Gallery of the Unsung

   There has been a bit of controversy about music distribution in the light of modern technology. Today it is possible for a solo artist to create, produce, and dole out anything of any quality to a worldwide audience, where it was once filtered by the recording process, the unforgiving parentage of the music industry, advertising and radio. Regardless of where you stand personally on this issue we can probably agree there is an endless supply of crap to wade through. Having a voracious appetite for music I find that is a process I must endure to discover the few gems that become irremovable in my playlist, and to hopefully give the artists more exposure to those that can appreciate them.

  So for those that like to discover new music but do not necessary have the persistence to plod through the quagmire, allow me to recommend some of the better picks from my own plodding, whether from the internet, the ever-decreasing used record store population, or suggestions granted from like-minded friends.

   Some of you may be familiar with Jamendo, one of many sites where musicians freely post their work for pure love of recognition, to bolster their live show, or possibly they make money with ad sharing. There are some artists here in the PA database. As of this writing there are approaching 300,000 tracks and over 40000 albums of all genres. With tags like "progressive" we can narrow this down into the thousands. Artists can post their own tags, and in multiples, so much of what is dubbed progressive is truly not. For the purposes of my visit I want to concentrate on traditional prog rock, and I save the multitudes of electronica, metal, indie, ambient, etc... for another day. And in this all-too human process I could miss something worthwhile for being mis-tagged. C'est la vie. At least I can search by date added so I can resume my process indefinitely.

    In perusing sites like these there are some entries that instantly get tossed, others take some agonizing. I cannot linger; I must move on. In addition to what could be mis-tagged I can pass up the chance that something could grow on me over time, for there are enough examples of this where I wonder if I can trust my own judgment. Again, c'est la vie. In this finite life it is not possible to listen to everything multiple times. Most of what is here is done by solo artists in the basement, wielding their favorite instrument plugged into the computer to record. Thus many recordings have programmed drums and backing instruments which, if not done well, sound synthetic. In many cases the production as a whole is not up to snuff, whether through poor performance or an assembly of good ideas that are not assembled well in the writing. My task is to find work that transcends these issues.

   But enough with the prefacing, on with the recommending. And again, these are free for download:

JT Bruce- Listed in PA, instrumental guitar work with a metal edge. Wide range of experimentation and decent production. (US)

http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/jtbruce

Alma Sideris

Also on PA, Instrumental work, focusing on keyboard melodies and simple leads. (Italy)

http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/Alma_sideris

Cakeflap- The Bakery Is Open-

Music like this is why I search, a well-written 17 minute instrumental with elements of neo-prog, jazz, and symphonic. I hoped for more from them, but this may be a one-time release from members of other outfits. (GBR)

http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/16995

7BZH- Granitic Mood (et.al.)

Vocal prog with good production, often like Porcupine Tree or Blackfield. Dreamy melodic guitar, excellent harmonizing vocals, then injecting heavy rock with touches of many different styles. Light synthesizers make their appearance for the occasional lead, post-techno flavor, or to warm up the background. (France)

http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/7511

Arnaud Delereux

Instrumental for the guitar enthusiast. Spans a range of styles including blues rock, metal, post in the realm of Satriani or Vai. Often heavy and dark with bouts of upbeat jamming. (France)

http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/25704

Derek- Wild and Free (et.al.)

Another for the guitar enthusiast with quite a range of styles- blues-rock, metal, psych, etc... with touches of synthesizers and eastern flavor. (France)

http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/3492

Mechanical Butterfly

A short 4 songs, from fast paced and heavy to pretty and melodic guitar work, with electronic percussion and sound effects. (Italy)

http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/48117

Ear3

Good quality instrumental, space-rock. Each release is a song around the 7-10 minute range. Often metal and jamming, with the occasional touch of neo-prog. Keyboard and guitar sounds share the stage equally. (Spain)

http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/Ear3

Sebastian Gramond- Homeworks.

His Homeworks are just a small portion of the multitude of his releases, but seemed like the place to start. Largely instrumental work with clever songwriting ideas and plenty of jamming. Often delves into jazz and 70s rock, and it is refreshing to hear natural sounding drums. (France)

http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/9504

Savium- Phlegm not Sentient (et.al.)

One-man act, instrumental guitar work with tendency to alt-rock and post-rock with good 

progressive writing and experimentation. Occasional keyboard accents and sound effects (Denmark)

http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/10145

Edited by BardsGarden - January 02 2011 at 15:18

E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr from Finland.

Edited by Rottenhat - February 17 2011 at 13:52

i"d like to mention, besides "mothership oracle", i have 2 other bands in the bournemouth area , - "la luna e le stelle" is a project - myself and paul owen started in 2004, the music is a cross between "orb" like dance rhythms, and full on "vangelis" symphonic music....using lots of mellotron and moog!   the other is- "manikin timeshark" (very much in the vein of ozric tentacles, with moments of E.L.P"S moog madness!)   these + mothership oracle can be found on facebook,myspace,youtube,+ their own sites! manikin timeshark also on soundawesome.com      mothership oracle- www.myspace.com/777croft    la luna e le stelle-www.myspace.com/spacesynthesizer       manikin timeshark- www.myspace.com/manikinshark