JON ANDERSON IN THE NEW EDITION OF PROG MAG

Prog 28 is on sale today. Cover star Jon Anderson talks us through the year in prog – 1972 – which celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year, with help from Genesis, Renaissance, VdGG, BJH, Greenslade, Caravan and Hatfield & The North. It’s an intriguing read and there’s also your own Top 10 prog albums from 1972 for you to peruse over as well (don’t complain – you voted for them!). Jon also talks, in an exclusive interview, about life outside of Yes, his future plans, including his long-awaited follow-up to Olias Of Sunhillow and his forthcoming liv show at the Sadlers Wells Theater in London in August.

http://www.progrockmag.com/news/new-prog-mag-on-sale-3/

Check out Jon Anderson's Gonzo Artist Page

Invisible Rays

CD review...

"Invisible Rays"

Morgan Ågren, Henry Kaiser and Trey Gunn

Released March 2012 by Gonzo


When three guys meet at a conference and find there's a few hours to fill in, what do they do?

Well, they might go to a bar and chill out, maybe shoot some pool. Or they might rent some studio time, have a bit of an instrumental jam, and then release the results as an album.

Happily it's the second scenario that happened here, which is just as well really, as listening to a CD of blokes having beers and playing pool would be seriously boring after a short while.

Trey Gunn (King Crimson), Henry Kaiser, and Morgan Agren (drummer with Swedish proggers Kaipa - formerly Ura Kaipa) met in Sweden and this album is the outcome: eleven tracks of improvisational prog.

The opener will likely be comfortable territory for King Crimson fans or even Van der Graaf Generator fans, with its 22-minutes of splashes of guitar textures, occasional grunge, sub-climaxes and then quieter patches, all underpinned by solid drumming patterns.

I always read the CD blurb before I review something, and so I knew the title track was 22 minutes long. I've seldom known 22 mins pass so swiftly! Really enjoying it, I wondered what had gone wrong when it faded out. Was there a technical problem with my playback gear? No, it's just that time flies when you're having fun.

The bane of the music business is categories. However, music journalists love to label things, and 'improvisational prog' is the one I'm going for, here.

Or maybe "experimental instrumental prog" - yes, that's a term that will scare many rock fans straight out the door! However, it's prog with an 80s heavy metal feel, though. In the absence of any vocals, the guitars have to do the talking, and, yeah, I like what they're saying!

Both the opening and closing tracks are lengthy free-form jams, and act as "bookends" for tracks 2 thru 10. These nine tracks are fairly short and somewhat less avant-garde than the bookend tracks. They cover a range of moods and styles, including even a veer towards "tech house" or maybe "techno"; some ELP-like ramblings; and occasional wild excursions up and down the guitar frets.

Since the (almost) passing of the days of vinyl, I seldom bother to pay much attention to what an album cover looks like. This one's 1950s science fiction design I found most striking, though.

A thoroughly good prog release. One wonders if, if these guys decide to do a follow-up, could they achieve the same spontaneity and energy if that project were pre-arranged? Possibly not. But I live in hope that this album isn't a one-off!

(review by Sonic_Hawk)

Buy it now dudes

'WALLY' IN THE NEWS

Wally is a British progressive rock band formed by singer song writer Roy Webber in Harrogate in the early seventies. The band was signed to Atlantic Records in 1974 after entering a contest organised by the music paper Melody Maker. Unfortunately the band did not win the competition but they did catch the eye of One of the judges at the competition, presenter of the Old Grey Whistle Test Bob Harris who oversaw their prize which was to record a session for his Radio 1 programme. Through Bob the band were signed to Atlantic Records and Bob subsequently produced the band’s debut self titled album alongside Rick Wakeman. The band also enjoyed a number of high profile concerts including an appearance at the 1974 Crystal Palace garden Party which was headlined by Rick Wakeman and after being managed briefly by the manager of Yes Brian Lane would support Yes also at a number of high profile concerts.

Read on...

Daedalus Motherland New Album and Video

The Italian prog-metal band Daedalus release their first official video for the song "Until you're here", taken from the brand new album "Motherland".
You can watch it following this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knMn0j-NpWw

"Motherland" has been released by Galileo Records distributed through Gonzo. The album contains 11 tracks of fresh and powerful metal and features special guests including Roland Grapow (Helloween, Masterplan), Trevor (Sadist) and Elisa Montaldo (Il Tempio delle Clessidre).

Official website:

www.progdaedalus.it

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/progdaedalus


You can also purchase the Daedalus album Motherland directly from the Gonzo website here:

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15276

Night Of The Prog 6 Festival!

Galileo Records is proud to announce that the Galileo Band SKY ARCHITECT will take part in this year’s prestigious Progressive Rock festival Night Of The Prog 6 in Loreley Germany.

The full line-up is a fantastic collection of bands and if you want to attend the concert you can buy tickets and pay using PayPal from the Galileo website here:

http://galileo-records.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54&Itemid=47

In only a few years this progressive Rock festival has become one of the leading Progressive Rock Festivals in Europe and possibly the world. The VI Night Of The Prog Festival will take place on July 8th and 9th 2011.

DREAM THEATER are confirmed as the Festival Headliner of the 6th Night of the Prog Festival. The bill will also include German Prog Legend ELOY who will be performing their first show for 12 years on Friday July 8th . RIVERSIDE will close the Friday as Co-Headliner.

IQ and ANATHEMA are confirmed to appear on Saturday 9th HAKEN, MOON SAFARI and MARTIGAN have also been added to the Line IP.

Finally SKY ARCHITECT, RPWL and THRESHOLD are the 3 final acts now confirmed completing the festival line up.

Line Up:
Friday 08. July 2011 Get In 16 h
MARTIGAN 16.15 h
SKY ARCHITECT 17.30 h
THRESHOLD 18.45 h
ELOY 20.30 h
RIVERSIDE 22.30 h
End 00 h
Saturday 09. July 2011 Get In 12 h
MOON SAFARI 12.15 h
HAKEN 13.45 h
RPWL 15.15 h
IQ 17.15 h
DREAM THEATER 20.00 h
ANATHEMA 22.30 h
End 00 h