18 May 2021: Magenta "Masters of Illusion"; Anthology of Experimental Music from China

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 The first half of tonight's show features Masters of Illusion, the 2020 release from Magenta, a Welsh progressive rock band formed in 1999 by ex-Cyan member Rob Reed. Reed takes his influences from artists such as Renaissance, Genesis, Mike Oldfield, Yes, Eurythmics and Björk.

Album review from Scott Medina:

Twenty years into their career finds Magenta returning to their roots. Not that they’ve ever strayed that far beyond prog’s traditional borders to begin with…mastermind Rob Reed has plenty of other projects to satisfy that itch (see Chimpan A’s latest “The Empathy Machine” or Kiama for a taster). However, after having played with some different colors over the years including 2017’s fine “We Are Legend” which included some more elements of electronics, Reed decided that it was time for a return-to-form album and dive into everything that makes classic progressive rock so compelling. In other words, going back to the spirit of their debut “Revolutions” or acclaimed follow-up “Seven”.

The musical approach isn’t the only old-school element to the album: the lyrical content revolves around the stars of classic horror films of the early-to-mid-20th Century. Apparently this is a shared love of the Reed brothers: Rob and brother Steve who writes all of the lyrics and shapes the thematic approach. While images of vampires and haunted mansions might jump to mind as likely lyrical content, the only ghosts present are those which haunt the real-life actors’ minds (as opposed to their reel-life). Each piece is an exploration of the arc of the actor’s career, which is often fraught with longing, disillusion or even tragedy. While horror movies might be the one element that ties these historical figures together, the tales that are sung could be relating to most any profession. Aside from a crack of thunder at the end of Lon Chaney Jr.’s story, there’s hardly a tell-tale sign of the genre at hand: no wolf-man howling, no witch cackling, no screams of agony. Just terrifyingly delicious… prog.

The core of Magenta has always been the formidable trio of Reed – who writes the music and covers guitars, backing vocals and all keyboards – celebrated vocalist Christina Booth and nimble guitarist Chris Fry whose chameleon skills can take on Howe/Hackett/Latimer/Gilmour without blinking. It only takes opening track “Bela” to establish that Dan Nelson’s active bass playing and Jiffy Griffiths’ solid drumming are more than up to the task of matching the skill of the founding trio. This rhythm section is a delight throughout the recording, adding to the melodic cadence of the material. This opening track, with a symphonic violin entrance that captures the essence of Legosi’s face in candlelight, is a strong mini-epic that finds Magenta at home in their power, making their compositional and musical skills appear deceptively easy. Booth gets to sing Legosi’s biography over-top fantastic Fry solos and Reed symphonic layering.  What’s not to love? Still, with the closing words of “The end”, the piece finishes with such a satisfying conclusion that it might have made a better album closer than opener.   Read more at https://www.sonicperspectives.com/album-reviews/magenta-masters-of-illusion/

1.	1.Bela 11:15
	2.	2.A Gift From God 08:28
	3.	3.Reach For The Moon 09:24
	4.	4.Snow 06:04
	5.	5.The Rose 11:24
	6.	6.Masters Of Illusion 16:39

 

The second half of tonight's show features a new release from Unexplained Sounds,  Anthology of Experimental Music from China.  Our thanks to Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst) for providing a pronotional copy of this release to FreeForm Radio.

China’s experimental music and sound art scene began to take shape in the post-Tiananmen era in the late 1990s. A few musicians from the mainland’s underground music scene started to experiment with new ways of making music while the music industry co-opted the once revolutionary and independent rock music scene. The Hong Kong based experimental musician Dickson Dee and the U.S. based artist Dajuin Yao introduced Western avant-garde, experimental music to the mainland through the Internet and through the organization of music tours and festivals. The practice and spread of sound art, particularly installation and performative kinds, was made possible partially by venues such as contemporary art galleries and studios that have come to flourish in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Developed outside of academic and official institutions, China’s sound art and experimental music scene encompasses noise music, experimental music, free improvisation, sound performance art, and sound installation.
Wang Jing

The Unexplained Sounds Group is proud to present an anthology of experimental music from China, showcasing veteran musicians alongside many young and promising artists from the contemporary underground music scene.

credits

released May 7, 2021

Edited by ©Unexplained Sounds Group
Curated and mastered by Raffaele Pezzella
Special thanks to Chunyang Yao and Jiahao Cao for their kind help
Cover image: A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains
detail, c.1113 (ink & colour on cloth) by Wang Ximeng
© 2021. All rights reserved 

	1.	姚春旸 Chunyang Yao - Hidden Meadows 04:06
	2.	刘一纬 Liu Yiwei - An Elegy of Brick 04:54
	3.	白水 Baishui - Stranded 05:59
	4.	若潭 ruò tán - 月 Moon 06:22
	5.	梁奕源 LiangYiYuan - The Confucian Pleasure Puppet 08:11
	6.	Broken Thoughts - vaguely remembered 02:23
	7.	Vavabond - 胎藏 03:24
	8.	英水帝江 Yingshui Dijiang - 大乐 05:41
	9.	花伦 Hualun - City blues 06:57
	10.	丰江舟 Feng jiangzhou - 败臼 03:35
	11.	李亦蕾 Li Yilei - Murmur 04:53
	12.	Aplx - Parallel Movement Landscape 05:23
	13.	洪启乐 Hong Qile - Yin 06:06
	14.	孫瑋 Sun Wei - Electromagnetic wave and vibration in Wetland Park 04:11
	15.	徐程 Xu Cheng - Music for metro train 04:00
	16.	李帶菓 Li Daiguo - Chengdu Tuberculosis Hospital 02:33

 

Tags

genesis progressive rock rock magenta progressive rock United Kingdom

experimental avant-garde drone improvisation musique concrete sound art Italy