Fall, Alps, tradition. Cold stone loves the red leaves covering its paths. Since their first line up in 2017, Insubria always aimed to move away from the European Folk Metal criteria and clichés. Pagan and Celtic themes have left room to the imagery of their homeland: The Alps, their primary inspiration. Welcome to the Alpine lands. Harvest Moon is a concept EP about the Pillars of Folklore. The 5 piece work tells about what Heritage, Environment, Legacy and Nature means for the Band. It is an intimist vision about present and past. A vision about purposes, inner self and mistakes.
Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a newly re-mastered, re-mixed and expanded 3 disc clamshell box edition of the classic album, “Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories”. Recorded and released in 1971, the album was the third by BJH and was recorded at Abbey Road studios and was co-produced by the band and ex-Pretty Things member Wally Allen. Widely regarded (along with “Once Again”) as one of the band’s early masterpieces, “…Other Short Stories” featured such classic tracks as ‘Medicine Man’, ‘Ursula (The Swansea Song)’, ‘The Poet’ and the epic ‘After the Day’. The album was critically acclaimed upon its release by Harvest Records and was also issued by Sire Records in the United States with some remixed versions of tracks. The album also featured the Barclay James Harvest symphony orchestra conducted by Martyn Ford and arrangements by Toni Cooke and Martyn Ford.
Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic gold selling 1976 album by Barclay James Harvest, “Octoberon”. Originally released at the end of October 1976, the album was a big selling release for the band achieving Silver disc status in the UK and Gold in Germany, their first breakthrough album in that territory.
Imagine the cave where music was born. In the introduction to their 9th studio album "HUMAN. II: NATURE.", NIGHTWISH take us all the way back to this ancient place and time when bashing rocks became rhythm and voice turned into harmonies. In the course of the millennia, this amazing cultural achievement evolved via Bach and Beethoven into blues, rock and heavy metal – a mental journey that the Finns trace in their upcoming full-length’s first song, ‘Music’.
Greek progressive rock band Ciccada has released this, its third album, Harvest. The bands influences are very much the progressive rock acts of the 1970’s, including very classy bands such as Camel, Jethro Tull, Gryphon, Gentle Giant, Strawbs, Renaissance, Hatfield And The North, Curved Air and Spirogyra. These are lushly interwoven with traditional Greek folk music. The resulting sound is a quite pastoral other-worldliness, bathed in rock, jazz and folk colours.
The overall sound sees the band balancing acoustic instruments with electric ones, allowing the music a seeming simplicity whilst actually being somewhat more profound. At times there’s an almost childlike air on display, then something more jazzy but playful, then the kind of piquancy that a heartfelt folk song can produce. The vintage prog-rock and the folk in many ways makes this a nostalgic, wistful sounding album…
Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic gold selling 1978 album by Barclay James Harvest,"XII". Originally released in September 1978, the album was another big selling release for the band achieving Silver disc status in the UK and Gold in Germany. The album followed in the wake of “Gone to Earth” and saw BJH consolidate the success they had found in Germany and Europe.