Prog rock

[rids57]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now I'm interested to check out some of the keyboardist's/main songwriter's other projects. His name is Luis Alvim and apparently he was/is pretty well known in Brazil for his prog and classical piano work before this album. The talent is apparent so I've got to see if he's go some more gems floating around out there.

In other news, I finally listened to The Overview and it's definitely going on the list of early contenders for Album of the Year. I think it's his best in a while and, while not entirely what I was expecting/imagining, I was totally plugged in and enjoying myself from beginning to end. I like the direction he took and connected with it more immediately than his last couple. I'll definitely be spinning it some more and see how things sink in.

Topical Stuff:

Rightw now I'm actually listening to another crazy good album that's a recent find for me. I'm loving the way it blends prog, metal/prog-metal, symphonic prog, and fusion-esque elements into a single cohesive whole and I'll definitely be checking out this band's other work.

There Are No Ordinary Moments (rel. 2024) - Ovrfwrd

Excellent rec (again) this is an absolute banger! I've added their whole catalogue to my ROON library

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Excellent rec (again) this is an absolute banger! I've added their whole catalogue to my ROON library

Dude, just wait 'til you check out some of those other albums. It's set after set of great music, each one offering a different twist or take. You'll definitely find more to dig.

To keep things topical I'll put up and interesting Krautrock album that Bandcamp threw my way. It's a fun album if you dig that subgenre of the prog universe.

POWERKRAUT (rel. 2024) by Sticks In The Casino

 

[Alexis64]

Great rec! I pre-ordered their upcoming album, III, and this track has me stoked to hear what they've cooked up. I love the previous two albums and, if the singles are anything to go by, I'm gonna dig III, too.

Edit to keep things topical:

In 2018 Ovrfwrd did a live studio set and I think it came put great. I've been going through their catalog the last few days and this album is competing for the spot as my favorite.

Occupations of Uninhabited Space (rel. 2018) by Ovrfwrd

Triple WOW - I did not recognize this band so far - maybe it is because of the name that sounds more like a cryptic password than a band name. Interesting is their statement: „Together they have a common goal; to create and perform powerful, colorful, interesting and sonically descriptive music, engaging and pushing forward on the musical journey.“

… and Bandcamp offers their 7 records for approx. $60 - done deal…

Much appreciated!

 

[Designsfx]

Off topic and just for my own curiosity- I see many of the regulars here mention Bandcamp purchases, which is a good thing! When I buy through Bandcamp it usually means ordering a physical copy, in my case CD’s. Who here focuses more on the digital copies alone and if so what is your approach to managing them?

Do you typically just use the purchase to access the release through Bandcamp for playback or do you go through the process of downloading and storing each on a local drive? I’ve not bothered with this much because of the extra steps that have to be taken compared to just accessing them from the streamer but I suspect some like to have a transferable copy at the ready.

If you’re downloading digital do you notice any audible difference when played back on your local network vs what you hear from your streaming device/service?

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Off topic and just for my own curiosity- I see many of the regulars here mention Bandcamp purchases, which is a good thing! When I buy through Bandcamp it usually means ordering a physical copy, in my case CD’s. Who here focuses more on the digital copies alone and if so what is your approach to managing them?

Do you typically just use the purchase to access the release through Bandcamp for playback or do you go through the process of downloading and storing each on a local drive? I’ve not bothered with this much because of the extra steps that have to be taken compared to just accessing them from the streamer but I suspect some like to have a transferable copy at the ready.

If you’re downloading digital do you notice any audible difference when played back on your local network vs what you hear from your streaming device/service?

When I purchase an album, I generally buy the CD and/or vinyl with it. Sometimes I don't if I'm mostly just buying the digital DL as a way to support a band by giving them something like a tip. I think of it like putting some cash in the piano player's tip jar at a piano bar in those instances. Basically it's just a way to show my appreciation for them creating music I've enjoyed.

I store all of the albums I own digitally on my home server which is also backed up on SSDs so I could conceivably stop ordering the CDs, but I actually listen to CDs and vinyl a lot when using my speaker setups and occasionally with headphones, too. I do enjoy having a phyiscal copy for doing CD rips and for being able to loan them out to friends when I rec and album. I also had an account that I had bought some digital albums on through Qobuz that I ended up losing access to so I was quite glad that I also had the CDs for most of those albums. Lastly, there's something to be said for listening to music on devices/setups that aren't connected to the internet so that I don't start doom scrolling, answering texts, etc instead of kickin' back and enjoying and concentrating on the music.

Also, because I'm on the road so much I do end up in places and situations where I don't have reliable wifi for streaming quality music so I end up doing quite a bit of offline listening from DAPs and such. I've got a whole collection of dozens of SD cards with music on them for just such occasions. Now that we've got satellite wifi in our bus and cell coverage is much more wodespread, this isn't as big of an issue as it once was, but it still happens. I also run into situations at my ranch, while at the beach post-surf sesh, while camping/backpacking, while 4 wheeling/rock crawling/quad riding, while doing long range rifle shooting, etc where I want to listen and don't have access to the Internet. Thankfully, I own such an extensive collection of music, that I'm never lacking for music to listen to in these situations. I just pop the SD card of my choice into a DAP or my phone, plug in my transducer, and have fun.

I almost never listen to anything more than the sample tracks in Bandcamp itself. I just download the music I like and listen in other apps or on other devices.

Edit: To @Alexis64: I almost missed your post. That discography is absolutely worth the purchase price, too. It's nothing but good albums, one after another. They all have different twists, stylistic influences and themes, but keep the foundations of what makes the band great. If you liked Occupations of Uninhabited Space, you'll find a lot more to like in the rest of their catalog. I'm stoked that you and @rids57 are enjoying the band. You're in for a real treat as you make your way through the rest of their work.

 

[Alexis64]

Off topic and just for my own curiosity- I see many of the regulars here mention Bandcamp purchases, which is a good thing! When I buy through Bandcamp it usually means ordering a physical copy, in my case CD’s. Who here focuses more on the digital copies alone and if so what is your approach to managing them?

Do you typically just use the purchase to access the release through Bandcamp for playback or do you go through the process of downloading and storing each on a local drive? I’ve not bothered with this much because of the extra steps that have to be taken compared to just accessing them from the streamer but I suspect some like to have a transferable copy at the ready.

If you’re downloading digital do you notice any audible difference when played back on your local network vs what you hear from your streaming device/service?

I exclusively buy the Digital Album (which means streaming and download) because I get access to high res files, it is usually cheaper than the physical CD and last but not least, I do not need additional space for physical CDs (my collection covers approx. 10K CDs distributed over 3 floors in my house). In terms of streaming, I did not yet compare bandcamp with Qobuz from a quality perspective. I purchase an album if I believe that the musical value will last for more than a couple of listening sessions.

I usually immediately download every purchased album from Bandcamp, Qobuz or any other provider because quite often albums disappear (e.g. Qobuz often has license issues) and are not available amymore. Another thing is that the integration in Roon does not work for music streaming via Bandcamp.

Let me be honest, although I prefer Bandcamp for well known reasons, I compare the prices amongst the providers. Considering that my current contract model with Qobuz is „Sublime“, which provides a discount between 30 and 50% (or even higher) for high res (!) downloads (important, 16 bit CD standard format from Qobuz is usually more expensive than offerings from Bandcamp etc.), I of course make use of the cheaper alternative.

 

[rids57]

Off topic and just for my own curiosity- I see many of the regulars here mention Bandcamp purchases, which is a good thing! When I buy through Bandcamp it usually means ordering a physical copy, in my case CD’s. Who here focuses more on the digital copies alone and if so what is your approach to managing them?

Do you typically just use the purchase to access the release through Bandcamp for playback or do you go through the process of downloading and storing each on a local drive? I’ve not bothered with this much because of the extra steps that have to be taken compared to just accessing them from the streamer but I suspect some like to have a transferable copy at the ready.

If you’re downloading digital do you notice any audible difference when played back on your local network vs what you hear from your streaming device/service?

I buy the digital downloads, sometimes because an album hasn't appeared on Qobuz yet or if I am a big follower of the band, like Karfagen, I buy all of theirs. The FLAC files are downloaded in the highest res available and then I Tag them using MP3Tag. They are then moved to my music folder, where I have a 4TB enterprise grade hard drive specifically for music and then managed and played using ROON. It's a nice, easy and streamlined process and saves a ton of space in CD covers - all of my old physical CDs are stored away in the attic (loft).

 

[JAnonymous5150]

If you like the jazzier side of prog where fusion and prog collide, this album is a cool listen.

RoboJazz (rel. 2012) by Mathieu Fiset

 

[dacwizard]

There Are No Ordinary Moments (rel. 2024) - Ovrfwrd

Wow this is a great band. I’ve got through 4 of their albums and they are all right up my alley.

I don’t know what you are on lately but your tastes seem to have directly aligned with mine in particular the above mentioned Ovrfwd, L'ira del Baccano (all three of theirs on Qobuz) and LAB experience are all really really great. Breteus and Quassi are also good. Many thanks.

 

[rids57]

Wow this is a great band. I’ve got through 4 of their albums and they are all right up my alley.

I don’t know what you are on lately but your tastes seem to have directly aligned with mine in particular the above mentioned Ovrfwd, L'ira del Baccano (all three of theirs on Qobuz) and LAB experience are all really really great. Breteus and Quassi are also good. Many thanks.

I've been listening to Ovrfwrd tonight too and they have totally blown me away - I'm besotted!

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Wow this is a great band. I’ve got through 4 of their albums and they are all right up my alley.

I don’t know what you are on lately but your tastes seem to have directly aligned with mine in particular the above mentioned Ovrfwd, L'ira del Baccano (all three of theirs on Qobuz) and LAB experience are all really really great. Breteus and Quassi are also good. Many thanks.

Well, I was listening to a bunch of post-rock and post-metal for a while there because I was doing some production work on a project in the genre so I often immerse myself in music that's relevant to what I'm doing. As much as I enjoy some of the music in those genres, after months of it I was glad to step away from it for bit and get back to the prog, fusion, and jazz that are my preferred genres.

I'm also a big indie fan, but I play and write that stuff day in and day out so often when I'm listening for enjoyment I'll look to the genres I listed for something different. I started hunting for new tunes and just hit a streak of finding a bunch of good music, some new to me and some rediscovered after not listening to the bands for a while. I love spreading good music to others to enjoy and I've picked up so many good recs from you guys and the which headphone thread that I'm stoked to be able to give some back.

Ovrfwrd just blew my mind with how many ridiculously good albums they've got and somehow managed to totally escape my attention, but it was awesome to find a whole catalog of awesome material like that. Bruteus and L'ira del Baccano both seemed special to me from the jump. Qüassi was just a case of the music totally fitting my mood and vibe at the moment I discovered it. It's not very often I come across that much awesomeness in such a short timeframe, but I'm diggin' it.

To keep things topical, I'll put the album I'm currently listening to up for you guys to check out. It's an interesting take on prog-metal with melodies that are often piano driven. The music experiments a lot with dynamic contrast and speed changes.

Memoirs in Monochrome (rel. 2017) by Ysma

 

[JackarlTwo]

New album by Karmakanic. A solo project by Flower King's finest bass player.

Good stuff!

 

[JAnonymous5150]

There's a multi-instrumentalist/composer in the UK who releases music under the name Purple Rhapsody. He's got albums from multiple genres and most of them are irrelevant to this thread, but he's got a few like the one below that are this interesting mashup of prog and classical that is different from anything else I've encountered in the symphonic prog subgenre.

Endless Lives (rel. 2009) by Purple Rhapsody

 

[rids57]

Arcana (2024) by Circe Link & Christian Nesmith - Ignore all albums from 2003 to 2017, it's their two most recent that matter. Before that they were an indie pop duo but they discovered prog when they covered Your Move (Yes) and the two albums that followed, Cosmologica and Arcana are both really good prog albums and well worth a listen. Circe Link is the vocalist and Christian Nesmith (son of Mike Nesmith of Monkees fame) is a ridiculously talented multi-instrumentalist. I've been listening on Qobuz so presume they are available on the other streamers.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

These guys have some good material. Throwback prog with a psychedelic twist to it. This is just the album I have up right now, but they've got a bunch worth checking out.

Far Out In Aradabia (rel. 2021) by Arabs in Aspic



Edit: I forgot this cool debut album I just shared in another thread.

On Embracing a Blank Space (rel. 2024) by Lahmana