The Canadian guitarist and multi-instrumentalist is stretching out to a world of possibilities. Mark Barron’s first steps on the road of conversion to prog came from a most unlikely source. Then a teenage guitar player in his own pop-punk band, Embassy, he and his bassist became intrigued by a lyric from Wheatus’ global hit single, […]
Tags: Issue 154
Adopting a new approach to his fusion of prog, metal and ambient music, the Polish guitarist has got the balance right. Jakub Zytecki may have cracked the work-life balance. Over the last nine years, this prodigiously talented guitarist – in tandem with his trusty rhythm section of bassist Michał Sarapata and drummer Józef Rusinowski – […]
Tags: Issue 153
The Polish cosmic proggers have transformed themselves from a studio project to a live act with name support. Polish art-proggers Amarok are a band that has been reborn not once but twice. Originally formed in Warsaw in 1999 by guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Michał Wojtas and guitarist Bartosz Jackowski, the band released three albums before […]
Tags: Issue 152
“Our music is a bit like the weather,” considers Artur Wolski, the guitarist and keyboard player of Polish proggy art-rockers Oudeziel. “There are songs that start on a lazy morning, when the fog evaporates and the sun rises. There are elements of a summer storm that comes suddenly. We live close to the Baltic Sea […]
Tags: Issue 151
Live performances by the Tunisian prog metallers ensure an ongoing dialogue with fans and a message of hope. Zahar Zorgati and Kevin Codfert – singer and keyboardist/producer respectively of Tunisian prog metellars Myrath – are laughing loud and long, incredulous at the cliché that bands make music for themselves and if anyone else likes it […]
Tags: Issue 150
While not all religious experiences lead to conversion, there are those powerful enough to merit artistic exploration. Ergo Northodoxian, a project that’s been specifically put together by Estonian promoter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Lauri Laubre after witnessing devotion so intense from followers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that it left him profoundly shaken. Visiting southern Ukraine […]
Tags: Issue 149
If anything has come to define Finnish prog-metallers Psychework, then it has to be the undercurrent of optimism battling against the odds that runs through their music. Across three albums – //The Dragon’s Year// (2016), //Karelian Hills// (2018) and 2023’s //Spark Of Hope// – the sextet of singer Antony Parviainen, guitarists J-V Hintikka and Juha Takanen, Otto […]
Tags: Issue 148
Transplanted to Berlin, the Czech musician rediscovered her mojo after an injury forced her to change instrument. “I had some issues with my hand,” sighs Petra Hermanova. “I had to stop playing guitar 12 years ago, so when I started thinking about what instrument could I have in my private life. There weren’t that many […]
Tags: Issue 147
Even before they’d recorded a note of music, TRYO (Chile) found themselves opening for prog royalty Yes at the prestigious Quinta Vergara Amphitheater in the coastal city of Viña del Mar. “It was a big honour!” beams band manager Ignacio Carvajal, who acts as translator for his charges. It was also the culmination of seven […]
Tags: Issue 146
The worst thing that can happen when sending a speculative mail is reading the word “no”, but fortunately for Dutch singer Sanne Rambags the answer was in the affirmative. Approaching seasoned jazz drummer Joost Lijbaart and experienced guitarist Bram Stadhouders to work with, the two musicians readily agreed. “Eight years ago, she was selected by […]
Tags: Issue 145
Formed in Prague the late 1990s and having undergone a variety of line up changes across four albums, Czech hard rocking proggers Votchi have stabilised both their membership and sound while looking beyond their borders. Founding member Mirek Mužík (keyboards/vocals) is now augmented by singer Alex McBeat, guitarist Martin Smejkal, bassist Dominik Vozobule, drummer Jan […]
Tags: Issue 144
Peruvian folk-metal-proggers are striking out with selected English language versions from their back catalogue. Though they’ve made an impact across South America, Flor De Loto are aiming to reach a wider global audience with their new album, Lines Of Nasca. Fusing Andean folk music with progressive rock and the power of heavy metal, the Peruvian […]
Tags: Issue 143
Taiwanese brothers mix up their native culture with western electronics and global psychedelia to blur genres. The brothers Hom Yu and Jiun Chi who make up the Taiwanese experimental band Mong Tong are pondering the differences between local and western funerals. “I think some of the funerals here are actually not sad,” ventures Hom Yu. […]
Tags: Issue 142
“Getting enough people to attend the show is tough, because there’s so much music out there.” Prog can be a pretty insular place, even at the best of times, but Ocean Districts guitarist Martin Lepalaan says that that’s especially true in his hometown, Tallinn. “It’s small: 400,000 people,” the band’s founder tells us over a […]
Tags: Issue 141