our blog
When Prog goes pop!
Steve Smith
…its always been a thrill for me. That hope that respected Prog artists will get some wider recognition and appreciation from the masses. And the music of course can be nice and fresh and crisp too.
A leaner sound but still with plenty of twiddly bits, plus of course the latest in keyboard & recording technology that alas I could only dream of as a young keyboard player.
However, such forays into commercialism can be problematic, as a grizzled older musician I’ve come to note.
A hit single for It Bites from their first album was probably the worst thing that could have happened to them - not because of the music I hasten to add - I was and still am a fan of It Bites - but what does a record company do with musicians who want to do more than just that? And probably some of those early non-Prog fans got a bit confused too.
It works for the more established - with the right financial backing of course. Yes’s 90125 is just brilliant, it’s Prog, but it’s not, if you know what I mean. Hell I’m even excited by The Buggles’s brief tenure with the band - that crisp sound I was referring to is all over Drama!
I’ve pictured Asia & Camel also - some great Prog/ rock/ pop crossover stuff there, but to my mind keeping up that mix of styles without business and distribution support (on a large scale and over a long time) can be difficult. Is it easier to nail your colours to mast and stay “in style” for the duration? Your fans would know where they stand, but how would you develop as a musician?
Genesis? Ah well, er, difficult to discuss without opening up the whole “Did Phil Collins help Genesis’s commercial direction/success” debate which I won’t start here (I should say I’m a fan to the point of super-bore!) but let’s face it, isn’t it great that the band that were playing “The Return of the Giant Hogweed” in ‘71 were able to play to millions 20 years later in the early ‘90s? Regardless of line up & musical changes, I think that’s something to celebrate.
Whatever your own brand of Prog is, I hope you continue to enjoy it. We’re doing our best to keep it alive in our own way. Writing at the time of the launch of our debut album - with some really great reviews - I can say there’s definitely more to come
March 19 2023
Today was the most unbelievably tragic day.
Our much loved brilliant bass player, Stewart, died suddenly at his home. Mark was there at the time. Stewart was the most incredible musician and his style and flair was bringing the tracks to life.
Sadly we have only one completed song - Circles but we know Stewart would want us to continue and we will do. In his honour.
March 2023 - Some exciting news coming soon
We’re almost ready to get cracking and let people finally hear what we've been up to. Most exciting!
Feb 2023 - recording is two thirds complete
We’ve now recorded all the parts for most of the songs with John and Stewart adding their guitar parts. The addition of the guitars has made us rethink a few of the other parts so keyboards and drums have been revisited.
The completed songs are being mixed with a view to relaxing some material in the Spring!!
the demos are done, now for the real thing
It's taken a while, we know, but the writing is finished, the pre-production demos are complete – so now the tracking starts for the album proper.
There's still loads to do but we really do hope you'll stick with us, we think it will be worth the wait.