Two years in the making, Conspiracy Theories is undoubtedly guitarist Phil Miller's most ambitious record to date. After establishing himself as a member of such legendary Canterbury groups as Hatfield and the North, National Health, Matching Mole, and Delivery, Miller has devoted the majority of his energy over the past quarter-century to his more overtly jazz-centric In Cahoots group.Featuring seven new and characteristically dynamic compositions from Miller (and one each from Baker and Lemer), his writing has never been more complex yet approachable, and the indefinable British nature of his writing - dating back to Matching Mole - remains a defining quality. While fans of the Canterbury scene will undoubtedly rejoice, the disc's finely-honed compositions, fine arrangements and compelling solos make it equally deserving of attention from the broader jazz-listening public.
Phil Miller is an English progressive rock/jazz guitarist who is part of the Canterbury scene. In addition to his solo work, he has played in Hatfield and the North, National Health, and Matching Mole. He has released a number of solo albums, some with his group In Cahoots.
Here the repetoire for this duo act has been adapted and arranged to take advantage of the virtuoso playing of Fred Baker, one of Europe's leading exponents of the bass and an outstanding guitarist. The duo employ a variety of guitars and styles and the music ranges from the simplicity of the acoustic guitar to the many possibilities that state-of-the-art sound processing and synthesis has made available to the modern day guitarist.
L'Étagere Du Travail is a companion album to the 2013 release "Le Sacre Du Travail" and is only available on CD. No Vinyl Edition exists! This album is a Fan-Only release and is exclusive. Although the quality is high, these are demos nonetheless. Most of the instruments are played by Andy Tillison. Includes full extended version of "Dialogue du vent et de la mer" by Claude Debussy (featuring Luke Machin on guitar) as well as songs taken from an aborted Tangent album. Album comes in Digipack Case with colour cover. Number 2 in the bands Shelved Work Series. Also includes several revisited tracks!
The 7th studio album is a large scale orchestral/rock band hybrid. The Tangent is a Progressive Rock Band from Northern England. Based around keyboards player, composer and idiosyncratic vocalist Andy Tillison Diskdrive. Their music is cinematic and lyrical, full of narrative, often telling stories or making observations about the world we live in - often choosing subject matter more associated with Anarcho-Punk bands than with the genre in which the band choose to base themselves. "No Hobbits or Orcs in our songs" The band have, for 12 years now, released a steady output of well regarded albums through their record label Insideout Music. At the time of writing, the band's eighth studio album "A Spark In The Aether" is in production in four locations in two countries.
French TV is a Louisville, Kentucky based progressive rock band that has been in existence since 1983. Over the years, members have come and gone, but founder, bassist and main composer Mike Sary continues to drag the band into the next millennium. The band deftly nod to prog-masters like National Health, Soft Machine, Zappa, Brudford, Brand X, Happy the Man, and Samla Mammas Manna, among others. The history of French TV is complex, filled with lineup changes, missed opportunities, delays, and disillusions. And yet, a growing body of work testifies to one man's sagacity and stubbornness. Blending elements of progressive rock, fusion, cartoon music, and Rock in Opposition (RIO), the music of his group has been described as being "simultaneously hilarious and highly challenging, making it one of the most original American prog rock outfits."
This album from the Italian progressive rock group was recorded live in studio after their debut but never released until 2001. Camere Zimmer Rooms presents a set of live-in-the-studio recordings from 1977-1980. It chronicles the five-year interim between the group's studio albums. The quality of sound and performance is above what could be expected from archival recordings. Picchio dal Pozzo was one of a kind. Their music belonged to the Italian sound, but was also strongly influenced by Canterbury outfits like Hatfield and the North and National Health.
Low Budget doesn't have a narrative like Preservation or Soap Opera, but Ray Davies cleverly designed the album as a sly satire of the recession and oil crisis that gripped America in the late '70s - thereby satisfying his need to be a wry social commentator while giving American audiences a hook to identify with. It was a clever move that worked; not only did Low Budget become their highest-charting American album (not counting the 1966 Greatest Hits compilation), but it was also a fine set of arena rock, one of the better mainstream hard rock albums of its time. And it certainly was of its time - so much so that many of the concerns and production techniques have dated quite a bit in the decades since its initial release. Nevertheless, that gives the album a certain charm, since it now plays like a time capsule, a snapshot of what hard rock sounded like at the close of the '70s…
Even though Tales From the Lush Attic was IQ's first LP, the band had self-released a cassette in October 1982 entitled Seven Stories Into Eight. Recorded on a domestic four-track machine, this collection of songs shows the band in its formative months, as members were trying to agree on the musical direction they wanted to follow. The cassette was sold at shows and via mail order until 1984, when it was deleted. Each copy was packaged with handmade artwork by singer Peter Nicholls. The album opens with "Capital Letters (In Surgical Spirit Land)," an atypical high-octane fusion number à la Brand X or National Health.