHIFT

Laws Of Entropy PALE WIZARD RECORDS

BEN REED

Bandaged CHERRY RED

SOLSTEIN

Solstein IS IT JAZZ? RECORDS

PSYCHEDELIC PROG

Take a trip with Rob Hughes as he seeks out the latest mind-expanding music.

RING VAN MÖBIUS

Commissioned Works Pt. II – Six Drops Of Poison KARISMA

SOUND OF STRANGERS

Crossing Borders DUTCH MUSIC WORKS

SUNS OF THE TUNDRA

The Only Equation BAD ELEPHANT MUSIC

SUSANNA

Baudelaire And Orchestra SUSANNASONATA

VANITY MIRROR

Puff WE ARE BUSY BODIES

VOIVOD

Morgöth Tales CENTURY MEDIA

ROGER WATERS

The Lockdown Sessions SONY LEGACY

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Grant Moon has a rummage down the back of the Prog sofa for the ones that nearly got away…

GENTLE GIANT

Interview CHRYSALIS

THE FLAMING LIPS

Hypnotist RHINO

FRIJID PINK

The Deram Recordings 1970-71 ESOTERIC

STACKRIDGE

Stackridge / Friendliness ESOTERIC

ULTRAVOX

Quartet (Deluxe Edition) CHRYSALIS

FRANK ZAPPA

Funky Nothingness ZAPPA RECORDS/UME

UNIFAUN

Unifaun ESOTERIC

XTC

Go 2 PANEGYRIC

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Round And Round: Progressive Sounds Of 1974 ESOTERIC

Island Live T

IGERMOTH Two-CD/

RUSH: PORTRAITS

Fin Costello RUFUS PUBLICATIONS

JOHN WETTON: AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE

Nick Shilton ROCKET

HAVE YOU GOT IT YET? THE STORY OF SYD BARRETT AND PINK FLOYD

Storm Thorgerson And Roddy Bogawa MERCURY STUDIOS

Take a bow

Final Harvest: so long, farewell and amen. CARSTEN

BRYAN BELLER (THE ARISTOCRATS)

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

The Men For All Seasons

In September 1989, Marillion unveiled their new album, Seasons End, and new vocalist, Steve ‘H’ Hogarth. As one chapter ended, a new one opened and with it came new challenges and experiences. To coincide with the release of a deluxe edition, the band revisit the making of the record that helped steer their career in a new direction – and prove there really was life after Fish.

The Basement Tapes

Lars Fredrik Frøislie fought off the blues by giving his imagination free rein: he dreamed of the last battle of the Norse gods, a place in the sun, cosmic omens, and the stark beauty of a Norwegian winter. Now Wobbler’s mastermind talks to Prog about singing in his native tongue and staying sane with his solo album, Fire Fortellinger.

Day Of The Dreamer

On their 1978 album, A Song For All Seasons, Renaissance ditched the big concepts and teamed up with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to give their symphonic sound a bolder and brighter edge. The stunning results yielded their only UK Top 10 single, Northern Lights, which takes centre stage on a new vinyl reissue. Vocalist Annie Haslam revisits the audition, stage invasions and Top Of The Pops appearances that led to the album becoming one of their best-loved releases.

Wired For Sound

A lot has changed since North Atlantic Oscillation released their last album, the well-stocked Grind Show, in 2018. After a strange five years it feels somewhat reassuring to see the return of the electronic post-prog outfit, and it’s now effectively a one-man band as Sam Healy leads the way. Prog catches up with the musician to find out more.

Universal Numbers

After the stop-start of the last three years, Lazuli have quietly unveiled their 11th studio album, simply called 11. Vocalist, instrumentalist and composer Dominique Leonetti reveals why the French group are buzzing about their new release but choosing to remain fiercely independent, and how it felt to finally play on the same stage as their musical heroes.

Argus Panoptes

Wishbone Ash never set out to create a progressive concept album, but things took an unexpected twist on their third record, Argus. Fifty-one years on, it’s been reissued and expanded into a handsome sevendisc multi-format box set. Prog sat down with Martin Turner and Andy Powell to explore the record’s genesis and legacy, taking in everything from stolen swords and nascent romances to trancewriting and twin guitars

ITCH THE SEVEN-YEAR

After a seven-year absence, Seven Impale are back with their third album, the Enslavedapproved Summit. But, despite their name, a delay of that length certainly wasn’t intentional. The Norwegian sextet bring Prog up to date on their current four-track, which embraces the myths of Ancient Greece and uses them as a metaphor for the trials of modern society.

Parties

A familiar name in the Canterbury scene, Dave Stewart’s career reached unexpected highs in the 1980s when he teamed up with Spirogyra’s Barbara Gaskin for an unlikely pop cover. Forty years on, the pair are still making “intelligent pop” with a ninth studio album on the way. Now preparing to play a very special one-off show in London this summer, Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin tell Prog about the unexpected spark that’s led to their longstanding musical, and romantic, relationship.

SELF-MADE MEN

On their new, independently released album, guitarist Misha Mansoor talks of taking Periphery back to the band they always wanted it to be. No longer bending to the pressures of suits or the public, and more comfortable now in their own skin than ever before, this is the story of how Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre finds the US group at their defiant best.

The Yes Men

The Parallax Method say they aren’t seasoned musicians when it comes to theory. Instead, they’re full of happy accidents that inspire their free-flowing instrumental explorations on, Folie À Trois. This is the story of The Parallax Method embracing the good, the bad and the ugly for the better of their music, resulting in a head-turning debut album.