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January 2002 |
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January 2002 |
Well, here we go with the second issue of this thing. Sorry it's been so long since the last one (nearly a year, actually!), but I've been concentrating on keeping up with submissions for the Encyclopedia itself. Last time, I jokingly said that doing the Webzine would be more work than I could possibly handle. How right I was! Although I've received several submissions from other people to include, so this time it won't be all my own stuff (do I hear a collective sigh of relief?), it's been tough just to get it all formatted up in HTML and put out, so I hope that it's worth the reduced update rate that will happen for the Encyclopedia this month. The number of articles is smaller for this issue than for the first, but I think there's actually more material here.
There's plenty of interesting reading in this issue. Nenad Kobal has contributed a truly massive interview with Iwan Hasan of Discus, where we learn just about all there is to know about this fascinating progressive band from Indonesia, plus a lot about the instruments Discus used for this album and even Iwan Hasan's personal ideas about martial arts! Where else can you get an interview that in-depth?
After that, Gil Keltch contributes an overview of the little-known history of progressive rock in Israel from the late '60's to the present day. I contributed a blow-by-blow description of NEARFest 2001, even though it was six months ago now, with some pictures of the bands I took while I was there. To finish up this installment, there's also a concert report from Renato Menezes and Soren Lemche (The Soundchaser Project) on a Brazilian concert featuring Rick Wakeman playing with his son Gary. If any of that sounds interesting to you, read on! Even if it doesn't, read it anyway, you might learn something about Indonesian instruments.
Keep on Proggin'!
Fred Trafton
1/1/02
At the moment there are not many bands in the world of (properly or improperly called) progressive rock music, which try to create something yet unheard. Actually, we could say that, in general, this kind of music stagnates for quite a time now (if we take into account how many bands are dispersed worldwide, and how many of them sound original) but taking in account other rock (sub)genres, we could say that it is not the only one which stagnates, and so there is no need to panic. Jumping from one considerable opinion to another I dare to say that Discus from Indonesia are one of these bands which have a great potential to create something new sounding. With careful use of elements derived from rich vernacular musical traditions of Indonesia, and later on intermingled with more common rock features, they cannot fail. Their debut, entitled simply 1st, is an ecclectic entity of Indonesian native sounds mixed with prog-rock, contemporary classical, jazz-fusion, pop and metal. The band is at the beginning of career, so I wonder with untamed appetite, what our ears are about to witness in the future.
What was planned to be a short "questionaire", became one of the longest interviews ever written. Mammoth-like, this interview boasts of information, you are not supposed to obtain anywhere else. E-conversation went far beyond the boundary of the usual themes which are based on the latest or forthcoming recording. In fact, with Iwan we have discussed many aspects of progressive music. Indeed, very much was revealed to us by Iwan Hasan, entrepreneur, classical guitarist, classically trained composer, dedicated prog-fan and of course, leader of Discus.
GEPR: Iwan, an introducing question for criminally needed "fresh blood" on international prog scene: Are Discus proper band or "just" a project (of Iwan Hasan) which can replace its members at any moment?
Hasan: Well, I started the band with Fadhil Indra (keys, percussion,
vocals). It is a proper band. It's true that in the beginning I wrote almost
everything myself so it was like a solo project, they just played my parts or
improvised on top of my chords. That's probably because the band members have
very opposing musical backgrounds. They are members with jazz and classical
backgrounds, symphonic prog, metal, experimental, and light jazz pop. Half of
the band are professional musicians but in very different genres. It happens
so that I had backgrounds in all of those genres as I was educated in
classical, contemporary classical and jazz, but at the same time I love rock
music. So I was sort of "in the middle", musically speaking.
That made the situation often awkward in the beginning as the different members just can't communicate with each other musically. So I had to make it work by writing stuff that suit the various members. That seemed to get it started. In effect, of course that made it look like almost a solo album of mine with some additional writing by some others. But we are a band.
Of course now it's different and other members are writing too and we also write collaboratively in rehearsals. But in the beginning it was very difficult as everybody's spoken in a different vocabulary.
GEPR: You seem to be quite a strong personality, if you managed to overcome all the different opinions and views, at least to some extent.
Hasan: Well, I hope that I have overcome them. I just strongly feel that combinations of opposing styles is an interesting thing.
GEPR: How would you describe the music of Discus, of course, in case you don't consider the words like description and definition nauseating?
Hasan: That's difficult to say. If I have to give my personal definition without being influenced by anybody, I have to say it's just a mixture of styles. But that doesn't sound too good, doesn't it? I think I have to answer in terms of what most people think we are, and what market segment accepts our music, I should say we are a progressive band. I think nowadays people don't just think of Genesis or Yes or Gentle Giant when they say "progressive" but the definition is moch more loose now. Everything from Tipographica to Il Berlione to Dream Theater to Kansas and back to Djam Karet to Porcupine Tree to Happy Family is considered progressive, so why not? We have the ethnic Indonesian influence and we use some traditional instruments so some might want to say we are "world music", but the thing is we don't have them on every track, so I guess "world music" doesn't really apply to us.
GEPR: Quite! Err, Iwan, where have you assembled all these excellent musicians? I dare to say that whole octet study or has studied music at an academy.
Hasan: Well, not really. Actually only Anto (woodwinds) and I have university
level education in music. The others are self taught or have had lessons or took
courses. Eko studied with his father who is one of the busiest orchestral
violinists in Jakarta. I think Hayunaji studied classical piano as a kid but
studied jazz drums later on and became a working musician playing everything
from jazz to metal.
How I assembled them is quite a long story. I started classical piano
lessons when I was 5 and classical guitar when I was 10. 2 years after I
started playing guitar, I formed a band with Fadhil. So Fadhil and I had been
playing together since we were both 12. I'm 34 now so you can imagine. At 12,
we tried to play "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas
and you can imagine how
horrible it sounded. But at the time we thought we were so cool by doing that
song. Eko joined us about 6 years later. Terry Manuputty, who co-wrote
"Contrasts", was the bassist of that band. We were in a band called Sea
Serpent. We never recorded. We were just a stage band, but Fadhil already
tried combining gamelan with rock music. We played covers too, along with a
few originals.
Then I went to the US to study music and economics. I completely forgot about rock and was immersed in classical, contemporary classical and jazz. When I came back, Eko had been playing with this band called Brawijaya which included, at various times, Krisna, Kiki and Hayunaji. They were quite a popular stage rock and pop cover band who also never recorded. I then became active in contemporary classical music so I was also in a different circle of musicians and I conducted an orchestra. There I met Anto. He played clarinet in the orchestra and I was very impressed with his playing.
At that time Fadhil was living in another city doing music scores for a local
TV station. So I started a new band with Eko and Terry, with another drummer,
keyboardist and flutist. Our material at that time was mainly jazz standards.
We gigged quite a bit but the band didn't work out too well because the
members were not taking it very seriously and the band sort of split itself.
Maybe a year or two after we split, Fadhil came back to Jakarta (where we
live) and so he and I tried to start a band again and this time I asked Anto
to join, along with old mates Eko and Terry. Terry left later on, but from
him we later got introduced to his sister Nonnie, who is our female vocalist
now. (He also still helps us by being our roadie when we went to ProgDay last
year). We brought in Krisna, who after various trials with several coming and
going bassists and drummers brought in Kiki and Hayunaji, whom Eko had also
played with in Brawijaya. That was between 1995-96, and in 1996 we had
settled with the current lineup and Anto officially gave the name
Discus to the band. That's how it started. So
Discus is kind of a merge between Sea
Serpent and Brawijaya with the addition of Anto and Nonnie.
GEPR: So, if you crosses a Sea serpent (what sounds quite poisonous) and
Brawijaya (whatever that means) you get Discus. It's a sort
of sophistication, which can be heard in your music, innit?
Hasan: Well, I don't think we ever consciously thought of it that way. It's just a development I guess. I think I was starting a band and it happened so that that was the lineup that finally settled.
GEPR: How big is the prog-rock/new music scene in Indonesia?
Hasan: Ah yes... "new music"! I've forgotten that term altogether. I used to be familiar with that term in college. Well, maybe Discus has an element of that too but I guess the term "progressive" suits us more since not all our music is that serious.
To answer your question, it is sadly very very small.
GEPR: I surmise Discus must be the best band from this scene, but probably not the only one. And if you are acknowledged, are there any prog bands in other neighbouring countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Phillipines, Papua, maybe even Brunei or East Timor? I saw, actually that Gnosis 2000 put Phillipines into its survey (as of now it is still empty).
Hasan: I heard about that but I honestly don't know. When we started nobody wanted to play prog here in Indonesia. Now, however, there are some new young bands starting in Indonesia. Most of them are playing prog metal, influenced a lot by Dream Theater, Rush or even Iron Maiden. I think Dream Theater are doing a good job introducing young metal fans to progressive elements in music. The last DT album is released (officially) in Indonesia on cassette and it sold like more than 10,000 copies. But the new bands haven't put out an album yet. I wish they will as soon as possible because then we are not alone anymore.
As far as neighboring countries, there hasn't been a whole lot of communication between the prog communities so I don't know. I certainly hope there will be more cummunication in the future. We in Indonesia haven't heard about them so it's good that Gnosis 2000 found something in the Philippines. But what I heard about Singapore, prog is not yet popular there. Of course that doesn't mean there aren't any prog fans there. I believe prog fans are in many countries. It's just nobody knows who they are.
GEPR: I know that there's quite powerful black metal scene in Singapore, as well as in Malaysia, but this can't help us very much ;).
Hasan: Oh, well, in the 70's, most of the major rock bands in Indonesia did some prog stuff but they didn't call themselves as prog. Thay just called themselves rock bands.
GEPR: I see. Concerning progressive rock there seems to be a similar pattern spread around the developing world.
Hasan: Is there? That's good news.
GEPR: Perhaps. Depends on the aspect of viewing the whole thing. There's usually one band which initiates the process, then there is a medium pause, within which some new "powers" emerge, of which one band is often quite good and if it survives, after another pause, there may be four bands established, and so on. Of course, the process can break and then ... you may guess.
Hasan: There are plans in Indonesia among prog fans to establish an Indonesian Progressive Society. Hopefully that will help prog gain a little momentum here.
GEPR: That's nice to hear. Together with fans show the world what you're capable of.
Hasan: Yeah. I really hope so. Who knows? There are young musicians who get discouraged before they start because they were getting nowhere previously. I mean, I was so frustrated with the situation several years ago. In the early 90's there was a period of about a year that I stopped doing music altogether and didn't even think about it. And that was because I was completely frustrated. That time I could only get gigs playing jazz standards and solo classical guitar playing standard repertoire. I love the music, but there's really not enough satisfaction. And also at that point the guys in my band were also losing interest which added to my frustration. So because I was frustrated I thought I'd not even think about music and do other things for an income. Then I was asked to conduct an orchestra and that was an awakening. That was when I met Anto the first time and Fadhil and I started assembling what became Discus. So now I hope the young musicians who want to play prog or prog metal won't get into the same situation I did in those years.
GEPR: How often do you play gigs in your country or beyond the borders?
Hasan: It is very very diffucult to find a gig in Indonesia because nobody wants us to play here. We were formed in 1996 and we always rehearse at least once a week but until October 2000, we only performed 5 times live! 2 times before we had an album and 3 times after. So when we went to the US and played at the Exposé Concert Series Promotions it was our 6th gig in 4 years! ProgDay, only 2 days after that, was our 7th gig, and Knitting Factosy, exactly the next day, was our 8th gig! After that we played one gig in Jakarta. Next week we are going to play one more. Two factors that help us a lot are: 1. Half of the band are professional musicians, and 2. We always rehearse at least once a week even though nothing's happening.
GEPR: Cool, we could say that you picked-up a lot of kilometers/miles in the past, you definitely have a lot of experience. What are you doing besides composing music for Discus? What other members do? Do they have interesting occupations, strange and dangerous hobbies, etc.?
Hasan: Well I have a small business. I also compose contemporary classical music. I used to teach and perform as a classical guitarist but I stopped doing those things. I have 3 kids so I have to be careful to not do too many things. I'm a bit into martial arts although I can't say I'm that serious in it as in music. I'm not an expert at all but I do it for fun and to keep myself from getting sick. Anto, Eko and Krisna are professional musicians. Both Anto and Krisna teach music. Anto is into photography and he has a specialization, taking photoghraphs of riots! In recent years sometimes there are riots in Indonesia and he is a freelance riot photographer for journalists. Somehow he enjoys that a lot. Hayunaji used to be a professional musician but has a day job now. He also likes to hike, climb mountains, those kind of things. I think he has the healthiest lifestyle among us. But he also has another recording band called Pause that plays modern metal. The others have day jobs but sometimes also play music with other people or other bands. I think Fadhil is into cars. He likes car engines and stuff.
GEPR: Phew! Anto seems to have the most peculiar "hobby" of all.
Hasan: Maybe he enjoys the danger.....Hahaha!
GEPR:You said you run small business and have also studied economy. I remember that Charles Ives as well as a few of his contemporaries, were businessmen themselves. So these two things, namely business/ economy and contemporary classical sorta fit together.
Hasan: Or does it fit because pop artists earn more money from their music so they don't need to?
GEPR:....Study economy or music? Nope, they don't need to. Perhaps economy, but mostly they don't. Er, you've also mentioned martial arts. Does one often need them down there in Indonesia or you practice em more for body and spiritual perfection? Well it seems to me, that they prevent one from getting sick one way or another, of course when used properly ;).
Hasan: Well I personally have never had to use it in terms of actually having to physically confront someone. I mean, maybe I'm just lucky but I don't like to get into confrontations. I don't like people hurting each other, I don't like violence. Of course martial arts does have a spiritual element. The physical side is an effect, it's not the main cause, at least for me. About specifically whether or not in Indonesia you have to protect yourself because of the situation, needless to say these last few years there are a lot of terrible things happening. Crime, bombs etc. If it's bomb, I don't think martial arts has any usefullness against bombs. Crimes, it will have some value but I just happen to be lucky, I guess, until now.
GEPR: Indonesia (as a country) is a great, widespread archipelago with different cultures living on these islands, so native musics from these islands probably differ between each other. How widespread is Gamelan, for example?
Hasan: The gamelan has a lot of variants in the island of Java and Bali. There's also a more obscure form in Kalimantan (Borneo). Besides gamelan there are a lot of different ethnic musical styles I don't even know how many, there are a whole lot of them! And they are very very different from one another.
GEPR: Is Gamelan very popular within Indonesia, due to the fact that it is not the simplest form of music?
Hasan: I think it happens so that the Balinese gamelan is the most well promoted traditional Indonesian form of music and consequently the most well known, both in Indonesia and worldwide. The island of Bali has also became a very popular site for tourism, so of course that's an important factor. But the young kids in Indonesia are getting more and more tuned in to the MTV top 40. Radio and TV plays a role in that. MTV artists such as Britney Spears are very popular. And there are Indonesian pop artists that play those styles too. They are very very popular. Actually the sad thing is that the traditional music gets pushed more and more into obscurity.
GEPR: Well, if you ask me, the MpTV (I think it is more properly being called that way) and many other TV-companies-programmes are just another drug, which considerably makes people dull. I myself never watched it nor any other, and am proud of that. How could I otherwise become prog-music devotee? Well, this theme makes me sad, so we should rather continue with gamelan, which I hope will not vanish.
Hasan: Yeah, that's sad.
GEPR: On the first world's Expo, I think it was in Paris at the end of the nineteenth century, group of Gamelan musicians was introduced to the world's public. Inspired by that group, many of contemporary classical composers' imagination got wings. You put a couple of heavily Gamelan inspired track ("Lamentation and Fantasia Gamelantronique", "Contrasts") on 1st. Are you planning sth larger in that vein? Perhaps, whole album of Gamelan contempo-classical progressive fusion? I think you could made at least ten high-quality albums in that or similar vein without getting boring. Am I wrong?
Hasan: I think there's no right and wrong in music. Your opinion is very valid. Yet I don't know if we will put together a whole album like that. In that style I have to compose myself, alone, same way as in the chamber music stuff, but Discus is getting more and more democratic. In particular those particular (the gamelan/contempo-classical/fusion and the chamber music) styles I initially had to "impose" them to the band. Of course as the band grew, they have been used to it. But you see, the "lighter" elements are also reflective of our backgrounds, although some might think we were trying to sell to the pop market, but actually it really is part of our background too. Some members even like them better then the progressive stuff.
GEPR: I believe you, because progressive music isn't very easy to listen to, it doesn't run into the ears, with other words, its incubation period is very long, especially for the uninitiated.
Hasan: You may be right on that. Although I just can't understand why people who can't like prog can't like it. To me it's just a wonderful thing. A wonderful listening experience.
However, we also feel that our first album might have too many different directions in it. We didn't feel so initially, because we just wrote it and did it without worrying bout what kind of a band we were. But then we get feedback from listeners and we really pay attention to them. The difficult thing is that different people have different opinions, but in general, people seem to say "if you're gonna do a light jazz tune, do it for another project and market it differently, even use a different band name. Don't make us confused". That's the light jazz, not jazz in general. That's an important distinction because jazz, of course, can mean a lot of things from standards to ballads to light pop jazz to modal jazz, bebop, fusion, experimental, avant garde free jazz, etc.
GEPR: If I may interrupt you, as far as light-jazz tunes are concerned, "For This Love" is quite good track. It doesn't have only light-jazz feels. So for my knowledge it fits well in between more complex tracks.
Hasan: I see. Well, I don't feel that that one is very "light" actually. I mean I, of course, like all of them. The other one, "Anugerah", which seems to be too light for some, I enjoy as being a very uplifting thing. Those two tracks are light jazz pop and there are 2 others that happen to sound like radio-commercial pop rock but has some irregularities in the middle. I have found jazz fans like the 2 jazz tracks, some "casual" radio style music listeners like the other 2, and those 2 types of listeners hate all the other stuff, especially like "Lamentation and Fantasia Gamelantronique", which prog fans like. Among prog fans, there seem to be divided opinions between those 4 tracks. I guess it also depends on whether the prog fan in particular came to prog from a pop rock route or from a jazz route or just from nowhere - directly to prog. But the point is various people from the different camps seem to say the same thing: "make your next album more cohesive, don't make it sound like two or more different bands playing on the same album"
I guess our general direction now seems to be combining all the diverse elements of our backgrounds but adding a symphonic / hard rock touch while exploring more traditional Indonesian elements. We did this new composition at ProgDay, a 21 minute suite, which could be described as such, and a lot of people loved it, probably more than anything on the first album. But the point is that we enjoy it too. So it seems that for this particular combination of players, that is the most natural thing to do.
So maybe we are going to mix the gamelan/contempo-classical/fusion style, which of course automatically includes some jazz in there, with a symphonic/progressive/hard-rock touch and still do some chamber music. Other experimentation, such as the violin-and-digital delay piece we had on our first, will be highly encouraged. I don't know for sure, we're still writing. More than that we're trying to find our own "sound".
GEPR: I traced some of your musical influences in CD's linear booklet. Tell me, when you first have the chance to listen to the (any) example of RIO or RIO-related music, where did that happen and what were the consequences of this "meeting".
Hasan: Well, maybe Henry Cow, Fred Frith, etc. For me, I discovered that kind of music in the US when I was studying music at Wilamette University in Oregon. Of course I was trained as a contemporary classical composer, and so I learned about the experimental stuff in that realm, but also on the rock side of it, which most people now say "RIO" as maybe Chris Cutler of Henry Cow defined it (am I right?).
GEPR: You could hardly get more precise. Actually, I'm used to use the term RIO, instead avant-progressive music, despite the fact that in original RIO-movement there were only seven or eight bands. It's definitely easier to say simply RIO than avant-progressive or experimental progressive and so on.
Hasan: I just want to check if I understand the term "RIO" correctly. Am I right if I think that RIO is on the "extreme" side of the avant progressive category? Extreme dynamic shifts, extreme levels of emotional expression, etc? While avant progressive does not necessary mean that, rather than the methods used, that could be considered to be avant garde techniques? (Meaning the end result need not be "extreme").
Well, you write for the GEPR so you have that authority and have more authority than I do in this matter.
I had a friend, Julian Snow, who I used to play with a lot and is now teaching jazz piano there, who knew a lot of that stuff. He now leads his avant jazz trio, the Julian Snow Trio. He and I used to discuss things about music, about experimental side to music. We were probably two music students in the music Deptartment that didn't like to conform to the rules. That's an important part of development for me.
GEPR: As I also traced plenty of contemporary classical influences on the 1st, I'm curious, which composers do you prefer?
Hasan: It's hard for me to decide exactly which composers belong to "contemporary classical". Usually when people say that they mean the expressionist school. But I'd like to extend that definition a bit. For me, I like Schoenberg, Berg, Messiaen, Milton Babbitt, Takemitsu, Ginastera, Penderecki, Charles Ives, Bartok, Leo Brouwer, some Stravinski, but I also like Debussy, Ravel (the impressionists) and of course, J.S. Bach. I also like Lou Harrison. The younger ones, like Avro Part, Magnus Lindberg etc. are really great too. And I consider Chick Corea, Jim Hall and Steve Morse, who are not generally recognised as contemporary classical composers, as artists who have great capabilities in that area, although most of their output is not made in this genre. I admire these three artists very very much. I think all three are schooled musicians in the classical tradition.
GEPR: Whole lotta contempo jewelers. Well, when you say Chick Corea, I'm immediately reminded of ECM record label, which tends to assemble musicians who mix jazz with classical music within extremely polished sound. Mostly light music, but at the same time hella difficult to listen to. Its brushed production makes unbelievable effect. Hmm, with already answered question I wanted to show were plenty roots of RIO-music lies, and with which, I think, prog-rock fans should get acquainted with, no matter how difficult it happens to be.
Hasan: That's right. The ECM label. Back to RIO, now if a rock musician (not necessarily of the "harder" variety) takes the Jan Garbarek new music approach and mixes it with some elements of not-so-hard progressive rock, would that be RIO? From the subtlety of the results, I would say that it would be avant prog but not RIO. Now, since you are in the GEPR you have the authority to say whether I'm right or wrong.
GEPR: I don't believe that anyone who contributes to GEPR has any authority about anything [Thank you for saying so, Nenad! I agree! - Ed.], apart that about which band to write a review, but I'm sure you're right. I guess it could be characterised as a sort of avant-garde stuff. However, before this interview you said you became acknowledged with prog-metal, perhaps not so long ago. You seem to be one of those who adores music in general. I'm not mistaken in that, or ...?
Hasan: That's exactly right! I'm learning about prog metal. Why not? I used to be a fan of the older days of rock and I "forgot" about it since I studied music in university. Suddenly I'm back in the real world and rock music has undergone so many developments it's amazing. Then there's prog metal, popularized by Dream Theater, but then there are bands I just discovered such as Pain Of Salvation, Cynic etc. A lot more that I don't know. I think it's a good thing. I can learn from anything. Any kind of music. It's all music. Maybe Iron Maiden should be considered one of the bands who inspired prog metal.
GEPR: Very, very nice to hear that. Iron Maiden are godfathers of prog-metal, while their sixth and seventh, namely Somewhere In Time and 7th Son Of The 7th Son, could be considered as prog-metal classics. Their sound has something to do with Jethro Tull (see my Psychotic Waltz review. -- N.K.)
Hasan: Oh, OK. Did they claim to be a progressive metal band? I just sort of make my own logical conclusion that Iron Maiden can be considered as the father of prog metal, because of the way they sound. I thought, a lot of prog metal bands must have liked Iron Maiden.
Having said that, Discus would not, I think, be a prog metal
band. We wouldn't fit that category even if we tried to. But you know there are some
really cool elements in prog metal, or in metal in general that we may want to incorporate
into our musical mix. Actually we are starting to do that. The majority of the band comes
from a rock background. The ones who have never done any rock at all before
Discus are Anto and Nonnie.
Hayubaji, our drummer, even has another recording band, called Pause and they play hip
metal. He's an all round drummer. He can jam with professional jazz musicians
as old as his parents on jazz standards, and the next minute play hip metal,
and the next minute play latin music, and the next minute drum for a pop
artist. And occasionally he plays contemporary classical with me on projects
outside Discus.
GEPR: Wow! That sounds very busy and without compromise. Well, as you have mentioned pop and as you have probably read in my review, I encountered a track which I think it was made for radio. Actually there are two, of which one is quite good while the other proves inexplicably repulsive to me (After last few listenings, I seem to get used even to this one. -- N.K.). Actually, I don't mind that much if bands put such tracks on their soundcareers (esp. when there is a lot good tracks on these soundcareers), but I think you put it on CD with certain aim. If these two tracks were made for radio, did you succeeded with them?
Hasan: No. They did not get played on the radio often. Well, as I said,
they are actually part of our background. I mean, I played jazz standards and
enjoy listening to vocal jazz. I enjoy pop music too. Most people who are
trained in contemporary classical composition don't give a damn to light pop music
but I do and maybe that's considered strange, so people misunderstand. Our female
vocalist, Nonnie, is a light pop jazz singer and knew nothing at all about
progressive music before she joined us. And I do mean absolutely
nothing. I don't mean that statement to imply inferiority on her part,
but light pop jazz is just her thing that she enjoys.
GEPR: But she has a wonderful voice. That's why I asked if whole octet studied music. Her voice sounds carefully trained to me.
Hasan: If she wouldn't have it, I wouldn't have worked with her. She came from a jazz pop camp and we needed to teach her some things. Initially she was only used to hearing major and minor scales or maybe some bluesy scales. Because she had a good voice to begin with, we figured we can teach her the things she was not used to and she will be able to adapt.
Other members have professional careers in "top 40" mainstream styles of pop or rock music and had never been in a progressive band that writes its own original stuff. Anto is a professional classical and jazz musician. So nobody in the band even considered him/herself to be a progressive musician before Discus although maybe Eko, Fadhil and I unconsciously did, but that's all. Some of our members actually like those "commercial sounding" songs on our album better than the more progressive stuff.
Not all of us have background in "progressive" forms of music. So when we started, some of us thought we were going to be a jazz band, some thought we were going to be a pop band, and even I didn't consciously think I was starting a prog band. But then some members also felt not complete if I didn't throw in some progressive or "new music" elements in the band, because I had done that on my own. Considering that that's how the band started, maybe that explains why the album is the way it is.
The "commercial" sounding tracks did not get on the radio that often. In fact, "Lamentation and Fantasia Gamelantronique", which is maybe our most "progressive" piece, is maybe played on underground progressive and new music radio more frequently than the "commercial" sounding stuff ever got played on commercial radio.
GEPR: I believed that too, because after all, these tracks ("Wujudkan" and "Anugerah") doesn't sound that poppy, when compared with "imported" stuffs. They probably cannot compete with B. Spears and the rest of the bunch my stomach forbade to mention.
Hasan: Yes but again, I listen to a lot of music in the style of "Anugerah" and "Wujudkan". That sort of music is not so popular either in Indonesia right now but it used to be in the past. It's an older form of pop music, I guess. And at that time I enjoyed listening to that kind of stuff. So the objective I think was not to compete with Britney Spears (can you imagine us unattractive looking musicians dancing like that on a video clip?) but because I enjoy that kind of music. You know, I have found people (listeners) who like that sort of music and only liked those tracks. Definitely they are not prog and rock listeners. So maybe we were spread too thin.
GEPR: You have chosen lovely, aero-aquatic picture for front-page of CD-booklet.
You borrowed part of the Symphysodon Discus' name for bands' moniquer also. Is that beautiful
fish sort of Indonesian national symbol or you simply like it, in one way or the other?
Hasan: That species of fish I think originated in the Amazon, so it's no way an "Indonesian" sort of thing. Anto named the band Discus, for the 2 reasons. First, Discus is a very beautiful, colorful fish amd that's how music should be. Second, the Discus fish is a difficult pet to keep. A little bit of carelessness and they'll die. It should be handled with extreme care. So we do believe music should be done. It should be done with care.
GEPR: Oh, yes. I completely messed up its origin. If you hadn't tell me so I would have thought that you took your band name due to the fact that this fish is seemingly the closest to the CD format ;). By the way, do you have fishes as pets at home?
Hasan: I happen to at this moment, yes.
GEPR: Let's dry ourselves now. Er, how cheap was 21-string harpoguitar? If I wouldn't see credits for "Condissonance", I'd thought it is harp. Superb sound, indeed.
Hasan: Thank you. Honestly I forgot the price exactly. That was 10 years ago in Portland, Oregon but I think it was somewhere around 3,000 bucks. It was designed by my guitar professor, John Doan, who plays the instrument almost exclusively on his CD's, and built by a luthier named John Sullivan.
GEPR: How did you came to idea of making "Condissonance"? As said in review it totally blew me away. I'm positively surprised with instruments you chose. While all performances are excellent, Anto Praboe's bass clarinet makes my cortex tremble. This instrument is seldom to be heard. Can you promise to include it more on next albums and make it busier?
Hasan: That's exactly the plan. I want to write more of that stuff. That's for sure. Thanks for the compliment.
GEPR: Contemporary influences can be also heard on "Doc's Tune", which is excellent fusion. It sounds very fresh and crunchy. I think I recognized pristine jazz counterpoint. How important is counterpoint in composition to you?
Hasan: That's very difficult to answer. As important as any other element, I would say. But it also depends on what I'm inspired to do at any given moment I'm writing. But counterpoint is an interesting thing to do. Pre-classical period counterpoint can be really interesting. As for jazz, of course "Doc's Tune" is a jazz-rock tune.
GEPR: "Contrasts" is a track, which defines Discus as a prog-band, according to an unwritten rule, that each progressive album should include a suite-like track, longer than 10 minutes. Did you compose "Contrasts" deliberately or according to that unwritten rule?
Hasan: In that particular case, not really, but maybe we did in an subconscious way. It's true that the writers of that track, namely Fadhil, Terry Manuputty (our former bassist and Nonnie's elder brother) and I are prog fans so there is an awareness of that tradition. We just sort of keep adding parts, and had fun putting it all together. I wrote sections to put after Fadhil's section etc and that's the end result. Somehow that piece just "felt" that it had to be that long. It didn't feel right to be shorter than it is. When you write music, sometimes something tells you not to stop and continue adding parts, until something else tells you to finish it off. The length varies for different pieces of music. A naturally short piece shouldn't be extended and a naturally long piece shouldn't be chopped up and shortened.
GEPR: "Contrasts" includes traditional Indonesian theme. Could you perhaps tell something more about this ambitious track and its background?
Hasan: We suddenly thought, I think Fadhil thought that "Gambang Suling" would be a really cool piece to play. I thought it was a great idea and so we inserted it in there. We got permission from the publishers. We respect the tune. I think "Contrasts" is one of the pieces where we tried to see what will happen if we combine different styles of music. The underlying philosophy is that in this world there are always opposites. Light and darkness, masculine and feminine, "yin" and "yang" as the Chinese say, and all in balance. So there are contrasting dynamics in that track. Life is not that simple. Life is complicated and is full of changes.
GEPR: "Gambang Suling" is a traditional tune or theme. What kind of tune exactly? Religious, war or something completely different?
Hasan: It's more of a casual thing. The gambang and the suling are names of traditional musical instruments.
GEPR: I read somewhere that one instrument is called "gendhing". How does that one differ from gambang and suling or vice versa?
Hasan: A gambang is a mallet instrument and a suling is a bamboo flute. More like a recorder instead of a flute, actually. As far as I know, gending is a musical style not an instrument. I might be wrong. There are maybe more than 70 different traditions. I'm not sure exactly how many, and maybe the same term might be used with different meanings in other traditions. Are you sure it's not a "kendang" that you mean? A kendang is sort of like a conga but played horizontally instead of vertically.
GEPR: Oh, it was a style then. Yes, I remember that it was written gendhing, but it only seemed to me it was an instrument. So, it's a style. Fine, fine! Cool fact anyway.
Hasan: Well, as far as traditional Indonesian music is concerned, I am very interested in it but I am not an ethnomusicologist. I'm not an expert. They way I learn about it is by meeting the musicians, playing with them, asking them, and of course listening to tapes and read books. So I can't claim to be an expert in that area and I don't pretend to be. But progressive rock, of course is open to anything. That's why I dare incorporate it. And I think I'm confident that you don't have to use a traditional instrument exactly as the way it is used traditionally. That would be the same as saying you always have to use a violin the way Mozart used it. There would never be a Jean Luc Ponty, or a David Ragsdale or Jerry Goodman.
GEPR: This way or another, you have learned a lot, taking into account that you're not full-time ethno-explorer.
Hasan: Sure. And I only have to ask whenever I want to. The experts and musicians in traditional Indonesian music are not that difficult to find.
So there is an improvised rindik solo in "Contrasts", and traditionally the rindik is never used like that, as a soloist on top of a rhythm section. It's used for playing ostinatos, as a rhythmic instrument. An instrument is something made by man to produce sound to be used musically. And to me that means you can do anything you want with it. That's exactly the school of thought that gave birth to 20'th century contemporary classical music.
Imagine what the western classical world of music would be like without that ever happening. It would be so boring. No Schoenberg, no Bartok, no Ives, no Penderecki, no Cage..., how boring. Sure, I admire Beethoven, but as great as Beethoven is, the world wouldn't be exciting without Schoenberg breaking the barriers. Beethoven is something from the past, and because it's great the music endured for hundreds of years. And of course we need to have his music today because it's great but it would be damn boring without any new development, breaking the tradition.
That's why I finally chose not to have a serious carreer as a classical guitar recitalist. I do enjoy playing it and I once did want to seriously go in that direction but after I started studying contemporary classical composition and jazz theory, I feel more and more that I prefer to write music and play my music and go back to rock music and mix it all up. If I have extra time I might want to do it again for fun because it's enjoyable too, but it will never be first priority.
Well, I don't know. At 50 maybe I'll think differently. People change. Within time constraints you just have to make choices and for now I have the greatest satisfaction in music writing and playing prog, and the next best thing is composing contemporary classical or experimental music, whenever there is time and opportunity. Playing jazz comes next in terms of the level of enjoyment in doing.
See, the reason I love doing prog is that you can do anything but you don't always have to be that serious like in classical. You can have fun rocking but at the same time you can also make it very very serious and incorporate contemporary classical in it if you want. In other words, you're free to create your own balance of things. No rules, just do it. Of course when it comes to making an album a lot of thought has to go into it, how to make the album cohesive and everything, but your own concept and tastes can be the limit of what you decide to do, not some limitation imposed by any rules or any specific predetermined style, or the record company.
On the other hand, in contemporary classical there are supposedly also no rules but then you can't really just rock. So that, in a sense, can also be a "rule", that you can't just have fun jamming playing rock riffs. There's still like a "quality control" standard. You have to write a professional looking score, even if it is a free from avant garde experimental thing where the score contains only symbols and pass it to the professional musicians. Even if there's only silence like John Cage's 4'33'', you have to have somehow formally tell the participants involved to have complete silence for 4'33''. By the way that particular "piece", to me, is more a philosophical exercise about the definition of music as related to sound and "no sound", which can in turn be seriously questioned and debated to the point that the difference between genious and fool becomes unclear, but that's another matter. So there's still some degree of formality imposed. I still do get a lot of enjoyment of that but there's nothing like blowing away with progressive rock. You want to have an extremely loud metal jam with growling vocals immediately followed with a duet between a concert harp and a female soprano, fine. You want to write a score, fine. You don't want to, fine. Of course for certain type of things there is no other way, you HAVE to write a score. But if you don't want to you don't have to do those things, so if you decide to have a chamber music piece on your album which is completely scored, well, YOU are the one who decides that because you, the musician, love it. If then after hearing your album people want to hear more of that from you that's OK, because it's something you love to do which you already did on your previous album.
GEPR: Ha-ha, after hearing that I think you could also write a book, entitled Manuals for Young Prog-Rock Composers (and even some older ones), and I'm saying that in the most positive meaning. I think any prog-musician and prog-fan could learn something from these lines.
Hasan: Hahaha. Well maybe I should one day. That would be funny. But I wonder if anybody would want to read it.
GEPR: Well, if nobody else, GEPR will administer it as an unconditional reading. Let's return back to the 1st for a while. "Violin Metaphysics" shows Discus within yet another light. Violinist Eko Partitur profiled it toward more atmospheric, almost ambiental shores of music. It hints on something otherworldly. How would you describe your attitude (and that of other members) toward religion, supernatural, parapsychological and so on?
Hasan: Well, as we are Indonesians, of course we have, in the back of our minds, what people would maybe call an "Eastern" kind of thought pattern. We do believe in the supernatural. I think it's in our tradition, or heritage even. In Indonesia there are several religions and you're "supposed" to have a religion . That idea would be considered stupid by Western standards but we in Indonesia don't have any problem with that at all. So in Discus there are Moslems and Christians. There are Buddhists and Hindus as well in Indonesia, and other supernatural beliefs. I know in the Western world there is a big difference between spirituality and religion, but in Indonesia the paradigm is different. Religion is simply ways to express spirituality. And traditionally we don't have any problems with organised religion. Yes it is true that organised religion can be used by politicians to meet their ends, especially in developing countries, including Indonesia. Organised religion can go on without spirituality thus leaving behind its essense. That has happened so many times in various countries. And as a result organised religion has made people kill each other when manipulated by politicians. And yes, a lot of people follow an organised religion without digging the spiritual element so that makes it easy for politicians to mobilize these people for various political motives. That's bound to happen when religion becomes a public matter. Usually the education level plays a role. I think elementary education is very important and a lot of people here suffer in this regard, not having good elementary education. That's the social condition. But that hasn't made our people grown anti-religious, even the intellectuals. It's just something that is taken for granted. Very rarely does an Indonesian believe that God doesn't exist. It's the exception, not the norm. That's not to say that because of that nobody ever does bad things such as crime. But as it is in our heritage we somehow are willing to just accept it as being that way in our minds. Why? The best answer is maybe just simply that the Western and Eastern world have different paradigms in their ways of thinking. It is a difference that just has to be accepted as a fact and not to fight about. Maybe it can be said that we're thinking in a medieval, pre-renaissance sort of framework while at the same time living a modern life. There is a stock market, cars, computers, the internet, recording studios, TV stations, cabel TV, there's even MTV on Indonesian TV.
GEPR: I guess you and Fadhil could have been Moslems, if I take into account your (sur)names.
Hasan: Fadhil is a Moslem. I am a Christian. Back to "Violin Metaphysics", I think that piece was based on a Metaphysical sort of experience that Eko had. In the middle of the city suddenly he was literally hearing sounds of waves like at sea while nobody else heard it. And it was not raining.
GEPR: Wow! That's exactly what I meant. I think Music could be somehow connected with similar things and events. Such inspirations are a great thing. Concerning MTV on national TV, I suggest to protect your own culture, else it will gone forever.
Hasan: Yeah, that's a sad thing. MTV has crept in here like in anywhere in the world.
GEPR: "Dua Cermin" is Fhadil's contribution, as well as being a part of "Contrasts". In essence, this is soft track, leaning more on the simple side of things. But in the middle, disso-solo can be heard. Has he personally decided to make it more fresh that way?
Hasan: Maybe. I didn't write it so I don't know. But if I can guess, yes he was. And more than anything, he was having fun writing it so of course he did feel that it sounds fresh that way.
GEPR: Which "leitmotif" you follow while composing? What is your motto?
Hasan: Just "do whatever feels right and use your ear". By "use your ear", I don't necessarily mean to ignore theory. But I feel a lot of people think that, for instance, if you write atonal music you don't FEEL what you write. Some people assume that if you use some sort of technique you learned in music school you are not using your ear or your soul. For me that's not true at all. People may think I don't feel what I write but I do. It's not that left brain as some might think. By going with the feel, you can write prog metal if you feel so, and put some jazz in there if you feel that the piece wants to "write itself" in that direction. Of course the piece can't literally write itself, someone has to write it, but somehow as a composer you sort of feel something you write is dragging you in a certain direction. By all means follow it. In the mean time you could have fun trying things. Outside Discus, I once wrote for a contemporary classical festival here, and I wrote a piece using just five pitches (or rather, "pitch classes" as Schoenberg would say), which were in a cluster chord of G-G#-A-Bb-B. That was fun to do and I wrote about 10 minutes of music using those five pitch classes and nothing else. But even in writing that sort of thing, which might seem like a technical exercise in composition, I still trusted my feelings. I tried to capture a certain "feel" and emotion and use it in the writing process. So in the end the music spoke to me just as any other music. I just can't stand writing without "feeling" what I write. And I think a lot of composition students get frustrated because they force themselves to write what they don't "feel" like writing so it becomes a real torture. For school, yes that is required. But after you get out of school, better write what you can feel or hear in your head. I don't want to force myself to write what I can't feel. If I write an atonal piece, that's because I'm enjoying it at the moment I'm writing.
GEPR: Theme change, well, almost: Some bands on new music scene have/had some interests for politics. How do you relate to that topic? Which chords would you choose to express anger upon bad decisions of politicians or simply, to express an opinion upon something stupid realised in that field of everyday life?
Hasan: I guess metal oriented guitar sounds and dissonant chords, for sure. Screams, maybe. "Lamentation & Fantasia Gamelantronique" is about the riots in Indonesia in 1998. But chords in itself can mean a lot of different things and the same chords can express different moods depending on the whole compositional context it is being used in. So there's no simple answer to that question, I guess.
Politics, yeah, politics can be terrible. The majority of politicians have their personal vested interest, business or otherwise. You can say it's money. Everybody wants money, myself included, but the question is whether the person considers ethics an important thing or not is the big question. But again that's how this world operates.
GEPR: Another fishy question: Do you think it is possible to associate colours of the choral sea and its settlers with tone colours, with particular vibrato timbre? Do you think it is possible to associate colour and particular tones (triads) with different yet certain colours at all?
Hasan: I'm sure it is, although I don't particularly think that way. I mean, I don't do that but other composers do. See, some composers associate what they write with something visual. I don't. The composers who work that way can achieve great results. But composers who work in abstraction, without any visual imagination, can also get great results. It's just a matter of personal preference. And again, it's not a just a function of triads. It's the whole combination of elements in music, such as harmony, structure, rhythm, tempos, dynamics, and sound timbres. And a minor triad could lead to different colour associations in a Debussy piece than in a Mozart piece. On a very simple level, yes you can say that a major triad is bright yellow, a minor triad is grey, a diminished triad is black, while an augmented triad is multicolored, like a dizzying spiral of different colors. But some music don't use triads at all as in some atonal music. A fast harp arpeggio up and down sound might remind you of a light creme or transparent shady pink color, while a trumpet fanfare might sound "bright red".
GEPR: Yeah, I wanted to hear something like that. Otherwise, I guess it is no problem to associate notes with just about everything it crosses one's mind. Perhaps only a higher degree of imagination is needed.
Hasan: Yes, music is an abstraction of things. Even in the most obvious, still different listeners will associate different things anyway.
GEPR: Primeval aim of music is (was;).) to amuse people in general. 20th century proved that this is not necessary. Do you think it is a negative approach to make music for the sake of music?
Hasan: No, not at all. I don't think there is anything like a negative approach in making music. Negative depends on your point of reference, which in turn relates to your background and life experience, which influences your world view. But that's something personal and can't be universalized. So I dare not to judge. The only bad thing in this sense is that when music is used to induce horrible things such as killings. But that's not because of the music itself, rather than what it is being used or created for. Of course then that effects the kind of music being written. But you can use the same music for different purposes. Bach was a religious man and he also wrote church music but some of his music can be used for horror movies. When you hear it in that context it fits too. If you take a Bach minor-keyed Toccatta played on a pipe organ and use it in a vampire movie (not that I like vampire movies) it sounds very appropriate. The composer might say it's a perversion of his music but he can't deny it fits there.
GEPR: Do you think that Music can speak for itself, I mean, in such a way interviews aren't needed?
Hasan: I suppose so, yeah.
GEPR: On "Lamentation and Fantasia Gamelantronique" we can hear how very different styles go hand in hand, passages between 'em are very smooth, barely recognizable for the most of time. Native Indonesian fusings, for example, are more than welcome in nowadays prog. But tell me: Do you see the Music Cosmos as infinite or finite? Might music veer into inevitable cul-de-sac and cease to be fresh or experimental? It seems to me that less and less bands and artists (here I'm taking into account all musical genres) manage to create sth new, majority of them don't even try to do so. Many of them claim do to something yet unheard, and when I go to check them out, I'm more than often disappointed. How do you see or better, hear the future of the music?
Hasan: Well that's difficult to say. Like, "Fantasia Gamelantronique" might happen to sound fresh to you but the next time we do that sort of thing you might say "That's been done. There's nothing exciting about it now". And you feel that when you listen to it. Right now I feel Discus can explore new directions we've never done, and mix different influences in a new way but then how much research can one or eight human beings do? Eventually we will run out of fresh ideas. We can keep on writing as complicated stuff as we can but then there's nothing new to it anymore. So then you start to find simple things. But then what you do other people have done. I don't know. It's hard to imagine these kind of things. Because someday someone might invent a new musical instrument, electronic or otherwide that could produce new types of sounds and a writer would use that in his/her compositions and starts something fresh. And then it would be cliched again.
GEPR: Well, maybe, if you'd compose something very very similar to "Lamentation and Fantasia Gamelantronique", but from a progrock aspect Discus were the first to create such piece. Similarly it would be to look from prog-metal aspect. The problem would occur, when many groups would start to emulate your style and help it to become clichéd. Something like that is happening in prog metal and other metal subgenres. One band starts, at least something new-sounding , and within half a year a lot leeches appear who parasite on perhaps even already chewed and worn-out idea. Interesting enough, "original" and the very first clones usually survive. Regarding Discus, I don't believe they can get worn out very easy.
Hasan: You mean, in terms of the number of groups who will use the same elements? But then, still I will feel that I can't create something fresh and keep repeating.
However, after the "atonal fever" of the early to mid 20th century. classical composers went back to simplifying their music. Besides minimalism, some went retro and revisited romanticism, and also early classical styles. Some went way back to early music. Some explored different ethnic musics. But that is a recycling thing. Is it bad? No, it's not. It's not forward looking but it's not bad. It may be very very good, depending on the results. Or it might be good to some people and bad for others. But the composer will just write what he wants to write.
GEPR: Quite. But I think, that plenty new-sounding things can be created. On the other side, one can seldomly compose without looking back. Perhaps not way back, but say, from year to whole decade. Sometimes I'm surprised and glad, how a particular band/ artist manages to contort sonic appearance of the other. For example, when Varese composed his "Arcana", he'd intervowen some passages of Stravinsky's "Rite Of Spring" within the block-like construction of the piece. "Rite" is awesome, but "Arcana" had taken colossal dimensions. Similarly Dr. Nerve upgraded Henry Cow. Another interesting example is how Etron Fou used Beefheartisms and Gongisms and also managed to create something new-sounding.
Hasan: Yes, of course. Another example which is more in the prog vein is Steve Hackett's rerecordings of old Genesis tunes, in his album Genesis Revisited. I think for the most part he did a very fresh approach to the old material. It was not just a rerecording. Judging from the end result, he had enough reason to redo those pieces. He sort of went back to the very basics of the pieces and started again from there. So it was not a waste of money for the consumer to buy the CD. I think the only exception on that album was "Watcher of the Skies", where I think there was not so much anything new from the original except different people were playing and he has an orchestra. The rest of the tracks are very fresh indeed. They sound new.
GEPR: What are you working on at the moment and what are your plans for future?
Hasan: We're trying to get our second album done. We haven't written all the material. Or rather, we have written a lot of stuff, more than needed in terms of quantity, but can't decide what to use and what not to use. The various different backgrounds of the members mean that they turn in very different styles and you just can't use everything. We are trying to have a more cohesive sound in general than our first album and with so many personal influences, that can be difficult because then the influences are too broad. We have to narrow it down a bit and decide what we're not going to do. We have this 21 minute suite but the rest hasn't been decided.
GEPR: Therefore new album's on the way. So, I'm suppose to enjoy it?
Hasan: I hope you will. You know, the more expectations people have on it, the more I'm worried that it will fail those expectations. See, I feel I have to compete with our own first album, which has some moments that was difficult to create, and make it better. Imagine that. At the same time though, it's also fun to do.
GEPR: Iwan Hasan, mega thanks for this interview.
Hasan: Thanks for the great interview and your kind attention, Nenad.
Editor's Note: This interview was completed several months ago now, and Iwan has told me they were supposed to be going into the studio last November to record their next album, though they don't have a release date or label for it yet. Stay tuned to the GEPR for new information as soon as it's available! -- Fred Trafton
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Nenad Kobal lives on "the sunny side of
Alps" in Slovenia. He is a major fan of RIO and what he calls "difficult"
musics, including intricate progressive metal music. He especially likes
Univers Zero and attempts to be as dark
and moody as they are whenever possible. He is a frequent contributor to the
Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock. This is his first interview for
the Gibraltar Webzine. |
Unlike many progressive scenes throughout the world, the Israeli progressive rock scene remained virtually unknown outside of Israel and in many cases also in Israel Itself. The beginning could be traced in the late sixties, when Israel had a vivid but small clubs/discothèques scene, which gave many bands the opportunity to perform and polish their sound. Most of these bands (The Lions, Uzi Ve'hsignonot, Hachocolada, Hashmenim Ve'harazim etc.) had concentrated in doing cover versions of the than popular artists such as the Beatles, Procol Harum, The Searchers etc. while other acts started developing their own unique sounds.
In Jerusalem a brilliant young guitarist named Shlomo Mizrahi formed a Hendrix influenced band called Ha'Bama Ha'Hashmalit (The Electric Stage), this band was considered radical for it's time and paved the way for many others acts to follow.
In Tel Aviv on the other hand, a bunch of youngsters formed what was to become one of Israel's most famous and most sought after bands: The Churchills. The Churchills (originally known as Churchill's Hermits) were active since 1965. They had several line-up changes until the line-up stabled on with Haim Romano (guitar), Mickey Gavrielov (Bass), Amy Treibatch (Drums) and two newcomers British guitarist Rob Huxley and Canadian vocalist Stan Solomon with this line up they recorded three songs (two of them were released as singles). They went to Denmark for a while (they were a support act for Deep Purple), where they were exposed to drugs and underground music as a result their music had gradually become more and more psychedelic.
Upon their return to Israel they started adopting Arabic and Greek music motives and use them in their music. They created several soundtracks to Israeli, which were the Basis for their album The Churchills this album combined Psychedelic and Underground music with Greek and Arabic motives. It was a revolutionary album (which until today is considered a milestone of Psych rock and is highly sought after and very expensive). In spite of their uniqueness (or because of it) the album sold in poor quantities. Stan Solomon had retired from the band and they spent some time as a session group for other Israeli or visiting Artists.
Eventually they teamed up with a young pop singer Arik Einstein who aimed to change his direction into rock, along with them and with another accomplished musician Misha Segal, Einstein had recorded what is considered to be the first Hebrew Rock album in 1969, this album Poozi was made up of rather standard rock and pop songs with a slightly psychedelic bend, but also comprised the first ever Israeli Progressive Rock song "Hayo Haya" (used to be), this song opens up with a jazzy piano solo with tapes of glasses clicking and coughs, before it merges into a Procol Harum Like organ with Einstein singing and moaning, this is being interrupted by a superb Acid guitar solo by Haim Romano and then goes back to the jazzy piano and then back to the organ and ends in a climax where Einstein screams his lungs out. This is an essential Israeli prog IMHO. Einstein had gone on to become one of Israel's most popular singers and released numerous albums. Some with the next generation of Israeli Progsters. But this album of his is the only one that might interest International collectors.
The Churchills meanwhile had teamed up with Israeli composer/conductor Noam Shariff, who arranged for them a mutual concert with the Israeli Philharmonic orchestra; Shariff a serious Classical composer who had already collaborated with them on their album, was influenced by Deep Purple's album with the London Symphony and thus the band performed two tracks by Bach: "Choral for Young Lovers" and "Concerto X 2", this effort was released on a single entitled "Churchill Sebastian Bach" and gained some success.
By 1970 the band were joined by a new vocalist Danny Shushan which changed their direction into hard-rock, they went to London by 1971 and recorded an album under a new name Jericho Jones, this album "Junkies, Monkeys and Donkeys" had combined hard rock with more serene and progressive moments. After this they gave some concerts in England and started working on a new album for which they shortened the band's name to Jericho, this was a more complete work, the band had maintained their heavy/hard-rock sound but developed a more complex songwriting and the album also included an excellent fully progressive song "Justin and Nova" with piano and strings arrangements. This is a good album much influenced by Led Zeppelin but also quite original, both of these albums were reissued on CD by the German Repertoire label.
Meanwhile back in Israel, some exciting new things had begun to happen. By
1971, a new band was put together by drummer-composer Zohar Levy. They called
themselves Acharit Ha'Yamim (Apocalypse),
although not a prog band they were rather important and influential and their
sole album (now considered a milestone of Israeli Rock) comprised psychedelic hard
rock with strong Blues and soul influences and some progressive overtones, this
album also failed commercially and the band broke-up.
Another important artist who emerged by 1971 was Shlomo
Gronich, son of a music teacher and a child prodigy. He grew up on classical music until
he discovered the Beatles. After his army service, he became professional and by
1971 his first album "Why Didn't You Tell me?" was released. This was the
first Israeli prog-rock album and a very revolutionary work. It comprised
many facets of his complex music and personality. The influences were numerous
from his classical background through Jazz, Underground rock, traditional
Jewish music, Cabaret music and the title track, which captured him screaming,
crying and freaking out on the piano and vocals. The album had a very desperate
atmosphere and it is an essential album for everyone who wants to hear the
development of Israeli prog.
The album failed commercially, and Gronich went
on collaboration with another talented musician Mathi Caspi. Caspi who had a similar
background was a composer/arranger/producer and multi instrumentalist. They started
writing songs and touring, the result of this collaboration was "Behind The Sounds"
another milestone of Israeli prog. This live album featured
Gronich on piano and vocals and Caspi on acoustic
guitar and vocals and in spite of the scarce instrumentation, they managed to create
a full and compelling sound. The music included the usual blend of Classical music,
Jazz, Cabaret music, Rock and even some Brazilian influences, it ranged from the beautiful
to the frightening, from rather accessible songs to sheer avant-garde. This is
another essential Israeli prog album.
After this, Caspi had gone solo and gradually abandoned rock, concentrating
on other directions such as bossanova, reggae and so on. The two reunited for
a tour and another album by 1984, but this was rather disappointing.
At the same time a couple of other talented musicians Yoni Rechter, who was
the keyboard player for Israel's most popular band at the time Kaveret
(beehive) during his stay with this band he was also a student at the music
academy in Jerusalem, in this academy he befriended another talented musician
Avner Kenner. Beside their classical background the two shared a passion for
(then) current top progressive acts such as Yes, Gentle Giant etc. they
started writing original music based on these influences and teaming up with
drummer Zohar Levy (of the aforementioned Apocalypse)
and several session musicians (including Gronich and
several members of Kaveret) they recorded the
Album "14 Octaves" although not as good as Ktzat Acheret this album had it's
moments and it's quite good progressive work.
By 1974 perhaps the most well known Israeli prog band Zingale
had emerged. The band was formed in 1974 by bassist Udy Tamir, Keyboardist Ady Weiss,
vocalist/guitarist Efraim Barak, Drummer David Shanan, Violinist Tony Brower and several
other members. They named themselves after the Hebrew slang word for a Joint. They were the
first Israeli prog group to use theatrical elements in their concerts (masks, lightning etc.)
although recording several singles (that failed) in Hebrew, they decided to concentrate on
English lyrics and mostly instrumental work, as they were aiming for the international market.
At a certain stage British Decca records showed interest in the band but nothing came out of
it eventually. They started working on their classic and only album "Peace" and the end of
1975 finished it. Like other Israeli Prog album of that period this album also reflected the
Yom Kippur War trauma, but unlike others it had only English lyrics and was by far the most
accomplished Israeli prog album ever. This is a great and essential album equally influenced
by the Symphonic rock of Gentle Giant and
Yes and by the stoned Jazz-rock of the Canterbury scene, in spite
of all of these influences they managed to maintain their own identity and are highly important
band. The album came out only two years after it's recording in a limited quantity and became
very rare and sought after album. It was reissued on CD in the 90's also in a limited and
numbered edition. Which was sold out and also impossible to get now. In the time that passed
since the recording sessions to the release of the album they recorded several more Hebrew
songs, which got them no attention (by 1996 Band member Johnny Stern had privately printed a
CD with all of their Hebrew recordings under the title " A Party Inside"). As a result of
several members growing interest in religion and due to the lack of success, they eventually
broke up, leaving only one album, a masterpiece.
Shem Tov Levy's (a member of Ktzat Acheret and a long time
collaborator of Arik Einstein) had recorded and released his first solo album "In The Mood"
by 1976, the album which had guest appearances by the Churchills' Haim Romano,
Apocalypse And Kaveret guitarist Ytzhak Klepter (also
a former member of The Churchills) and 14 Octaves member
Avner Kenner, was another excellent prog album. As well as influences of the usual suspects
(i.e. Gentle Giant,
Yes and the Mahavishnu Orchestra)
it also comprised classical music, jazz and Middle Eastern influences, which would become
Levy's trademark sound in latter years. This album was unique and well done and set new
standards to the Israeli prog legacy and is highly recommended.
Two more important groups to emerge in the mid-Seventies were Piamenta and
Atmosphere. Piamenta was named after its founder member Yossi Piamenta a
virtuoso guitar player, highly influenced by Jimmy Hendrix. The band gigged
for several years and recorded several singles/demos, until 1977 when famed
Jazz Saxophonist Stan Getz, who toured Israel at the time heard them and was
highly impressed by them. Together with Getz the band had recorded an album
that combined heavy metal, Jazz and Arabic/Oriental elements. This was very
unique effort but unfortunately the album was never released and the band
split when Piamenta followed Stan Getz' Invitation to work with him in the
USA. Piamenta is still active musically and released several albums throughout
the 80's and the 90's.
Atmosphere who emerged by 1976 were a group comprised of students, they gigged
regularly with Piamenta and other progressive acts of the era. By 1977
together with Efraim Barak of Zingale, they recorded
material for a whole album; unfortunately this was also never released, but tapes
of these band circulate among collectors and reveals one of the finest Israeli prog
bands of all times, with very professional approach they recorded long and complex
tracks highly influenced by Yes and well worth tracking down.
An important band that emerged by 1975 and released their sole album by early
76' was Tamouz. This was a supergroup led by two of the most important Israeli
rock artists of all times, Shalom Hanoch & Ariel Zilber. Although essentially
a hard rock band, their album "The Orange Season is over" did contained one
good progressive track with long and complex instrumental passages. This track
"The deeper, the bluer" was a significant contribution to the Israeli prog
canon by a non-progressive band.
After releasing his debut, Shem Tov Levy had formed a new group Sheshet; this
band featured female singer Judith Ravitz (who became a megastar in Israel
during the Eighties) and several veteran musicians from with Rock and Jazz
backgrounds, this band had much difficulties in gaining concerts as no one
was willing to manage them due to the uncommercial nature of their music. The
band had split but a record company executive had heard them in one of their
rare concert and offered them a record deal, and thus the band reunited for
the purpose of recording an album, the self titled album was recorded and
released by 1977 and is considered one of the best Israeli progressive rock
albums, it contained elements of prog, jazz, Arabic and Balkan music and was
highly influenced by the first incarnation of Chick Corea's
Return to Forever with strong compositions
and playing by all members.
The aforementioned Arik Einstein had "adopted" during mid to late Seventies,
many of the Israeli progsters to work on his albums, notably Shem Tov Levy And
Yoni Rechter, but also Avner Kenner, Ady Weiss (of Zingale)
and Shlomo Ydov (of Ktzat Acheret) who by 1978 had
released his first solo album The First Time this was another strong and solid
album of symphonic rock in the vein of Camel,
Genesis and of course Gentle
Giant. I consider this album as one of the finest prog albums ever released in Israel
and recommend it whole-heartedly. It was mostly song based but also contained two excellent
instrumental pieces, which are simply great.
Two more bands who emerged by the late 70's were Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) who
were essentially a heavy metal band, but their sole and rare album contained
one progressive instrumental piece called "Paramix" More significant was the
Jerusalem band Duvdevan (Cherry), this band led by vocalist/keyboardist Yves
Touati and electric violin player Danny Tibberin, although recording several
demos for the Israeli radio, only one track by them "Ben Gurion Airport" is
available on a compilation CD, this is a shame because they were really
excellent. Their music comprised progressive and psychedelic jazz-rock and
was quite unique. They split and reformed for several times during the
eighties and their recording are yet waiting to be issued.
By 1979 Yoni Rechter had also released hid first solo album "Intentions" this
album included some good progressive stuff as well as some more popish
material, this album is fine but not totally progressive, therefore is only
partly recommended.
1980 also saw the return of Shlomo Gronich after several years in USA. He went
on a tour which resulted in a live album, this album featured both new and old
material and one side of it was dedicated to the rock opera he wrote "America"
that was staged only several years later, this album however is recommended
only to diehard fans, it's good but not brilliant and innovative as his
previous works.
His next album, however was a totally different story a much better and unique
affair, "Cotton Candy" saw Gronich at his most mature and complex. The album
contained several excellent tracks including "Nueba" (which was covered by
famed jazz flutist Herbie Mann); "I hadn't stopped yet" with a great sitar
passage, "Nowhere" - a great jazzy piece of prog and what some consider the
greatest Israeli prog track ever "Luna Park" a crazy jazzy Gentle Giantish
piece.
Gronich's next venture was a reunion with Shem
Tov Levy. The two who also became brothers in low, recorded "Family Album" in 1983.
This was to be their last progressive effort so far. The frustrated Gronich wrote a
protest song called "Simple Songs" which protested about people aren't willing to
hear complex music, absurdly this song became his greatest hit ever. The rest of
the album included recording of family members playing folksy tunes, a rework
of "autumn nights" from the Sheshet album and several excellent progressive
tracks; "Transition", "Dance of the Hobbits" and "The Heart Opens". In overall
this album is not great, but still good.
The duo of Ilan Virtzberg And Shimon Gelbetz had emerged and recorded "Good
Vintage" in 1981; this was an album dedicated to the songs of Israeli Poetess
Yona Wallach. Not strictly progressive, but more in art rock direction, this
excellent album had some strong progressive overtones and is recommended.
The last band to emerge in the Eighties after several years without prog
activity in Israel, were Lord Flimnap. This band comprised of 3 teenagers;
Itay Eyal (voice/guitar/bass), Ohad Goldbrat (Voice/Keyboards) and Alon
Weissman (drums). This trio who were 15-16 years old at the time of the
recording sessions had managed to come out with a mature and quite good album.
Their music and sound resembled early British Prog bands such as
Spring, Cressida,
Fields etc. indeed the CD was reissued in Germany by
a Label who tried to market them as a mysterious early 70's British Band. This label
also promised to arrange a European tour for them, this was never materialized
and the band broke up.
The early 90's were a quiet period for Israeli prog, however several new faces
did appeared on the scene. Bands and artists such as Rockfour (who's getting
some attention abroad this days) Tom and The True Story, Doppler Effect and
Eviatar Banai were influenced by or used Progressive elements to some extant.
By the end of the millennium and the beginning of the new one, several more
fully progressive rock bands emerged, most of them had recorded demos but none
got commercial release among these bands are Ashkelon Quilt (who are about to
release an album in England), Parva Chama (Hot Fur) and a promising new band
called Trespass.
Festival Review
By now, you've probably already read about NEARFest 2001
in one publication or another. But since this was my first progressive rock festival, I just
had to write to tell everyone what I thought of it! My first festival? Yes, I've been listening
to prog rock since the early '70's, and have seen lots of big acts like
Emerson, Lake and Palmer, King
Crimson, Yes and Pink Floyd in
huge arenas. I've seen many of the older less popular but brilliant acts in small venues (bars)
such as Allan Holdsworth, Bruford,
The Dixie Dregs and Gentle
Giant to name a few. I even got to see The Underground
Railroad in a ... shall we say "intimate" setting (a very small dive of a bar in E.B.E.)
last year. But I had never managed to get to a festival before. What must it be like to hear ten
prog bands in a row, over a period of two days? Would my brains blow out? Would my ears blow
out? Could I afford the time and expense to make the trip to Allentown, PA to do this? With no
regard to any of these questions, I just hopped a plane to
NEARFest and hoped for the best ...
I arrived the night before NEARFest, on June 22, 2001.
Unfortunately, I was by myself ... I had hoped to bring my wife along, but I happened to be in
Singapore sound asleep when tickets went on sale in the U.S.A. By the time I woke up halfway
around the world, the tickets had sold out. Fortunately, I happened to chat with
NEARFest organizer Rob LaDuca by e-mail
because some photos I took of The Underground Railroad
were going to be in the NEARFest program, so I mentioned
to him that I wasn't going to be able to make it. He smiled (a scary thing over e-mail) and said
they'd just had one cancellation, and asked if I would be interested in the ticket? Of
course, I said "yes" even though it meant going to the concert without my wife. Unfortunately,
I was unable to get a flight early enough to allow me to get over to see the unofficial
pre-concert show by The Red Masque on Friday evening. I hadn't
heard their demo EP yet at that time ... if I had, I might have tried harder. Oh well.
I arrived at the
Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University way too early on Saturday morning. But there was
plenty to do since the vendor's tables were already mostly set up. When I went in to find my
seat and wait, I was pleasantly surprised to hear an obscure CD being played while we were
waiting ... Mark 1's Absolute Zero. I thought this was
a great choice for program music, and great exposure for this new band.
The first band up was Birdsongs of the Mesozoic.
Like most of the bands playing at NEARFest, I had heard
of them, but never actually heard them. I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard.
Many reviews talk about their avant-garde noisiness and the difficulty of listening to them.
Personally, I found them to be quite melodic, though in a neo-classical chamber music sort of
way. I would hardly even call this progressive rock, despite the use of a programmed
drum machine in many parts. The music features lots of piano and synthesizer and reeds. Just
a little guitar and drum machine drums, so the rock feel is limited. Progressive it is ... rock
it's not. Or just barely. But really interesting, though quite intellectual. For
Birdsongs fans interested in what they played,
their set list consisted of:
After returning to my seat and listening to Halloween (a new
album? They don't seem to have a web site where I can check this out) between acts, the next
band came out. This was the supposedly "neo-prog" band of the festival,
Under the Sun, with a fair dash of prog-metal. Their set was
interesting, but began to suffer from "volume creep", and by the end of their set I was just
getting to the point where I was not comfortable with the sound pressure levels any more. I
was not terribly thrilled by this band, but I did note that the rhythm section (drums and bass)
were incredibly tight and intricate, and vocalist Chris Shryak was quite emotional and
driving with his presentation. The main problem I had (aside from the volume) was that all
the songs started sounding the same after the first twenty minutes or so. As I mentioned in
my review, their CD does not suffer from this at all. It was
just a problem with this particular live performance. Their set list:
The next break featured Isildur's Bane as the canned music.
I was getting to hear nearly as much good music during the breaks as I was during the concert!
Well, I thought so ... until White Willow came out. I have
no recollection of why I thought this was going to be a prog metal band!?!? Nothing could be
further from the way this band sounds! Soft, smooth and pastoral sections interplay with
Yesish rock with a silky female vocalist, Sylvia Erichsen give this
an almost ethnic Celtic feel, making White Willow my favorite
bands of NEARFest 2001. There were some parts that sounded
oddly dissonant during the performance ... I later found out that their airline had lost
their instruments on the flight from Norway, and they were playing with equipment borrowed
from other bands. Due to this, they were very unhappy with their performance in NEARfest, and
seemed genuinely surprised by the uniformly high praise they received for this performance. In
spite of what I thought were some oddities in the sound, this was the only band at NEARFest that
forced me to go and purchase their entire discography on the weight of their performance. I had
an ulterior motive, too ... I thought my wife would like them. And I was right! Here's their
set list:
Deus Ex Machina was the last of the first-day daytime
bands, and delivered a rousing closer to the day's events. Here's another band I had never
heard, but their sound was very impressive. An Italian band singing in Latin, I would call
their sound "extreme fusion", a heavy metal sound quality but with the intricacy and jazzy
aspects of a fusion band. This is too fusiony sounding to be called "prog metal" in my mind.
But what do I know? To quote the fellow in the seat next to me, "these guys rock hard"!
Yes, they do. I would have looked into purchasing their discography as well, but having just
spent a small fortune on CD's during the rest of the day, I didn't do so. But they're high on
my list to get some samples of their studio work to listen to. If they mentioned any song
titles, I didn't understand them, and they never did tell
NEARFest organizers what their song list was either,
so it's never been published. Oh well, still a big thumbs up for these guys.
We had a couple of hours break to get some dinner before the "headliner act" of the day,
Porcupine Tree. I went out and got some dinner, and
came back at the appointed time only to hang around and wait for quite awhile. After a
few delays and extra encores during the day, we were running late anyway, and the setup
for this band seemed to be taking longer than anticipated. Still, I had been looking forward
to hearing these guys after reading their GEPR reviews. So, I hung around. Finally, they
came on. Here's what they played:
The Underground Railroad is one of my favorite
new bands ... of course, I'm prejudiced because I know these guys, being from my area of
Texas. I reported on seeing them in a little bar in the
first Gibraltar Webzine, and this was going to be my second time to see them. By this
time, I had heard their CD Through and Through about two dozen times, so I had a
pretty good idea of what I was going to hear. Here's their set list:
The second day of NEARFest was my day for knowing
some of the bands ... Djam Karet was one of them, so I
thought I knew what I was going to hear. At first, I thought this music was more heavily
composed than what I was expecting. However, as the concert went on, I began to realize
that the pieces were more composed than their totally improv stuff like Still No
Commercial Value, but still had long improv sections with composed structures supporting
the jams. Guitarist Gayle Ellett doubled on keyboards for some nice, slow spacey chord
progressions, while Mike Henderson sometimes picked up a doubleneck guitar in addition to
his standard electric. I believe that bassist Aaron Kenyon is new to the band, and has a
very commanding stage presence compared to the other band members who are more laid back
and quiet. In fact, the photo above is of them signing autographs instead of during the
concert because Gayle Ellett was in the dark during most of the concert (much like another shy
performer, Robert Fripp? In fact, take a look at Gayle ... doesn't
he actually resemble Mr. Fripp?). Here's their set list:
The California Guitar Trio is yet another band I had
seen before ... on tour with King Crimson for their
Thrak tour. Of course, Tony Levin wasn't playing
with them at that time ... he was playing after them, with
King Crimson! This would have to be a great concert!
Their lightness and mostly acoustic approach was a welcome change from the heavy seriousness
of the previous two bands. They played an amazing array of music:
Although I had never heard After Crying, I had certainly
heard of them as being one of Hungary's most professional and interesting progressive rock
bands. They were definitely "pro", in fact in some ways they seemed more like a Las Vegas
show than a prog act. They had every move and song carefully planned, with "voice-over"
introductions beginning as the band vamps behind the speaker. This isn't bad, necessarily,
it was just surprising. For thoose of you who know After
Crying's discography, perhaps the set list will be of use:
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso was the closing act
of NEARFest 2001. I was vaguely familiar with them,
having once heard one of their earliest albums in the '70's. But that was a long time ago,
and I had not heard any of their music for a long time. For those of you more familiar
with their stuff, here's the set list:
My one regret about this band is that by the time I knew I wanted to buy some
Banco CD's to have the band autograph for me
and bring home to enjoy, the vendors were all packing up their wares. I should have realized
this, and next year I won't be so foolish. But Banco
was spectacular and did a great show, so I would highly recommend seeing them if you can, or
buying their CD's if you can't.
Well, that's it. Except to say that organizers Rob LaDuca and Chad Hutchinson did an incredible
job of organizing this extravaganza. Aside from a small time slip on the first day, it's hard
to imagine how this could have been done any better. The sound quality was excellent, the
band choices were amazing and varied, and there was really not a bad seat in the house. Oh yeah,
except for one thing ... they didn't have enough seats! But they are fixing that for
NEARFest 2002 with a move to a larger venue in Trenton,
New Jersey. With this as my first experience at a festival, I'm definitely spoiled. And I
want more! So I'll see you at NEARFest 2002! The band
list has already been settled, and there are some great acts on tap including a reformed
Nektar and my favorite Italian group,
Le Orme, plus eight more. It should be great.
Other related web sites:
Band web sites:
From Soren Lemche:
From Renato Menezes:
Besides Journey to the Center of the Earth, King Arthur and The 6 Wives
of Henry VIII, he even pleased the crowd by playing "Starship Trooper" with extended
solos ( as an intro to "ST" the band played the first few frenetic bars of
"Heart of the Sunrise") and ended the encore with Eleanor Rigby from his
Beatles cover album. Two sold-out shows.
Great back-up band, excellent drummer Antonio Fernandes (Portuguese? Spanish?). The guy looks
like a regular bureaucrat / civil servant, but heīs a real dynamo behind the kit. The only
weak link was the guitar player, who could not produce a decent guitar solo, persisting on
Van Halen-like finger-tapping techniques at 200 mph. I mean that was OK 15 years ago, but now
itīs done to death ... other than in a couple of solo spots, at least he didnīt get in the way
...
Vocal equalization suffered a bit in clarity, the mass of synth sounds are also located in the
midrange, and clearly there was not much headroom left for the vocal part, although we really
canīt blame the lead singer for this fact, just the FOH sound engineer who should be wiser,
and I think he even managed to put a fine performance after all.
Otherwise, great performance also from the bass player who got big ovations from the crowd in
his two solo spots, displaying superb command of bass techniques, and providing a solid
foundation along with the drummer. Mr. Wakeman, in very fine
shape, dressed in black with a silver mantle, dutifully played with the expected virtuosism
and highlighted his most significant work, presenting an excellent choice of repertoire to his
devoted audience. Also the venue size provided intimacy to the performance, and to the delight
of his fans he descended from stage with his hand-held keyboard to play a long solo walking
amid the cheering crowd [see photo at the beginning of article - Ed.], bringing the house
down ... We should also mention that there is a strong historical and emotional bond between
Rick Wakeman and his Rio de Janeiro fans :
Wakeman was the first prog/rock artist ever to perform in Rio
in the late 70īs at the height of success in his solo endeavours, the Journey to the Center
of the Earth tour, a very bold move at the time into completely uncharted territory (with
a military dictatorship to further complicate matters ...), a gamble which, by the way, paid
off big time, it was a huge successful event, and for sure many of those fans from way back
there were present in the audience this Sunday, older and wiser ... speaking of loyalty ...
Shlomo Gronich
By 1973 Israel had been attacked by several Arab countries, which led to a
terrible war The Yom Kippur War, this war was very traumatic for the Israeli
people and put a stop to all musical and cultural activities in Israel of that
era. After the war, many artists had tried to express their pain.
Gronich had teamed up with two other talented
youngsters Shem Tov Levy and Shlomo Ydov. With Gronich
on keyboards, percussion and vocals, Levy on flute, keyboards percussion and vocals and
Ydov on guitars, bass, percussion and vocals and with assistance from several session
musicians they recorded a brilliant album under the name Ktzat
Acheret ("A Little Different") or as they called themselves in English "Nonames". This
album had reflected some of the pain and anguish of the Yom Kippur war and was very varied
musically. The group at this stage was very influenced by groups such as
Gentle Giant, Yes and
The Mahavishnu Orchestra and it was reflected in their
music, but they also add their own dose of Jazz, Classical Avant-garde and Middle and Far
Eastern music. This album is a masterpiece of Israeli prog and is essential. After a while,
the band split due to Gronich's departure to USA.
Zingale
Sheshet
Lord Flimnap's Point of View
A (selected) discography of Israeli prog:
The Churchills - S/T (69)
Arik Einstein - Poozi (69)
Jericho Jones - Junkies, Monkeys and Donkeys (71)
Shlomo Gronich - Why Didn't You Tell Me? (71)
Acharit Hayamim/Apocalypse - S/T (72)
Mathi Caspi & Shlomo Gronich - Behind The Sounds (72)
Jericho - S/T (72)
Ktzat Acheret/Nonames (74)
Yoni Rechter & Avner Kenner - The 14 Octaves (75)
Shem Tov Levy - In The Mood (76)
Tamouz - The Orange Season Is Over (76)
Zingale - Peace (77)
Sheshet - S/T (77)
Shlomo Ydov - The First Time (78)
Yoni Rechter - Intentions (79)
Shlomo Gronich - Concert (80)
Ilan Virtzberg & Shimon Gelbetz - A Good Vintage (81)
Shlomo Gronich - Cotton Candy (82)
Shlomo Gronich & Shem Tov Levy - Family Album (83)
Arik Einstein - Collection (81)
Arik Einstein - 2nd Collection (86)
Lord Flimnap - Point Of View (89)
Zingale - A Party Inside (96)
New NEARFest logo
Designed by Roger Dean
by Fred Trafton
June 23, 2001
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
Many of these tunes were combined into medleys to fit into the "one hour per band" format of
NEARFest's daytime bands. After the show, I picked up
their earliest (The Fossil Record, though released in 1993, contains early recordings
that didn't make it onto their CD's) and latest (Petrophonics) CD's on the strength of
their performance and got them to autograph the CD sleeve. A great band!
Under the Sun
A lukewarm thumbs up on this performance, though I do have to mention the very nice double
bass drumming in "Breakwater" and an incredible bass solo in "From Henceforth Now and
Forever". Still, I was not inspired to go pick up their CD based on this performance.
White Willow
Of special mention was the three-song "unplugged" set, "Clothes of Sand", "Till He Arrives"
and "Snowfall", played using only on acoustic guitar, flute and voice. Flautist Ketil Einarsen
even did an Ian Anderson imitation, playing Andersonesque flute licks while standing
on one foot! The encore, "Withering of the Boughs" brought the house down with applause. This
is a very fine band, who I hope will put out many more CD's. And not prog metal!
Deus Ex Machina
Porcupine Tree
If you've read my review in the GEPR, you'll know I wasn't that impressed. To be honest,
this band sounds more like an "alternative" modern radio band than a progressive rock
band to me. OK, I'll be fair ... guitarist Steven Wilson played some incredible guitar
solos which would rival anything ever done by one of my other "white man's blues" guitar
heros, Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd. Synthesist Richard
Barbieri also managed to make some wonderfully spacey intros for several of the songs
on his mountain of synthesizers. But somehow, this wasn't enough for me. On the whole,
I found the music to be boring, repetitious and just plain depressing. Oh, and did I
mention TOO DAMNED LOUD? This was the only band of
NEARFest which was so frackin' loud that I had to
use earplugs to keep from having eardrum pain. I just hate that. A band needs to be so
loud that no outside noises interfere with hearing them ... but not so loud that they fry
your eardrums! One would thing a Radio Shack SPL meter available for about twenty bucks
might prevent such a problem. Anyway ... I didn't like Porcupine
Tree much. Fortunately, this was to be the low point of the two days ...
June 24, 2001
The Underground Railroad
The first thing to note is the shortness of the song list. This is because
The Underground Railroad's songs tend to be
on the lengthy side. Unfortunately, a mere hour isn't long enough for a band like this,
but still this was all the time they had. Their style is very Canterburyish, mostly due
to keyboardist Kurt Rongey's keyboard style and also
his vocals. Most reviewers have noted the Echolyn influence
as well, also due to Kurt Rongey. The guitars tend to
sound like a cross between Mahavishnu John McLaughlin,
Allan Holdsworth and Steve Vai thanks to virtuoso
Bill Pohl, so this is one heck of a band. And they showed
it well during this performance, far better than the night I saw them here in the Dallas
area. I must say the keyboards weren't turned up in the mix enough for me on many of the
songs ... I would have loved to be running the sound board. Oh well, that was a minor
complaint ... I enjoyed The Underground Railroad's
set second only to White Willow's. A spectacular band,
easily among the best of the new crop of serious progressive artists ... if you haven't heard
their debut CD Through and Through yet, you need to! And, rumor has it they're ready
to record their second CD soon, so I for one will be on the lookout for it!
Djam Karet
Signing autographs after their show
The first pieces were from existing albums, but No Man's Land onward was from
their new album The New Dark Age, which hadn't yet been released at the time of the
festival. The encore piece, "Burning in the Hard City", is, of course, from the album
of the same name. At any rate, Djam Karet is an excellent
and hard-rocking band with lots of musical range with occasional dips into both space rock
and (the shallowest parts of) RIO waters, so they always stay interesting. A good band to
see live!
Tony Levin and The California Guitar Trio
I could go on about this concert for quite a while, it was certainly among the highlights
of NEARFest 2001. One of my favorite parts was their
version of Beethoven's 9th, which just blows my mind ... I've listened to Beethoven since
before I started listening to prog, and I know every note of the 9th like I know my own
name. They have absolutely nailed this piece, with only three musicians instead of
an entire orchestra. Just amazing! Next was a fantastic version of
King Crimson's "Discipline", with
Tony Levin reprising his StickTM part from
the '80's prog masterpiece. But the most fun was undoubtedly Yes'
"Heart of the Sunrise" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" which
the band encouraged the audience to sing along with! Hearing a thousand voices
singing "Dream on, on to the heart of the sunrise" or "I'm just a poor boy from a poor
family" was worth the trip to Allentown by itself! Just a great band, and loads of fun.
After Crying
To tell the truth, my ears were getting pretty fried by this time ... I was having trouble
focusing on the music. Which is a shame ... After Crying
seemed like they would really be a band I should like, with their complex orchestrations,
classical influences and a keyboardist who obviously loves ELP.
But I can barely remember their show ... too much of a good thing, I guess. I'll have to
re-listen to their concert on the Internet at some point and see what I forgot.
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
These guys were fantastic! Keyboardist Vittorio Nocenzi played fast, furious and very
Italian sounding keys, focusing strongly on the Hammond organ. Vocalist Francesco DiGiacomo
sounded great (he sang in Italian, as far as I remember he didn't sing in English), but it
looked as if he was having a hard time moving ... he looked very stiff. The other "original"
Banco member, guitarist Rodolfo Maltese, was
also in great form, though I admit my personal keyboard-centricness had me focussed more on
Vittorio's keys. The "new" members really filled out the symphonic sound of the band, with
Alessandro Papotto (of Perifera del Mondo) played
woodwinds, and a second guitarist Filippo Marcheggiani (of
Scenario) were both excellent, I especially enjoyed Alessandro's
clarinet solo in the middle of the concert.
For further reading
In the GEPR:
GEPR entry for After Crying
GEPR entry for Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
GEPR entry for Michael Bierylo
GEPR entry for Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
GEPR entry for The California Guitar Trio
GEPR entry for Deus Ex Machina
GEPR entry for Djam Karet
GEPR entry for Tony Levin
GEPR entry for Bill Pohl
GEPR entry for Porcupine Tree
GEPR entry for Kurt Rongey
GEPR entry for Under the Sun
GEPR entry for The Underground Railroad
GEPR Webzine #1 The Underground Railroad Concert Review
GEPR entry for White Willow
Click here for the official NEARFest web site
Click here for Studio M's web site,
where you can hear streaming audio of the entire concert
Click here for an After Crying fan site
Click here for the official Banco web site
Click here for Michael Bierylo's home page on the Berklee web site
Click here for the Birdsongs of the Mesozoic Official web site
Click here for California Guitar Trio web site
Click here for the Deus Ex
Machina web site
Click here for the Djam Karet web site
Click here for Tony Levin's web site
Click here for the Porcupine Tree web site
Click here for Under The Sun's web site
Click here for The Underground Railroad's
web site
Click here for White Willow's web site
Great Rick Wakeman show, just came home and the sound is
still there. Track List: "Journey" (20:00 min), "King Arthur" (12:00 min), at a very high
energy jam-like instrumentation. One song from Return To The Center of the Earth
and the show moved into Henry VIII tunes (2 tunes here). Then we were treated with
"Phantom" from the new album, and back to King Arthur ("Merlin The Magician") and the
No Earthly Connection album. Again another tune from the Henry VIII album
("Catherine Parr") and "Starship Trooper" at the "finale". Encores with another new tune
and finally "Eleanor Rigby" from the Tribute to Beatles album. The last 3 tunes came out
pretty distorted. The band is pretty unknown to me BUT it was an immense pleasure to see a
young bass player (Potomini?) and the fantastic drummer Mr. Antonio Fernandes, plus
Wakeman and Son. Won't comment on the vocal and the guitar
player (seems to have been recruited from some Heavy Metal outfit!). All in all a great
show and worth the US$25 paid for the 2 hours of Wakeman
music.
We saw Mr. Wakeman and son this easter sunday in Rio ...
awesome ... We sat at a table 10 meters from midstage, and 45 min before the show. Soren
ordered Russian vodka, I had a full bottle of JW Black Label, the girls had red wine; cigars
from the Netherlands were passed around ... the only thing we missed was the names of
some of the band members unknown to us ... but after all this stuff, who wouldn't?
The kid is superb, and there was a very emotional moment during one extended solo with father
and son exchanging terrific synth lines, head to head, with portable keyboards midstage, you
could see that old Rick was really moved and proud of his offspring ... Speaking of genetics...
Soren Lemche and Renato Menezes reside in Brazil and have their own progressive
rock band, The Soundchaser Project. They evidently
like Rick Wakeman and enjoy Russian Vodka and Johnny Walker Black Label. All photos
are also courtesy of Renato and Soren.
to read Issue #2 of
Published whenever I feel like it by Fred Trafton of the GEPR
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