MAGMA 50th Anniversary Vinyl Box Set of “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” Release Delayed Until October 27

The release of MAGMA's birthday present in celebration of their iconic third album, which arrives as a lavish box set limited to 2,000 copies, is being delayed due to a manufacturing issue. This has been solved by upgrading the paper quality of the included artbook to an even higher standard. "Une histoire de Mekanïk – 50 Years of Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh" will hit stores three weeks later than originally announced on October 27, 2023.

Those customers, who ordered a box set directly from MAGMA's shop or the SPKR and Prophecy label shops can currently expect their copy close to the original release date around October 6, 2023. In case there are no further unexpected delays, MAGMA will also be able to offer boxes at their next live events. Please see below for all currently confirmed dates.

On "Une histoire de Mekanïk – 50 Years of Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh", the French avant-garde pioneers and inventors of zeuhl follow the trail of their classic third full-length from the remastered original recording through decades of various incarnations on 7 vinyl LPs!

Please see below for cover art, tracklist, and full details of "Une histoire de Mekanïk – 50 Years of Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh".

Please note that due to the singular nature of this release neither promotional copies nor sound will be provided by the label.

Release date: October 27, 2023
Style: Avant-garde rock
Label: Prophecy Productions

MAGMA comment: “With this box set, we want to take you all right into the heart of the composition of our most emblematic work, which allows you to follow its evolution throughout the 50 years of its existence”, mastermind Christan Vander explains. “When we performed ‘Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh’ for the first time, we did not imagine even in our wildest dreams that people would still want us to play this album more than 50 years later. This anniversary deserves to be celebrated, and this edition is a gift for us as well!”

Iconic French avant-garde rockers MAGMA have joined forces with Prophecy Productions to create a lavish boxed set under exclusive license from Seventh Records to celebrate the 50th anniversary entitled “Une histoire de Mekanïk – 50 Years of Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” of their legendary milestone release and third studio album “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” (1973).

Apart from a number of special collectors’ items, this box set limited to 2,000 copies contains seven vinyl LPs ranging from the original album to live recordings and other rare materials related to “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” (henceforth abbreviated as “MDK” in this text), of which several were previously unreleased and/or appear on vinyl for the first time.

The albums are numbered in chronological order:

LP 1 “1972 – Paris ORTF”
This is definitely one of the first recorded live versions of “MDK”; and it might even be the first – if anybody could exactly remember this after 50 years. At that time, the masterpiece was still a work in progress.

LP 2 “1973 – Choeurs de la Storchhaus”
This studio recording can be regarded as a demo and it features the choir that played “MDK” live at the SIGMA festival in November 1972. It was first released on CD in 1989 and now appears for the first time on vinyl.

LP 3 “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” (original version)
Despite more than 30 published studio and live recordings, many consider this album to represent MAGMA’s ultimate masterpiece. At the time, Christian Vander had taken the artistic destiny of the French band fully into his hands. The most striking development was the massive impact of the vocalists and choir. This classic was carefully remastered for this edition.

LP 4 (Side 1) “1994 – Les voix de Magma”
This previously unreleased track was recorded live with the addition of a 60-piece choir.

LP 4 (Side 2) “1995 – Babyaga la sorcière”
This surprising adaptation of “MDK” was recorded at the Espace Lumière in Epinay-sur-Seine, France on October 15, 1995 during the second concert celebrating MAGMA’s 25th birthday. It features an impressive choir of children and an instrumental ensemble of teenagers. It was released on CD in 1996, but never before on vinyl.

LP 5 “2000 – Paris Trianon Theater”
This version was recorded in Paris at the Theatre du Trianon during MAGMA’s 30th anniversary celebration and was previously only released on CD as part of a box set in 2001.

LP 6 “2005 – Paris Le Triton”
During May 2005, MAGMA booked the club Le Triton in Paris, changed their programme each week, and brought illustrious past members back to the stage to perform with them. On this recording from May 21, Christian Vander was reunited with legendary bass player Jannick Top. Previously only appearing on DVD, this is the first audio only release of this remarkable event.

LP 7 “2021 – Opéra de Rennes”
This previously unreleased version captures the new MAGMA line-up, which is more vibrant than ever!

For connoisseurs of avant-garde rock, MAGMA needs no introduction. The visionary French band that was founded in Paris by self-educated drummer and percussionist Christian Vander are towering giants within and beyond their genre.

Although MAGMA have been variously filed under avant-garde rock, progressive rock, jazz rock, and other equally fitting terms, the band has also created a sub-genre of their own, which is dubbed zeuhl or zeuhl rock. This term has also been adapted by other bands inspired by the style particularly in France and Japan but also elsewhere.

Christian Vander has created his own lyrical cosmos for MAGMA, in which humanity has destroyed earth and fled to a planet called Kobaïa that has remained at the center of his musical works. With his disturbing vision of humanity’s ecological and spiritual development, Vander was far ahead of his times and quite prophetic.

Most MAGMA lyrics are sung in the fictional language Kobaïan, which was invented by Vander and mainly uses phonetic traits of Germanic and Slavonic languages to enhance the musical expression of the band.

With “Une histoire de Mekanïk – 50 Years of Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh”, MAGMA celebrate their classic album's 50th anniversary by giving themselves and their dedicated following a beautiful present in the shape of a lavish limited box set that follows the massive trail of their iconic third full-length from the original through decades of various incarnations. Zeuhl forever!

Remastering for this edition: Marcus Linon at Greasy Records Studio, Paris, France
Layouts Gerald Nimal at UZ Grafik

For more information:
magmamusic.org
www.facebook.com/zeuhlwortzmekanik
www.instagram.com/magma.officiel

To pre-order:
http://lnk.spkr.media/magma-50

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158 (USA), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Music Legends Soft Machine Release New Album “Other Doors” and Announce Forthcoming Tour Dates

Five years after the release of their last studio album, legendary UK musical institution, Soft Machine, return with a brand new album, “Other Doors.” Boasting new material and two numbers drawn from their extensive historical repertoire, “Other Doors” finds the band in their usual fiery form.

Featuring John Etheridge (guitars), Theo Travis (saxes, flutes, Fender Rhodes piano, electronics), Fred Thelonious Baker (Fretless bass), John Marshall (drums), Other Doors also features two guest appearances from long-serving bassist Roy Babbington, who retired from the band in 2021.

“Other Doors” was recorded at Temple Music Studios, a facility owned by the late Jon Hiseman during July and August 2022. It’s a location of which the band is particularly fond, explains John Etheridge. “Working at Jon Hiseman’s studio was special, especially with Ru Lemer who is a brilliant engineer. He’s fantastically quick and that’s very good as we record mainly live in the studio. It’s come out really well and I think it sounds great.”

That ability to work quickly on takes as an ensemble has resulted in a fresh-sounding series of top-flight performances whose typically knotty and sometimes complex themes frequently give way to explosively discursive improvisations. As Theo Travis observes, “The interesting thing about recording free improvisations is you're not playing to a plan or a grid or a blueprint, so you don’t know what's coming, and you don't know what's coming until it's gone. At which moment you're thinking about the next thing.”

The album is brimming with that fast-moving creativity. It’s been a kind of tradition with the group to include new arrangements of older Soft Machine numbers from the band’s illustrious back catalogue. These have included numbers as varied as “Chloe and the Pirates,” “Kings and Queens,” “Out-Bloody-Rageous,” etc.

Along with exciting new compositions, on “Other Doors” they’ve revisited the very first album, originally released in 1968, to include Kevin Ayers’ “Joy Of A Toy.” Fred Baker, makes his studio debut with Soft Machine. A well-known figure on the Canterbury Scene not only is he the perfect choice for the group but he’s also a long-term fan of the repertoire.

The album also contains “Penny Hitch,” a track originally heard on 1973’s Soft Machine “Seven.” This features the first of two appearances of Roy Babbington who provides the bass lines underpinning Karl Jenkins’ composition while Fred plays the sinuous lead melody on his fretless bass. The pair also worked together as a duo on “Now! Is The Time,” a number originally based on a theme Babbington brought into the sessions, with Fred and Roy both adding and expanding the scope of the piece.

If the album ushers in a new member in the shape of Fred Baker, it also acts as a fond farewell to drummer John Marshall, who joined Soft Machine midway through the recording of 1972’s “Fifth.” At the age of 81 Marshall has decided to retire making “Other Doors” his final studio album with the group, and the final album of his glorious career. Indeed, Marshall is in whip-cracking form throughout the album bringing his trademark musicality and decisive presence. With “Other Doors,” he brings his distinguished career to a rousing conclusion.

Intense, celebratory, and consistently impressive. “Other Doors” is the sound of a group determined to press forwards with an integrity and sense of purpose that’s quintessentially and definitively Soft Machine.

Photo by Wolfgang Gonaus

JOHN ETHERIDGE - guitars
THEO TRAVIS - tenor & soprano sax, flutes, Fender Rhodes, electronics
FREDDY BAKER - fretless bass guitar
JOHN MARSHALL - drums
special guest
ROY BABBINGTON - bass guitar (tunes 2 and 9)

The updated tour dates are (with Asaf Sirkis permanently substituting John Marshall who has retired):

After the first world tour date in Toledo at the MoonJune Festival

Sep 29 - Toledo, Spain (Circulo de Arte)

North American Tour
Oct 04 - Sellersville, PA, USA (Sellersville Theater)
Oct 05 - Baltimore, MD, USA (Keystone Korner)
Oct 06 - New York, NY, USA (Iridium)
Oct 07 - New York, NY, USA (Iridium)
Oct 08 - Woodstock, NY, USA (Colony)
Oct 10 - Rochester, NY, USA (Lovin’ Cup)
Oct 11 - Syracuse, NY, USA (Average Joe)
Oct 12 - Albany, NY, USA (Linda WAMC)
Oct 13 - Quebec City, QC, Canada (Salle d’Youville)
Oct 14 - Quebec City, QC, Canada (Salle d’Youville)
Oct 16 - Ottawa, ON, Canada (Rainbow)
Oct 17 - Toronto, ON, Canada (Garrison)
Oct 18 - Waterloo, ON, Canada (Jazz Room)
Oct 19 - Detroit, MI, USA (Joy's Manor)
Oct 22 - Milwaukee, WI, USA (Shank Hall)
Oct 24 - Chicago, IL, USA (Reggie’s)
Oct 25 - Cincinnati, OH, USA (Ludlow Garage)
Oct 26 - Indianapolis, IN, USA (Irving Theater)

Europe:
Nov 05 - Hull, UK (Wrecking Ball)
Nov 06 - Kinross, UK (Green Hotel)
Nov 10 - Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK (Forum)
Nov 11 - Lewes, UK (Conservative Club)
Nov 14 - Milton Keynes, UK (The Stables)
Nov 17 - Luton, UK (The Bear)
Nov 19 - Exeter, UK (Phoenix Art)
Nov 23 - Katowice, Poland (Rialto Theater)
Nov 24 - Warsaw, Poland (Hybrydy Klub)
Nov 25 - Bydgoszcz, Poland (Kuźnia Klub)
Nov 26 - Poznań, Poland (Culture Ctr)
Nov 30 - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg (Rockhal)
Dec 02 - Tilburg, Netherlands (Paradox)
Dec 03 - Zoetermeer, Netherlands (Boerderij)
Feb 07 - Guildford, UK (Boileroom)
Feb 08 - London, UK (Signature Brew)
Feb 09 - Canterbury, UK (Gulbenkian Theatre)
Feb 11 - Market Harbough, UK (Jazz Club)
Feb 18 - Farsley, UK (Old Woollen)
Feb 19 - Manchester, UK (Band On The Wall)
Feb 20 - Wolverhampton, UK (Robin 2)
Feb 21 - Brighton, UK (The Chalk)
Feb 22 - Cardiff, UK(Stepping Stones)
Feb 24 - Cheltenham, UK (DEYA Brewery)

More gigs to be announced, in the UK, Europe, Japan, South America as well another tour in the USA in the Summer of 2024.

To purchase Soft Machine “Other Doors”: https://softmachine-moonjune.bandcamp.com/merch/soft-machine-other-doors

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, Billy James, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

MAGMA Announce Lavish 50th Anniversary Vinyl Box Set of “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh”

MAGMA is making the world of progressive music a massive birthday present in celebration of their iconic third album in the shape of a lavish box set, which is limited to 2,000 copies. Entitled “Une histoire de Mekanïk – 50 Years of Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh”, the French avant-garde pioneers and inventors of zeuhl follow the trail of their classic full-length from the remastered original recording through decades of various incarnations on 7 vinyl LPs!

MAGMA comment: “With this box set, we want to take you all right into the heart of the composition of our most emblematic work, which allows you to follow its evolution throughout the 50 years of its existence”, mastermind Christan Vander explains. “When we performed ‘Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh’ for the first time, we did not imagine even in our wildest dreams that people would still want us to play this album more than 50 years later. This anniversary deserves to be celebrated, and this edition is a gift for us as well!”

Iconic French avant-garde rockers MAGMA have joined forces with Prophecy Productions to create a lavish boxed set under exclusive license from Seventh Records to celebrate the 50th anniversary entitled “Une histoire de Mekanïk – 50 Years of Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” of their legendary milestone release and third studio album “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” (1973).

Apart from a number of special collectors’ items, this box set limited to 2,000 copies contains seven vinyl LPs ranging from the original album to live recordings and other rare materials related to “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” (henceforth abbreviated as “MDK” in this text), of which several were previously unreleased and/or appear on vinyl for the first time.

The albums are numbered in chronological order:

LP 1 “1972 – Paris ORTF”
This is definitely one of the first recorded live versions of “MDK”; and it might even be the first – if anybody could exactly remember this after 50 years. At that time, the masterpiece was still a work in progress.

LP 2 “1973 – Choeurs de la Storchhaus”
This studio recording can be regarded as a demo and it features the choir that played “MDK” live at the SIGMA festival in November 1972. It was first released on CD in 1989 and now appears for the first time on vinyl.

LP 3 “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh” (original version)
Despite more than 30 published studio and live recordings, many consider this album to represent MAGMA’s ultimate masterpiece. At the time, Christian Vander had taken the artistic destiny of the French band fully into his hands. The most striking development was the massive impact of the vocalists and choir. This classic was carefully remastered for this edition.

LP 4 (Side 1) “1994 – Les voix de Magma”
This previously unreleased track was recorded live with the addition of a 60-piece choir.

LP 4 (Side 2) “1995 – Babyaga la sorcière”
This surprising adaptation of “MDK” was recorded at the Espace Lumière in Epinay-sur-Seine, France on October 15, 1995 during the second concert celebrating MAGMA’s 25th birthday. It features an impressive choir of children and an instrumental ensemble of teenagers. It was released on CD in 1996, but never before on vinyl.

LP 5 “2000 – Paris Trianon Theater”
This version was recorded in Paris at the Theatre du Trianon during MAGMA’s 30th anniversary celebration and was previously only released on CD as part of a box set in 2001.

LP 6 “2005 – Paris Le Triton”
During May 2005, MAGMA booked the club Le Triton in Paris, changed their programme each week, and brought illustrious past members back to the stage to perform with them. On this recording from May 21, Christian Vander was reunited with legendary bass player Jannick Top. Previously only appearing on DVD, this is the first audio only release of this remarkable event.

LP 7 “2021 – Opéra de Rennes”
This previously unreleased version captures the new MAGMA line-up, which is more vibrant than ever!

For connoisseurs of avant-garde rock, MAGMA needs no introduction. The visionary French band that was founded in Paris by self-educated drummer and percussionist Christian Vander are towering giants within and beyond their genre.

Although MAGMA have been variously filed under avant-garde rock, progressive rock, jazz rock, and other equally fitting terms, the band has also created a sub-genre of their own, which is dubbed zeuhl or zeuhl rock. This term has also been adapted by other bands inspired by the style particularly in France and Japan but also elsewhere.

Christian Vander has created his own lyrical cosmos for MAGMA, in which humanity has destroyed earth and fled to a planet called Kobaïa that has remained at the center of his musical works. With his disturbing vision of humanity’s ecological and spiritual development, Vander was far ahead of his times and quite prophetic.

Most MAGMA lyrics are sung in the fictional language Kobaïan, which was invented by Vander and mainly uses phonetic traits of Germanic and Slavonic languages to enhance the musical expression of the band.

With “Une histoire de Mekanïk – 50 Years of Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh”, MAGMA celebrate their classic album's 50th anniversary by giving themselves and their dedicated following a beautiful present in the shape of a lavish limited box set that follows the massive trail of their iconic third full-length from the original through decades of various incarnations. Zeuhl forever!

Release date: October 6, 2023
Label: Prophecy Productions

Remastering for this edition: Marcus Linon at Greasy Records Studio, Paris, France
Layouts Gerald Nimal at UZ Grafik

For more information:
magmamusic.org
www.facebook.com/zeuhlwortzmekanik
www.instagram.com/magma.officiel

To pre-order:
http://lnk.spkr.media/magma-50

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158 (USA), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

MoonJune Music Festival Toledo 2023 Featuring Soft Machine, Diego Amador, Dwiki Dharmawan, Dewa Budjana, Markus Reuter Anchor & Burden and More

September 28, 29, 30 and October 1, 2023

at the Circulo De Arte Toledo, Plaza San Vincente, Toledo, Spain.

MUSIC THAT FITS TOLEDO

MoonJune Music and M Films Producciones present a multi-sensory festival of eclectic, international progressive music expanding the boundaries of jazz, rock, global music, and the unknown. Join visionary presenters Leonardo Pavkovic and Mauricio Aguinaco in historic Toledo, Spain, for four days of extraordinary concerts, roundtable discussions with seasoned music industry professionals, regional gastronomical delights, and the warm camaraderie of a global cast of musicians and enthusiasts.

Featured artists include Soft Machine (UK), Paqueando with Diego Amador & José María Bandera (Spain), Anchor & Burden (Germany, Israel), Dwiki Dharmawan World Peace Band (Indonesia, Israel, Mexico) with special guest Dewa Budjana (Indonesia), Israel Varela Musica Pintada (Mexico), Heledo & His Friends (Uruguay, Israel, Belgium) featuring Xavi Reija (Spain), Amós Lora Band (Spain, Cuba), Jaco Abel Flamenco Eléctrico Trio (Spain), Ana Alcaide (Spain) with special guest Bill Cooley (United States), Fernando Girón Band (Spain, United States), Anthony Garone (United States), Dennis Rea (United States)

Befitting an artist management and record company that epitomizes musical multiculturalism, MoonJune's second annual global gathering takes place in the historic cultural crossroads of Toledo, Spain. With its rich history as the former capital of Castile, the first capital of Spain, and the current capital of the La Mancha region, Toledo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that traces its roots back to Roman times, a place where Christians , Jews and Muslims lived together in tolerance for centuries, hence its nickname, the City of Three Cultures. Fittingly, the 2023 edition of the annual MoonJune festival will take place at Toledo's historic El Circulo del Arte in the former church of San Vicente, founded by King Alfonso VI shortly after the Muslim conquest of Spain. Once known as the headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition, the building has been reborn as a chapel for worship and art creation.

MoonJune Festival Toledo 2023 is a celebration of the creative spirit and international friendship, a gathering of musicians, journalists, music activists and, of course, like-minded music lovers. After a very successful first edition of the festival in Leonardo's hometown of Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina, itself a historically important cultural melting pot, in June 2022, the Second International Music Festival - MoonJune Festival Toledo 2023, could not to take place nowhere else than Leonardo's new hometown thus connecting two beautiful historical cities: Toledo (the first capital of Spain) and Jajce (the former capital of medieval Bosnia).

If the musicians come from different parts of the world, also the festival-goers and the so-called 'moonjunistas' come from various parts of the world, and their presence was confirmed by the fans who come from the United States, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, United Kingdom Kingdom, Belgium, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Israel, Bosnia & Herzegovina. Confirmed moonjunistas festival goers are eager not only to enjoy the music festival but also to enjoy all the beautiful things that Toledo has to offer, and for many of them this will be their first time not only in Toledo, but in many cases, as well. his first time visiting Spain.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

MoonJune’s guiding principles – or as Leonardo Pavkovic prefers, “modus moonjundi” – are in tune with what legendary British bass player Roy Babbington (Soft Machine and much more) memorably described as “poetic entanglement” - that is, the art of being alert to, and confidently acting on, the affinities and happenstances of the moment, in a spirit of openness, curiosity, and goodwill. MoonJune’s mission is to spread unity, joy, and hope through music, toward the elusive goal of peace and understanding on this troubled earth.

The dynamic personality of the festival’s founder, Leonardo Pavkovic – a resident of Toledo since December 2021 – lies at the epicenter of the Festival’s initiative and its spiritus movens. A unique figure in the worldwide musical milieu, “Mr. MoonJune” has long been one of the most creative forces supporting, producing, developing, and organizing ambitious musical projects the world over. The MoonJune Festival is a celebration of the creative spirit and international friendship, a gathering of like minded musicians, journalists, music activists, and of course music lovers. After a very successful first edition of the festival in Leonardo’s native city of Jajce, Bosnia & Herzegovina - itself a historically important cultural crucible - in June 2022, the Second International MoonJune Music Festival 2023 could not be staged anywhere else but in Leonardo’s new hometown, thus connecting two beautiful historic cities: Toledo and Jajce.

MoonJune's Music Universe creates connections between different musicians around the world, often from different cultures and musical styles, producing unique and new music, partnering with quality, artistic integrity and innovation, ignoring conservative critics and skeptics who they reject or downplay anything outside of their own restricted gender biases, and looking to where musical innovations have historically always occurred, in free mixing of genre influences. MoonJune's musical offering constantly shines its light across a devastated and commercially bastardized musical landscape never capitulating to "the market," a rare model of musical virtue in times of increasingly cultural bankruptcy.

A SENSORY FEAST

Designed as an immersive, multi-sensory experience, the Second International MoonJune Festival showcases MoonJune talents from around the planet, including distinguished musicians from the United Kingdom, Germany, USA, Spain, Indonesia, Uruguay, Israel, Cuba, and Mexico. The event offers not just a series of concerts but a unique “penta-sensorial” experience blending sounds, flavors, aromas, and audiovisual elements evoking the rich cultural legacy of Toledo and its surrounding La Mancha region, famed for Don Quixote, Miguel Cervantes, the Windmills of Consuegra, El Greco, olive cultivation, and much more.

The festival will combine:
• Hearing: extraordinary music performed by exemplary players representing MoonJune’s global diaspora
• Sight: projected images complementing live musical performances
• Taste: the gastronomic richness of La Mancha’s regional cuisine, wine, and olive oil
• Smell: fragrances of Toledo’s unique natural and built environments
• Touch: tactile encounters with the walls and buildings of the ancient town, imbued with mysticism from two millennia of history

In addition to the concerts, the festival will include expert roundtable discussions on the state of today’s post-COVID music industry and more, plus the inaugural “MoonJune de la Mancha Awards” for Lifetime Achievement in performing and recording music (and an outstanding career in the music business).

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

September 28 - Day One - Miradero
Press conference
Live performance: ANTHONY GARONE and DENNIS REA.

September 29 - Day Two - Circulo de Arte
* Roundtable discussion on the music business environment in the post-COVID world, with Derek Shulman, Bill Hein, Leonardo Pavkovic, Markus Reuter, Sid Smith, Adam Baruch.
* Live performances:
• FERNANDO GIRÓN BAND (band members TBA).
• ANCHOR & BURDEN (Markus Reuter, Alexander Dowerk, Bernhard Wöstheinrich, Asaf Sirkis).
• SOFT MACHINE (John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Fred Baker, Asaf Sirkis).

September 30 - Day Three - Circulo de Arte
* Roundtable discussion: “the Flamenco world - yesterday, today and tomorrow” with Jaco Abel, Ámos Lora, José Maria Bandera, Diego Amador, Israel Varela, Maria Nocetti.
* Live performances:
• JACO ABEL FLAMENCO ELÉCTRICO TRIO (Jaco Abel, Júlian Heredia, El Moreno).
• ÁMOS LORA BAND (Ámos Lora, Gito Maletá, Rainier Elizondo 'El Negrón', Bandolero).
• PAQUEANDO featuring DIEGO AMADOR and JOSÉ MARIA BANDERA.

October 1 - Day Four - Circulo de Arte
* Roundtable discussion: “Music and musicians from around the world bridging the world” with Ana Alcaide, Dennis Rea, Israel Varela, Dwiki Dharmawan, Asaf Sirkis, Leonardo Pavkovic, Adam Baruch.
* MoonJune Award: for Lifetime Achievement in Performing and Recording Music and for Lifetime Achievement: Outstanding Career in the Music Business. Presented by Sid Smith and Anthony Garone
* Live performances:
• BELEDO & HIS FRIENDS (Beledo, Ofer Assaf, Pato Muñoz, Xavi Reija, special guest Dewa Budjana).
• ANA ALCAIDE (Ana Alcaide, special guest Bill Cooley).
• ISRAEL VARELA MUSICA PINTADA (Israel Varela).
• DWIKI DHARMAWAN WORLD PEACE BAND (Dwiki Dharmawan, Dewa Budjana, Ivan Nestorman, Ofer Assaf, Yaron Stavi, Israel Varela).

TICKET SALE (ONLINE ONLY via EVENTBRIDE, in USD only)

SINGLE DAYS PACKAGES from July 8, 2023
$35 and up

MOONJUNE EXPERIENCE IN TOLEDO
4 DAY VIP PACKAGES only until July 7, 2023 ($120 - $350)
• 4 DAYS VIP PACKAGE STANDING: $120
• 4 DAYS VIP RESERVED SEATS ROWS 4-13: $150-$200
• 4 DAYS VIP RESERVED FIRST THREE ROWS: $200-@250
• 4 DAYS VIP RESERVED VIP TABLE SEATING: $300-$350

TEAM
https://moonjunetoledo.com/team
LEONARDO PAVKOVIC of MoonJune Music
MAURICIO AGUINACO of M Films Produccionees

For more info:
http://www.moonjunetoledo.com
moonjunefestival2023.eventbrite.com

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, Billy James, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Automatic Man Legend Todd Cochran Releases “From The Vault: Notes For The Future”

A Narrative Exploration and Foray Into Cochran’s Jazz, Classical, and Electronic Music Palettes Available June 23 via Blue Buddha Productions

Notes for the future are the “imagined sometime in the past” tropes of a storyteller. Freed from every day “isms” of convention and released from the symbolic containment of the vault, the music is an allegorical exploration in futurism. The stream running throughout the musical narrative is a speculative commentary about our human search for meaning, and we’re reminded that as a version of our ancestors’ vision, this quest never ends.

“From The Vault” is structured around a sequence of recurring themes and develops as an unfolding tour of references, hints, and clues. Moving from one perspective to another, we connect with how our planet is perpetually in a state of seeking solutions. Within the soundscape, without words, an underlying language is speaking. Nature evolves for the sum of us, not the few. We are in a continual state of becoming. We are connected. Love is passed along, as is happiness. Nevertheless, expressly for the listener, an implied sense of reasoning encourages us to feel free and let go of all things familiar. And then, “over there” in the distance, we get a passing glimpse of the sacred structure.

Todd Cochran is an American pianist, composer, keyboardist, electronic musician, and conceptual artist. Early in his career he was also professionally known as Bayeté. Cochran started his career as a teenager with saxophonist John Handy. Two years later he joined vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson’s Quartet, and made his jazz recording debut composing and performing on a benchmark album for Hutcherson, “Head On” (Blue Note Records). Cochran’s first solo project “Worlds Around the Sun” became a #1 jazz album. From the mid-1970s forward Todd has experimented with and incorporated synthesizers, electronic and mixed-media concepts in his creative projects while collaborating with a wide range of artists in the genres of jazz, art rock, pop, R&B, and twenty-first-century classical.

Todd released two albums on Prestige Records in 1972 and 1973. He was keyboardist, principal composer and lead singer of Automatic Man from 1976–1978 which also featured drummer Michael Shrieve and guitarist Pat Thrall. He was also a member of Fuse One, a coalition of jazz musicians who released two albums on CTI Records in 1980 and 1981. The shortlist of his collaborations include Peter Gabriel, Joan Armatrading, Maya Angelou and Stewart Copeland.

Track list:

1. PAINTED BY THE SUN
Mountain peaks, sea cliffs, oceans, opaque forests, desert savannas – and human faces colorized by the paintbrush of nature. The entirety of our planet is inhabited by intuitive human beings – all sun worshippers – collectively marking time in communal practices of decoding the mysteries of our existence.

2. IN YOU I SEE ENDLESS MEMORIES
An imagined conversation between the sky and the wind.

3. ISMS PRISMS
Not one thing, but all things… spontaneous change shuttles us through the cycles of life.

4. TRANSPARENCIES
Being transparent is naturally imperfect and intensely human.

5. WE MAKE TWO, TWO MAKE WE
Music is a language of interacting tones and colors through which one is able to experience the other; the abstract and the personal. The notion of two streams of thought merging into a unified idea makes for a wellspring of originality. At once distinctly different, yet in combination, resonating wildly.

6. EYE DREAMING
“Within you, my love, I see endless mystery.”

7. MOON GLOW
This duet of a middle-sized plucked string instrument and Balinese gong expresses energies I’ve experienced in Indonesia, where the nighttime sky sometimes seems so vast there appears to be an aura around the moon.

8. HYMN FOR THE HIDDEN PEOPLE
This is a tonal essay – an homage to the poor, the rebuked, scorned, unseen, and unheard. The music challenges our lack of compassion and moves us to feel the many who toil and struggle in silence, yet stay in the light, with hope and determination.

9. THE SPINNING CIRCLE
There are no simple explanations or a single equation that defines a circle. A circle has no beginning or end, there’s no start, finishing point, or conclusion. Only infinite revolutions rhythmically intertwined.

10. INSEPARABLE
Balance in our lives and the spaces we occupy is a dance of opposites. “Om” and “Amen” are the same thing.

Blue Buddha Productions | Release Date: June 23, 2023

To pre-order: Bandcamp: https://bluebuddha.bandcamp.com/

For more information on Todd Cochran, please visit:
toddcochran.com | Instagram

For more information on Blue Buddha Productions, please email: bluebuddhaproductions@gmail.com

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 1-828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Fusion Supergroup THE FUSION SYNDICATE Returns With New Members And A Brand New Single Featuring BOOTSY COLLINS and BRIAN JACKSON!

Los Angeles, CA – In 2012, the world of fusion rock/jazz was shook by the introduction of a new supergroup of unparalleled musical virtuosos who came together under one umbrella for a blockbuster studio album. Both the group and its debut album were called simply The Fusion Syndicate, and it featured some of the biggest names in fusion including members of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Yellowjackets, Brand X, Soft Machine, and Spyro Gyra PLUS Yes, Dream Theater, King Crimson, Tool, Porcupine Tree, Hawkwind and more! Now a new single is released today with the first new recording from The Fusion Syndicate in over 10 years!

That new single, “The Bottle,” is unique in several ways. For starters, it is the Fusion Syndicate’s first ever cover song, a trippy, groovy version of jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron’s 1973 dramatic story of alcohol abuse in the inner city. Second, the track is the first to incorporate R&B and soul music flavors into the band’s repertoire driven by a stellar vocal from intergalactic superstar Bootsy Collins. In addition, joining Collins is multi-instrumentalist Brian Jackson, who was a member of Gil Scott-Heron’s band and performed on the original recording of “The Bottle.” Here, Jackson recreates the vibe 1970s soul jazz while bringing a modern flair that perfectly suits The Fusion Syndicate’s style.

Stream the single: https://orcd.co/thefusionsyndicate_thebottle

Could this be the first song from a forthcoming full-length album from The Fusion Syndicate? Stay tuned in to The Fusion Syndicate revolution to learn more!

Press inquiries:
Glass Onyon PR
Billy James
PH: 828-350-8158
glassonyonpr@gmail.com

CLEOPATRA RECORDS, INC.
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11041 Santa Monica Blvd #703
Los Angeles CA 90025
www.CleopatraRecords.com

French Music Legends Magma Release Very First Video “Hakëhn Deïs”

In their career spanning over 50 years, Magma had never produced a music video. At the request and with the support of Adami, a French organization who promote, career development and the promotion of performers, Magma has finally done it with “Hakëhn Deïs” directed by Nino Le Chenadec. Artificial Intelligence blends in with the subtle choreography created by two magnificent dancers of the Paris Opera, Loup Marcault-Derouard and Ida Viikinkoski’.

Watch the video here:  https://youtu.be/UmgJkEajQUo

Magma’s new critically acclaimed album “Kartëhl” is now available on all Digital Platforms and on Apple Music in a Dolby Atmos Version!

Current playlists:

Playlist Deezer Jazz: https://deezer.com/playlist/2138566342

Playlist Apple Music « new releases: https://music.apple.com/fr/playlist/new-music-daily/pl.2b0e6e332fdf4b7a91164da3162127b5?l=en

Playlist Napster Jazz: https://web.napster.com/playlist/pp.394854381

Homepage Apple: https://music.apple.com/fr/browse

Magma’s “Kartëhl” is available on CD and 3-sided DBL vinyl LP

To purchase:
CD: https://www.seventhrecords.com/magma-19/kartehl-1316.html
Vinyl: https://www.seventhrecords.com/magma-19/kartehl-edition-vinyle-double-3-1317.html

For more information:
Magma's official website: www.magmamusic.org
Seventh Records: www.seventhrecords.com

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Hugh Hopper of Soft Machine’s Legacy Enhanced With the Re-Release of “Jazzloops” and “The Stolen Hour”, Featuring his Soft Machine Bandmates – OUT NOW!

Hugh Hopper was a key member of Soft Machine and an accomplished solo artist but passed away in 2009. His legacy is now being celebrated with the re-release of two of his solo albums which had been hard to find until now.

Both “Jazzloops” and “The Stolen Hour” feature his Soft Machine bandmates guesting throughout including: Robert Wyatt, Elton Dean and John Marshall.  Other guests include Gong alumni Didier Malherbe and French guitarist Patrice Meyer.

This double disc re-mastered set includes “The Stolen Hour’s” comic, created by Matt Howarth, in the booklet and has been endorsed by Christine Janet Hopper, Hugh Hopper’s wife, who also plays trumpet on some of the recordings.

Peter Pardo of Sea of Tranquility reviewed the original releases of these albums by saying, “Hearing Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Robert Wyatt and John Marshall, all former Soft Machine members, jamming together again is another reason to celebrate…”

The albums are OUT NOW and available from:
Amazon 2 CD Set: https://geni.us/HH2CD
Jazzloops Spotify: https://geni.us/HHjazzloopsSP
Jazzloops Apple Music: https://geni.us/HHjazzloopsAM
The Stolen Hour Spotify: https://geni.us/HHstolenhourSP
The Stolen Hour Apple Music: https://geni.us/HHstolenhourAM

This double disc set is also available directly from Cherry Red: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/hugh-hopper-jazzloops-the-stolen-hour/

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Magma New Studio Album “Kartëhl” Now Available on All Digital Platforms and on Apple Music in a Dolby Atmos Version

French music legends Magma’s new critically acclaimed album “Kartëhl” is now available on all Digital Platforms and on Apple Music in a Dolby Atmos Version!

The new album has been receiving rave reviews worldwide!

“For those who thought Zess would be Magma’s grand studio finale, the good news is that it isn’t. In fact this crazy French band from another planet that sings in their own made-up language still has a lot of energy and power remaining in their collective starship, as evidenced by Kãrtëhl. Kärtëhl offers another solid entry in the Magma canon that certainly won’t disappoint longtime fans of the band.” - Expose

“This is an album with a newer direction, but containing enough of Magma’s uniqueness to be readily identifiable. With each play through the songs grow in stature. These songs definitely demonstrate what Magma can do so well and will sit comfortably alongside older pieces within the live setting. Magma have given us what I believe will be a well-received album which should please their dedicated legions of fans – and maybe win a few more. Who knows?!” - The Progressive Aspect

“Many legacy artists lose the plot by this stage of their careers, but Magma have been charting their own path for so long that they always seem to know where they’re going—and Kãrtëhl is an exciting new entry in their oeuvre.” - Chicago Reader

“Kãrtëhl has proven that Magma aren’t backing down, without a fight. And the result on this bad boy, has more continuations of the classical, soulful, and jazzy-like approach that’ll keep the machine going, forever and ever.” - Echoes and Dust

“Three years ago, Zëss showed that Magma can still produce work operatic in its scope and ambition; now Kãrtëhl reveals a collective that is very comfortable in its own skin. What Magma do in the next few years will determine whether Kãrtëhl comes to be seen as their well-executed swansong, or the start of a definitive new period.” - The Quietus

Current playlists:

Playlist Deezer Jazz: https://deezer.com/playlist/2138566342

Playlist Apple Music « new releases: https://music.apple.com/fr/playlist/new-music-daily/pl.2b0e6e332fdf4b7a91164da3162127b5?l=en

Playlist Napster Jazz: https://web.napster.com/playlist/pp.394854381

Homepage Apple: https://music.apple.com/fr/browse

2020/2021. More than 18 months without being able to do a concert. This space of time, this imposed “pause”, was used to prepare a new album, a group album, like Magma hadn’t done for a long time.

Following the creation of a new line-up in 2020, Magma once again offered to musicians to bring compositions, Christian Vander having never made the deliberate choice to be Magma’s sole composer. But de facto, none of the dozens of musicians who participated in this adventure had offered a new song for decades!

After “ZËSS”, which hinted at a rather bleak future, this luminous and resolutely optimistic new album is the result of collective work, an “Operation Kartëhl”.

“Kartëhl” was recorded and mixed by Francis Linon at UZ studio between March 7 and June 12, 2022. Mastered at Greasy records studio by Marcus Linon. Produced by Stella Vander Linon.

Line-up – Christian Vander : drums, solo vocals, tambourine / Stella Vander : solo vocals, vocals, chime / Hervé Aknin : solo vocals, vocals / Isabelle Feuilleboi s: vocals / Sylvie Fisichella : vocals / Caroline Indjein : vocals / Laura Guarrato : vocals / Rudy Blas : guitar / Thierry Eliez : piano, Fender Rhodes, keyboards / Simon Goubert : piano, Fender Rhodes, keyboards / Jimmy Top : bass

Magma’s “Kartëhl” is available on CD and 3-sided DBL vinyl LP

To purchase:
CD: https://www.seventhrecords.com/magma-19/kartehl-1316.html
Vinyl: https://www.seventhrecords.com/magma-19/kartehl-edition-vinyle-double-3-1317.html

For more information:
Magma's official website: www.magmamusic.org
Seventh Records: www.seventhrecords.com

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

French Music Legends Magma To Release New Studio Album “Kartëhl” on September 30, 2022!

2020/2021. More than 18 months without being able to do a concert. This space of time, this imposed “pause”, was used to prepare a new album, a group album, like Magma hadn’t done for a long time.

Following the creation of a new line-up in 2020, Magma once again offered to musicians to bring compositions, Christian Vander having never made the deliberate choice to be Magma’s sole composer. But de facto, none of the dozens of musicians who participated in this adventure had offered a new song for decades!

After “ZËSS”, which hinted at a rather bleak future, this luminous and resolutely optimistic new album is the result of collective work, an “Operation Kartëhl”.

In addition to the 6 tracks recorded in 2022, the album contains as a bonus, two demos recorded “at home” from Christian Vander’s personal collection.

Hakëhn Deis 7:12 (Christian Vander)
Do Rïn Ïlï üss 4:38 (Hervé Aknin)
Irena Balladina 5:11 (Christian Vander)
Walömëhndêm 7:36 (Thierry Eliez)
Wiï Mëlëhn Tü 8:54 ( Simon Goubert)
Dëhndë 6:55 (Christian Vander) *

Bonuses
Hakëhn Deis 6:11 (Christian Vander)
Recorded in 1978 - Christian Vander: Piano, vocals – René Garber: vocals

Dëhndë 6:38 (Christian Vander) *
Recorded in 1978 - Piano, vocals: René Garber

“Kartëhl” was recorded and mixed by Francis Linon at UZ studio between March 7 and June 12, 2022. Mastered at Greasy records studio by Marcus Linon. Produced by Stella Vander Linon.

Line-up – Christian Vander : drums, solo vocals, tambourine / Stella Vander : solo vocals, vocals, chime / Hervé Aknin : solo vocals, vocals / Isabelle Feuilleboi s: vocals / Sylvie Fisichella : vocals / Caroline Indjein : vocals / Laura Guarrato : vocals / Rudy Blas : guitar / Thierry Eliez : piano, Fender Rhodes, keyboards / Simon Goubert : piano, Fender Rhodes, keyboards / Jimmy Top : bass

*The royalties will be donated in full to the Fondation Initiative Autisme

Magma’s “Kartëhl” will be released on CD (Sept. 30) and 3-sided DBL vinyl LP (Oct. 7)

To purchase:
CD: https://www.seventhrecords.com/magma-19/kartehl-1316.html
Vinyl: https://www.seventhrecords.com/magma-19/kartehl-edition-vinyle-double-3-1317.html

For more information:
Magma's official website: www.magmamusic.org
Seventh Records: www.seventhrecords.com

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Bass Virtuosos Alberto Rigoni and Michael Manring To Release New Album “Grains of Sand” on Sept. 15, 2022

Bass virtuosos Alberto Rigoni (solo, BAD As, Kim Bingham, Vivaldi Metal Project etc.) and Michael Manring (solo, Alex Skolnic, Steve Morse etc,) are glad to announce the release of their new album “Grains of Sand” on September 15th.

The album, fully instrumental, spans from prog to fusion, jazz, ambient and features Mark Zonder (Fates Warning, A-Z) on drums. Also, on some tracks the duo invited some bassists as special guests such as Billy Sheehan, Stuart Hamm, Adam Nitti and more.

Alberto Rigoni says: “After the release of ‘Song for Souls’ in memory of my father I said I was going to retire (at least for a bit) but well… I could not resist making an album with one of the best bass players in the world like Michael. Hope you will enjoy it!”

Michael Manring says: “Alberto is a prolific artist with a deep love of the bass. His enthusiasm is inspiring and it’s always a pleasure to work with him.”

The duo have already released two videos that you can view at the following links:
https://youtu.be/GuXJxlNYcBY (“No Escape” feat. Adam Nitti)
https://youtu.be/G5SjE0vRU54 (“Grains of Sands” ft. Billy Sheehan)

“Grains of Sand” will be available in digital, Digipack CD and limited edition tape/cassette! You can pre-order “Grains of Sand” at http://albertorigoni.bandcamp.com

For more information:
https://linktr.ee/albertorigoni
http://www.manthing.com

Released by Manthing Music BMI (© 2022)

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Swiss Minimalistic Jazz Ensemble AKKU Quintet Release New “Live” Album

“Live” takes you on a 75-minute long musical journey and leads you into the cosmos of Swiss-based AKKU Quintet led by drummer and composer Manuel Pasquinelli (also known for his work with Sonar & David Torn). It contains five songs from different stages of the group's history, recorded at various locations between 2016 and 2020. You’ll hear the touch and character of each player, acting as a part of the ensemble to create this atmospheric, minimalistic yet livingly driving music.

Says Manuel, “Playing this music live is always an intense and beautiful experience. While not perfect, live versions often have a certain quality and spirit, which are hard to achieve in the studio. We want to share some live moments we captured on different occasions with this album, especially in this challenging time for live music. We didn’t do any editing. So you will hear truly handmade music. This album might be a good introduction to our work, and maybe one gets curious about the four studio albums we released before.”

“They take the Swiss zen maximalist/minimalist approach of Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin, Sonar, Schnellertollermeier to a different, but utterly logical conclusion. Fabulous stuff. Recommended!” - Steve Feigenbaum, Cuneiform Records

AKKU Quintet is based in Berne (Switzerland), from where they dispense a minimalistic jazz groove to great effect. Drummer Manuel Pasquinelli, who is also responsible for the compositions, founded the band in 2010. Their first concert took place in 2011. Since then, the band has released four studio albums and is playing live regularly. Their latest studio album, “Depart,” was the first one released with 7d Media. Manuel Pasquinelli is also known as the drummer of Sonar, who are collaborating with David Torn and Bill Laswell.

Track List:

01 Waves
Recorded live on October 15, 2017 at bee-flat im Progr, Bern
Album version on “Aeon”

02 Polar
Recorded live on May 8, 2019 at bee-flat im Progr, Bern
Album version on “Aeon”

03 Deep Sleep I
Recorded live on February 18, 2020 at City Pub, Bern
Album version on “Stages of Sleep”

04 Schneemann
05 Deep Sleep II
Recorded on April 10, 2016 at Cully Jazz Festival, Cully
Album versions on “Molecules” and “Stages of Sleep”

AKKU Quintet:
Manuel Pasquinelli - Drums
Michael Gilsenan - Sax & Fx
Maja Nydegger - Grand Piano, Keys
Markus Ischer - Guitar
Andi Schnellmann - Bass

Music written by Manuel Pasquinelli
No edits loops or overdubs on this record

Here’s what the press has said about AKKU Quintet:

“The group connect and lock together yet remain constantly in motion, maintaining a balletic poise and grace that skillfully builds and adds line upon line of long, sonorous notes. Though each one on its own might be gossamer-thin, when combined, they create something strong and enduring, something substantial and memorable” - Sid Smith

“There is a spaciousness in these zeros and ones that AKKU Quintet allows to speak for itself. There is no unnecessary noodling to fill the gaps, every note has its place.” - Roger Trenwith, The Progressive Aspect

“I had the great, great pleasure to see them on their final US show in 2018 and they take the ‘Swiss zen maximalist/minimalist approach’ of Ronin, Sonar, Schnellertollermeier to a different, but utterly logical conclusion. Fabulous stuff. Recommended!” - Steve Feigenbaum, Cuneiform Records

“Taking a type of minimalist and mathrock, slowing it down with postrock atmosphere, bringing a tight clean jazz element to it, and creating a set of dreamscape styled equal balance between classical and progressive rock and you have the formula for Switzerland's unique Akku Quintet.” - Lee Henderson, Big Beautiful Noise

“Very beautiful, spacious, minimalist groove.” - Anil Prasad, Innerviews

“Groove becomes a compositional element, beauty an act of concentration, improvisation never a sure-fire success, but a dramaturgical stylistic device.” - Ane Hebeisen

To purchase:
US: https://akkuquintet7d.bandcamp.com/album/live
Europe: www.akkuquintet.bandcamp.com/

For more information:
www.akkuquintet.com
www.facebook.com/akkuquintet
www.instagram.com/manuelpasquinelli_akkuquintet/

www.7dmedia.com

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, Billy James, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

MAGMA “MDK” Limited Edition Vinyl of 2000 Numbered Copies Available January 28th

Limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on copper-colored vinyl. The album is housed in a gatefold sleeve with a copper foil finish on the front of the sleeve.

The only survivors of the previous formation, Christian VANDER and Klaus BLASQUIZ, surrounded by a renewed team of musicians, invested in the studios of the Manor in Oxford in 1973, to record their “MEKANIK DESTRUKTIW KOMMANDOH,” the album considered by many to be the conductor of work of MAGMA. A long piece articulated in seven movements, “MDK” went through a long gestation period before reaching its final state of achievement. The progress made between the short 45rpm version of the previous formation, where brass work predominated, and the one presented on this album, is considerable. All the credit goes to Christian VANDER who, now alone, will irreversibly take charge of MAGMA’s artistic destiny.

If the group’s instrumental performance has gained even more power, notably with the arrival at the bass of Jannick TOP, whose playing is revealed in perfect symbiosis with the spirit of the music of Christian VANDER, what strikes above all on “MDK” is the epic breath that emerges from the masterful work accomplished by the section vocal. Propelled by an inexorable rhythm and reinforced by a female choir where Stella VANDER appears for the first time, the voices of Klaus and Christian come to haunt our minds with these magnificent songs that seem straight from our collective memory, giving MAGMA’s music a timeless and universal character.

Christian VANDER drums, vocals, organ, percussions
Jannick TOP bass
Klaus BLASQUIZ vocals, percussions
Jean-Luc MANDERLIER piano, organ
René GARBER clarinet, bass, vocals
Claude OLMOS guitar
Teddy LASRY saxophone, flute
Stella VANDER vocals, choirs
Muriel STREISFELD, Evelyne RAZYMOVSKI, Michèle SAULNIER, Doris REIHNARDT choirs

To pre-order: https://www.seventhrecords.com/en/magma-19/m-d-k-limited-edition-of-2000-numbered-1312.html

For more information:
Magma's official website: www.magmamusic.org
Seventh Records: www.seventhrecords.com

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Jazz-Fusion Guitarist Gerald Gradwohl To Release 6th Album “Episode 6” April 16 2020

Working at the highest international level of quality has always been a fundamental characteristic of the Gerald Gradwohl Group. He collaborated with Bob Berg, Gary Willis, Kirk Covington, Adam Nitti amongst others. Rooted in the quartet’s own unique approach to instrumental fusion, their sixth album “Episode 6” is a celebration of improvisation set within an exciting and colorful, sonic landscape of imposing compositions. As we have come to know from guitarist and composer Gerald Gradwohl, he continues to work with musicians who, aside from their extraordinary instrumental skills, also bring maturity and creative drive into both concert and recording situations.

“Episode 6” is no exception. Gradwohl’s sophisticated and stylistically diverse instrumental compositions conceptualize exciting musical interactions, and his approach not only continues to keep live recordings fresh and challenging but also fosters the intuition and spontaneity of the musicians, all consolidating the band’s highly dynamic sound. Gerald Gradwohl (g), Thomas Kugi (sax), Jojo Lackner (b) und Harald Tanschek (dr) have once again proved themselves to be an exceptional ensemble, unifying dynamic and intimate musicality with artistic intuition and emotional depth.  

Says Gerald, “Goal of the album was to capture the live sound of this steadily gigging band. We play live with this line up since years which of course influenced my writing a lot. The sound of the live band was the main inspiration, but I also tried to capture the existing vibes during the lockdown. My plan was to work on an album in 2021, but as the pandemic changed all plans and schedules, I preponed this project and finished the song ideas I already had during April/May…We recorded 2 days live as a quartet in one room and added a few overdubs later, so the result is as it would sound live. Recording live is one of my main concepts since years as all the records I made are some kind of snapshots. Moreover, I don’t like to make everything perfect - I love the idea that the listener can feel the energy and spirit of playing together as it would be onstage.”

When looking for terms and names to describe the band, the attempt will leave you with a wide spectrum between jazz and fusion music focusing on grooving funk with a strong “Rock ‘N’ Roll Attitude” mixed with Jazz harmony to fierce discharging jazz rock storms. There is no arbitrariness in this wide array of musical styles and influences, as the band selected team players from the international jazz/fusion scene – renders the stringent compositions in a committed and playfully individual manner, putting its high-quality inventive signature to the music and derives its uniqueness and independence from a sure, pro-active and listening interaction of experienced musician personalities. Gradwohl can jump into and out of the stylistic changes like a true chameleon. He has ventured further into exploratory fusion on this effort than on any of his previous efforts.  Having the support and backing of the great rhythm section has really made this venture for Gradwohl into tribal funk fusion a viable effort of world class caliber. GG pulls all the stops of his musical skills. “As much composition as necessary and as much improvisation as possible” seems to be the dogma and the point of view of fusion-music of today for this worldwide known and acknowledged composer and performer, living in Wr. Neustadt, Austria. The great variety in composition and playing will not only fascinate Jazz and Fusion lovers - watch out for exciting live gigs!  

The album “ABQ” (2003) feat. Bob Berg, Gary Willis and Kirk Covington was a big step in Gerald’s international career. Several albums and live tours have been the result of his continuous work. 2007 “Tritone Barrier” is released. On this album Scott Henderson contributes a guest solo on the track “Jeff's Back.” This album is followed by “Sally Beth Roe” in 2009 which he recorded with his Trio - this is a real guitar trio record! In 2013 Gerald released “Big Land” feat. Tribal Tech drummer Kirk Covington on drums. “RAW” (2016) is a critically acclaimed masterpiece of Jazz and Rock music and is the first release with his current band. The band is touring regularly and releases the new album “Episode 6” in April 2021!

Says Gerald, “I hope we can present the album live as soon as possible. My main goal is to bring the Quartet to as many festivals as possible, as we really ‘burn’ onstage. My next project is already in the works - I want to prove that it is possible to do a ‘remote’ recording by sending files back and forth and still creating a live atmosphere almost as we would play together in a room. I already did a few tunes with Kirk Covington and Adam Nitti and hope that I can finish this in 2021!”

Gerald Gradwohl Group:
Gerald Gradwohl - guitar
Thomas Kugi - sax
Jojo Lackner - bass
Harald Tanschek  - drums

Here’s what the press has said about Gerald Gradwohl:

“Gerald Gradwohl is a serious, progressive jazz guitarist who spans a range of styles and influences within multiple jazzish genres from silky smooth jazz to rip-roaring fusion, always with intensive guitar work.” -  EER Music

“A guitarist of extraordinary depth and sensitivity. Gradwohl plays with the same kind of abandon as Scott Henderson, and is able to portray the same gracefulness as Frank Gambale, showing a solid command for his jazz meets rock guitar stylings.” - Jazz.com

“If you want your jazz rock fusion hard hitting and rough, yet well balanced and without the blinding restlessness of shredding, look no further.” - FUSENET

“A highly skilled soloist, Gradwohl’s style combines the hip lines of a jazz player, with the technical proclivities of a shredder.” - The Guitar Channel

Gerald Gradwohl Group “Episode 6” Released on April 6, 2021 Label: gtone211  

To purchase: http://brokensilence.de/lnk/episode6/

For more information:
www.gradwohl.at
www.facebook.com/geraldgradwohlofficial
www.instagram.com/geraldgradwohl
www.twitter.com/gtone2700
www.youtube.com/geraldgradwohlmusic

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Guitarist and Film Music Mastermind Lyle Workman To Release Stunning New Instrumental Album “Uncommon Measures” on Feb. 19, 2021 on Blue Canoe Records

Epic Progressive Rock/Jazz Fusion Collection Features 63-Piece Orchestra recorded Live At Abbey Road Studios

Known both as a first-call sideman/session musician and a top-shelf film composer with credits including “Superbad,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” prolific guitarist Lyle Workman will release “Uncommon Measures,” his first solo album in a more than a decade, on February 19, 2021, via Blue Canoe Records. Featuring a 63-piece orchestra recorded live at Abbey Road under the direction of orchestrator extraordinaire John Ashton Thomas (“Black Panther,” “Captain Marvel”), the collection plays like the score to some epic film from an alternate dimension, mixing elements of progressive rock, jazz fusion, and romantic classical music with gleeful abandon.

“This record ties together all the different threads of who I am,” explains Workman. “It was four years in the making due to my film and TV schedule, but it’s really the culmination of a lifetime in music.”

Bursting at the seams with soaring arrangements and virtuosic performances, “Uncommon Measures” showcases not only Workman’s unparalleled musicianship, but also his profound empathy and expansive emotional vocabulary. The songs here are living, breathing entities, constantly growing and evolving in ways both subtle and drastic, and the production is similarly unpredictable, veering from larger-than-life bombast to whispered intimacy and back, sometimes within the very same track. The result is a record as extraordinary as it is unexpected, a captivating, transportive song cycle that manages to scale the dizzying heights of joy and sadness, love and friendship, self-discovery and celebration, all without a single word.

“Lyle Workman is a completely accomplished and inspired guitarist, musician and composer,” says Steve Vai. “He has a wicked command of the instrument and is perhaps one of three players I know of that can wield exotic orchestral compositions with either a screaming or whispering guitar. ‘Uncommon Measures’ is the masterful evidence of this.”

A California native, Workman’s musical journey began in the mid-1980s, when he joined the Sacramento-based band Bourgeois Tagg. The group landed a deal with Island Records and gained international acclaim for their hit single “I Don’t Mind At All,” a Workman co-write that helped earn performances on the Tonight Show, Top Of The Pops, American Bandstand, and their European equivalents. The band proved to be a launching pad for Workman, who soon began picking up gigs in the studio and on the road with the likes of Sting, Beck, Frank Black, Jellyfish, Todd Rundgren, Norah Jones, Bryan Adams, and jazz icon Tony Williams, who included Workman’s “Machu Picchu” on his final album, “Wilderness,” with Stanley Clarke and Herbie Hancock. Workman’s skills as a sideman turned out to make him ideally suited for the world of film and television, as well, and work writing commercial jingles soon gave way to jobs composing for indie films, which opened the door to major studio releases and a connection with Judd Apatow, who began hiring Workman to score many of his projects. To date, Workman has composed music for films that have generated over a billion dollars at the box office worldwide.

PURCHASING LINK:
https://www.bluecanoerecords.com/uncommon_measures.html

SOCIAL MEDIA:
https://www.facebook.com/lyleworkman.musician
https://www.instagram.com/lyle.workman/
https://www.youtube.com/c/lyleworkmanofficial
https://twitter.com/lyle_workman

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, Billy James, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

MAGMA RETROSPEKTIW I - II – III plus Bonus Track (3CD) Remastered Edition Now Available!

Featuring bonus track of more than 15 minutes - the first studio recording of the song “Rétrovision”!

It was at the Olympia in June 1980 that the 10th anniversary of Magma was celebrated during three memorable evenings.

This retrospective, bringing together most of the musicians who were part of the group, saw the light of day in the form of 2 albums, one double, Retrospektïw 1/2 the other single, Retrospektïw 3 which was, despite its numbering, published in first. Three titles make up the menu of this Retrospektïw 3: “Retrovision,” a long piece in the continuity of the spirit of the music of the album Attahk, where, on a hellish train, the voices of Stella Vander, Guy Khalifa and Maria Popkiewicz display an astonishing ease, “Hhaï,” in a supercharged version where the Lockwood/Paganotti/Widemann trio performs wonders, and finally “La Dawotsin” where, in a much calmer register, the voice of Christian Vander captivates by its mastery and its depth sensitivity.

A bonus of more than 15 minutes appears on this reissue, it is the first studio recording of the song “Rétrovision,” a pre-production demo for a studio album made in January 1980. Finally, “Rétrovision” will never exist in a studio version.

Recorded as Retrospektïw 3 during the evenings of the Olympia in June 1980, Retrospektïw 1/2 is a fundamental album insofar as it finally presents “Theusz Hamtaahk,” the first movement of the trilogy of the same name, of which we already knew the second movement, “Ẁurdah Ïtah,” as well as the third, “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh.”

A piece performed on stage since 1974, “Theusz Hamtaahk” waited years before being engraved for eternity, because Christian Vander wanted each note to be beautiful, magical, essential and definitive. It is with the same respect for the music that he also offers us on this double album a magnificent version of “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh,” a version which allows itself two great moments with the hallucinating improvisations of Bernard Paganotti and Didier Lockwood. Klaus Blasquiz, who did not appear on the Retrospektïw 3 album, provides lead vocals this time.

Without a doubt, Magma has left the legacy of constantly evolving music, which defies all standards and connivance of rock, evolving in a universe of their own creation.

AVAILABLE JANUARY 25, 2021

To pre-order: https://www.seventhrecords.com/en/magma-19/magma-retrospektiw-i-ii-iii-bonus-1303.html

For more information:
Magma's official website: www.magmamusic.org
Seventh Records: www.seventhrecords.com

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Guitar Virtuoso Marcelo Paganini to Release Album “Identity Crisis” Featuring Billy Sherwood, Rachel Flowers, Lenny White, Chad Wackerman and Others!

Featuring special guests Billy Sherwood (YES/ASIA), Adam Holzman (Steve Wilson Band), Rachel Flowers, Lenny White (Return to Forever), Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa Band), Jan Dumée (Focus), Marc Madoré, Karla Downey, Jamison Smeltz, Damilton Viana, Esdras Ferreira and Adriano Campagnani (Beto Guedes Band)

“Identity Crisis” is the new guitar virtuoso Marcelo Paganini prog rock jazz fusion album to be released on his birthday December 11, 2020. The album features special guests Billy Sherwood (YES/ASIA), Adam Holzman (Steve Wilson Band), Rachel Flowers, Lenny White (Return to Forever), Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa Band), Jan Dumée (Focus), Marc Madoré, Karla Downey, Jamison Smeltz, Damilton Viana, Esdras Ferreira and Adriano Campagnani (Beto Guedes Band). 5 out of 6 songs of the album were mixed and mastered by Gudjon Sveinsson in Iceland. The single “Circus is empty” was mixed by Daniel Boivin in France and mastered by Maor Appelbaum in LA, California, USA.

“When Allan Holdsworth passed away all of a sudden it was up to me and the others to keep guitar composition and playing moving forward. ‘Do your own thing’ he said every time we met. Now Eddie Van Halen passed away as well and we realize how hard it will be,” remembers Marcelo Paganini about his intentions when he started this project. “I changed the tuning of the guitar so I could not repeat anything I knew before. I decided to only use in the whole album, except for acoustic 12 string intros, the black guitar X-Ing Ibanez, no vibrato bar, bare bones. And to record just one guitar per track, to be able to play it live and sound like the album, or better. When live concerts will come back.”

The music on “Identity Crisis” mixes up the best influences from classic prog rock, with unexpected contemporary harmonic solutions and melodic turns. The songs can break loose by surprise in furious jazz fusion improvisations. As impressive as the casting in the album can be, and it is, the incredible alchemy that happened between Marcelo Paganini and Rachel Flowers in 4 out of 6 songs,  at the 11th hour, was a game changer in the intensity of that musical language. Mr Bowler Music Agency in the Netherlands is booking Marcelo Paganini Band featuring Rachel Flowers.

TRACK LIST:
Bacteria
Circus is empty
Soul much further away
Learn to love to wait
Tangerine way
Captain's face

Released December 11, 2020

To purchase: https://marcelopaganini.bandcamp.com/

For more information:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marcelo-Paganini-13255032254/
YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/user/MarcelloPaganini
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/marcelopaganini.ic/

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Booking: Mr Bowler Music Agency
Sumatrastraat 19a
5215AX s-Hertogenbosch
The Netherlands
arne@mrbowlermusicagency.nl  Phone: +31652881212