Bass Guitar From Spring 2017

A minor classic of progressive rock, this album ranks with Gracious' second album and King Crimson's debut as an exemplar of the use of the Mellotron. Although Mellotrons and the organ (along with some charmingly plonkety piano)provide the foundation of the band's sound, the drums and guitar lay down rocky grooves that keep the washes of keyboards from swamping the whole affair. The lyrics are contemplative, a quality emphasized by Pat Moran's smoky and often wistful vocal style, particularly on the mournful piano piece "Song to Absent Friends." "Shipwrecked Soldier" has wonderfully martial rhythms applied to the Mellotron and drums, and the soaring "Golden Fleece" really lets the multiple keyboards shine. The production is airy and live sounding, with the result that this album has aged surprisingly well.

Chris Weeks: "The Grey Ghost of Morning is an experimental/ambient record which was written in a seven week period, during April-June 2017. It is a personal body of work, highly influenced by my having to come back to the UK and be away from my fiancée in the USA during that time. My sleep patterns, altered from the time-difference, never truly got back to normal. I was haunted by insomnia and was writing and recording well into the early hours of morning. By this time, the hazy morning light had already began to stream into my room. Being that I'm in Wales, more often than not, this light was accompanied by a thick, languid grey mist, rolling-in over the Preseli Mountains, near to where I live. This regular occurrence determined the title of the album…

Preparation is overrated. Impulse is everything. Such was the rebellious wisdom that drove the sessions for Project Mama Earth's astonishing debut EP. In June 2017, five world-renowned musicians met in Devon England for a high-wire act unique in modern music. They had no songs. No chord charts. No game plan. No safety net. Nothing, in fact, but a plan to play and catch the sparks. Where a lesser band would have stumbled, the gauntlet was readily seized by the all-star Mama Earth lineup of Joss Stone (vocals), Nitin Sawhney (guitar), Jonathan Joseph (drums), Étienne M'Bappé (bass/guitar) and Jonathan Shorten (keyboards). "The possibility for catastrophe was huge," nods the drummer. "It could have completely tanked. But the minute everyone stood in the studio, before we even touched an instrument – I just knew."