2/24/14

Canadian Prog Rockers Druckfarben to release Second Sound CD


Left to Right: Phil Naro, Peter Murray, Ed Bernard,
Troy Feener and William Hare
Canadian progressive rock band Druckfarben will release their sophomore album, Second Sound, worldwide on March 22. The record will be available in CD form from their website (druckfarben.ca) and CD Baby, and digitally from iTunes and Bandcamp.

Second Sound features bold new colours in such songs as “An Answer Dreaming”, “In Disbelief” and “Liberated Dream”, and concludes with the 19-minute “Second Sound” suite. “This is a natural progression from our first album,” says guitarist Ed Bernard, “but also introduces musical elements that might be surprising to those who know our music so far.”

Bernard leads the group, which was formed in 2008 along with bassist Peter Murray (Surrender Dorothy, Ron Sexsmith), keyboardist William Hare (Crystal Shawanda, Angelica DiCastro, Abraham's Children), drummer Troy Feener (Full Nine, Tom Cochrane) and singer Phil Naro (Talas, Peter Criss, DDrive). In German, Druckfarben means “coloured ink used for printing on textiles or other media.” In the mid-80s, teenaged Ed and Troy had no idea what the word meant when they discovered it stencilled on mysterious black barrels in their rehearsal studio. But many years later it resurfaced as the name of Canada’s great new prog export.

All five members of Druckfarben grew up with a shared love of classic progressive rock music, such as Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Rush, King Crimson and Kansas. They played their first show on March 1, 2008 in Port Credit, Ontario. Their self-titled debut was released in October 2011, followed by a live DVD (Artifact) in 2013. They quickly built up an international following, including supporters such as Kim Mitchell, Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard), and Maurizio Guarini of Italy's Goblin, as well as producers Terry Brown (Rush) and David Bendeth (Bruce Hornsby, Paramore).

The band is eager to perform the exciting new material from Second Sound live throughout 2014 and beyond. 

For news and updates, follow:
Official site: www.druckfarben.ca


2/19/14

Ian Anderson's HOMO ERRATICUS due April 15 in North America



Look out for U.S. Fall tour, Dates TBA 
Ian Anderson Doing Press
for HOMO ERRATICUS

Legendary prog pioneer Ian Anderson will be releasing a new studio album Homo Erraticus on April 15 on his own Calliandra Records, distributed by Kscope.  The album continues with the story of Anderson's favorite enfant terrible Gerald Bostock.

Ian and his band (guitarst Florian Opahle, bassist David Goodier, keyboardist John O'Hara and drummer Scott Hammond, and singer Ryan O'Donnell) will be touring the United States this September through November.

In 1972 Ian's band Jethro Tull released the iconic concept album Thick As A Brick, based on a poem by the then eight year old Gerald Bostock in 2012. As many fans wondered what might have befallen the character, Ian Anderson decided to explore the different paths Gerald's life might have taken in his 2012 album, Thick As A Brick 2

Following a forty year political career, Gerald Bostock reunited with Anderson taking the role of tour manager on a string of shows. Homo Erraticus marks Gerald's return to songwriting, and is based on an unpublished manuscript by amateur historian Ernest T. Parritt (1865-1928).

In Homo Erraticus, Parritt examines key events of British history with a string of prophecies stretching to the current day and the future. Visions of past lives caused by the delirium of malaria generate the characters through whose eyes the stories are told, including a nomadic Neolithic settler, an Iron Age blacksmith, a Christian monk, a turnpike innkeeper and even Prince Albert.

The album release will be followed by an extensive tour, where Homo Erraticus will be performed in its entirety followed by a selection of Tull classics updated with video and theatrics.

Ian Anderson recently won The Prog God Award from Prog Magazine, celebrating the innovators of rock who have inspired generations and carved a way for others to be at their creative best. There is no one who has pushed the boundaries more than Ian Anderson, who to this day remains immersed in his love for the music.

Fronting seminal Prog outfit Jethro Tull and performing simply under his own name, Ian Anderson has performed in more than 54 countries over 45 years; he is widely considered an icon of the genre and is recognized as the protagonist of the flute in rock music.  With over 60 million albums sold in its career, Tull has been characterised by Anderson’s trademark acoustic textures created with ethnic flutes and whistles together with acoustic guitar and the mandolin family of instruments. In many recent shows, Anderson has played with orchestras, string quartets and featured soloists. His eclectic acoustic performances are also a hit with fans of the progressive genre. 

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