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.

VOYAGER TO BRING PROG TO EUROVISION!

IF IT’S OUT THERE, IT’S IN HERE

GODSTICKS: BACK WITH A WINNER?

New LP, This Is What A Winner Looks Like, draws on pop music… and Breaking Bad.

DARK STEVE HACKETT LPS MAKE THEIR VINYL DEBUT

Nineties titles Guitar Noir and Darktown on wax from June.

MARILLION: SEASONS END DELUXE REISSUE

Expanded version of Steve Hogarth’s 1989 debut with the band due out this May.

NEW TUNES FROM TORABI/WILEMAN

Heaven’s Sun is the latest artefact from the Karda Estra/The Utopia Strong linchpins.

WORRIEDABOUTSATAN GETS EXPANSIVE ON THE PIVOT

Next album might just be Gavin Miller’s biggest record yet.

WOBBLER’S FRØISLIE TELLS FOUR STORIES

The Norwegian band’s keyboardist unveils his solo debut, Fire Fortellinger.

ANDY JACKSON BACK WITH DITTY DOZEN!

The Pink Floyd engineer digs deep into the musical scales on new LP, Twelve Half Steps.

DESTINY CALLS FOR FAROESE STAR EIVØR ON NEW ALBUM

Viking-inspired sounds from the singer and co-composers.

FAD GADGETS

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

SKYND

Inspiring the wider music world…

PROG IN BRIEF

CLAYTON CALL/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES A restored version of Stop

NATT

Norwegians explore new worlds with deep, spacey sounds.

HANTERHIR

THE SAVING OF CADAN (Easy Action, 2018)

PORTALS FESTIVAL

Saluting thescene’ssupporting crew

PROG IN BRIEF

Wishbone vendi Ash’s Henihil classic iumqui 1972

JAN RIVERA

Puerto Rican guitarist mixes the flavours of home with contemporary flair.

HÖG SJÖ

Pop producer goes off-piste with masterful soundscapes.

YEMROT

Immersive one-man project inspired by Elton John. Kinda.

MATT DORSEY

The former Sound Of Contact multi-instrumentalist talks about how he overcame shyness to release a solo album, and why philosophy continues to underpin his own songwriting.

THE PROG INTERVIEW

AUBREY POWELL

JETHRO TULL

Ian Anderson draws on Viking mythology on the follow-up to The Zealot Gene – but no one’s living in the past on Tull’s 23rd album.

RICK WAKEMAN & THE ENGLISH ROCK ENSEMBLE

VENUE THE LONDON PALLADIUM DATE 22/02/2023 AND 23/02/2023

LIFESIGNS

VENUE THE HALF MOON, PUTNEY, LONDON DATE 05/03/2023

DREAM THEATER

VENUE EVENTIM APOLLO, LONDON DATE 21/02/2023 Back so

JOHN LODGE

VENUE THE KESWICK THEATRE, GLENSIDE, PA, USA DATE

GOJIRA

VENUE MOTORPOINT ARENA, NOTTINGHAM DATE 21/02/2023 SUPPORT ALIEN

FUSION 4

VENUE 45 LIVE, KIDDERMINSTER/THE CIVIC, STOURPORT DATE 02/03/2023-05/03/2023

RIVERSIDE

VENUE UNDERGROUND ARTS, PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA DATE 17/03/2023

JERRY HARRISON AND ADRIAN BELEW

VENUE THE VIC THEATER, CHICAGO, IL, USA DATE

ENSLAVED

VENUE USF VERFTET, BERGEN, NORWAY DATE 03/03/2023 SUPPORT

JOHN HACKETT BAND

VENUE RAVENSCOURT ARTS, LONDON DATE 11/02/2023 SUPPORT JOANNE

TRADING BOUNDARIES BOUTIQUE FESTIVAL

VENUE TRADING BOUNDARIES, FLETCHING DATE 18/03/2023 Trading Boundaries

BLACK MIDI

TINA KORHONEN VENUE THE VILLAGE UNDERGROUND, LONDON DATE

SUSANNA

VENUE CAFE OTO, LONDON DATE 06/03/2023 Susanna Wallumrød’s

YOGI LANG (RPWL)

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

Message Received

When Rush released their ninth studio album, Signals – their final record with longtime producer Terry Brown – one thing was clear: they had no intention of making another Moving Pictures. As the remaining members of the band prepare to unveil the 40th anniversary reissue, we uncover the space shuttle launch and unique Chemistry that inspired the birth of their keyboard era.

Where’s there’s a Twill there’s a Way!

They emerged into the world of prog in 2019 with The Thing With Feathers and now Exploring Birdsong have finally released their long-awaited second EP, Dancing In The Face Of Danger. Vocalist Lynsey Ward and drummer Matt Harrison bring Prog up to speed and reveal what it was really like working with Sir Paul McCartney on one of the tracks.

RUSH THROUGH TIME

Rush fans rejoice! Crown Lands are back with their second full-length album, Fearless, and it’s a treasure trove of quality musicianship, complex time signatures and sci-fi-inspired lyrics that turn the prog dial up to 11. The duo with a huge sound reveal why they’ve ditched their trademark blues rock in favour of carrying the torch for their Canadian musical heroes.

Game On!

Never meet your heroes, so the saying goes. But The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord has never been one to stick to the rules, so when Prog asked if he’d like to interview Alan Parsons about the new Alan Parsons Project box set for The Turn Of A Friendly Card, he leapt at the chance. Here’s what happened when Bruce met Alan.

Bringing It Back

Comprising former members of IQ and Frost*, Rain have approached the challenges of creating their “difficult” second album with both passion and flair. But, as drummer Andy Edwards and keyboard player Rob Groucutt reveal, Radio Silence wasn’t without its stressors and things could have been very different had their 2020 debut not been so well accepted…

Hard As A Rök

After a gap of more than 20 years, Jethro Tull have returned with their second album of new material this decade. RökFlöte finds the band exploring Norse mythology with a harder edge than last year’s The Zealot Gene. Prog catches up with Ian Anderson to discuss Norse gods, ageing and his ambitious plan to release three studio albums in as many years.

The Land Before Timeland

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard have never shied away from the studio, but the psychedelic Aussies broke all records by releasing not one, not two, but five albums in 2022. Now back in the studio to work on their 24th long-player, bandleader Stu Mackenzie reveals the secrets of their impressive creativity and why he’s doing it all for the fans.

Carry On Constantly

Despite a steady flow of classic live releases, Hawkwind have always kept looking forwards and, with the release of their 35th studio album, they’re now more aware than ever that The Future Never Waits. Mainman Dave Brock discusses the organic process that led to the creation of their topsy turvy concept album.

Fantasy Island

Forget getting together in the country, Silver Moth met up at a remote studio on the Isle Of Lewis for their debut album, Black Bay. Members of the new ethereal post-rock collective, which include Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, speak about stepping into the unknown to create some outstanding art.

Walking The Plank

After almost nine years of musical silence, Todmorden’s finest instrumental trio are sailing back over the horizon with a brilliant new album. Where have Plank been? How can a dog tune a guitar? What role does Barry Manilow play in their music? And how many time signature changes are too many? These questions and more are answered as David Rowe talks to Prog about their triumphant return.