Kansas The Absence of Presence

The summer of 2020 marks the release of The Absence of Presence, Kansas’s sixteenth studio album. The wide-ranging progressive rock album, released by InsideOut Music, follows-up 2016’s The Prelude Implicit, which debuted at number 14 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart.

In 2016, America's eternally popular prog juggernaut Kansas returned to studio recording for the first time since their 2000 reunion outing Somewhere to Elsewhere. The resultant The Prelude Implicit also marked debuts for lead vocalist/keyboardist Ronnie Platt, and guitarist Zak Rizvi. Remarkably, it reflected the band's vintage sonic signature and songwriting/arranging chops without craven nostalgia. Four years on, Absence of Presence builds on the strengths of its predecessor, yet goes far deeper into the prog aestheti…

In 2016, America's eternally popular prog juggernaut Kansas returned to studio recording for the first time since their 2000 reunion outing Somewhere to Elsewhere. The resultant The Prelude Implicit also marked debuts for lead vocalist/keyboardist Ronnie Platt, and guitarist Zak Rizvi. Remarkably, it reflected the band's vintage sonic signature and songwriting/arranging chops without craven nostalgia. Four years on, Absence of Presence builds on the strengths of its predecessor, yet goes far deeper into the prog aesthetic…

With a legendary career spanning nearly five decades, KANSAS has firmly established itself as one of America’s iconic classic rock bands. This "garage band" from Topeka released their debut album in 1974 after being discovered by Wally Gold, who worked for Don Kirshner, and have gone on to sell more than 30 million albums worldwide.

The 15th studio long-player from the progressive rock/AOR legends - and first collection of new material in 16 years - The Prelude Implicit is the first Kansas album to feature new vocalist and keyboardist Ronnie Platt, who replaced founder Steve Walsh after the former announced his retirement in 2014. The 12-track set also marks the studio debuts of keyboard player David Manion and guitarist Zak Rizvi. That's a lot of new blood, but rest assured, The Prelude Implicit is very Kansas-y. Platt's amenable voice is custom made for melodic rock - think Tommy Shaw-meets-Paul Rodgers - and the presence of founding members Phil Ehart (drums) and Rich Williams (guitar), alongside longtime violin/guitar player David Ragsdale and bassist Billy Greer, helps to further ground the proceedings, resulting in something that sounds both familiar and forward thinking…

Forty-fifth anniversary box set release from The Velvet Underground & Nico featuring the latest remastering. Set consists of 6 discs includes 29 unreleased tracks in a 92-page hardcover book packaging with a sticker of banana. Japanese edition features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player). The set includes both stereo and mono versions of the album "The Velvet Underground & Nico" (Disc 1-2), as well as Nico's 1967 solo debut CD "Chelsea Girl" (Disc 3), a studio session at Scepter Studio recorded to acetate, and unreleased recording footage from rehearsal at Andy Warhol's Factory in January 1966 (Disc 4), and a live show from Columbus, Ohio (Disc 5-6).