We're back with a brand new Tracks Of The Week! This week we've got another seven new and diverse slices of progressively inclined music for you to enjoy.
Congratulations to last week's winner, Spain-based guitarist Rodrigo Pagavino, who romped away with things with his high-octane instrumental track Velomorph. Congratulations, Rodrigo and commiserations to Lonely Robot, who came second, with IT in third place.
The premise is simple - we've listened to a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - it makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn't it?
The idea is to watch the videos (or listen if it's a stream), enjoy (or not) and also to vote for your favourite in the voting form at the bottom of this post. Couldn't be easier, could it? We'll be bringing you Tracks Of The Week, as the title implies, each week. Next week, we'll update you with this week's winner and present a host of new prog music for you to enjoy.
If you're a band and you want to be featured in Prog's Tracks Of The Week, send your video (as a YouTube link) or track embed, band photo (please, don't forget the photo!) and biog with quotes to us here.
CHIMPAN A - EYE FOR AN EYE
UK art rockers ChimpanA have teamed up with rock legend Andy Fairweather Low, best known for his work with Roger Waters and Eric Clapton, for their latest single, An Eye For An Eye, and for which they have released a suitably dramatic video. That said, he's almost overshadowed by the powerhouse backing vocals from Kirstie Roberts! The track did not feature on the recently acclaimed ChimpanA album, Music Is Art - Vol. 1, but helms a brand new EP which is on sale from today.
“It’s such a thrill to work with Andy," the pair say. "He is a Welsh hero. We were looking for the voice of reason, so it had to be mature. Although Andy is perhaps best known these days for his guitar playing, his voice has so much character and really suited the music. We wanted the video for Eye For An Eye to feel cinematic, but also to reflect the strange, unsettling world we’re all navigating at the moment. The idea of the VR headset gave us a way into that - a kind of ‘Matrix’-like world where you’re constantly questioning what’s real. We move between the darkness of that inner world, the geopolitical madness and general weirdness that so many of us feel, and the reality of the room around it. As the video progresses, those boundaries start to break down until, quite literally, the room falls apart. What’s left is light. That felt like the visual counterpart to the song: rather than accepting the darkness and division around us, we have the choice to step beyond it and find something more hopeful, human and connected.”
KALANDRA - LET ME BE OPEN
Expressive Norwegian folky proggers Kalandra have just announced that they will release their third album, The Other Side, through By Norse on November 13,l from which comes new single Let Me Be Open, with its dramatic video. On the album, the band explores the mysterious imagery of the subconscious, where memories, fears, and imagination quietly intertwine, itself inspired by vivid dreams singer Katrine and bandmate Jogeir Daae Mæland kept notes of in a notebook by the bedside.
"There’s a moment when you realise how much of yourself you’ve learned to hold back," Katrine explains. "Let Me Be Open grew out of that feeling, the longing to loosen your grip, let go of some of the fear, and rediscover the sense of wonder you had as a child. It’s a song about making space for something softer to emerge, and trusting that not every shadow needs to be fought."
EYRE LLEW - EVERYWHERE
Nottingham-based post-rockers Eyre Llew will release their second studio album, Bloom, on September 18, through the rather severe-sounding Penance Music Group. Fortunately for the quintet, making their secind appearance in Tracks Of The Week, their sound is far more pleasant on the ears - new single Everywhere's chiming guitars and mellifluous vocals showing why they've been dubbed "Britain's answer to Sigur Rós". They play a hometown show in Nottingham to launch the new album on September 17.
"It traces back to a fleeting moment, a spontaneous drink before a goodbye, when my now-fiancé was heading back to Wales the day after her birthday, and everything in that moment felt like it was aligning," the band say. "Two people being drawn together, glowing in the feeling of it, knowing something important was starting. The song reflects falling deeply for someone later in life, not at the beginning when it seems to be the scenario written in movies and fairy tales, but from the middle, when you understand yourself more, and recognise the weight and meaning of real connection."
DIKAJEE - HOME OF THE WIND
Multi-instrumentalist Dikajee has shared a delightfully dramatic video for her latest single, Home Of The Wind. It's taken from her upcoming album, The Frame, which is released on November 6. The single features a guest appearance from Within Temptation keyboardist Vikram Shankar, while the album itself features quite the cast list: Jonathan Noyce (Archive, Jethro Tull), Varijashree Venugopal (Snarky Puppy), German Vergara (Aisles), Guillaume Bernard (KLONE), Christian Ayala (Avandra) and more.
"Home Of The Wind is about how the most terrible and most wonderful things can happen at the same time and your happiness can be bittersweet," Dikajee explains. "I always wanted to go live in the UK - but I’ve never thought that I’ll be moving during the war; and having to separate with my family that was going through grief after the loss of my father. But at the same time, it’s about not letting fear and grief make my decisions for me. I still want to follow my dreams and make art, and I want to follow my music, not fear and depression. It’s very hard, but regretting would probably hit harder. The alternative name for the song is 'black wings' cause I feel like I’m flying to my dream on black wings now."
COULD SEED - DRUIDS
French instrumental progressive post-rock quartet Could Seed also features guitarist Jordan Jupin and drummer Elie Chéron, both of whom also play with HamaSaari, who recently made an impact in the UK with a couple of live shows in July. Joining them are fellow guitarist Dimitri Even and bassist Magloire Thomas. There's a similar sense of musical exploration, too. This is a live version of Druids, recorded at a session at Studio de la Fuie, which will feature on the band's forthcoming second album, Terminal, due out October 23 via Klonosphere Records.
'This track refers to ancestors and their knowledge, specifically, how the bonds and interactions they shared with those around them were more respectful of differences and more integrated into their environment," the band say.
POLYPHIA - POWER IN THE BLOOD
Guitar-led instrumental proggers Polyphia have announced that they will release their fifth studio album, Be Not Afraid, through Rise Records on October 23. The band have also shared a video for their latest single, Power In The Blood, on which the Texan quartet's undeniable six-string prowess is very much to the fore. On the new album, guitarist Tim Henson took a different approach to composition, initially singing lines aloud and then translating them onto guitar, creating a process that encouraged the entire band to build on each other’s ideas in real time.
"During the making of this record, we went down some pretty dark rabbit holes," Henson explains. "We kept coming across things that were so depraved they sounded insane when you said them out loud. Then some of the very things we had been talking about started appearing in documents released to the public. You can read that stuff and feel disgusted, demoralised, and completely powerless. Be Not Afraid is our response to that. Rather than allowing the ugliness of the world to paralyse us, we put everything we had into making something beautiful. We weren’t afraid of whether something was too different or whether people were going to understand it. We just followed what excited us and made what I believe is our best record to date."
HYPNO5E - MOLECULAR ANGEL
French quartet Hypno5e will release their latest album, Trame Noire, named after the French term for "dark infrastructure", through Pelagic Records on November 6, and the twisting and turning Molecular Angel is the band's latest single. It's a busy time for the band, who have a 13-album box set coming out at the same time as Trame Noire, which celebrates their 20-year career and features their 2007 debut album, Des Deux L’une Est L’autre, on vinyl for the very first time.
"Molecular Angel is the turning point in Trame Noire’s trajectory, marking the moment when the mutation of the surrounding space gives way to the character’s inner transformation," the band state. "Direct and raw, the track unfolds over a relatively short span of time for an Hypno5e song. It moves through ethereal passages before ending in a frantic chaos that announces the album’s second half. Molecular Angel was conceived differently from the rest of our compositions: with no detours, more condensed, and focused on a direct and immediate expression."
