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FOCUS ARE BACK WITH NEW MATERIAL

Leader Thijs Van Leer enthuses about the band’s unity and quirky sense of humour.

AZURE GO FULL BLOWN CONCEPTUAL

The Brighton-based quintet dig deep into themselves for their third album.

SOUNDLE WEEKEND MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024 IS GO

The Emerald Dawn and Solstice are confirmed to headline.

CHARLIE BRAMALD

Ghost Of The Machine’s vocalist discusses his latest project, Age Of Distraction, and plans for some pulse-racing gigs.

THE PROG INTERVIEW ANTHONY PHILLIPS

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s. Anthony Phillips. Best known for being a founding member of Genesis, the guitar virtuoso has gone on, in his quiet, unassuming manner, to become a prolific issuer of cross-genre albums, and one of the leading lights in production music. We caught up with him as he prepares to release the latest in this Private Parts & Pieces series, The Golden Hour.

YES

“It’s good to…”. The great overlooked 90s prog album is pulled out of the dustbin of history, dusted down and revealed as the gem it truly is.

BASS COMMUNION

The Itself Of Itself FOURTH DIMENSION Noise and

ALBER JUPITER

Puis Vient La Nuit UP IN HER

AMAROK

Hope OSKAR Polish proggers reach out to a

BLANKET

Ceremonia CHURCH ROAD RECORDS Dynamic post-rockers channel 90s

JOHN CARPENTER, CODY CARPENTER & DANIEL DAVIES

Lost Themes IV: Noir SACRED BONES Film legend

DAWN CHORUS AND THE INFALLIBLE SEA

Reveries CARGO Ambient, dreamy, intergalactic; Radox bath, optional.

THE CHURCH

Eros Zeta And The Perfumed Guitars EASY

EIVØR

Enn SEASON OF MIST Faroese songwriter turns up

MARILLION

An Hour Before It‘s Dark: Live In Port

THE DECEMBERISTS

As It Ever Was, So It Will Be

JAMIE DICKSON

Withershins 6678162 RECORDS Summery fingerstyle flings in the

DVNE

Voidkind METAL BLADE Dune-fixated Scots continue their sand-blasted

EVERGREY

Theories Of Emptiness NAPALM Captivating, if formulaic,

EYE

Dark Light NEW HEAVY SOUNDS Sparkling solo

EXIST

Hijacking The Zeitgeist PROSTHETIC Cynic guitarist trims

MARJANA SEMKINA

Sirin MARJANASEMKINA.COM In which one of the good

FEATHERS AND GREED

Pari Shokogun FEATHERS & GREED RECORDS German

THE FINAL COIL

The World We Inherited SLIPTRICK RECORDS Leicester

THE DAVE FOSTER BAND

Maybe They’ll Come Back For Us ENGLISH

ART ROCK

It’s been 35 years since German post-punk pioneers

THE TANGENT

To Follow Polaris INSIDEOUTMUSIC Andy Tillison goes

HIPPOTRAKTOR

Stasis PELAGIC No standing still for Belgian prog

LAUGHING STOCK

Shelter APOLLON Sixth from Norwegians quivers between quiet

NEKTAR

Journey To The Other Side – Live

THE OMNIFIC

The Law Of Augmenting Returns WILD THING

PALLBEARER

Mind Burns Alive NUCLEAR BLAST Prog-loving Arkansas

ANTHONY PHILLIPS

The Golden Hour – Private Parts &Pieces XII

PROGRESSIVE FOLK

Paul Sexton travels from Melbourne to Northampton in the latest bucolic grab-bag.

OLIVER WAKEMAN

Anam Cara SPIRIT OF UNICORN MUSIC Wakeman

RELIQA

Secrets Of The Future NUCLEAR BLAST EDM

RICHARD THOMPSON

Ship To Shore NEW WEST RECORDS More brilliance

TU-NER

T-2 Tu-Ner For Lovers 7D MEDIA King

UBERMODO

So Very Far From Home TIMLANEMUSIC.BANDCAMP.COM A

UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS

Nell’ Ora Blu RISE ABOVE Italian gialli

VMBRA

Delapsvs VMBRA-UK.BANDCAMP.COM Young Manchester band spreads their wings

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

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

COLOSSEUM

Upon Tomorrow REPERTOIRE Fusion masters’ scrapped 1971

JON ANDERSON

In The City Of Angels FLOATING WORLD/VOICEPRINT

BRIAN AUGER’S OBLIVION EXPRESS

Live Oblivion Vols 1 & 2 SOUL

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND

Gone Blue – The BBC Sessions ESOTERIC

CARMEN

The Albums 1973-1975 ESOTERIC Flamenco fusionistas three-CD

NORDIC GIANTS

Origins NICE WEATHER FOR AIRSTRIKES Instrumental post-rockers Rôka

STEVE HACKETT

Till We Have Faces/Feedback ‘86 INSIDEOUTMUSIC Two

MAYBESHEWILL

Fair Youth INSIDEOUTMUSIC/SUPERBALL MUSIC Revisiting a sun-drenched

PINK FLOYD

Animals: Dolby Edition WARNER MUSIC Prog legends’

JEAN LUC PONTY

Life Enigma EARMUSIC Vinyl reissue of French

TARJA

What Lies Beneath EARMUSIC Former Nightwish singer

SQUACKETT

A Life Within A Day ESOTERIC Prog

Take a bow

The past and the present meet. VENUE THE

MEW WITH DANISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

VENUE BARBICAN HALL, LONDON DATE 03/04/2024 Rock bands

HAWKWIND

VENUE O2 CITY HALL, NEWCASTLE DATE 05/04/2024 The

JOHN MITCHELL

VENUE THE CAMDEN CLUB, LONDON DATE 06/04/2024 SUPPORT

ZOMBI

VENUE SCHUBAS TAVERN, CHICAGO, IL, USA DATE 05/04/2024

MYRKUR

VENUE ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER DATE 09/04/2024 SUPPORT JONATHAN

SPRIGGAN MIST

VENUE THE 1865, SOUTHAMPTON DATE 24/03/2024 SUPPORT THE

SOFT MACHINE

VENUE RONNIE SCOTT’S JAZZ CLUB, LONDON DATE 10/04/2024

KYROS

Leoni Jane Kennedy: remember her name. Azure: mightily

CHELSEA WOLFE

VENUE HEAVEN, LONDON DATE 02/04/2024 SUPPORT MAUD THE

WINTER’S END

VENUE THE DRILL HALL, CHEPSTOW DATE 12/04/2024-14/04/2024 CHRIS

KEVIN COMEAU (CROWN LANDS)

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

THE HEAT GOES ON AS ASIA RETURN AGAIN

IF IT’S OUT THERE, IT’S IN HERE

MOODY BLUES’ MIKE PINDER DEAD AT 82

The keyboard player was the last surviving member of the original band.

50TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE FOR CULT KEVIN AYERS SHOW

June 1, 1974 gig and album marked by discussion and music.

HAKEN BRING EPIC SHOW BACK HOME

The prog metal band will play Fauna in full and acareer-spanning set each night of tour.

HFMC WEIGH UP FATE AND FREEDOM

Hasse Fröberg asks the deep questions as the Swedish proggers unveil album five.

JUSTIN HAYWARD EXTENDS THE BLUE WORLD TOUR

Seven homecoming dates scheduled for October.

FAD GADGETS

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

KRIS BARRAS

Inspiring the wider music world…

PROG IN BRIEF

Pallas (right) are set to release the remastered

LAURI PORRA

Finnish composer enlists Stephen Fry for a symphonic love letter to the universe.

THE LAST DINNER PARTY

PRELUDE TO ECSTASY (Island/Universal, 2024)

MYRATH

Our far-out trip to far-flung prog

PROG IN BRIEF

Julie Christmas (right) has announced her first album

PALLBEARER

Arkansas doom-mongerers embrace post-rock elegance on intimate fifth album.

FINAL COIL

UK prog metal trio tackle polarising mindsets on their far-reaching conceptual trilogy.

PLANTOID

Bold jazz fusion-inspired shapes from ambitious young Brits.

The Beat Goes On

There’s a new King Crimson side-project in town, and this one focuses solely on the 80s incarnation of the group. BEAT finds Adrian Belew and Tony Levin reconnecting for a very special North American tour this autumn with guitar god Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey. Prog catches up with Levin and Belew to find out more.

Soul Trader

It’s been a long time coming, but Oliver Wakeman is back with a new solo album. With contributions from Nightwish’s Troy Donockley, vocalist Hayley Griffiths, and Pendragon drummer Scott Higham, Anam Cara is a celtic-flavoured melting pot of delight. The keyboardist discusses the good stories and wonderful musicians that make up a record he hopes will capture the listener’s imagination.

A Traveller Of Time And Space

The good rocketship Hawkwind have launched their 36th studio album into the progosphere! On Stories From Time And Space, the group have lost none of their sense of injustice about the world. Bandleader Dave Brock reveals the drive behind their new music, why he’s continuing to fight for an alternative society and responds to recent concerns about his health.

Where Words Are Not (Always) Needed

[Mostly] without lyrics to underscore their song’s meanings, post-rock trio Sleepmakeswaves have learnt to find the beauty in the “translational chasm” that exists between artist and listener. They’ve poured themselves into their fifth album, It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It, and now they’re excited for their fans to find themselves, and not its creators, reflected in its music. Prog caught up with the band to find out more.

Lone Star

On The Tangent’s 14th album, To Follow Polaris, Andy Tillison has embarked on a “one-off” solo adventure that tackles self-doubt and finds him going on a quest for The Truth. Prog catches up with the multi-instrumentalist as he ponders whether we’re better off without the internet and finds out why he still remains optimistic in a world full of turmoil.

Gear Shifting

In the two years since Resident Human, Wheel have undergone internal changes that very nearly destroyed them. But fortunately the Finnish-Anglo band have bounced back with the more experimental Charismatic Leaders. Singer and guitarist James Lascelles reveals the challenges behind creating their third studio album, how Meshuggah’s “best amp” helped them, and why they just can’t shake off those Tool comparisons.

Far From Normal

Is Nick Beggs an alien? Is he even a prog musician? And can you train a dog with a didgeridoo? All these questions and more will be answered as Prog peeks under the hood of Trifecta’s The New Normal, an album that reunites Beggs with fellow virtuosos Adam Holzman and Craig Blundell. Just don’t ask what his wife thinks of it

S* A* S*

In 2022, 3’s Robert Berry, Saga’s Ian Crichton and Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler released their debut as Six By Six. But have the prog supergroup been able to recapture that magic on the highly anticipated follow-up, Beyond Shadowland ? Prog caught up with Berry to discuss the challenges, inspirational artwork and orchestral arrangements that lie behind their “difficult” second album

Apollo Has Fallen

In the aftermath of Sons Of Apollo, band alumni Derek Sherinian and Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal have regrouped for new sonic adventures in Whom Gods Destroy. Now the ice has finally melted, the new line-up are ready to take over the world with the ambitious Insanium. Prog caught up with Sherinian to find out more.

“Like having a brick wall coming at you!”

In 1974, King Crimson released one of their most underrated, at the time, albums. Red, created by the powerhouse trio Robert Fripp, John Wetton and Bill Bruford, didn’t even reach the UK Top 40 and yet it’s now regarded by many as a key work – not only in Crimson’s back catalogue but also as a foundation stone in what would later become known as progressive metal. On its 50th anniversary, Crimson’s alumni discuss the allure of an album that’s reduced some adults to tears.