Peak-era pasta prog from Il Volo (in Italian, as there is a new Italian band stealing this name shamelessly), one of Italy’s finest symphonic progressive rock bands.
Prog Rock
[Video] Cluster and Eno – Für Luise
Sehr Kosmiche…
The duo of Cluster (Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius) paired with Brian Eno on several albums.
Here’s a slice from the 1977 collaborative LP titled (simple enough) Cluster and Eno.
[Video] Pärson Sound – India (Slight Return)
This band comes as a revelation to me. Apparently, Pärson Sound compare favorably to The Velvet Underground, and have connections with legendary Swedish Progressive Folk band Träd, Gräs och Stenar.
I hope to come across more of their weird psych sounds.
[Video] Sergey Kuryokhin – Mystics
Sergey Kuryokhin was, by far, the most influential and most widely recognized avant-garde musician to come out of Russia in the 1980s. Both alone and with the Ensemble Pop-Mekhanika, he made music which was extreme even to American tastes. Here is an absurdist sample of his work.
[Video] Czesław Niemen – Bema Pamięci Rapsod Żałobny
Czesław Niemen was quite an interesting character. He wrote a song Marlene Dietrich would cover, as well as one of the greatest protest songs in the history of Polish rock (“Dziwny jest ten świat” [Strange Is This World]).
This particular piece almost counts as something resting between liturgical music and something akin to Queen, with an almost gospel-like vocal feel to it.
[Article] Gong founder Daevid Allen has six months to live
Very sad news to report, though it’s surely made its way throughout the progressive and pyschedelic rock communities. Daevid Allen, the beloved founder of Gong and member of Soft Machine, is suffering from neck cancer. He has decided to forego any more treatment, and has six months to live.
A strange factoid to pass on: when I worked at a local record shop in Los Angeles, the actor Sherman Hemsley (George Jefferson of ‘The Jeffersons‘ TV series) was a client of mine. He had the strangest and most interesting taste in music, and was particularly fond of progressive rock. I was told some years later that it was he who had spent a good sum of money to bring Daevid and company out to the United States for a tour.
What strange bedfellows those two made.
I’m on Bandcamp!
For those of you who are on Bandcamp.com, I finally joined today. This move will probably break my bank account, but it will also be a great way to discuss new artists with friends.
[Video] Mike Oldfield Story (BBC Documentary)
Such an incredible story. A 17-year-old creates the masterpiece of the 1970s in Tubular Bells, almost loses his mind doing it, and has to struggle to break free from that monster of a record.
More on Mike Oldfield here, courtesy of Wikipedia.
Greek singer Demis Roussos dies aged 68
I hate it when my blog becomes a necropsy report. Unfortunately, the world lost former singer of Aphrodite’s Child, and an amazing singer in his own right, Demis Roussos.
The BBC provides an obituary here.
[Video] Tangerine Dream – Phaedra (Complete Album) / Edgar Froese R.I.P.
Post by Jerome Froese.
Jerome Froese, son of Edgar and a fine musician in his own right, bring terrible news that his father, the linchpin of Tangerine Dream, has passed away. We post my favorite album by the band, Phaedra, in his memory.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 