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Please support FreeForm Radio and KMXT by going to KMXT.org and pledging your support.
Tonight KMXT will broadcast the City Council work session live with no set ending time. I'll be playing music when the meeting ends until 11 pm. Tune in for some great tunes!
Be sure to follow KMXT FreeForm Radio on Facebook and Bandcamp.
Please support FreeForm Radio and KMXT by going to KMXT.org and pledging your support.
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:
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1.Bela
11:15
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2.A Gift From God
08:28
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3.Reach For The Moon
09:24
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4.Snow
06:04
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5.The Rose
11:24
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6.Masters Of Illusion
16:39
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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.
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白水 Baishui - Stranded
05:59
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若潭 ruò tán - 月 Moon
06:22
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Vavabond - 胎藏
03:24
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花伦 Hualun - City blues
06:57
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丰江舟 Feng jiangzhou - 败臼
03:35
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李亦蕾 Li Yilei - Murmur
04:53
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洪启乐 Hong Qile - Yin
06:06
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Be sure to follow KMXT FreeForm Radio on Facebook and Bandcamp.
Please support FreeForm Radio and KMXT by going to KMXT.org and pledging your support.
KMXT will be broadcasting the Kodiak City Council work session tonight, beginning at 7:30 pm. If the
work session ends before 11 pm, I will be playing music until 11. Tune in for some interesting deep
progressive tracks.
Be sure to follow KMXT FreeForm Radio on Facebook and Bandcamp.
Please support FreeForm Radio and KMXT by going to KMXT.org and pledging your support.
This Friday, May 7, is BANDCAMP FRIDAY!
Musicians do not have to pay fees to Bandcamp for music sold on Bandcamp Friday.
Support the music you hear on FreeForm this Friday!
by Prog Nick
I
openly admit that I am a Magenta fanatic – I have loved this leading
Welsh Prog band for years. Having made that statement (but no apology
for it), I am tasked with giving an objective analysis of Magenta’s long-awaited new album, “We Are Legend”. (Buy it this Friday on Bandcamp)
Magenta officially comprises keyboard virtuoso/producer/composer Rob Reed, massively underrated guitarist Chris Fry, and award-winning vocalist Christina Booth. On this album, they are joined by regular live bassist Dan Nelson, and respected new drummer Jon ‘Jiffy’ Griffiths. Rob’s brother Steve contributes the lyrics.
Something that first attracted me to Magenta, particularly 2004‘s sophomore release “Seven” (one of my all-time favourite albums), was their ability to conjure Yes-like mindscapes, and make me feel the same sense of musical wonder that Yes created in the early 70’s. This was true Classic Prog, 21st Century style, with a stunning female vocalist. In Reed’s own words “Current prog bands are always scared and shy about admitting the influences of the great bands of the 70’s, and I wanted to…admit and celebrate those influences, and hopefully create something as worthwhile as those classic bands”. This he did, and we loved it.
One aspect that remained constant in Magenta’s earlier work was the extant presence of melody in every song. Melody emphasized by the unique combination of Reed’s composition and keyboard chops, Fry’s six-string excellence and Booth’s magnificent voice.
But after “Seven”, a few of the band’s releases variously displayed Reed’s penchant for wanting to “try something different”. This need, which was perfectly understandable for a musician of Reed’s stature, has, at times, resulted in varied responses, particularly when tougher or darker sounds were created (for example on 2008‘s “Metamorphosis”). There were, of course, many excellent moments on every album the band recorded, but the consistency of melody to be found on “Seven” was at times elusive. This matter was clearly and firmly addressed with Magenta’s 2013 release, “The Twenty-seven Club”. The latter was a clarion call, announcing that the classic sound of Magenta had returned. Very few people had a negative word to say about that album.
Which brings us to 2017, and guess what? When the new release was announced, Magenta’s eager fans were again informed that Reed was going to “try something different”. “Why,” I asked myself, “after the brilliance of The Twenty-Seven Club, would this great band want to change a thing?” I anticipated this release with a little trepidation, because I did not want the band that produced “Seven” and “The Twenty-Seven Club” to change. And honestly, I did not think that 2013’s masterful release could be bettered.
Well, dear Reader, you will be happy to know that my paranoia was completely unfounded. Change can indeed be good, and Mr Reed and his cohorts have just proved it. While this album is neither a repeat of “Seven” or “The Twenty Seven Club”, and it is in parts, even a departure from the Magenta of old, it is nonetheless brilliant in a different, yet still familiar way. While innovative and modern, it somehow remains faithful to the band’s classic roots, and is immensely fulfilling.
“We Are Legend” is comprised of one 27-minute epic and two shorter songs. Does this sound familiar? Well, you will be pleased to know that while Magenta have referenced their 70’s influences where necessary, they have also proceeded to innovate without compromise where they felt the need to do so, and the result is spectacular.
“Trojan” is a dystopian sci-fi story of war against machines attacking mankind from the ocean. A 27 minute journey, with several distinct parts, it starts with eerie keyboard sounds and a gentle melody that explodes into a heavy guitar passage – Magenta mean business. Early on, forceful new recruit Griffiths makes his presence felt, and while Reed and Fry call the instrumental shots, Nelson and Griffiths admirably complete an already formidable attack. We are under way, and Booth’s magnificent voice is introduced in one of the most powerful, driving verses that Magenta have created. A superb middle section, presenting the melody in gentler fashion, gives way to a stylish Fry solo at the sixth minute, after which Booth and the rest of the band play call-and-answer in a manner familiar to Magenta fans, but this time with a sci-fi twist.
There is a clear intention on this piece to give each performer a chance to shine, and this is in every manner successful. Above all, the song has every perspective you would desire in a Prog epic. Expect tenderness and anger, weight and light, dizzying mixed imagery, theatrical delivery, distinctly different parts stitched together into a common theme, and a strong pull at every one of your emotions.
The band is in top form and precision is the order of the day. Griffiths’ fills are perfectly worked out often to be exactly what Fry and Nelson are playing – it’s a considered performance, with every stroke carefully prepared, one believes, under Reed’s guidance. Fry’s guitar work, as always, is staggering. He performs jazz progressions with deceptive ease, and his interludes of acoustic picking are particularly tasteful. Of course his electric solos are, without exception, astounding. One also feels that Nelson, who despite his regular live appearances, recorded with Magenta for the first time here, has hit his stride with great precision and an immense sound. It goes without saying that Booth and Reed are magnificent performers, and deliver to the highest levels, as they always have.
With a song this length, the band is given room to breathe, and the composition goes through many peaks, valleys and everything in between. The main guitar solo is pure Floyd, and will unashamedly entice any Gilmour devotee. The gentle middle interlude gives Booth the scope to sound like an angel, with lyrics like ‘I look around in disbelief, our history is what brings me back to you.’ Her versatile voice goes from anguished wail to gentle caress, and reminds us that she more than deserves her numerous awards and accolades. Griffiths provides a roto-tom-like solo that is reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s “Time”, which leads into a section where Reed syncopates new-age keyboard effects with Griffiths’ double bass drum (possibly intended to conjure the huge robots marching forward). This in turn leads into a guitar riff that is pure Magenta and could have been on “Seven”. Finally, a gargantuan modern rock passage leads to an ending of consolation and peace. Are you getting the picture? It’s classic Magenta mixed with “something new”.
“Trojan” stands up with the best that Reed has delivered. Technical wizardry and copious instrumental dexterity are there, but they are never allowed to stand without reference to melody, which always commands the composition.
If there is a criticism to be made, it might be that sometimes Steve Reed’s lyrics can be stylistically repetitive. (For example he often to starts a line with a present participle such as ‘hoping’ or ‘thinking’, or an infinitive such as “to grow’ or ‘to live’.) This can become noticeable in its regularity, but a lyricist so prolific can be forgiven this foible.
Second song “Colours” is about Vincent van Gogh. It starts with what sounds like the music from a child’s toy or musical box, before exploding into a veritable layer cake of tortured progressive sound – as tortured as the man it describes. If the song is about the palette of a genius, the musical colours painted by the band conjure just that. Booth almost spits out the lyrics when adopting van Gogh’s persona, and she perfectly evokes his madness. The middle section once again features Fry in full Gilmour mode and Reed channeling Rick Wright. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The toy music returns to usher in an anguished build-up on organ, guitar and vocals, all counterpointing magically. Griffiths’ precision and tightness again display why he is the right choice for the Magenta drum throne. As van Gogh’s life reaches its tormented end, the band keep pace with the theme in a slow whirlwind of calculated musical madness, ending in quiet resignation. “Colours” is a great song that shows Magenta at their startling best.
“Legend” is a driving behemoth of a song about the last survivors on Earth, starting in 7/4 timing. Angular and pointed in its attack, melody is again not forgotten in the verses and choruses which are a perfect vehicle for Booth’s emotive range. Lots of modern sci-fi sound effects, created by studio artifice, are woven into the tapestry of the song (another “something new” for Magenta), but again, Booth’s melodious voice saves the song from the ordinary or the artificial. Fry’s solo is immense, and Booth’s refrain of “Its Over” will move you to tears. The final passage, a pastoral then triumphant slow-march to bliss, reminds us of the 70’s Yes influence that made us fall in love with Magenta to begin with. The closing of this passage ends the album on a massive tympanic climax.
The album’s excellent artwork has a dystopian sci-fi combat look that reflects the central themes in the music.
Despite challenges posed by Booth’s recent illness and some personnel changes, Magenta have never gone away. They are here to stay, and while there might be a new flavour, new members and some new sounds, the bedrock of tasteful 70’s Prog that is classic Magenta has also not gone away. It just has a new twist.
I could easily have been disappointed by this release, because “The Twenty Seven Club” created very high expectations for me. But that is not even mildly the case. Magenta have once again extended themselves beyond what any reasonable fan can expect, and have delivered something classic that will appease diehard fans, but also something new that might just conjure a new audience.
On the strength of this album, I remain a Magenta fanatic, and once again, make no apology for that.
Released on April 27th, 2017
Tracklisting:
1-Trojan 26:09
2-Colours 10:47
3-Legend 11:33
Ian Boddy continues to democratize the art of the modular with another compilation of even more daring emerging artists. He blows hot and cold with a fabulous split between complexity and ease. As much as there are tricks that require a little more patience, there are other tricks that catch us at the first attempt. This perfect balance supports the curiosity of discovery that can be done at the risk of our ears. But don't worry, what you'll find horrible on the first listen has the potential to be discovered with a new face while you push your experience of discovering the below of No.5 INTEGERS AND QUOTIENTS. (Buy it this Friday on Bandcamp)
Incantation comes from afar! Its distant breath accosts our ears with shimmering effects drawn in keyboard riffs. A ghostly shadow whispers a hooking melody while the riffs are structured in aggressive and repetitive loops. The bass line is monstrous in this title of Hélène Vogelsinger. It extends its hold which receives the texture of looped riffs that is not really far from Clara Mondshine's vocal effects. Iterations is one of the few tracks that seduces from the start. The notes of a nostalgic piano fall, as if abandoned by the pianist, in a universe of noise and static. They dance and twirl in the roundness of a double bass, creating this unexpected slow dance under a sky darkened by these strange noises and the telegraphy code disputes that become more and more nervous. Do I hear synth-guitar tears wailing in this canvas of devastation? Still, the track takes a livelier tangent with a rhythm running continuously towards a road to freedom. A superb track by Raffael Seyfried with good arrangements and an optimistic cinematic vision. Waving and Drowning brings us into the universe without tenderness of Stephan Whitlan. A cosmic wind and its stars are sucked into a huge black hole that struggles to contain its immense waves of woosshh. This black hole has a transparent tubular shape where we witness the mutation of sounds and a first dialogue with an entity as evasive as these filiform lines filled with wiiissshhh. In short, a vague title where the sounds and flattened pulsations converge in an intense finale of its tonal template. This is the kind of track that my friends and neighbors don't understand! I fell in love with Johnny Woods' excellent album Pavilions, released last summer. Cuckoo is in the same genre with an oscillating wave and its harmonious fluctuations where the excessive beat of a clatter is lost. The movement is very Teutonic in its vision, but not in its rhythmic level. Synth pads connect by saying mouan, while other phonic elements focus on creating a web where each new element brings its shadow to dance tirelessly around Cuckoo. I hung on without difficulty to this huge mosaic where a fade-out remains the only option.
I've heard a lot of great things about Polypores, and Clocks, Unravelling only confirms my eagerness to discover this painter from Preston, England. The flow is as hyperactive as Cuckoo but with delicious jerks and slowdowns on the fractured flow of a rhythm built on diodes with desynchronized and arrhythmic current. Lisa Bella Donna is another artist of whom we say only good things. She has the longest track on No.5 INTEGERS AND QUOTIENTS. Electronic Study #26 is a track with prismatic ambiences with ectoplasmic vocals over an atonal structure. An eerie humming insinuates itself with the radiation of a bass without harmonies until reaching a phase of violence, scribbling waves and sound graffiti that annoyed me for a good 90 seconds. Let's just say that it's in the middle of the track that a second listening becomes a reviewer's job and not a music lover's pleasure! At this point in the album, Delusion comes at the right time. Matths manages to recreate the sounds of a train, still a bit psychedelic, in an EDM structure. This first sustained beat here is as catchy as lively and supports a splendid melody pushed from the tip of our lips. The second half, which follows a bridge of ambiences, offers us an electronic rock bend with big and shiny effects of the modular. A beautiful bomb which is followed by a very cheerful track of Chuck van Zyl. The Zanti Misfits is a dance of the sequencer whose curves and variations attract a bass line in rhythmic corridors as ambient one to end by pouring in a final whose arrangements give a surreal tint to the second part of The Zanti Misfits. Philippe Petit joins the pool of artists with more complex sound orientations. Flirting on a razor's edge, Delicate Elementum moves from cosmic reverie to the suffering of the waves with the same ease as saying hat! It's a track that at times is annoying, while at other times what is annoying is charming. So, a title that we will appreciate a little more, especially with the numerous videos that show how this modular EM is made.
There are geniuses in this album who are able to connect our eyes to their music! And that's the best thing about the art of modular; the ability to believe in the incredible. For my part, I found that No.5 INTEGERS AND QUOTIENTS proposes a nice balance in rhythm, in melody and in the unexplainable.
Sylvain Lupari (01/05/21) ****½*
Available at DiN Records
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