Progressive Rock 90,s

Apogee shows the solo works of Arne Schäfer, the talented leader and singer of German band Versus X. Apart from this collective experience, he's also written numerous tracks, a selection of which is included on "The Border Of Awareness" (1995). He shows there his obvious talents as multi-instrumentalist and as exceptional guitarist. Created by a brilliant composer, this CD reveals an incredible musical culture, that also includes German folk, jazz, Progressive rock, contemporary music and hard-rock. The five long tracks included on "Sisyphos" (1998) show a complex, sophisticated, contrasted and sometimes tortured art with expressive vocal lines, in a spirit close to Peter Hammill's…

An exclusive 8-CD box set containing albums and rare recordings made by the Czech jazzrock legend Martin Kratochvíl! The box set includes albums not previously released on CD or unavailable for many years, as well as studio recordings with a hallmark of surprise from the repertoire of Martin Kratochvíl’s Jazz Q. The compilation has been put together by the band’s front man and supplemented by an interesting memoir of his colleague Tony Ackermann.
From the introductory “Pozorovatelna” (Observatory) to the concluding bonus “Co se na desky nevešlo” (Outtakes), the listener is presented with first-class pieces performed by superlative instrumentalists and vocalists. Besides the keyboard wizard Kratochvíl, you will hear Francl, Padrůněk, Vrbovec and Dugganová, and, as time went by, other of his permanent or occasional musical partners…

One Shot was created in 1999 by keyboarder Emmanuel Borghi and guitarist James McGaw, both Ex-Magma musicians. The original duo was completed by bassist Philippe Bussonnet and drummer Daniel Jeand'heur for their first self-titled record, released in 1999…

X-Legged Sally (XLS) is a Belgian avant-garde rock/jazz-band founded in 1988 by composer Peter Vermeersch, and disbanded in 1997. They were one of the first bands from Belgium to combine a set of very different musical styles (jazz, rock, improvisation and classical), becoming a starting point for the Belgian indie music scene that developed in the nineties. Initially, X-Legged Sally was formed to compose and perform the music Peter Vermeersch wrote for dance productions, such as Immer das Selbe Gelogen (Always the Same Lies), released as a live cd in 1991. Vermeersch' composing style was becoming too demanding for the constraints of sheet music such as was used in his earlier band Maximalist! From the beginning, improvisation played an important role in XLS' songs. The first X-Legged Sally concert took place in November 1988. Soon, XLS became a band in its own right, although there would be cooperations with dance ensembles throughout the existence of the group.

Korekyojin is a Japanese experimental rock group started up in the late '90s by Yoshida Tatsuya, drummer and member of the Ruins. Korekyojin also includes bassist Nasuno Mitsuru and guitarist Kido Natsuki…

Italian band Moongarden was founded in the early '90s by Cristiano Roversi and David Cremoni. "Brainstorm Of Emptyness" (1995) finds the band more mature and the style is halfway between Genesis' smooth approach and Marillion's more intense moments, mostly in a soft Symphonic Rock vein than Neo Prog. Most of the tracks are long with excellent arrangements and passionate vocals, filled with both analog and modern keyboards and some really nice guitar parts here and there. Moongarden still show their love for simple acoustic themes and calm piano interludes throughout the album and these are nicely combined with huge symphonic parts, featuring loads of Mellotron and organs next to the familiar Neo Progg-ish flashy synths…

Expressive band from the Brazilian scene. Their music has strong influences of Pink Floyd and Camel, but the band has maturity enough to integrate their own ideas to the music, resulting in a powerful and melodic progressive rock combination. "Technolorgy" issued in 2002, goes even further on this path with a complete and true maturity. Progressive Rock masterworks of the 1970s that we regard as the gold fund of it.

Van Der Graaf Generator is an English eclectic progressive rock band with front man Peter Hammill from 'the classic period' that has proven be one of the most important bands of the progressive genre. An eye-opening trip to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury during the summer of 1967 inspired British-born drummer Chris Judge Smith to compose a list of possible names for the rock group he wished to form. Upon his return to Manchester University, he began performing with singer/songwriter Peter Hammill and keyboardist Nick Peame; employing one of the names from Judge Smith's list, the band dubbed itself Van der Graaf Generator (after a machine that creates static electricity), eventually earning an intense cult following as one of the era's preeminent art rock groups…

Two years after they met, six musicians coming from radically different universes released an EP under the name of We Insist!, an obvious reference to Freedom now suite, Max Roach’s manifest. Three LPs, hundreds of concerts and ten years later, We Insist! have created a style of their own. It is a testimony of their resilience and their independence. Live performances are their battlefield, where songs are created and perfected in front of the audience. Their influences are numerous: Shellac, Queens of the Stone Age, Primus, At-The-Drive-In, John Zorn or Tool. David Lynch comes to mind as well, mostly because all such references and influences are subtly intertwined and mixed with one another…