ETTORE SALATI

This month's Artist in Spotlight is Ettore Salati from Italy. Ettore is a sought after session guitarist by many prog musicians not just in Italy but all around the world. He started playing piano at a very young age (mostly classical music) but when he became a teenager and discovered the world of Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Genesis and 70's rock in general, he was immediately fascinated by guitar... more

KAT EPPLE (Emerald Web)

KAT EPPLE, flautist and composer, is our interview guest this month. She has won 8 Emmy awards, was nominated for a Grammy and she has released 18 albums internationally. Most of you know her as the other half of the legendary ambient/new age duo EMERALD WEB. She has a very large collection (over 200) of flutes that she gathered from all around the world during her travels. Kat composes original New Age/Jazz/World/orchestral music and has produced film scores and television soundtracks for National Geographic, Nova, CNN, Carl Sagan, Another World, The Travel Channel, Turner Broadcasting System, History Channel, HGN, The Guiding Light, PBS, and NASA among others, and was Music Director for the feature-length film, Captiva Island. She also owns a record company and works on both sides of the music industry as a musician and as a business woman... more

New Grass Revival / On The Boulevard

New Grass Revival are one of the pioneers of progressive bluegrass. Formed in 1971 by Sam Bush (mandolin/vocals), Curtis Burch (guitar), Ebo Walker (bass) and Courtney Johnson (banjo), they immediately got the attention from the industry both in a good and bad way. First of all, they were often told that their music was not bluegrass, and they knew it wasn’t “bluegrass” in its traditional sense, and it wasn’t what they were trying to achieve anyways. They were blending rock, soul and blues rhythms with the traditional bluegrass music. They were not wearing suites, but instead they had a more casual style along with long hair... more

ASTRALASIA / CLUSTER OF WAVES

Astralasia is one of the originators of the genre progressive / tribal / acid house. Cluster Of Waves is the band’s most recent release that came out a few months ago. The band currently has 7 members: SWORDFISH (producer,drums, programming); BUAKU (bass); RACHEL MILLER (lead vocals); STEVIE B (sax/percussion); GILES BOULTON (voice/dub vocal); PETER PRACOWNIK (guitar); PHEEBS flute, voice, vocals); PAUL CHOUSMER (guest keyboards)

The album has a nice blend of acoustic and electronic sounds. The sound they achieve with this mixture is unique compared to other bands in this arena. And here is why: Although they use electronic elements in their music, the acoustic presence takes the listener to a more primitive, almost like, polytheist kind of time frame. The atmosphere is quite meditative and shamanic. This is where their tribal house side shows. “Deadly Virtue” is a good example to this with the sounds of the tribal drums and flute. It starts slowly but you quickly realize there will be something more and then it suddenly takes off to a jungle like beat and you almost find yourself running through the big trees. Then it goes back to the quiet beginning and ends that way. “Searching” is a total meditation song. But it is not like quiet transcendantal meditation we are talking about here, it is more like a shamanic thing where you do these repetitive movements until you don’t realize you are doing it because you are lost in the rhythm, and a voice keeps saying “searching for our souls”. Acoustic guitar and saxophone bring the song to an ambient ending. This is one of the best songs on the CD.

“Ashra Rising” is more electronic compared to the other ones. Echoes and space ship kind of sounds give a mysterious feeling to the listener. Especially the rising spacecraft sound fading in at the end is pretty impressive. Every single detail and sound are very well thought and planned here. “Oh Israel” starts with Phoebe Thomasson’s vocals. They become indistinct with each second and slowly fade out, leading the song to a more electronic, house atmosphere. “Peace and Love” is another piece in this direction, and then comes “Cluster of Waves at the Devilles Bridge” with the violin intro and keyboards. It has a very new age / ambient type of structure. As it progresses it takes you to the depths of the sea, and you feel like floating. I recommend you to hear this one with headphones on, it is really weird, in a good sense.

“Lost on a Horizon” sounds like Mike Oldfield only with more trance elements added to it. The bass starts dominating along with the repetitive keyboard and drum sounds. “Til Morning Comes” starts with soft flute and acoustic guitar. Percussions slowly take part and the song then reaches to a Jan Garbarek-ish ending with Stevie B’s saxophone. Astralasia, if you have not yet discovered their music, is one of the most interesting bands out there, even if you think the house/trance music is not for you, this is a band that will change your mind about it, because you never knew it could be preformed this way. You just have to hear it…..

Visit the band's website at: www.astralasia.co.uk

HANDE BURDG