Air International Magazine 2016

Never mind the Symphonie espagnole and Le roi d’Ys, Edouard Lalo is the last of the great unknowns in 19th-century French music. His mature instrumental works combine the wisdom drawn from his professional playing experience with the familiar flair for rhythm and colour. They are likely to transform any opinion you may hold: it isn’t often that the inspiration of Beethoven was so well digested in France. The first two trios don’t really count as mature, and although they contain fine things, especially in the scherzos, their characteristic soul, sweep and dash are often clumsily handled. With No. 3, form and feeling are as one, the first movement’s surges integral to its progress to a hushed end, while the slow movement builds a powerful span from a sustained melody. Between them comes the irresistible piece better known in Lalo’s later arrangement as a Scherzo for orchestra. These performances have the necessary robustness without stinting on delicacy.

The Musea label and the Finnish magazine Colossus endlessly continue their quest for the greatest universal themes, in order to complete their collection of concept-albums dedicated to Progressive rock. The hero of the day is Dante Alighieri, the famous medieval author from Firenze who wrote "The Divine Comedy". That's precisely this epic piece of work, without a doubt one of the greatest books of all times, that serves as the basis for this project. And of course, it has been divided in three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. The first volume is made of thirty-four "cantos" dispatched on four discs, each one showing the personal interpretation of an international band, according to the rules of the genre: no drumboxes, the only instruments allowed are those of the mighty Seventies, the same as for the musical inspiration. Nuova Era, Nemo, Nexus, Willowglass, Ars Nova, Sinkadus, Simon Says and many more.

Hailed by the press as "an exceptional musician of rare versatility and with a true international vocation", Simone Prattico, drummer and composer, announces the release of Oriundo, the follow-up to his compelling 2016 debut Brooklyn Sessions. Oriundo is the next stage, eight tracks that reflect the alchemy between the Mediterranean culture and the imprint of the Afro…

A vivid depiction of a terrifying night as an infantryman on a listening post during the Vietnam War. Two teenage soldiers, friends and fellow Detroiter's, are alone and positioned in the dense jungle three-hundred meters beyond the barbed-wired perimeter and relative safety of their firebase - their assignment as a "human early warning system", is to listen for enemy activity and forewarn the base of any potential dangers. …

Just what is a Faun, you ask? That would be the flute-playing mythical creature who is half goat and half human. That is fantasy, the reality is Faun are a German neo prog band born in 1992 comprising of Christoph Roth (vocals, key board and percussion), Steffen Schuerkens (drums, vocals and guitar) and Helmut Weinlaender (bass and guitars) in Wuerzburg. In 1993 they added Marko Brenziger (guitars and keyboards) and Evelyn Ott (flute and keyboards) to round out the band. Making their mark in small clubs and festivals, the band experienced their first real taste of the big time with an appearance at famous Wuerzburger Kulturjahrmarkt (KuJa), a three day music and theater event. About a year later, Ulrich Miksa (sound, live-mix, arrangement, keyboards) joined and was in charge of the live sound for the band.