These Welsh prodigies have conducted an interview as they prepare to release their latest album. An excerpt from “Exclusive interview with trance ambient masters Remergence” by Independent Music Promotions follows

How do you feel about the current trance/ambient/electronic music scene?

There are some brilliant talented artists coming along these days, though I would personally like to see more ambient electronica coming along from the thumpy stuff that usually dominates the music scene, but saying that, it does get the heart pumping and the mind racing lol

Tell us about the biggest influences and inspirations that inspired you to play music.

For me, growing up with the sounds of Pink Floyd and Yes, my inspiration was always to create sounds that were different from the rest, the thoughts of creating a tracks that was built in stages with sections building a landscape of sounds to take the listener on a journey and hopefully this is something that Remergence are doing today and for Pink Floyd fans you will know where we got the name of our duo from.

Who in the current music scene do you most admire most and why?

That’s a bit of a tough one, as admiration is a strange beast that can sometimes mix in to obsession, but Orbital have always held a soft spot for both of us and they are sadly missed. Their music was always and still is something that has always given us the incentive to keep going.

For more information on Remergence and to have a listen to this dynamic duo, set your address bar to www.rembeatz.co.uk/

”Hey Little One” is an amazing opening track launching the collection with a vibey laid-back bossa nova groove, setting the scene for what’s to come. Peter’s voice is relaxed and confident, even when dropping in simple harmonies to embellish the lead vocal. The second song “Wonders of The World” slips into salsa mode for just shy of 5 minutes long. I can hear shades of Roxy Music and maybe even a touch of the mighty Talking Heads. Some very interesting flavours are offered up here. For the third track “Action Figure Hero”, Peter continues the salsa beat to which he sets a slightly more rhythmic vocal melody. Again the harmonies are beautifully subtle and sublime. His lyrics here question American politics of late, particularly foreign policy and military operations in the Middle East. In stark and superb contrast, the next track “A Decent Cup” refers to the quest for a quality brew! Peter utilizes some mid-African rhythms here, reminiscent of Paul Simon’s blockbusting “Graceland” album, but there are other appropriate and well-placed flavours particularly in the form of the understated accordian. The title track “Perfect World Today” is an poignant look at our 21^st Century landscape from materialism and consumerism all the way to politics, warfare and terrorism. By far and away, my favourite track has to be “Brand New Gadget”. A dark and mysterious piece, offering us something different again, yet still expertly in-keeping with the style of the rest of the set. The latinesque melodies and beautiful arrangement make this a real stand out track and an obvious lead single. The mini album reaches it’s conclusion with the gracefully sparse and emotive “You Know It’s Over” another bossa nova rhythm with a little more darkness and mystique.

The overall mix of this CD is not exactly legendary, however, what it lacks in sonic vibrancy it more than makes up for in musical prowess and entertainment value. It has been carefully mastered not to be over-cooked and I’m glad that there are still artists and engineers out there attempting to preserve the true dynamic of sound rather than squeezing the life out of it. Hats off to who-ever held back on the big compression lever! Perhaps the only real negative point I can make here is that the album is far too short. With material this good, it leaves you feeling just a little deflated when the disk stops just short of 30 minutes.

In conclusion, this album offers so much substance and genuine class that all Peter really needs is to stay true to himself and continue churning out great quality material like this. A follow up can only build on what is already a decent set. It’s a real honour and privilege to be able to review a CD of this calibre and this is definitely an artist that I will be keeping a close eye on in the future.

– Neil Thomas (UK)

To learn more about Peter Galperin and preview tracks from “Perfect World Today, check out petergalperin.com

It’s been no secret that Van Halen has been in the studio recording a new album with David Lee Roth, formerly Diamond Dave. The first video has been released, as you can see above.

Is Van Halen in top form? Do you think this song is worthy of Eddie Van Halen?

The album starts off with a very upbeat and funky opening track “Four Years” complete with choppy guitar and Fender Rhodes sounds. There are seventies flavours here brought up to date with a noughties style production. Matt’s voice is dry and crisp with superbly placed harmonies, further developed as the song builds into pre-chorus and chorus and it is clear that from the start, this is a highly professional and glossy production worthy of the current chart. This song is so catchy and hooky you can’t help humming along. There is certainly no let up with the second track “Alright” which has a trippy feel-good vibe as the song bounces nicely along. The groove is both slick and tight – the perfect backdrop for the excellently placed instrumentation. There is real class here as the arrangement leaves space for each augmenting instrument to come to the fore whenever it’s called for. A very accomplished song – leading nicely onto the title track “Cant Quit” where we are placed squarely in boy-band ballad territory reminiscent of Take That and Westlife. Again, Matt’s accomplished and ultra-radio-friendly vocal, sublimely layered and supported by his harmonies, is the proverbial icing on the cake with this track. Lyrically, it is clear he is trying to push the boundaries whilst still keeping widespread appeal and accessibility – no mean feat at all!  The fourth track, “Burnt out” continues the modern vibe with some R&B beats and half-time / double-time lyrics “Never thought I’d be the one to act the fool for you” as he laments a failing relationship. The rest of the tracks progress through to conclusion and maintain the very high standard right to the finish line.

It’s hard to fault this recording at all. Whilst this genre is not strictly to my taste, I couldn’t help but be mightily impressed by the sparkling accessibility and mature production – It is clear that producer Anthony J. Resta knows a thing or two about bringing out the best from “My Silent Bravery”. I would have liked to hear a little more sonic dynamic across the pieces and whilst I enjoyed the acoustic re-working of the title track and “Burnt Out” it would have been better to have just used the acoustic versions, to give a little more contrast. Just my own personal opinion of course, and nothing to take away from this truly excellent work.

 Why this artist does not yet have the backing of a major label is quite beyond me. There are original elements across all of this material and it shouldn’t take much steer from the execs to place “My Silent Bravery” into a niche market position. Anyone looking for something new in the pop/rock style should get this disc ordered right now… once this act has rocketed into stardom a disk like this could end up being a real collectors gem! I for one, will be keeping an eye out for future releases from this outstanding phenomena.

–Neil Thomas (UK)

To learn more about My Silent Bravery and to purchase Can’t Quit from iTunes, go to www.mysilentbravery.com.

This is The Good Evol’s latest CD “Butterfly Crush” officially released in 2011. Natalia Bartolotti and company bring to the table a plethora of musical experience that can’t be questioned. They hail from Los Angeles and are no strangers to the music business.

I always listen to the first track very, very carefully. The first track is what the artist has personally chosen to be the first piece of music to hit your ears. I have to say I was extremely impressed with the opening title track. It was an upbeat number that made a great first impression and had me eager for what was ahead. To be honest: I expected a sing-songy pop rock record that was extremely predictable and overly compatible for a mass audience. What I discovered was quite the opposite. The whole CD is wonderfully simple yet full of what I would call positive energy, with music that appeals to all the senses. The Good Evol reminds me a bit of No Doubt, Garbage, Cowboy Junkies and yes, even Madonna. There are both fantastic and entertaining moments on “Butterfly Crush” which gives the sound a very uplifting and marketable feel. There were some entertaining moments throughout, but also a few pin drop moments as well. From top to bottom “Butterfly Crush” is an extremely polished sounding production with amazing sound quality, legendary musicianship and top of the line musical compositions. If I had to pick one word or phrase that best describes The Good Evol it would be “fun”. This group holds nothing back and is total blast to listen to.

The most amazing thing about The Good Evol is the x-factor of Bartolotti. What is x-factor? – it is the passion within and it’s nothing that can be taught in a textbook. You either have it or you don’t. Bartolotti appeals to both advanced and novice listeners alike. This is harder to do than it sounds – and shouldn’t be strived for, rather it should come just naturally. The Good Evol has proven themselves worthy of praise with this latest string of songs. There’s nothing more dangerous than a hot female fronted band armed with a voice, a song, and a one way ticket to crash a party.

5 of 5 stars

Learn more about The Good Evol and their brand of power pop at their website, www.thegoodevol.com

The EP sets things off with “Lullaby”: a gentle hooky, harmonically rich intro piece that sets the tone for this epic concept CD. Then, just as quickly as you have been lured into feeling this is going to be a slick commercially colossal collection of tunes we are thrown into a nightmare-ish rhythmic trance where bizarrely colourful imagery is mixed with hypnotic beats and Tim’s ever-present rock solid vocal. The chorus’s of the second track switch straight back to the harmonized and melodically rich, catchy hooks akin to the opener. Stirring stuff …and I can’t help but feel privy to something both original AND accessible at the same time. The vocals in the verses of the second track reminded me instantly of “Alice In Chains” – Jar of Flies/SAP EP’s and I’m sure that Tim has been influenced here. The Nightmare continues with the laid back funk groove of the third track “Teeth fall Out” The sickening imagery totally contrasted by Tim’s sugary sweet vocal – counterbalanced with female vocal, before you know it the track begins to shift gear spiraling out of control. Emotionally, we are drawn, taught, awashed in the screams of a maelstrom of tortured souls. The fourth song: “Trying to Fly” leans on a spacious programmed rhythm pattern careful balanced with a haunting piano melody and Tim’s exquisite vocal rising into falsetto and dancing eerily and effortlessly over the top of it all. Even when he returns to the major key for the choruses, he still manages to keep the mood dark and gothic. A Reznor-esque guitar solo creeps into the mix and slowly takes over – with the repetitive riffs adding to the hypnotism of it all. The next track “Dis(rem)embered” somehow manages to be darker, despite the tips and nods to the nineteen-eighties. A Vocoder or strict pitch-correction has been applied to the falsetto vocal and this brings a modern touch over the top of all the eighties kitche. This is perhaps the most commercial track, yet it is fundamental to the story-telling of the EP. The final track begins with an engine starting up and driving off – together with lo-fi percussion and sampled sitar. The vocal work here is straight out of theatre-land and if it wasn’t for the drum work I could imagine this as part of a staged musical. Not to take anything away from the production, this serves to show Tim’s flexibility and songwriting prowess. Indeed the vocal melody cycles in the brain and leaves you singing it long after the CD finishes. As a finale, this is the perfect track to end on and the monstrous guitar solo work rubberstamps the ending and leaves you totally blown away by what your have just experienced.

 It is hard to find much of anything wrong with this CD – The production is so jam-packed with instrumentation and sonic embellishments that at times the music seems over-intense. I’m a massive fan of the concept album idea – and anyone brave enough to take on the challenge of story telling across multiple songs gets a huge thumbs-up in my book. It is a shame that Tim didn’t choose to expand his ideas into a full-length album, as that would’ve really been the icing on the cake. That said there is so much substance in this music that by the end of it, it feels like you’ve listened to an entire album anyway!

 Overall this is a very impressive release by Tim Ryan O’Kane. An obviously creative and musically astute songwriting genius. It’s a real pity that at the time of writing, his website was under construction because I was curious to find out if he has released any previous material or if there were any plans for more. This is an artist that I will definitely be keeping an eye out for in the future. If this is in fact a debut offering, then who knows what kind of substance he will be producing in the coming years!!

This review was written by Neil Thomas for the Rock n Roll View.

The album starts out with an upbeat driving anthem “Only Time” with a hooky melody and progressive chord sequence that (strangely) reminded me of the Foo Fighters hit “Learn to Fly”. JJ’s double-tracked vocal has a vulnerable quality to it, which is quite appealing, and this is used to great effect in the wash of sweet and close harmonies, which leaps out in the choruses. I say leap out because they are at the forefront of the mix. They also sound quite mechanical, as though a harmonizing effect has been used. The album continues with the second track “Another Day of Love” A stepped down look at Christian values at work in Crowne’s own neighbourhood. It’s a brave lyricist who will tackle this type of subject matter as it is very easy to sound contrived and fake, I’m sure that JJ’s convictions are from the heart as he bares his faith on his sleeve with this song. It also features the bizarre line “I’m the one with Jesus in my heart and on my bumper too”! …as our American friends are fond of saying – ‘go figure’!

By the fifth song “Best of Intentions” JJ has firmly established his style squarely in the country ballad genre. With instrumentation such as piano and slide guitar all the obligatory sounds are present. Here the harmonies though still overly prominent are perhaps more appropriate to this piece. “Kindred Hearts” carries on the ballad run with a laid back tune about young love. “Lies we Lived Before” is a breath of fresh air in the running order as the band start rocking it up a little. I could hear some phasing problems in this track and I would hope that it is the effect of the SoundCloud compression rather than a problem with the track. By the time we get to “She and He” the mood has changed significantly and the introduction of the saxophone makes a remarkable difference to this material. It is the perfect counterpoint sound to JJ’s vocal, with its smooth texture filling in the soundscape without over-powering it. Perhaps the most poignant track is the penultimate song “Toy Soldiers” …it was a long time coming but we finally reach a minor key. A stripped back production allows JJ’s voice to come through. It’s only a shame that the harmonies re-emerge in full force. I’m sure it would have benefited from holding back a little on the number of vocal parts.

Some of the songs make use of keyboard sounds to emulate real instruments. In the case of “Another Day of Love” some rather harsh sounding brass sounds cut right through the mix and are so obviously false that they spoil the otherwise sincere lyrics. The main problem with the album is the overuse of the vocal harmonies. Its almost like every song has to have a full choral backing in each chorus which sadly has more of a detrimental effect than a positive one. The secret to a great arrangement is in balancing the sounds and although harmonies help to add body and substance, they need to work subtly and simply to be most effective. A simple third or fifth harmony part is less obviously but makes a subtle difference rather than an onslaught to the senses.

Overall this is an impressive debut by JJ Crowne – he has clearly mastered his craft in terms of music production –with his background work for commercial TV and radio. If ultra-commercial highly polished country-tinged pop music is your thing then this is the perfect CD to buy or download and add to your collection. My own view is that I would like to see more originality in the music – something that we haven’t heard before. Whilst his musical talent and song-writing prowess is undoubted, there is very little in the way of risk in these songs and nothing that stands out from all the other artists working this genre. JJ would really benefit from a little experimentation and hopefully find a unique selling point, that way he would stand out from the crowd and get the world buzzing about his music. I wish him every success with his next recording.

Rating: 8 out of 10 Stars

This review was written by Neil Thomas for the Rock n Roll View.

Seven Against Thebes is a progressive metal band featuring Rusty on vocals, Cyrus Rhodes on guitar with Bruce Burgess and Mr. Black holding down the bottom end on drums and bass, respectively. Some have compared their sound to Seattle brethren Alice in Chains. Yes, early Alice in Chains influences are there. They have also drawn comparisons to Tool. Yes, there is some of that same abstractness to their sound.

Make no mistake. 7AT has a sound that is uniquely theirs. More complex and swirling than Alice in Chains in a way that gets in your head and draws you into their theater. Their story lines are more tangible (less weird?) than Tool while delivering a primordial drama. 7AT are a culmination of great hard and heavy prog bands, akin as much to Tool as Porcupine Tree and Yes and Rush and…

It would be a great travesty to have only heard the feature tracks on this recording. The singles are “Equilibrium”, “Nemisis” and “Swandiver”, but this CD is a cohesive unit that should be consumed in much the same way as many classic prog albums such as Rush’s Hemispheres or Dream Theater’s Train of Thought.  The single “Equilibrium” has tribal drums and dizzying guitars. “Nemisis” is foreboding and atmospheric – delivering an emotional impact rarely found in pop songs. “Swandiver” kicks you in the teeth and gets tight in the groove – a song that is prayed for by mainstream radio listeners. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end with “Serpens Caput” and “Serpens Cauda” bookending what could very well be Frank Miller’s next epic graphic novel. Believe me? Check out the lyrics. (Click the serpent and scroll down.)

We’ve all heard the rumors of the demise of the music industry. Simply put, if the major labels would release albums with the production quality of this album, the rumor would be buried with Napster. 7AT has chosen not to participate in the loudness wars. In the process they have delivered an album that has a relativity wide dynamic range that lends itself to the raw emotional impact of their music and song. Listening from beginning to end is not fatiguing at moderately high volume levels which is rare treat for albums released over the past few years.

In the end, Seven Against Thebes has managed to record and release a CD that would appeal to most every progressive rock enthusiast while remaining accessible enough for other rockers. The songs are solid, delivered convincingly with a clear vision of primary song writer and producer Cyrus Rhodes. Exotic and distinctly modern.

Seven Against Thebes can be found at www.7AT.net where you can sample tracks from this release and download a copy of their impressive EP Equilibrium for free. You are encouraged to add this recording to your library.

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