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POST-ROCK

Alex Lynham guides us through the peaks and valleys of essential post-rock.

After 2020’s mammoth triple album, Tautology, American postrockers El Ten Eleven could have been forgiven if they’d taken an extended break. However, they’re already back with a new record, New Year’s Eve (Joyful Noise). The album leans into the groovier side of their discography, while retaining their trademark sense of atmosphere and space via the use of sprawling pads and ambient loops. The title track is a good starting point, as is the complex, multipart journey of Meta Metta.

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Prog
Issue 129
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REGULARS
PROGPRESENTS...
Discovering
Ed’s Letter
NEXT ISSUE ON S ALE MAY 27 Hello,
BLODDY 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.
BILL BRUFORD MAKES A SONG AND DANCE
IF IT’S OUT THERE, IT’S IN HERE
ROXY MUSIC’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR
Bryan Ferry and band mark their halfcentury with 13 concerts, and reissues
IT’S OFFICIAL: TIM BOWNESS HAS A BUTTERFLY MIND
The No-Man artist marks 40 years in music with new LP
JAMES LABRIE BACK WITH SOLO ALBUM
The acoustic sound of A Beautiful Shade Of Grey was inspired by Led Zeppelin
THE TANGENT’S NEW ‘MEGA PROG’ RECORD
Andy Tillison breaks down Songs From The Hard Shoulder, out on InsideOut in June
OPETH’S IN CAUDA VENENUM EXTENDED AND REISSUED
Mikael Åkerfeldt and band are on tour with Mastodon
JO QUAIL’S FESTIVAL COMMISSION TO AIR
The cellist will unveil The Cartographer at Roadburn in April, with album to follow
SOLO DEBUT FOR HAKEN GUITARIST
Charlie Griffiths gets heavy and digs deep on “palaeontology-based” Tiktaalika.
KEITH EMERSON’S CAREER CELEBRATED IN NEW BOOK
Due this autumn, an in-depth look at the ELP star’s life
FAD GADGETS
Rhodri Marsden on three of the latest must-have gizmos currently putting the prog in progress
NIGEL GLOCKLER
Inspiring the wider music world…
WHAT STRANGE BEASTS
Washington go-getters tap into classic harmonies on their psych-soaked debut
JEFF BUCKLEY GRACE
(Columbia, 1994)
JYOCHO
Our far-out trip to far-flung prog
LALU
French soundtrack composer embraces pop-prog with an all-star guestlist
OMEGA POINT
Ex-The Reasoning bassist teams up with Karnataka and Ghost Community players
TONY PATTERSON & DOUG MELBOURNE
Genesis-inspired British duo create an emotional tribute on their second album
ROGER ENO
Brian’s talented brother discusses inequality, Satie and using classical orchestration on his new solo album, The Turning Year
THE PROG INTERVIEW DAVE SINCLAIR
Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s Dave Sinclair. A former member of The Wilde Flowers and Caravan co-founder, his CV reads like a Who’s Who of the Canterbury scene with stints in Camel and Hatfield And The North. This keyboard player and songwriter is also a solo artist in his own right and, for the last couple of decades, has been living in Japan. His latest release, Hook Line & Sinclair, collates unreleased home and studio recordings from the last 40 years and includes guest appearances from his old bandmates Robert Wyatt, Pye Hastings, Jimmy Hastings and Richard Sinclair. He discusses his career so far
RUSH
A stellar unreleased live set, toy cars and reimagined artwork? The Canadian trio’s 1981 masterpiece gets the reissue treatment
COHEED AND CAMBRIA
Vaxis II: A Window On The Waking Mind ROADRUNNER
CHURCH OF THE COSMIC SKULL
There Is No Time SEPTAPHONIC RECORDS
GREENSLADE AND THOMAS
G&T ANGEL AIR
DIVIDED BY DESIGN
Irretraceable Steps
EVERGREY
A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament) NAPALM
GABRIEL KELLER
Clair Obscur GABRIELKELLER.BANDCAMP.COM
GURU GURU
Made In Switzerland – Official Bootleg GURUGURU1.BANDCAMP.COM
FISH
The Last Straw – Live In Glasgow 2018 CHOCOLATE FROG
KAPREKAR’S CONSTANT
The Murder Wall TALKING ELEPHANT
HÄLLAS
Isle Of Wisdom
KIRK HAMMETT
Portals BLACKENED RECORDINGS
HIGH PULP
Pursuit Of Ends ANTI- RECORDS
KALANDRA
Kingdom Two Crowns: Norse Lands Soundtrack BY NORSE
KITE PARADE
The Way Home WHITE KNIGHT RECORDS
LAIBACH
Wir Sind Das Volk: Ein Musical Aus Deutschland MUTE
MESHUGGAH
Immutable ATOMIC FIRE
LORDS OF FORM
Flying Chromium LORDSOFFORM.BANDCAMP.COM
OH HIROSHIMA
Myriad NAPALM
OKSANA LINDE
Aquatic And Other Worlds BUH RECORDS
PROGRESSIVE METAL
Dom Lawson buckles up for a delve into the darker, heavier side
THE PINEAPPLE THIEF
Give It Back KSCOPE
PREHISTORIC ANIMALS
The Magical Mystery Machine (Chapter Two) GLASSVILLE RECORDS
PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS
Night Gnomes MARATHON ARTISTS
SEL BALAMIR
()rphans SELBALAMIR.BANDCAMP.COM
SNOWMAN
In A Better Place SNOWMANPROGROCK.BANDCAMP.COM
THE CHEMISTRY SET
Pink Felt Trip FRUITS DE MER
TIGER MOTH TALES
A Song of Spring WHITE KNIGHT RECORDS
PURE REASON REVOLUTION
Above Cirrus INSIDEOUT
DEVIN TOWNSEND
Dreampiece
VOLA
Live From The Pool MASCOT
WARDRUNA
Kvitravn – First Flight Of The White Raven MUSIC FOR NATIONS
WORRIEDABOUTSATAN
Bloodsport THIS IS IT FOREVER
XPROPAGANDA
The Heart Is Strange ZTT
ZACH TABORI
Soft Boiled FLESH FURY
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Grant Moon has a rummage down the back of the Prog sofa for the ones that nearly got away…
JADE WARRIOR
Jade Warrior/Last Autumn’s Dream
BB BLUNDER
Workers’ Playtime ESOTERIC
ROGER CHAPMAN
Moth To A Flame – The Recordings 1979-1981 ESOTERIC
STEVE JOLIFFE
Magical/Dream/A Beautiful Mystery/333 RSK ENTERTAINMENT
NEKTAR
…Sounds Like This ESOTERIC
MIKE RUTHERFORD
Smallcreep’s Day MUSIC ON CD
PORCUPINE TREE
The Sky Moves Sideways TRANSMISSION
OLIVER WAKEMAN
Collaborations ELFLOCK RECORDS
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Dave Brock Presents… This Was Your Future: Space Rock (And Other Psychedelics) 1978-1998 CHERRY RED
1973: THE GOLDEN YEAR OF PROGRESSIVE ROCK
Geoffrey Feakes SONICBOND PUBLISHING
OPETH: EVERY ALBUM, EVERY SONG
Jordan Blum SONICBOND PUBLISHING
RADIOHEAD: LIFE IN A GLASSHOUSE
John Aizlewood PALAZZO EDITIONS
STRAT! THE CHARISMATIC LIFE & TIMES OF TONY STRATTON SMITH
Chris Groom WYMER PUBLISHING
WILL IRELAND VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR
VENUE THE LONDON PALLADIUM DATE 24/02/2022
NORDIC GIANTS
As society was forced in and out of lockdown,
TANGERINE DREAM
It seems bizarre that Tangerine Dream should have
THE PINEAPPLE THIEF
When the pandemic first struck, The Pineapple Thief were
ANDERS BUAAS
The great and good of progressive music give us a glimpse into their prog worlds. As told to Grant Moon
FEATURES
IN MEMORY OF GARY BROOKER
Procol Harum’s singer-songwriter Gary Brooker MBE took the band from the British R&B scene to the burgeoning prog movement, and he quickly became one of the genre’s pioneers. His distinctive voice added elegance to the band’s unique blend of baroque pop and progressive rock, and his classical piano training made him a sought-after guest musician appearing with a wide variety of artists from George Harrison to Kate Bush. He died from cancer in February, at the age of 76, and we pay tribute to the rich musical legacy he leaves behind
Take One: Action!
It was the album that was never supposed to be, and now Rush’s Moving Pictures has been given a 40th anniversary reissue. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson recall angry mobs, out-of-control aeroplanes and Superman in the story behind the hugely successful record that gave us Tom Sawyer and defined the sound of rock music in the early 80s
Arabian Nights
When it was released in 1975, Scheherazade And Other Stories divided critics with its sprawling title track and concept. As Renaissance’s unusual sixth album heads towards its 50th anniversary, it’s been lovingly remastered, expanded and reissued via Esoteric. Longstanding vocalist Annie Haslam recalls the story of its inspired creation
It’s A Sign
In the early 80s, keyboard players William Gilmour and Martin Russell left The Enid to form Craft. Despite the promise of good things following the release of their self-titled album in ’84, the band disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared. Five decades on, the long out-of-print Craft has been expanded and reissued as First Signs [Definitive Edition], and Prog catches up with the pair to find out more
OLD DOGS & NEW TRICKS
One of this year’s biggest surprises has been the announcement of Alex Lifeson’s new synthrock project Envy Of None. With their self-titled debut album out now, the Rush guitarist, along with bassist Andy Curran and up-and-coming vocalist Maiah Wynne, tell Prog all about its inception and the very special tribute to Neil Peart that closes their first chapter
WALL OF SOUND
Folk prog collective Kaprekar’s Constant scale new heights on their third album The Murder Wall, telling the stories of success and failure conquering the north face of Europe’s most forbidding mountain, the Eiger. The collective’s founders Nick Jefferson, Al Nicholson and Mike Westergaard explain how they drew their inspiration for the album among the ropes and ice picks
A Spring In His Step
Peter Jones has been making elegant sounds as Tiger Moth Tales for almost a full decade, but on his sixth album, he’s decided to go back to basics with a more of a traditional prog rock approach. Here, he discusses the upbeat A Song Of Spring, the perils of setting tight deadlines, and what lies ahead for Camel
The World’s Your Oyster
It’s been seven years since prog metallers Symphony X last released an album, but guitarist Michael Romeo hasn’t been idly twiddling thumbs. Prog finds out more about his grand third solo album, War Of The Worlds, Pt. 2, and what may be ahead for his day job band
The Simple Life
When experimental Norwegian artist Jenny Hval found herself forcibly isolated during 2020’s lockdown, her musical ideas were stripped back to near-pop song structures. But what Hval calls ‘pop’ has become Classic Objects, her first release on 4AD and one of the most intriguing records you’ll hear this year
Animal Instinct
John Boegehold defied the gloom of the last two years by escaping into the new worlds he created on the new Pattern- Seeking Animals album. The songwriter and band founder talks to Prog about cranking up the energy, escaping the side-project label, and steering away from the darkness on Only Passing Through
Let There Be Light
When kosmiche pioneer Michael Rother embarked on a two-day drive from Germany to Italy to spend time with his partner, Vittoria Maccabruni, he had no idea that a sparkling new album would be the result. The couple tell Prog how As Long As The Light brought hope during dark times with a little help from David Lynch’s filmography
New Dawn Rising
After eight years, several line-up changes and a major relocation, Cornwall-based symphonic proggers The Emerald Dawn are finally starting to make some waves. Following the release of their fourth album, To Touch The Sky, the quartet’s vocalist and keyboard player Tree Stewart and guitarist Ally Carter take Prog on a musical journey from Scotland to England’s south-west coast
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