Trains August 2023

Group from Bergen (province of North Holland). Active in the period from 1972 to 1974. The initiators of the group were brothers and Gustaaf Onno Verburg. Having signed a contract with Ariola Records, in 1972, they released their first single, "Blue Sofa / Orphan Girl". The following year, they released their self-titled album. All songs, except one, were written Gustaaf Verburg and Ide Min. After its publication it turned out that the group has composed one of the best albums of the Dutch-style progressive folk. The musical palette were used beautiful instrumental passages of acoustic guitar, violin, flute and piano. And doubtless ornament of the album was a strong and expressive vocals Maarten Min. Unfortunately, the mess in the future began to change trains. After releasing a few more singles, Mayfly disappeared from the musical horizon.

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the long overdue release of the re-mastered edition of the classic 1975 album Bundles by the celebrated Jazz and Rock group Soft Machine. The album was the band s first for EMI's Harvest label and featured a line-up of Mike Ratledge (keyboards), Karl Jenkins (Oboe, Piano, Soprano Sax), John Marshall (Drums), Roy Babbington (Bass) and new member Allan Holdsworth (Guitar). An accessible collection, Bundles featured Holdsworth’s considerable guitar playing talents and opened a new chapter for the band, and attracted much praise upon release. Unavailable on CD for nearly 15 years, this Esoteric Recordings reissue has been re-mastered from the original tapes and fully restores the original artwork.

Continuing in the growing commercial vein of their previous releases, Porcupine Tree's In Absentia may be the most accessible release to ever spew forth from the group. Rolling electronic percussion blends with simple and solid live drumming to provide an understated backbeat as perennial Tree leader Steven Wilson pastes his complicated pop over the proceedings. Wilson's ability to bury his layered vocals in mountains of spacy electric guitar without drowning out his fragile lyrics is still a valued feature of the music, and the rare moments of clarity that his vocals display are breathtaking in their power. A reliance on a somewhat gothic heavy metal sound makes for some bizarre moments, especially when held up against his gentler material…