Kenso

A long-awaited new album from KENSO, the king of Japanese progressive rock, released for the first time in about 10 years since his previous album, "Nainaru Koe Ni Kaikou Seyo". This masterpiece album is full of "progressive love" and has been completed after a long production period, incorporating elements of rock, classical music, and now a "Japanese taste", telling the view of life, which can be said to be one of the elements of progressive rock, through music!! The 11 songs, created by filtering the progressive rock that has been handed down since ancient times through KENSO’s original filter, are not only original and overwhelmingly complete, but also stand out as works of art!! This is a work that is sure to strike a chord with all rock fans!

Japanese band Kenso was formed in 1974 by Yoshihisa Shimizu. The music combines a Progressive jazz-rock or a Progressive rock mixed with jazz. The emphasis is on performance and improvisation with complex themes, breaks, elaborated developments and arrangements.

Famous for the quality of its musicians and the refinement of its music, the Japanese Progressive rock scene provided such prestigious representatives as Gerard (For the symphonic side), Ruins (For the Zeuhl side) or Kenso (For the jazz-rock fusion side). As far as the so-called Canterbury school is concerned, the local reference is Ain Soph. This major instrumental quartet produced some of the best gems in the genre, which is however significantly dominated by Anglo-Saxon outfits. This unique combo plays a music that combines extreme delicacy with a great technical perfection, the whole thing being illuminated by an outstanding melodic and harmonic richness…

Noa was an obscure Prog band from Japan, led by drummer Ichiro Takesako, a huge fan of Bill Bruford.The other members were Hirofumi Mitoma, who played electric- and synth guitar and bassist/singer Takao Ohzeki.They released one album for the unknown PAM label in 1987, titled ''Tri-logic'', recorded at the Studio Plus One in Setagaya in Feburary 1987…

Since their meeting in 1990, Side Steps' Japanese musicians produce a melodic, dexterous and refined post-fusion, which is nevertheless not show-off at all. Following the path of Kenso or Brand X, technique is used to create real themes as well as rich and polished combinations between keyboards and guitars. The instrumental Progressive jazz-rock performed by the Japanese band, both complex and sophisticated, puts a lot of emphasis on the beautiful melodies and the refined arrangements. The accessible part of this musicians' music is sometimes close to that of Spyro Gyra, while their energy can remind of Allan Holdsworth or Uzeb. "Verge Of Reality" (2005) is the occasion for the band to join the prolific Poseidon/Musea team, whereas it doesn't change its musical style, nor its impressive technical abilities. Let's set up a date for more than three quarters of an hour of high-quality jazz-rock fusion.

Instrumental band from Japan who plays a very interesting and intricate music, a real salad of styles, navigating over jazz fusion, symphonic prog and Canterbury Sound…

Round House started its career in 1975, as an instrumental quintet including two guitarists, a keyboards player and a rhythmic section. From this period, one can only find two studio albums and one track on the "The Seventies West Japanese Rock Scene" compilation. Since 1985, the band experiences a long standby, that will last about fifteen years. "Live @2001 In Osaka" sees Round House, now a trio, back on track. Jointly published by the Musea and Poseidon labels, "3-D" (2006) features nine unreleased instrumental tracks. The intense and nostalgic atmospheres of some of them, with their lyrical guitar parts and symphonic keyboards layers, are not so far away from Camel. Most of the tracks evolve in Kenso or Brand X territory as well. Here's a virtuoso music, melodic at the same time, dynamic and suggestive.

Since their meeting in 1990, Side Steps' Japanese musicians produce a melodic, dexterous and refined post-fusion, which is nevertheless not show-off at all. Following the path of Kenso or Brand X, technique is used to create real themes as well as rich and polished combinations between keyboards and guitars. The instrumental Progressive jazz-rock performed by the Japanese band, both complex and sophisticated, puts a lot of emphasis on the beautiful melodies and the refined arrangements. After an excellent "Out-And-Out" issued in 1998, the Japanese musicians tell us to follow them on stage with "Alive".