New and Notable in Progressive Rock

By Steve Blomerth D.C.

Big Train: Folklore, ‘STONE AND STEEL’ DVD and video

Audio and Visuals from Big Big Train

The English Progressive Rock band Big Big Train has two projects worthy of attention.

Their new album, Folklore, reveals some subtle changes in their approach brought about by the addition of two new members of the group: Rachel Hall and Rikard Sjöblom. Hall’s violin, viola and cello playing expands Big Big Train’s instrumental palette and is most evident on quiet passages and on the Celtic- and Folk-flavored sections that can be heard on “Folklore” (the title track) and “Wassail”. Her vocal timbre is subtly mixed in throughout and also used on its own in sections where it lends an ethereal uplift. Sjöblom’s guitar playing can be distinguished from Dave Gregory’s tone because he tends to use Fender guitars with single-coil pickups which have a different tone than the Gibson guitars with humbucker pickups favored by Gregory. The sound of Gregory panned left and Sjöblom panned right adds a nice dimension to the guitar orchestration on the album. Sjöblom is also credited with keyboards, accordion and backing vocals, although his contribution to the vocal harmonies is not quite as apparent as Hall’s. Sjöblom and Nick D’Virgilio are both lead vocalists and vocal harmony arrangers in other bands and it is likely that their input has led to the increased sophistication of the harmonies on Folklore.

The songs on Folklore show the influence of Genesis and Peter Gabriel on Big Big Train’s music. David Longdon as lead vocalist has the capacity to slip into some of the dramatic qualities of Peter Gabriel’s voice when needed, but his voice has a greater range and an emotional and soulful quality that he brings to both quiet and loud passages. On this album, Big Big Train compositions surpass their influences with greater musical sophistication and variety, by turns more powerful, melodic, and uplifting. They incorporate programmatic musical passages that serve to musically parallel the lyrics. The most dramatic example of this can be found in the seven-part true story of “Winkie” the messenger pigeon that saved the lives of a WWII British bomber crew, forced to crash land in the ocean, by flying crucial information to Air and Sea Rescue. Big Big Train underscores this story in a marvelous fashion, musically imitating the rotating sound of the engines, the impact of the crash landing, the quiet lift-off as Winkie takes to the skies and then gains strength for her long flight home to rescue the crew. Each musical section heightens the drama and takes you on a journey that concludes with a moving release when her rare feat triumphs against all odds.

What does Big Big Train’s Folklore album sound like? It is a very well-recorded album that allows each song some quiet moments as well as some grand rocking at full tilt. The horn and string ensembles are used on several songs, sometimes for quiet sections and sometimes in a massive orchestral swell with all instruments filling the air. The arrangement of “London Plane” shows the entire range of Big Big Train’s dynamics and playing, starting quietly with acoustic guitar and violin, gradually introducing the lush vocal arrangements, then shifting quite cinematically to depict the flow of time and the river passing the long-lived London Plane tree. There are moments where the pace and tone rocks frantically, only to resolve back to the original pace and theme before the grand finale. The sound of Folklore is varied and wide-ranging; Progressive Rock both intimate and symphonic. I found this album sounded best on my home stereo because the subtle sections lost a great deal of their musical detail when played in my car and competing against road noise.

Folklore explores the concept of tales, thought, myth, and archetype passed down through time without the necessity of being anchored exclusively in the strictures of Folk music. Some of the music on this album does have a Celtic or Folk music tonality that has been associated with traditional music, while other songs have elements of Jazz mixed with Progressive Rock. The tracks “Folklore” and “Wassail” share the touch of Celtic music with a musical passage in common, while their lyrics touch on the passing-down of traditions and rituals. ‘Wassail’ celebrates the cycles of planting and re-birth depicted in apple tree wassailing. ‘Winkie’ widens the scope of what we consider the sound and subject of Folk music, while its story of redemption through use of an outmoded technology like messenger pigeons in the days of radio is similar to the folk story of John Henry and the steam-hammer. This is a common thread for the songs on Folklore: Some songs have the sound and subject matter of traditional Folk music while other songs use different musical tonalities to convey their narrative and drama, yet they all fit under the same thematic arch. They transmit stories, archetypes, and characters that may not be well known but appeal to our sense of valuing the underdog, the old-fashioned, and the small heroes of everyday life. This is both the essence of folklore and the key to Big Big Train’s very ambitious and artistically successful album Folklore.

Here is Big Big Train’s music video for the title track from Folklore

Here is Big Big Train’s music video for “Telling The Bees” from the Folklore

Stone and Steel, a Blu-ray music video, is a beautifully recorded and artfully rendered presentation of band’s music. The group’s eight core musicians employ the extra timbres of a five-piece brass band on occasion, which allows their music to have a great range of dynamics and color. The story behind this particular Blu-ray is nearly as complex and unique as the music; what you see and hear is a mix of live recordings done in Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios with a live recording of Big Big Train’s performance in August 2015 at Kings Place in London.

The music on this video more than speaks for itself, but the viewer will likely wonder why a band would go to the expense of hiring a world-class studio, filming their recording sessions, and then combining that with a recording of their performance at a small but elegant concert venue in front of an attentive crowd of fans. The process of making this Blu-ray illustrates Big Big Train’s devotion to quality music, their attention to detail, and the current economics of the Progressive Rock music scene.

Since 1994 Big Big Train has released eight studio albums, four demos/EPs, and two compilations. They have managed not to disband or go bankrupt in a world where Progressive Rock  has long since fallen off of mainstream airplay, and the income that goes with wide public support has all but disappeared. In spite of this new economic reality, without airplay or mainstream media recognition, Big Big Train has composed and recorded complex, melodic, and heartwarming music while slowly gaining fans all over the world. The high quality of their musicianship and the fidelity of their recordings owes much to modern technology which allows music to be recorded by each band member separately. This avoids the scheduling problems, and the expense, of bringing all the band members into the studio at the same time. The albums they created in this way were composed without the stress or expenses of touring, or of trying to please a record company anxious to recoup their investment with a pop hit. They have instead concentrated on pleasing fans who appreciate a Progressive Rock music that is uplifting, with a spiritual side based in nature and folklore. As their fan base slowly grew, both fans and band were curious and eager to see if Big Big Train could go from being a songwriter’s band to a group of successful live performers without forgoing either musical or sound quality. To assess how well the brass band could perform Big Big Train’s music live, they hired Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios and filmed and recorded their sessions there. These live studio recordings came out so well (the backbone of the Stone and Steel Blu-ray is made up of nine of the 13 songs recorded at Real World) that they provided the greenlight for three performances at Kings Place in front of an audience of enthusiastic fans. You can watch and listen to the music on Stone and Steel without knowing any of Big Big Train’s backstory. The music itself is beautifully and powerfully recorded and, with eight members in the core band, there is always something happening to keep the attention of your eyes and ears. But the story behind the video’s creation is equally attention-grabbing; the narrative of a band succeeding both in the studio and before their fans. Although the four songs taken from their Kings Place performances have the added emotional punch of fan response, the nine songs from Real World Studios have more than enough musicality and live performance magic to make them great fun in their own right. I find two of the Real World songs (“Uncle Jack Knows” and “Wind Distorted Pioneers”) are my particular favorites because they show the band playing acoustically, trading instruments and singing together, creating a very full and moving experience in a small room. This would have been hard to achieve virtually anywhere else.

If you are not familiar with Big Big Train’s music, you may find it reminiscent of Genesis or Peter Gabriel. That was my own first impression until I listened enough to realize that the compositions are more musically evolved, the melodies and harmonies are more beautiful and the lyrics are stronger. The best moments of Big Big Train’s music may well move you to uplifting tears inspired by both the musical content and the words, which reference the natural world, the historic, the folkloric and the personal in a way that is both intelligent and moving.

The visual aspect of the performance is superior to most live performances because the film gives equal time to each of the eight band members, emphasizing the performance of the group as a whole rather than focusing only on David Longdon, the powerful and emotional lead singer. Rikard Sjöblom is a standout, however. You can’t help but notice Sjöblom’s ’s musical energy as he switches from acoustic to electric guitar to keyboards all in the course of one song, while also providing strong vocal harmonies and call and response to the main vocal line. It is obvious from their smiles and body language that the entire band is enjoying making this music, putting all their energy and concentration into the changing tempos and musical motifs. The music and lyrics are more than enough to carry each song, but being able to watch the band perform live really pushes the experience to a higher level.

Big Big Train’s Stone and Steel Blu-ray release comes packaged in a thick booklet with more than 30 pages of pictures from both the Real World and Kings Place performances. There are two ways you can watch the Blu-ray. You can watch the performances interspersed with interviews with the band about the music and about coming together for the first time live. If you are a longtime fan you will want to see all the band interactions offstage and hear what they have to say. For newcomers to Big Big Train’s music, you can also choose the music-only option and watch a more streamlined version of the video without the interviews. Either way the production quality is high and emphasizes the music. You will find that there is a lot to like about watching Big Big Train both in the studio and in front of an audience.

Here is a link to Big Big Train’s informational video about Stone and Steel:

Here is a link to one of the live performances that Big Big Train has released to promote Stone and Steel:

Composing for Space and Time: Karmakanic’s DOT

Karmakanic’s fifth studio album, DOT, is written and arranged by leader and bass guitarist Jonas Reingold. Reingold was inspired by reading a quote from Carl Sagan about the picture of the Earth that Voyager 1 took in 1990 just before it left our solar system. Sagan asked NASA at that time to point Voyager’s camera back toward Earth to take one last picture before it was out of range. From that vantage point Earth was just a pale blue dot.

“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every ‘superstar,’ every ‘supreme leader,’ every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” – Sagan, Carl September 8, 1997), Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space  

Those poetic words from the world’s best-known astronomer moved Reingold to write the Karmakanic album simply titled DOT, an album that takes the listener on a musical voyage through its own universe. There are sections of great simplicity, with just acoustic piano, and other moments where the full onslaught of churning organ, metal guitar, bass, drums, and vocal give you a taste of the ‘breath of God, running through the veins’. Reingold’s composing skill uses these and many other textures to give scope, space, and variety to the music, evoking the essence of our life on Earth as a fragment of the immensity of the universe. While the music is tightly arranged and structured, Reingold leaves space for solos by the piano, the flute, the guitar and the bass, and each contributes a different feel to alter the mood. Reingold’s two children sing on part of the track “God the universe and everything else no one really cares about – Part I,” achieving a unique timbre and contributing an ethereal floating melody which provides a nice contrast to the heavier parts preceding and following their vocals.

Karmakanic lists six tracks on this album, but after listening to DOT I hear it as one extended 50-minute piece. There is a continuity of sound and theme that ties all six tracks together like the movements of a symphony. If you think of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 with its quiet moments, its times of raging rain and thunder, and its up-beat movement of rejoicing, you’ll find that Reingold’s work is not entirely dissimilar in its ability to carry you on a journey using different styles, tones, and timbres. This ability is largely set up by the track “God the universe and everything else no one really cares about — Part I”. More than 23 minutes long, this composition has several musical as well as lyrical themes that explore the concept that the Universe of space is so large and Earth is so small. But Reingold goes beyond this old idea to include space as a playground for our imagination to cross as well. In one movement, a brief science fiction tale unfolds, and the music is so well written that it takes you there with ease and then brings you back to the main theme. The musical development throughout DOT is so well done that no matter whether it is hammering a Phrygian minor metal line, breathing with the cymbals behind a quiet flute solo, or floating through space like a Pink Floyd slide guitar chorus, the transitions are natural and musical enough to carry you from section to section and theme to theme, keeping your interest for what will happen next.

The deluxe edition of Karmakanic’s DOT comes with a bonus DVD including “The Making of DOT,” and I found this to be the best ‘making of’ video I have ever seen accompany a CD album release. “The Making of DOT” includes scenes of the recording sessions, as well as interviews with individual musicians, but what sets it apart is not only Reingold’s thoughtful introduction of how Carl Sagan’s words inspired him to compose the music and write the lyrics, but also a 30-minute look at the tracks “God the universe and everything else no one really cares about – Parts I and II.” Reingold points out the entry of each theme and each variation, sometimes using the faders in his studio to highlight an instrument or voice he would like you to notice in particular. He is so full of energy and enthusiasm that he carries right through all 30 minutes talking about the chords and mode changes in the music and pointing out what the bass parts are doing. Sometimes he is listening just as intently as you are when an instrument takes a solo or the drums execute a great fill. It is a long and lovely look at the composer and his music and at all that goes into making such a complete work. (Reingold is not above making funny faces or playing air-guitar when it is appropriate, either.) Watching it you may come to feel that you know him a little bit better as a person.

In summary, DOT is the type of album that will mean most if it is listened to from start to finish as one beautifully recorded work of art, because it is both a sonic and a musical delight to hear. To hear it best I recommend a good old-fashioned hi-fi system where a real amplifier pushes real speakers to make the roar and the shimmer that graces DOT.

For a short peek at the “Making of DOT” video here is a link:

For a taste of the first movement of DOT here is a link to a lyric video:

Here is a lyric video for “Steer by the Stars”:

Folklore

Big Big Train

http://bigbigtrain.com

Release Information

Released May 27, 2016

Format: CD, LP

Label: English Electric Recordings

Available from: http://bigbigtrain.com/

Songs/Tracks Listing

1. “Folklore”
2. “London Plane”
3. “Along the Ridgeway”
4. “Salisbury Giant”
5. “The Transit of Venus Across the Sun”
6. “Wassail”
7. “Winkie”
8. “Brooklands”
9. “Telling the Bees”

*Key Tracks: “Folklore,” “London Plane,” “Winkie”

Line-up/Musicians

David Longdon: lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin and percussion
Nick D’Virgilio: drums, percussion and backing vocals
Greg Spawton: bass guitar, bass pedals, acoustic guitar and backing vocals
Andy Poole: acoustic guitar, mandolin, keyboards, backing vocals
Dave Gregory: guitars
Danny Manners: keyboards, double bass
Rachel Hall: violin, viola, cello and backing vocals
Rikard Sjöblom: guitars, keyboards,accordion and backing vocals

With:

Dave Desmond: trombone.
Ben Godfrey: trumpet and cornet.
Nick Stones: French horn.
John Storey: euphonium.
John Truscott: tuba.
Lucy Curnow: violin.
Keith Holiday: viola.
Evie Anderson: cello.

Stone and Steel

Big Big Train

Release information

Released: March 14, 2016

Format: Blu-ray, Digital

Label: English Electric Recording

Available from: http://bigbigtrain.com/

Nine songs recorded live at Real World studios in August 2014 and four songs recorded live at the band’s London gigs in August 2015 alongside interview and documentary footage.

Songs/Tracks Listing

1. Setting Up-interview
2. “The First Rebreather”
3. “Master James of St George”
4. Organ Failure-interview
5. “Judas Unrepentant”
6. “Kingmaker”
7. Brass & Brund-interview
8. “The Underfall Yard”
9.  Lacewings & Ladybirds-interview
10. “Uncle Jack”
11. “Wind Distorted Pioneers”
12. Guitar Talk-interview
13. “Victorian Brickwork”
14. “Summoned by Bells”
15. Summing Up-interview

Live at Kings Place 2015

16. “Wassail”
17. “Curator of Butterflies”
18. “Victorian Brickwork”
19. “East Coast Racer”
Total Time about 3 hours

*Key tracks: “Kingmaker,” “Uncle Jack,” “Wassail,” ”East Coast Racer”

Line-up / Musicians

Andy Poole: bass, keyboards, backing vocals
Greg Spawton: guitars, keyboards, bass, backing vocals
David Longdon: vocals, flute, banjo, mandolin, organ, glockenspiel
Dave Gregory: electric guitars, backing vocals
Nick D’Virgilio: drums, backing vocals
Danny Manners: double bass,  backing vocal
Rachel Hall: violin,  backing vocals
Rikard Sjöblom: guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Directed and editing by Peter Callow
Sound and mix by Rob Aubrey.

DOT

Karmakanic

(http://www.reingoldmusic.com/)

Release Information

Released: July 22, 2016

Format:

LP+CD Inside Out Music – IOMLP 461 (2016, Europe)

CD+DVD – Bonus DVD w/ ‘The Making Of DOT’, Karmakanic Live In The US and Interviews

Digital download (soon to be available)

Label: InsideOut Music

Available from Reingold Records, Inside Out Music, Amazon.com

Songs/Tracks Listing

1. “Dot”
2. “God the universe and everything else no one really cares about – Part I”
3. “Higher Ground”
4. “Steer by the Stars”
5. “Traveling Minds”
6. “God the universe and everything else no one really cares about – Part II”

Total running time: 50:17

*Key tracks:“God the universe and everything else no one really cares about – Part I,” “Higher Ground,”  “Steer by the Stars”

Line-up / Musicians
Göran Edman: vocals
Krister Jonsson: guitars
Nils Erikson: keyboards, vocals
Lalle Larsson: keyboards, vocals
Jonas Reingold: bass, keyboards, guitar, vocals, producer
Morgan Ågren: drums

With:

Andy Tillison: Hammond organ (tracks 2 and 6)
Andy Bartosh: guitars
Ray Aichinger: sax, flute
Alex Reingold: vocals
Norah Reingold: vocals
Christine Lenk: vocals
Artwork: Hugh Syme