Welcome to Prog's Tracks Of The Week. Six new and diverse slices progressive music for you to enjoy.
Congratulations to UK synth prog rockers Kyros, whose colourful new video for Illusions Inside won last weeks TOTW with over 40% of the vote, followed by Leprous singer Einar Solberg and Ogives Big Band in second and third place respectively.
The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple - we've collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - 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 and biog to us here.
So get watching. And get voting at the bottom of the page.
DEREK SHERINIAN AND SIMON PHILLIPS - INERTIA (LIVE)
Sherinian/Philips is the musical combination of Sons Of Apollo's Derek Sherinian and drummer extraordinaire Simon Phillips, who have been working together on Sherinian's solo albums since his 2001 album Inertia. It was working on 2020's The Phoenix that has seen the pair in close collaboration, and Inertia is taken from the upcoming Shernian/Phillips - Live album, recorded at The Grape in Ventura, California on August 29, 2022 and due for release through InsideOutMusic on August 25.
Joining Sherinian/Phillips are fellow creatives Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal on guitar and Ric Fierabracci on bass to round out the lineup of the evening. "After 20 years of making albums together, it was a great pleasure bringing this music to life with Simon for the first time," says Sherinian.
HAYLEY GRIFFITTHS BAND - DUST TO GOLD
Dust To Gold is the new single from the Hayley Griffiths Band, taken from the recently released Melanie album. At the same time Griffiths released her Celtic album Far From Here, which was produced by former Pallas keyboardplayer Mike Stobbie. The uptempo and fun Dust To Gold sees Hayley joined by Big Big Train drummer and vocalist Nick D'Virgilio.
"Whilst we could well be accused of a crime against fashion with this video there can be no doubt that The Hayley Griffiths Band take themselves too seriously," laughs Griffiths. "At the heart of this video and song we wanted to radiate fun and positivity. The song was written during lockdown, inspired initially by staring into the depths of an original commissioned artwork getting lost in its swirling colours. We felt the urge to write something that would turn the tragedy around us and the unprecedented situation into a song full of hope and inspiration. At the core of this song is the message to take a moment to appreciate everything around you, find joy in the small pleasures of life and bring out your colour in a sometimes grey world. From the offset we knew we wanted the vocal talents of Nick D’Virgilio joining us on the track and were so thrilled when he kindly agreed!"
NINE SKIES - THE DREAMER
French prog rockers Nine Skies have shared new song The Dreamer, which is taken from the band's upcoming album The Lightmaker, which the band will release on September 18. The Lightmaker will be the band's first album release since the tragic death of guitarist Eric Bouillette earlier this year, to whom the new album is dedicate and The Dreamer features guest Martin Wilson, who joins a stellar list of guests including John Mitchell, Marco Minnemann, Adam Holzman, Kristoffer Gildenlow, and Riccardo Romano.
"The Lightmaker tells the story of Rudy, who is now living in 1001st and final life," the band state. "The album retraces some of his existences through the view of several characters and the introspection of these various incarnations which undoubtedly encourage reflection on the human condition. The release of the album will be followed by a tribute concert to Eric as well as a mini tour, mid/late 2023."
SPURV - SOM SKYER
Norwegian post rockers Spurv have shared a suitably epic and glacial video for their new single Som skyer, which is taken from the band's upcoming fourth album Brefjære, which will be released through Pelagic Records on September 22. Having recently moved to Tromsø, a remote northern province far above the Arctic Circle, principal songwriter Gustav Jørgen Pedersen took inspiration from the forces of nature he found himself surrounded by.
"Som skyer is Spurv at its perhaps most ethereal," says Pedersen. "The song is about the wind that flies over the earth, rustles in the treetops, and plunges down over the mountain. It represents time and fleeting memories, words and ideas that are shared across generations. The song contains old melodies combined with new arrangements, and was finally realized as part of Brefjære after many years."
UNSAFE SPACE GARDEN - TREMENDOUS COMPREHENSION
Portuguese sextet Unsafe Space Garden are certainly an eye-catching proposition, known for their honest, humorous, eccentric and free-wheeling compositional form and for their intense theatrical shows. Tremendous Comprehension is taken from the band's latest album, Where's The Ground, which they released back in May, and should delight fans of Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Cardiacs.
Unsafe Space Garden formed in 2019 when they released their Bubble Burst EP. Since then they've released two further albums, Guilty Measures in 2020, Bro, You Got Something In Your Eye - A Guided Meditation in 2021.
