This Week Refestramus New Album “Morri’s Rock Boutique”

Refestramus’ third studio album, “Morri’s Rock Boutique,” is available through Melodic Revolution Records. This nine-track release is available on all streaming media.  Fans can order a the CD with two bonus tracks (“Wasteland Pt. 1” and “Another Country”) at refestramus.bandcamp.com/album/morri-s-rock-boutique .   

Prog UK calls “Morri’s Rock Boutique” “enjoyably vibrant and hooky.”

Echoes and Dust praises the album’s “cinematic landscape with its surrealistic wonders, ghost-town amusement parks, and the haunting ghost that spooks the location”!

Powerplay writes the album features “Grown up prog full of Great musicianship and songwriting.”  

“Morri’s Rock Boutique” charts a path through collapse and illusion toward clarity—where the joke turns serious: right and wrong still exist, and you still answer to them.

A concept album about surviving the absurd—emotionally, spiritually, and politically— “Morri’s Rock Boutique” moves through storms of loss, collapse, and memory toward moments of humor, tenderness, and human connection. Blending folklore, mental health, myth, and modern life into an eclectic progressive-rock soundscape, the record explores the fragile beauty of becoming: not perfection, but refinement.

Across the album, each song presents its own vignette. “Storms” frames a human life like a thunderstorm—powerful, beautiful, and temporary. “The Lucky Ones” nods to the Sermon on the Mount’s upside-down blessings and features Crack the Sky guitarist Rick Witkowski. “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” (feat. Lynx of Old Blood) plays like a David Lynch noir—dreamlike, unstable, and haunted by the question of what’s real and what’s remembered—until the only way out is forgiveness.

“The Cossack’s Dream,” featuring Kansas electric violinist Joe Deninzon, is Refestramus’ English-language adaptation of a traditional Slavic song. “Lakeview Samurai” is a surreal character sketch set in Chicago—part satire, part fever dream. “Hell or NYC?” features Van der Graaf Generator saxophonist David Jackson, leaning into the album’s vertigo and dark comedy.

The record’s culminating epic, “Deathless,” draws on Slavic folklore’s Kashchey the Deathless—a figure who feeds on conflict and feels at home in the smoke of war—unfolding as a three-part suite: “Above Volokov’s Mill,” “Goodbye, America!,” and “And He Always Will.”

“Morri’s Rock Boutique” is produced by Ian Beabout, mostly in Dan Bozek’s studio at Aardvark Productions in Steubenville, Ohio. The group Refestramus is a Chicago-based progressive rock project blending literate songwriting, political reflection, and classic prog influences. Led by Derek Ferguson (songwriter, drums), Refestramus features Jan Christiana (vocals/keys/guitars/bass) and Dyanne Potter Voegtlin (keys/vocals) of Octarine Sky, with Mitch Lawrence (saxophones, clarinet).  

Refestramus are booking concerts and have confirmed they’ll be returning to the International Pop Overthrow in Chicago at the Montrose Saloon on April 25.

Track-list:
1. Storms 04:33
2. The Cossack’s Dream (feat. Joe Deninzon) 05:37
3. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (feat. Lynx) 07:37
4. Lakeview Samurai (feat. Nam Chumo) 04:15
5. Hell or NYC? (feat. David Jackson) 06:02
6. Deathless (incl. Above Volkov’s Mill, Goodbye America! and He Always Will 08:32
7. The Lucky Ones (feat. Rick Witkowski) 04:21
8. Wasteland, pt1 04:19
9. Another Country 04:02
Total Running Time: 47:98 Minutes

Musicians
Ian Beabout – Production, Mixing, Mastering, and Screaming “Watch out for the katana!”
Derek Ferguson – Drums and Screaming “Hey buddy, shut the fuck up!”
Mitch Lawrence – Clarinet and Saxes

Associated Artists – Special Guests:
Jan Christiana – Bass, Guitars, Keyboards, and Vocals (Tracks 1-3, 5-7)
Dyanne Potter Voegtlin – Keyboards and Vocals (Tracks 1-3, 5-7)
Dyanne Voegtlin and Jan Christiana appear courtesy of Octarine Sky
octarinesky.com
Arrangements by Refestramus and Jan Christiana
Derek Pavlic – Additional Guitars (Tracks 1-4) and Viola (Track 2)
Dan Bozek – Additional Bass (Track 4)
Tanaka Seijin ( ⽥ 中 正 ⼈ – Shamisen, Koto, and Shakuhachi (Track  4 ）
Cover art by Refestramus and Veseli ć &Veseli ć
Produced by Ian Beabout and Refestramus

All words and music by Derek Ferguson, except:
“The Cossack’s Dream” – traditional Russian song, lyrics translated by Derek Ferguson

Mixed and Mastered by Ian Beabout at ShedSounds Recordings
Recorded Feb-May 2025: Aardvark Productions & The Rec Room, Steubenville, OH: Studio L, Weirton, WV; Uberwald Elektroakustik Chicago, Il
Engineered by Ian Beabout, Jan Christiana, Dan Bozek, and Rick Witkowski
©2025. Published by Refestramus Music Publishing.
Licensed to and Distributed by Melodic Revolution Records

“Goodbye, America” New Single by Refestramus

 

Credits and Album Cover for "Morri's Rock Boutique"

 Airport Incident After Festival Performance

Becomes Tipping Point for Politically-Charged New Release

Chicago-based progressive rock project Refestramus announces the release of its new single, “Goodbye, America,” arriving January 2, 2026. The song is an explicit political statement that confronts empire, sanctions, and moral blowback, drawing on mythology and lived experience to ask hard questions about power and accountability.

At the center of the song is Kashay Besmertny, a figure from Russian folklore whose “deathless” power comes from hiding his soul outside his own body. Derek uses him as a metaphor for empires that can no longer feel the human cost of their actions.

Refestramus returned to the United States from Heathrow Airport in November after performing at the UK progressive rock festival HRH Prog 15, where the band performed with acclaimed progressive musicians including David Jackson (of classic prog act Van der Graaf Generator) and Alex Hutchings from Steven Wilson’s touring band.

Following the performance, Refestramus founder Derek Ferguson was involved in a routine customer-service dispute at Heathrow that escalated when a comment about documenting the interaction online was recorded as “threatening.” No safety or security incident occurred, but the experience proved formative.

“What struck me wasn’t the inconvenience,” Ferguson says. “It was how quickly ordinary speech can now be reclassified as ‘threatening’ in environments shaped by preemptive harm-prevention frameworks that can unintentionally normalize intimidating behavior within authority structures. In combination with similar dynamics playing out elsewhere, you realize how easily systems meant to protect people end up allowing some people to exercise power over others.”

Ferguson adds that the moment resonated precisely because it echoed concerns closer to home, “not across borders.”

The band stresses that the incident itself is not the story, but rather a real-world illustration of the themes explored in “Goodbye, America,” which addresses the human cost of sanctions, displacement, and moral distance.

Lyrics include:
Mothers left out on the street,
Your sanctions left no food to eat.
America, the things you do —
I see now they’re coming back to you.

“Goodbye America” features Octarine Sky’s Jan Christiana (vocals, keyboards, guitars, and bass) and Dyanne Potter Voegtlin (keyboards and vocals), and bandleader/writer Derek Ferguson (drums).

“Goodbye, America” is the central movement of a longer ten-minute composition on the forthcoming album “Morri’s Rock Boutique” titled “Deathless,” which uses the Kashay myth to trace how unchecked power ultimately consumes even those who wield it.

“Goodbye, America” will be released as a standalone single on January 2, 2026. The album “Morri’s Rock Boutique,” which is produced by Ian Beabout, follows on March 20, 2026.  

“Deathless” will be available on streaming media on March 6.

Fan Link  https://fanlink.tv/goodbyeAmerica

“Goodbye, America” lyrics

By Refestramus

So many people died, and what was it all for?

The parts they played in America's war.

Our lives are prisons – we will never be free,

And our cells are made with magic

that’s so strong you cannot see.

As if taken by Kashay Besmertny,

America you’ve gotten so hard to see.

It seems as if with every war,

You vanished just a little more.

Mothers left out on the street.

Your sanctions left no food to eat.

America, the things you do

I see now are coming back to you.

C 2026 Derek Ferguson/Refestramus Music Publishing (ASCAP), All Rights Reserved

About Refestramus:
Refestramus is a Chicago-based progressive rock project blending literate songwriting, political reflection, and classic prog influences. The band’s work explores power, memory, displacement, and moral responsibility in an increasingly rule-saturated world.

For more information:
https://refestramus.com
https://refestramus.bandcamp.com

Refestramus return with the dance single "Zombie Love 2025"

 

About “Zombie Love” "Zombie Love” is a darkly playful dance-pop anthem that fuses infectious beats with a story straight out of a midnight movie. Beneath its pulsing rhythm and catchy hook lies a tale of eternal attraction — a love that just won’t die. The song contrasts night and day, life and afterlife, all wrapped in a seductive groove. With lines like “Keep biting me baby, you’re driving me crazy” and “We gotta fight for our zombie love,” it turns the classic monster romance into a club-ready celebration of undying devotion. Driven by synths, a steady four-on-the-floor pulse, and a cinematic chorus, “Zombie Love” invites listeners to dance their hearts out in the dark — where passion, humor, and a little horror collide. Words & Music by Derek Ferguson All Instruments by Derek Ferguson Vocals by Alina Golosova Produced by Ian Beabout

Meet Refestramus’ Main Instrumentalists in New Music Video, “Side Hustle” Stay in touch with Band Muse, the Amazing Agent M!

Refestramus’ new music video “Side Hustle, from the group’s “Intourist” album, introduces the Refestramus’ instrumental members (drummer/composer/wizard Derek Ferguson, guitarist/bassist Derek Pavlic, producer/flute player Ian Beabout, and saxophonist Mitch Lawrence - saxes) and continues exposing the on camera life of the band’s muse, the Amazing Agent Mikrovolnovka! 

The song, “Side Hustle” presents a multitude of entendres. Derek notes that as “side hustles” are “little entrepreneurial efforts that people try while they are working their main jobs – hoping to find some way of becoming their own bosses.  Then there’s the phrase ‘side piece, which I’m told refers to someone with whom someone is having an affair. I think the protagonist of the song is trying to convince the object of their affection – a noble person– to think of an affair not so much as becoming a ‘side piece’ that it’s ‘only’ a ‘side hustle.’”  In the video it’s Agent M when she’s undercover -- first as an accountant and then as a librarian.  Those were her ‘side hustles.’” 
 
The song, which originally recorded on Colouratura’s recent album "WTF Was That?!." Was inspired while Derek was walking his dog, and thinking it was a great piece for his band, Refestramus…. But then he remembered that Colouratura’s Ian Beabout played flute. "So, the song itself has become a kind of side hustle for me.’” 

ProgUK says “Intourist” is “likeable, uplifting… a home-cooked slice of melody rich prog.” They conclude that “… the smile on its face is infectious.”

Progressor.net calls “Intouríst” a “love letter to the music and spirit of the 1970s” that is “worth a check”

Refestramus.  Named after a word his mother made up to mean “rearrange,” Derek and his producer – Colouratura’s Ian Beabout – liked it because it wasn’t a legitimate word. “A web search will only turn up our band!”

Refestramus was born May 2020 as Derek’s home studio project during the COVID pandemic. Having been in a variety of progressive rock bands in his native Chicago and an avid listener of Ian Beabout’s Internet radio program “Prog Rock Deep Cuts,” he reached out to Ian to mix and master the recordings. Ian, who plays flute and sings on some tracks on Intourist, introduced Derek to Colouratura bandmates Derek Pavlic and Nathan James, Saxophonist Mitch Lawrence and Wisconsin multi-instrumentalist Jerry King, who plays bass on Intourist. Adding prog multi-instrumentalist Dave Newhouse, who contributed accordion, helped Derek Ferguson guide the album to completion.

Refestramus’ debut album, "Decoupage," was released in December of 2021. In 2022, Refestramus released the EP, "From the Sublime to the Ridiculous."

Colouratura’s WTF Was That?! On Vinyl

Colouratura, an art rock trio from the Ohio Valley USA, have reissued their fourth album “WTF Was That?!” on vinyl on Melodic Revolution Records (Amplified Distribution). Sporting a fresh new mix from bandleader and producer Ian Beabout, “WTF Was That?!” is a varied and ambitious record inspired by West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania life and folklore. 

The band consists of Ian Beabout (flute, synths, backing vocals, production), Nathan James (bass, vocals, piano), and Derek Pavlic (guitars, viola, mellotron, synths, glockenspiel, vocoder), aided by distinguished guests including Refestramus’ Derek Ferguson (drums and percussion), plus talented friends including drummer Dave Trik of Brimstone Coven, and Chris Boros (mellotron). The name, Colouratura was conceived by Nathan James as a metaphor on the various stylistic shifts implemented by the band - together they draw on the likes of metal, prog, pop, funk and folk music. 

 

About the album’s production and vinyl reissue, Beabout says that remixing the vinyl has “given our album new life! Thanks to this sonic overhaul I feel it better represents what we all had in mind when writing and recording it, because when we finished the album for CD and digital release, I was limited by a dying MacBook. When I upgraded my production gear and software, I felt it was a good time to revisit the sonics of the recording. I think it now has a fuller, more robust sound.” 

 

The vinyl has a beautiful presentation, including a light blue splatter design and a full color insert with the band photo. An unboxing video can be viewed on Beabout’s YouTube channel https://youtu.be/KEmRm8BNc60?si=cRi0p8nBpPe6Mbn5. Songs from the new vinyl mix can be heard on the group’s Bandcamp page. colouratura.bandcamp.com/album/wtf-was-that-2024-lp-remix.

 

“The original version will always be the canonical one, it is the one on streaming,” says Beabout, “but to me the album is finally finished and it is something I’m very proud of.” 

 

Press:

"Honest ‘70s-style rock music with nods to early Wishbone Ash, early Tull and Traffic even as hints of Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and Anekdoten creep in here and there. A thoroughly satisfying listen!"

-Steve Roberts, ZNR Records

 

“The band's music is more progressive than progressive. The album offers a sound that is more like so-called ‘mixture rock’ than ‘progressive rock,’ as if their musical tastes are all stewed together. What awaits the listener after listening to the playful and free-spirited arrangements, which will betray the listener's expectations? This is a work that you should definitely hear for yourself.”

- CDs Vinyl Japan Store

 

“The results are vertiginous-- blissed-out and blessed in the music’s festive concern: let’s just hope the ‘was’ in ‘WTF Was That?!’ doesn’t mean this record is the group’s last.”

- Dmitry Epstein, dmme.net review

 

“This does not seem like a modern recording at all, as there is something about it which cries analogue as opposed to digital and playing a download just seems wrong as this should be vinyl, nothing less. This is music which has been allowed to breathe and move in whatever direction it needs to.”

- Kev Rowland, ProgArchives Review

 

“This is their fourth release and they are making waves with their 'off the wall' music and sounds. I find this to be a real treat for all listeners. I must admit, they have a great '70s sound, Are they true hippies in 2023?”

- Jim Allford, Steel Notes Magazine 

 

“Takes the music seriously, but it doesn’t take itself seriously!” 

- Jason Berry, CatSynthTV

 

Refestramus’ New Video “Smiling” and Album "Intourist"

  Refestramus’ new music video is called “Smiling” and on YouTube at

Directed by Anna Fokin, “Smiling” features Romanian actress/actor Monica Pop (https://www.facebook.com/MonicaPopArt) as Agent M. Refestramus’ drummer/songwriter/Wizard Derek Ferguson discovered Ms. Fokin’s work on YouTube, where she has “the absolute best video series for learning Russian”: (https://www.youtube.com/@yourrussian6200).

Derek loves “recurring characters, like 'Aqualung' and 'Cross-Eyed Mary,' which appear in multiple Jethro Tull songs. Combined with my belief that Prog needs to be more photogenic, I created the character Agent Mikrovolnovka, which is a joke. 'Mikrovolnovka' sounds mysterious and alluring, but it is actually the Russian word for 'microwave oven.'”

Both the song and video for “Smiling” are about maintaining other people’s happiness by not expressing your own displeasure. There’s a bit in the middle of the video and song where the music stops, the aquarium breaks, and all the water breaks loose, and that's a metaphor for bottling things up and then having them all spill out.

Art rock group Refestramus, pronounced re-fes-TRA-mus, is named after a word that Derek’s mother made up to mean “rearrange.” Colouratura’s Ian Beabout produced the new album, "Intourist" (Melodic Revolution Records)!

Much of the group was found on Fiverr.com: Induction lead singer Craig Cairns, Brazilian keyboardist maestro Rogelio Desouza, and rock vocalists NIDA, Denisse Ferrara, and Vedrana Lina. The rest of the group came from work connections Ian and Derek have, including Colouratura bandmates Derek Pavlic and Nathan James, saxophonist Mitch Lawrence, plus multi-instrumentalists Jerry King (bass) and Dave Newhouse (accordion).

"Our music seeks to embrace the full spectrum of human emotions, weaving narratives that reflect both the peaks and valleys of life, in line with Prog Magazine's praise of our 'high-brow concepts and bizarre comedic turns.'"

Refestramus.com

Refestramus’ “Intourist” New Album May 4 on Melodic Revolution Records

 

Copyright © Michele V. Wagner Photography, Inc.

Art Rock Wizard Derek Ferguson Dealing with Depth of Light and Darkness   Coming May 4 is “Intourist,” the third album from Refestramus and the album’s new music video “Smiling.”  The video premiere is set for 12 PM CT/10 AM PT  (Friday night/Saturday morning) on May 4 at https://youtu.be/WYJ_I0f236c   Pre-Sale link for the album is officially up at Pre-order the New Album Intour​í​st (lsnto.me). “I’m the writer, I play drums, I pay for everything,” states Derek Ferguson, the Wizard who leads the progressive rock studio ensemble known as Refestramus.  Named after a word his mother made up to mean “rearrange,” Derek and his producer – Colouratura’s Ian Beabout – liked it because it wasn’t a legitimate word, “A web search will only turn up our band!,” which means the latest search for “Refestramus” will show their new album, Intourist (Melodic Revolution Records)! As the bearer of this music, Derek’s powers are rooted in inspiration through his writing and finding musicians. He discovered many on the Internet gig site, Fiverr.com: Induction lead singer Craig Cairns, Brazilian keyboardist maestro Rogelio Desouza, and rock vocalists NIDA, Denisse Ferrara, and Vedrana Lina.      Derek writes from the depth of emotion. The album’s first video, “Smiling," he says, “delves into the complexity of concealing one's sadness to maintain others' happiness, offering a poignant reflection on the masks we wear in society.” Refestramus was born May  2020 as Derek’s home studio project during the COVID pandemic. Having been in a variety of progressive rock bands in his native Chicago and an avid listener of Ian Beabout’s Internet radio program “Prog Rock Deep Cuts,” he reached out to Ian to mix and master the recordings. Ian, who plays flute and sings on some tracks on Intourist, introduced Derek to Colouratura bandmates Derek Pavlic and Nathan James, Saxophonist Mitch Lawrence and Wisconsin multi-instrumentalist Jerry King, who plays bass on Intourist. Adding prog multi-instrumentalist Dave Newhouse, who contributed accordion, helped Derek Ferguson guide the album to completion. Favorite songs on Intourist include “The Red Apple” based on Maxim Gorkiy's story about a gypsy horse thief and themes of rejection and longing. “Asunción” is a heartfelt tribute to the city of Asunción, “You know how bands used to say ‘we’re big in Japan’? We’re big in Paraguay - they even play us on their national radio station there from time to time!” “Side Hustle” is a Jethro Tull inspired song. "‘Mr. Darwin’ offers a lighthearted take on human survival and natural selection.” The album’s title track is a 3-part epic that combines themes of resilience with the supernatural realms on earth including “zombie love” in the third part of the track, “Intourist.”    In addition to acoustic versions of “Asunción” and “The Red Apple,” the physical CD features a cover of Spirit’s “Mr. Skin.” Spirit is one of Derek’s favorite bands, and he points out, “the songwriter here also has the last name Ferguson” Refestramus’ debut album, Decoupage, was released in December of 2021. Expose’s Peter Thelen, who has reviewed thousands of Progressive Rock albums over the years, declared it a “Solid opening move.” In 2022, Refestramus  released the EP, From the Sublime to the Ridiculous, which featured possibly the “Prog-iest” track on the album “The Devil Returns” - drawing inspiration heavily from Bulgakov’s famous novel “The Master and Margarita.”         Bandcamp: https://refestramus.bandcamp.com   Copyright © Michele V. Wagner Photography, Inc.