Interactive Poll #-50 Lesser Known Prog

Here are some comments on what I have heard so far:

Nickie:

Aestysis – “Marea” – Lovely post rock with some great guitar, violin and hammered dulcimer.  It flows along beautifully allowing the violin and dulcimer to take the lead throughout, I wish the ending weren’t so quick though.

Charlie Cawood – “Flicker Out of Being” – Nice and shimmery, it feels like watching a mountain lake sparkle and Marjana’s vocals are perfect for the style, almost feeling like an instrument in itself.  Glockenspiel, violin and chimes gives this a nice, folky feel.  This is my favorite out of your selections.

Greg:

William Sheller – “Hare Krishna” – Opening with a reverential organ that puts me into a contemplative mood.  It then turns into a dark symphonic feel that reminds me of Orff’s “Carmina Burana” especially with the choir that joins in.  The sudden appearance of the lonely guitar was unexpected, but then it mixes in a bit of the Mike Oldfield vibe with that haunting choir singing along.  No reviews?  What a shame.  I’ll be checking it out.

Perry Leopold – “The Journey” – A nice, relaxing folk style with an acoustic feel, guitar and flutes keep this pastoral track a nice, unrushed and relaxing feeling.  The vocals are not what I would call exceptional, but they fit well with the music.  Even though this is very nice to listen to, I’ll go with your 1^st selection as my favorite from your contributions.

Cristi:

Bucium – “Frunză verde foi mărunte” – Has that folk sound that almost continues from Greg’s 2^nd entry.  Nice and relaxing feel from the flutes and the lovely picked string instrument, then it picks up the pace with a rhythm section, violins and vocals.  It ends in an ambient and pensive way.

Experimental Quartet – “Spre Univers” – I like the proto-vibe this one has, sounding very late 60’s era with the amazing organ, the heavy bass and the busy drums.  The vocals are a little “iffy”, but not bad, plus the instrumental section more than makes up for that with it’s changing tempos and rhythms, yet never going over the top which is a good thing.  Very enjoyable and my favorite out of your selections.

Lorenzo:

Claudio Rocchi – “Volo Magico N. 1” – Acoustic guitars strumming and being plucked with some improvised percussion for a long introduction before the vocals come in, with arpeggio piano coming in later and then a choral section.  It all remains quaint and simple however, and has a strong eastern vibe to it while also remaining true to its RPI style.  The mellotron eventually comes in and contributes an orchestral feel for a while.  The overall laid-back sound captures you as it moves from simpleness and crescendos until a steady beat and heavier guitars come and go.  Long and trippy, psychedelic and spacey, it goes through some different shades of style while it travels along at the same steady beat.

Very nice and trippy, this track also has a vibe like Mike Oldfield’s early works.  The piano solo coda is a nice ending.

JD:

Duncan Mackay – “Jigaloda” – A nice array of keyboards and synths come together to make some lovely music.  The piano is shimmery, the synths are full and almost symphonic.  The beat is a mid-tempo that continues through most of the piece as it moves smoothly along.  It seems to be well produced and reminds me a lot of Wakeman’s solo works.  The best part is towards the end when the keys are more “playful”.

Ken:

Yôkaï - “Plutonia” – I was sure I had reviewed this one.  Somehow, I had forgotten about this one among all of the great music that was released in 2019, but I do remember hearing it when it came out and was quite impressed.  It’s a cool, conglomeration of instruments and sounds that plays against a regular beat, but it’s the instrumentation of it that makes it so intriguing.  In that regard, it’s quite complex and fascinating.  Thank you for reminding me of this one.  Now I have to go back and review it again.  Love it!

Artus – “Faust” – (For some reason, I can’t seem to find them in PA.  Probably my own oversight)  Nice, trippy and full of mid-eastern musical influences.  I like the way the percussion plods along making it sound almost like a drunken march of sorts.  The vocals are cool and fit the entire mood of the track.  It’s cool and interesting, and I like the way it switches everything up around the 6 minute mark, but personally, I like the 1^st selection a bit better.  Both are great selections, however, and have a great chance of being contenders for my top 3.

Lewian:

.O.rang – “Mind on Pleasure” – I absolutely love the later and post-era “Talk Talk” music of Harris and Webb.  This one is a definite personal favorite, but its music I’m already quite familiar with.  I love the beat of this one and the experimental vibe that is freely used among both the instruments and vocals.  It’s complex with layer upon layer of melodies and riffs all washed together in a wonderful piece that still ends up making perfect sense.  Love it, but I’m afraid it’s out of the running for me because I’m already familiar with it.

That’s as far as I’ve gotten so far.  I hope to comment on the rest soon.  There is some excellent stuff here and it’s going to be tough to pick favorites.