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Any thoughts on the new Pineapple Thief album? The mix definitely sounds much better than the last two albums. Bruce Soord just keeps going and going, he's a machine.

I recently found out that prog rock and jazz fusion were huge in Yugoslavia. There were tons of really technical prog bands there, and a lot of them sound a lot like the British scene from the early to mid 70s.

Yugoslavia was socialist but not part of the Soviet bloc. The borders were open, so bands could get their hands on great Western recording gear.

Korni Grupa (Kornelyans internationally name) released an album in 1974 for the international market. The lyrics were translated into English instead of being written in English, which is why they sound kind of goofy. But these guys could seriously play, and some of it reminds me a lot of Yes, ELP, Eloy and Camel.

Korni Grupa Belgrade band formed in 1968 by keyboardist and composer Kornelije “Bata” Kovač (ex-Indexi). One of the first and most important Yugoslav progressive rock groups, mixing symphonic prog, jazz and psychedelic elements. Best known for their 1972 self-titled debut and the 1974 English-language album Not an Ordinary Life (released as Kornelyans). Strong Yes / ELP / Camel vibes, excellent keyboard work and complex arrangements.

Tako
A Belgrade-based band founded in 1975 by bassist Dušan Čučuz and multi-instrumentalist George Ilyin (keyboards, flute, harmonica). Classic Yugoslav symphonic/jazz-rock from the late 1970s with cosmic and Canterbury-style influences. They released only two albums: their self-titled debut (1978) and *U vreći za spavanje* (1980). Both albums are superb—featuring long instrumental passages, vibrant flute playing, and an atmosphere in the spirit of “European prog rock” (something like Camel + Focus + a touch of Pink Floyd).

Leb i Sol
From Skopje (Macedonia), formed in 1976. The classic lineup (Vlatko Stefanovski – guitar, Bodan Arsovski – bass, Nikola “Kokan” Dimuševski – keyboards, Garabet Tavitjan – drums) created some of the best ethno-jazz-fusion ever made in Yugoslavia. Their first three albums (especially the 1977 debut and 1978 follow-up) blend Macedonian folk rhythms and melodies with high-level jazz-rock in the vein of Mahavishnu Orchestra / Weather Report, but with a distinctly Balkan flavour. Vlatko Stefanovski is still regarded as one of the finest guitarists from the region.

Here are a few examples. My favorites were Korni Grupa, Tako and Leb i Sol, Smak

Korni Grupa: Temporary Parting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lenQPUbUT7s

Leb i Sol: Pod vodom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu8RNtIpxV8

Korni Grupa: Not an Ordinary Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHxHVjJ9EXU

Tako: Probudi se https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZcPUm9l1Bg

Smak: Plava pesma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCZ8onc66UE

Tako: DRUGA STRANA MENE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9P6JqJ46CM

It was a real revelation to me just how beautiful the South Slavic languages are and how talented the bands in Yugoslavia were

Hey guys,

I’ll be traveling to Italy in the near future, and absolutely love classic Italian prog from the 70s, I’m hoping to see if I can nab some vinyl records for my collection.

Does anyone have recommendations for stores where I might have a better chance of finding some, specifically in Rome, Florence, Venice?

Appreciate the help!

Break, the final track of 666 by Aphrodite's Child, has a bittersweet feeling, since it's the final track of the final studio album by the band

There can't be any prog fans who are unable to recognise Battersea Power Station, and very few rock fans who don't see the four chimneys poking into the London skyline without immediately thinking of Pink Floyd's Animals.

Steve Hackett, who lived across the Thames from the power station in Pimlico, attributed childhood 'sneezing and wheezing' to the sulphurous fumes belching out from the power station, writing in his autobiography A Genesis In My Bed, that the "great monolithic cloud factory was directly opposite my bedroom in Sullivan House", calling it "a gigantic four-mouthed monolith standing as a sentinel of the city, like the multi-headed hound Cerberus guarding the entrance to the ancient Greek underworld".

I arrived in London a year after the release of Animals, catching sight of the iconic building, a cathedral built to serve power generation (Giles Gilbert Scott's architectural detail can still be admired), when I visited the Tate Gallery, though it until my final year as an undergraduate when I moved to Streatham, a little before decommissioning had been completed, that I regularly caught a train passing close to the power station. This was when I could fully appreciate the drama of the Hipgnosis photographs inside the Animals gatefold sleeve.

Electricity generation ceased in 1983 and Battersea Power Station remained empty until 2014, slowly falling into ruin while a number of unrealised schemes were hatched to repurpose the site, failing to meet the conditions required of a Grade II* listed building. A consortium of Malaysian investors eventually took control of the land and the power station shell, carefully restored, was filled with high-end retail spaces and restaurants, and surrounded by acclaimed architecture practice-designed apartments which cut off the view from the railway line.

The power station was reopened as a shopping mall topped with luxury penthouses in 2022.

Prog fans can now get a pig's eye view of London from Battersea Power Station using the Lift 109 attraction, where you ascend to the top of the north west chimney.

The Lift 109 reception area used to feature a display of the power station's appearances in different media; Animals had a prominent place, along with Hawkwind's Quark Strangeness and Charm and clips from the 2006 Alfonso Cuarón film Children of Men, a dystopian thriller set in 2027 based on the 1992 novel of the same name by PD James. An early clip shows the main protagonist being driven up to the power station, set to In the Court of the Crimson King, and the flying pig is visible in the next scene.

This display is no longer featured, but the end of tour gift shop stocks official Pink Floyd merchandise (including vinyl) and Quark Strangeness and Charm CDs.

Control Room B, the setting for the cover photo of Quark Strangeness and Charm, is now a cocktail bar with an interesting range of location-themed cocktails, and though the instruments are mostly roped off, the area can be booked for champagne audio experiences. The Hipgnosis designed cover for UFO's 1977 album Lights Out was also photographed in Control Room B, presumably during the same photo shoot.

I think it's a worthwhile, if slightly expensive, way to spend an afternoon if you want to do something out of the ordinary while visiting London.

How to book Lift 109:

https://thechimneylift.co.uk/

Details for the Control Room B cocktail bar:

https://www.controlroomb.com/

Hey guys!

We're Tushara, a band from Hyderabad, India, making prog rock/metal music. We released our debut single called 'Reverie'

Streaming on all major platforms.

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

The debut album by the London band, formed in 1971 by guitarist Peter Banks, who had left Yes. Singer Colin Carter, bassist Ray Bennett, and drummer Mike Hough responded to an advert he placed in Melody Maker for the new band. Keyboardist Tony Kaye, also from Yes, joined them mid-rehearsal. The new band's self-titled album was released in 1972 on the American label Cleopatra Records. The album reached #33 on the US Billboard 200.This is an album clearly made in the shadow of that great progressive rock band Yes. However, unlike Starcastle and other such followers, Flash have a genuine excuse. The band was founded by Peter Banks and Tony Kaye, both of whom were unceremoniously ditched by Yes despite also being founder members of that esteemed group. While it's hard to dispute the fact that both Banks and Kaye were replaced by superior musicians (Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman respectively), neither deserved to be treated with such disrespect, and this album is an excellent riposte to their critics.
Flash preserves that sound of 60s Yes which somewhat ironically reached its zenith on 1971's The Yes Album. Small Beginnings in particular is an epic track which could have slipped quite comfortably onto that masterful album. It has all the hallmarks, with storming riffs (with some of Banks's best ever playing), an inventive rhythm section (bassist Ray Bennett and drummer Mike Hough), and even a nice organ solo from Kaye, while vocalist Colin Carter sounds very much like Yes frontman Jon Anderson.

I'm looking for recommendations for the best non-fiction books / serious essays on progressive rock and progressive metal, ideally one for each genre.

I'm not really looking for an encyclopedia, discography, or "100 albums you need to hear" type of book. What I'm after is something much more historical, narrative and horizontally structured.

Ideally, the book should:

• tell the story of how the genre developed, rather than simply reviewing important records;
• connect the dots between different scenes, bands, musicians, labels and musical movements;
• include plenty of interviews, anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories;
• cover the underground as well as the canonical/mainstream bands;
• explain how ideas and musical approaches moved between scenes and generations;
• give enough cultural and historical context to understand why the genre evolved in a particular direction;
• still provide some guidance on what to listen to, but without making the listening guide the main purpose of the book.

In other words, I'm looking for something that gives me a map of the ecosystem and its evolution, rather than a vertical selection of "the most important" bands and albums.

For reference, one book whose approach I really like is Jeff Wagner's Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal. I particularly enjoy the combination of historical narrative, interviews, personal stories, scene development and the way it connects relatively obscure bands with better-known ones.

I'm looking for something with a similar storytelling/historical approach, but specifically:

1. The best overall book on progressive rock
2. The best overall book on progressive metal (other than Mean Deviation)

I'm especially interested in books that manage to balance storytelling + historical analysis + underground coverage + useful listening recommendations.

I'm also open to books that are somewhat obscure or out of print. I'd rather have an excellent book that covers the genre in an unconventional way than the obvious mainstream recommendation.

What would you consider the definitive book for each genre, and why?

If you've read several books on the subject, I'd also be interested in knowing what each one does particularly well or poorly.

My son recently introduced me to Haruomi Hosono's music, and that opened a whole rabbit hole of exploration into eclectic Japanese music fills with natural acoustic instruments, electronic synth sequencing, sample looping, and odd type-signature polyrhythms. The linked example here is a song by Manami Kakudo-san, written in 7/8. She was in Hosono's support band as he recently played LA earlier this month.

Althouth Hosono-san and YMO have entries on progarchives, other outstanding artists are missing, including Midori Takada, Inoyamaland, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Masahiro Sugaya, Satoshi Ashikawa, and Toshiyuki Tsuchitori.

For those who like Tangerine Dream, Peter Gabriel's *Passion*, and similar instrumental prog works, you may want to explore these artists also. And for those deeper down in the rabbit hole, make a noise here so I can burrow after you. 🎏

A sub where people can share projects their working on, plug their music or just simply discuss the modern day progressive scene.
I thought of this because we live in an amazing time for music, where many genres previously thought dead are coming back with new music being released for it, and progressive rock is a great example of that.

Would any of you folks be interested?

So this is a remake of my previous song The Passenger. It's a genre I call "Voca-Prog" which basically involves using VOCALOID in prog (pretty self explanatory). If you like this one, also check out my other single, The Empress!

Full video: https://youtu.be/TRZm7mdV_KY?si=NNQerNJwo44NSOKA

Once contacted and made aware of this proposal, Enzo proved to be exceedingly enthusiastic. Thus began the meetings, the reunions, and the selective listening sessions of the material I had meanwhile gathered across several folders. There was an absolute embarrassment of riches. Even today, I marvel at how much material I had accumulated over the years from my solo projects, constantly thinking that I would use it one day, destining it for a rediscovered "CELESTE 2" project. The agreement on how the introduction of the drums as a permanent fixture should be structured met with the full approval of both Enzo and myself. We could proceed, having secured this vital brick of the new construction. At this point, however, all the other elements were clearly missing—namely, the classic components of the original line-up. In fact, my intention was to fully respect what the original formation had been. The 1976 line-up of CELESTE was composed as follows: acoustic guitar, violin, electric bass, flutes and saxophones, keyboards (piano, synthesizers, and especially the MELLOTRON), percussion, and vocals.

Now that the first element had been "recruited," I could turn my thoughts toward expanding the line-up. I asked Enzo himself if, within his circle of collaborators, there was any musician he deemed suitable to complete the new formation. Here, too, there was an embarrassment of riches. He pointed out three names to me. First, a bassist with whom he had played and who seemed to him to possess the most suitable characteristics to fulfill that role. Then, I asked for a guitarist who, by my express request, I felt needed to have a more "Rock" soul; someone who would not solely deal with acoustic guitars but would also possess a strong command of electric guitars. In fact, in my vision, following the permanent introduction of the drums, there was a view of a wider space to delegate to electric guitars, while firmly maintaining that the most delicate atmospheres, in the full spirit of the original band, would always be assigned to acoustic guitars. And on this occasion as well, Enzo presented me with a complete musician, endowed with an enviable technique and deeply steeped in that Rock spirit I was searching for. Thus, Mauro Vero officially entered the line-up, clearly after meeting multiple times to evaluate every stylistic, formal, and artistic aspect together. I submitted various song parts that I was still structuring to him—such as arpeggios, riffs, and solo vocal parts—to verify if I was on the right path and if he, as a musician...

To listen to the absolute sonic essence born during those legendary analog sessions and explore the full historical discography of CELESTE, you can visit our archival page here:

👉 CELESTE Official Bandcamp: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

Inner Garden Records

See you next Monday as the story of Celeste continues.

The Watch is an Italian progressive rock band that currently tours Europe playing Genesis songs from the Peter Gabriel era ('70 to '76).

I saw them in Malmö tonight and it was great.

For more see https://www.thewatchmusic.net/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watch_(band))

Before I start: Look, I love Yes. It's one of my fav bands. But, I am also the first one to admit that there are less inspiring moments in their catalogue.

The recent announcement of Keys to Ascension Studio Recordings got me to revisit those studio tracks for the first time in years.

And it also got me thinking whether this reunion made any sense at all.

It's probably too long to state all my arguments here but I wrote an essay about it, if anyone's interested: https://www.trueresaudio.com/articles/yes-keys-to-ascension-review

Jus to be clear, these are 100% my personal impressions about that reunion, what they achieved, and this new release of those songs.

And I'd be curious to hear what you guys think.

Cheers,

Pawel

I’ve recently fallen in love with Weather Systems by Anathema and I’ve been listening to it on repeat. Now I need something else to listen to. I mention The Dear Hunter because I’d say they’re my favorite band, just for more context as to what I like.

I think what makes me gravitate to weather systems is the harmonies, the three different singers, the complex instruments that never go too hard, and no yelling (just not my thing).

Any ideas?

Album: Eiliff
Engineered by Conny Plank. I would recommend Eiliff''s LPs to fans of all that's heavy who would like to explore the possibilities of jazz prog