KEV ROWLAND: FAMOUS IN SLOVAKIA?
Somehow Kev's first volume has reached all the way into darkest Slovakia, where it has been reviewed by the Rockovica site - https://rockovica.com/zurnal/kev-rowland-the-progressive-underground-vol-1/
Published in Slovakian, translated using
Google Translate
When I was looking for external collaborators
for ROCKOVICA.com in May 2019, I approached several foreign reviewers. Once
again, my past experience has been confirmed - from absolute ignorance, to
asking money for each article, to promises that will never come true.
There was only one exception - Kev Rowland. I
had no idea who I had the honor of. His response arrived in the post office in
August 2019 with an apology for the delay and a brief statement: "Hi Pito,
if my articles are useful to your site, I have no problem with publishing them…
If you are interested, I will send you a complete list of my latest
contributions ... "
At the same time he sent me one book in
electronic form - The Progressive Underground Volume 1.
Who's Kev Rowland anyway?
“From 1990 to 2006, I ran Feedback fanzine in
the UK, writing about bands that had never devoted themselves to mainstream,
many of which were in the progressive underground. I established close
relationships especially with many British bands like Freewill, Credo, Galahad…
I have explored literally thousands of cassettes and CD bands from around the
world. During this period, I also contributed to the French progzine Acid
Dragon, the famous Rock 'n' Reel, as well as the Ghostland website. In 2006, I
moved to New Zealand and suspended Feedback. (This was then renamed Amplified,
when I left at my request.) I have produced over 80 editions with over 11,000
printed pages.
In New Zealand, I stopped writing and
reviewing, but gradually returned to the scene and began to contribute to many
pages and magazines. I put myself into it with the same zeal as 20 years ago.
In 2014, however, I stopped working on a book that contains all my progressive
reviews for Feedback. I finished it at the end of 2016…
I write about various music styles, from
acoustic and jazz to all types of rock (progressive, melodic, hard) to the most
extreme metal and avant-garde. All of my reviews appear in a printed version of
the British fanzine Amplified (still active after 30 years), and I also submit
them to the weekly electronic magazine Gonzo, Polish www.mlwz.pl (where Artur publishes several of my
English-language reviews every day), and PowerofProg.com, HouseofProg.com,
Progressor.net, and more. I also contribute to www.Background.com, the French
progzine Acid Dragon. If the band is listed, the review also appears on
ProgArchives, all metal on Metalmusicarchives and jazz on Jazzmusicarchives.
Phew!
I try to discover and promote the “new” bands
that deserve it. In 2019 I was approached by a representative of Rockovica.com
and I agreed to publish my articles in Slovak.”
- THE PROGRESSIVE UNDERGROUND VOLUME 2 -
In the first part of his book, Kev Rowland
presents Feedback magazine reviews, now renamed Amplified, which has long been a
leading publication. If we want to understand what Kevin was up to, we have to
realize that his writing about music began in years when there was no way of
talking about the internet and some super-fast distribution of articles.
Progressive music was largely uninterested in large print media and was pushed
into the underground. Luckily, there were a few "fools" who didn't
accept it and spread progressive rock to music fans. Among them was also the author
of this book, covering a wide musical range, which has developed into one of
the most famous and popular reviewers.
As the name implies, this is the first
volume, two more will follow this year. The unit offers reviews from the years
1991-2006 and is an artist under the letter A-H. For me a lot of unknown but
also known artists. 300 pages about music, mostly shorter but concise reviews.
They are started by the Swedish progressive group A.C.T with their debut album ‘Today‘s
Report’ and finished by jazz artist Gary Husband with ‘The Things I See
(Interpretations Of The Music Of Allan Holdsworth)’.
Volume 1 offers the following:
A.C.T., Abarax, Abbfinoosty, Abel Ganz,
Abiogenesi, Acid Mother Gong, Adachi Kyodai, Addison Project, AD Infinitum,
Advent, Aelian, Aesculus Hipp, After, After Crying, After The Fall, After@All,
Afterglow, Agarta, Ageness, Agent Cooper, Ajalon, Jan Akkerman, Alaska, Albion,
Al-Bird, Alias Eye, Alien On My Mind, Alientar, Alkemy, Daevid Allen, Daevid
Allen & Russell Hibbs, Amarok, The Amber Light, Ambervoid, Amorphis,
Anabis, Anathema, Andeavour, Robert Andrews, Anekdoten, Animator, Annalist,
Anyone's Daughter, Arachnes, Aragon, Archetype, Ardency, Areknames, Arena, Ark,
Arkus, Artension, ARZ, Asgard, Ashada, Asia, Astralasia, Ataraxia, Aton's , A
Triggering Myth, Atria, Attica, At War With Self, Ausia, Axiom, Kevin Ayres,
Ayreon, Marvin Ayres, Mayvin Ayres + Peter Gomes, Azazello, Max Bacon, Vladimir
Badirov, Frank Balestracci, Band of Rain, Peter Banks, Barclay James Harvest
Featuring Les Holroyd, Barrock, Colin Bass, Adrian Belew, Believe, Robert
Berry, Beyond The Labyrnith, Big Big Train, Black Bonzo, Black Bonzo,
Blackfield, Black Jester, The Black Noodle Project, Tim Blake, Blow Up
Hollywood, Blurt, Blyndsyde, Tomas Bodin, Jean Pascal Boffo, Bolt, The Bond,
Andrew Booker, Christian Boule, Tim Bowness, Brassé, Brighteye Brison,
Broadcast, Brother Ape, Budderfly, Tim Burness, Maryen Cairns, Cairo,
California Guitar Trio, Laurent Calomne, Robert Calvert, Carpathia Project, The
Carpet Knights, Carptree, Cashmere, Casino, Cast, Castarnac, Casual Affair,
Marc Catley & Geoff Mann, Catweazle, Centrozoon, Cerebus Effect, Chain, Dennis
Chambers, Jeff Berlin, David Fiuczynski, T. Lavitz, Chandelier, Chaos Code,
Cherno, Chroma Kay, Circus, Cirkus, Citizen Cain, Citriniti, Cleopatra's
Needle, Cliffhanger, Climate of Earth, Cloudscape, The Coenobite, Collage,
Colorstar, Colosseum, Colt, Coltsfoot, Concerto Moon, Conqueror, Conspiracy,
Court, The Covenant, Craft, Credo, Cross, David Cross, Cross 'n' Crazy, Cryptic
Vision, Crystal Maze, Crystal Phoenix, Vedres Csaba, Curious Works, Curved Air,
Cyan, Istvan Cziglan, D Sound, Daimonji, Damien Steele, Martin Darvill and
Friends, Darwin's Radio, Darxtar, Alan Davey, Simon Davies, Dawnlights, Day
Shift, Dead Soul Tribe, Death Organ, Degree Absolute, Deimos, Delta Cyphei
Project, Deluc, Der Spyra, Deyss, DFA, DGM, Dialog, Different Trains, Difficil Equilibrio,
Digital Ruin, Dilemma, Discipline, Djamra, Julius Dobos, Rudi Dobson, Tim
Donahoe, Troy Donockley & Dave Bainbridge, Geoffrey Downes, Drahk Von Trip,
Drama, Dreadnaught, Dream Aria, Dream Machine, The Dreaming, Drifting Sun,
Sergey Dudin, Dulcimer, Dynamic Lights, Dyonisos, Earthling Society,
Earthstone, East Wind Pot, Eat Static, Eccentric Orbit, Echolyn, Eden Burning,
Edera, Edhels, Egdon Heath, Eldritch, Electric Outlet, Elegant Simplicity,
Emerald, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Keith Emerson & The Nice, E Motive,
Empty Tremor, Alan Emslie, Enchant, The Enid, Roger Eno, Ensemble Nimbus,
Epidermis, Epilogue, Roberto Erdesz, Er Malak, Michael Ernst, Eskaton,
Evenfall, Event, Evergrey, Everon, Evolution, Exhibit A, Existence, Eyestrings,
Ezra, F.H.C., Faith, Fancyfluid, Fantasmagoria, Fantasyy Factoryy, Farmakon,
The Fellowship, Mike Figgis, Final Conflict, Finisterre, Finnegan’s Wake,
Finneus Gauge, First Band From Outer Space, Fish, Fitzpatrick, David
Fiuczynski, Flamborough Head, Flat 122, Flight 09, The Flower Kings, Fluxury,
Focus, Fonya, For Absent Friends, Forest Stream, Forgotten Suns, Jack Foster
III, Frágil, Framauro, Frameshift, Framework, Free Love, Freewill, Sally
French, Frog, Frogflavor, Frogg Café, Peter Frohmader, Frost*, Fruitcake, Fugato
Orchestra, The Future Kings Of England , The Fyreworks, The Gak Omek, Galahad,
Galahad Acoustic Quintet, Galleon, Gandalf, Garden Wall , Julian Garner, Jerry
Gaskill, TheGathering, Gecko’s Tear, Peter Gee, Gentle Giant, George Velvet,
Gerard, Jim Gilmour, Ghosts Of Dawn, Gordon Giltrap, Glass, Glass Hammer, Gong,
Good Authority, Tadachi Goto, Grace, Grand Stand, Grass, Gratto, Greenslade,
Grendel, Grey Lady Down, The Guardian’s Office, Yngve Guddal And Roger Matte,
The Guitar Orchestra, Trey Gunn, Steve Hackett, Hamadryad, Happy The Man,
Gordon Haskell, Annie Haslam, Hatfield And The North, Hauteville, Hawkwind,
Haze, Head Pop Up, Hecenia, Henry Fool, Heon, Steve Hillage, Steve Hillman,
Tracy Hitchings, Roger Hodgson, Holy Lamb, House Of Spirits, House/Goodway,
Steve Howe, Höyry-Kone , Gary Husband
In the foreword, Stu Nicholson (Galahad)
speaks to the reader, on the back of the cover are comments by Greg Spawton
(Big Big Train) and Clive Nolan (Arena, Pendragon). The cover itself is by
Martin Springett.
If you can call it that way, Kev writes in a
style that both rock enthusiasts from under the Tatier and Říp will understand,
without having to have a diploma in English. This is the biggest asset for me,
of course, apart from the albums he has introduced. For me clearly - thumbs up!
Kev, thank you very much !!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment