Utopia 2013

The multi-national band The Samurai of Prog is back with a double-album, putting its own spin on classic Progressive rock tunes plus new compositions. Performances and recordings are of the highest quality, and the CDs are accompanied by a beautiful forty-page booklet. This is a lovely homage to many of Progressive rock music's great works, some well-known and some lesser-known gems. We also see the band maturing into their own identity, as this, their second album, finds them penning fresh original tunes as well. The Samurai of Prog is joined by a bevy of guest artists, making "Secrets Of Disguise" a rich and textured feast for the ears. Guests include Jon Davison (Yes), Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings), Guy Leblanc (Camel), Robert Webb (England), Phideaux Xavier, Kamran Alan Shikoh (Glass Hammer), Linus Kase (Anglagard) and many more!

Musical Witchcraft's second album is perhaps even a notch above the previous first solo venture by Solaris' Attila Kollár, a bit mellower but still just as replete with Baroque and Renaissance musings. The nearly 20 minute "Utopia Suite" is comprised of four flute driven pieces, the first an acoustic guitar /flute pastoral romp, the second introducing that rippling Zsolt Vámos electric sizzle with brooding keys and solid bass and drum escorts…

This innovative program pairing the seemingly antithetical compositions of Claudio Monteverdi and Astor Piazzolla was first featured at the Ambronay Festival in 2009 and was greeted with nearly universal acclaim. The brainchild of Argentine conductor Leonardo Garcia Alarcon and his ensemble Cappella Mediterranea, this unusual collection highlights the surprising connections and musical synergies present in works that are separated by centuries of time and thousands of miles.

The Swedish label Deeplay Digital, is being re-invented, known as the Deeplay Music from 2001 to 2010, and on 2013 return again under the name Deeplay Digital, and tomorrow will be published its fifth referencewith this new EP, and to this new EP brings us a review of a forgotten classic, the track ‘Utopia – Me Giorgio’ by Giorgio Moroder a tack from the album ‘From Here to Eternity’ from 1977 as the B-side of the single ‘From Here to Eternity’ from 1977, now remixed and updated by I- Robots aka Gianluca Pandullo (Opilec Music), an update with full respect for the original, performing an extended version of the track, as the original was 3:25 minutes and now with almost 7 minutes, opening the pack with the remix ‘I- Robots 1977 Reconstruction’ in which stays true to the original, right to the dance floor and almost 7 minutes, the second remix is called ‘I- Robots 2014 Tape Reconstruction’ with the effects taken from a tape by Moroder purchased at a flea market, with a sound cassette over, messier, and these analog synthesizers and danceable rhythms, and the third remix ‘I- Robots 2014 Reconstruction’ (exclusive bonus track in the digital edition) which have been cleaned dirty sounds from the Tape remix, to give it a more modern sound over club.