The most successful modern prog music nation?

Saperlipopette! wrote: mathman0806 wrote: Can we change the thread title to "Modern Prog Bands from around the World"? Listing bands from specific countries doesn't discuss which nation is the most successful. Agree. To me all those posts are just irrelevant spamming, ruining the whole discussion.

Sorry guys, but progressive bands from various nations were mentioned because we had to prove that the Norwegians are not the most successful modern prog nation. Is that okay?

Can we change the thread title to "Modern Prog Bands from around the World"?

Listing bands from specific countries doesn't discuss which nation is the most successful.

Psychedelic Paul wrote: Chiyo wrote: octopus-4 wrote: Unfortunately the war is having its bad impact, but both Ukraine and Russia were making excellent prog I agree. From Ukraine hails Antony Kalugin, and there is the Russian duo Iamthemorning, currently residing in England.  Kalugin is a very prolific and well-appreciated musician, both as a solo artist and as the leader of the recognised bands Karfagen, Hoggwash, and Sunchild. Kscope's band, Iamthemorning, made, within the progressive music standards of the second decade of the 21st century, a significant breakthrough in terms of popularity. Also, Iamthemorning composer and keyboard player Gleb Kolyadin released a few well-regarded solo albums with guests like Steve Hogarth, Theo Travis, Gavin Harrison, and so on. Both acts, Antony Kalugin and his bands and Iamthemorning, are quite modern and original, which is not so often the case in the subgenres in which they work, as the former is symphonic prog and the latter is chamber music-like crossover prog. There's another big fan of Antony Kalugin and Karfagen right here.  ANTONY KALUGIN    Multi-talented multi-instrumentalist Antony Kalugin is the Ukraine's answer to Mike Oldfield, and he could probably beat you at chess too. You may know Antony best as the man behind Symphonic Prog band Karfagen. His six superb solo albums truly are one-man-wonders with little or no outside help involved. You don't have to take my word for it though. Just sample some magical Marshmallow Moondust from the selection below before it blows away like dust in the wind. I guarantee you'll be blown away by this outstanding album too, or you can call me "Vladimir". Do pobachennya!    2008: Antony Kalugin - The Water - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nO5QHWmrTNYWRQVF_YyDqj_bewWYV6yMs   2013: Antony Kalugin - AKKO 1 - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kMIdjQBbCKo3ujGHMlXHv3dM7VnfWebNs   2020: Antony Kalugin - Marshmallow Moondust - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n4rsW8q0M6Dbq5ijteHYRiEwDWE2GiOj0   2021: Antony Kalugin - Stellar Gardener - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m0ZUAYxLmPcAlb_DunQ_W5BZQclTCk9Q4   2021: Antony Kalugin - Chameleon Shapeshifter - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kF_-GbS51rITUzSJl6oeWVh_syKg0C_1I   2022: Antony Kalugin - Rebirth - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ldYEnrorC2UDMg6RyISu_XNRXJ3yYJ3IU

Karfagen feat. Antony Kalugin performs "Amused Fair" live at Parkvilla Theatre, Alphen a/d Rijn, the Netherlands. Pure beauty of symphonic prog, yet modern and original.

Chiyo wrote: octopus-4 wrote: Unfortunately the war is having its bad impact, but both Ukraine and Russia were making excellent prog I agree. From Ukraine hails Antony Kalugin, and there is the Russian duo Iamthemorning, currently residing in England.  Kalugin is a very prolific and well-appreciated musician, both as a solo artist and as the leader of the recognised bands Karfagen, Hoggwash, and Sunchild. Kscope's band, Iamthemorning, made, within the progressive music standards of the second decade of the 21st century, a significant breakthrough in terms of popularity. Also, Iamthemorning composer and keyboard player Gleb Kolyadin released a few well-regarded solo albums with guests like Steve Hogarth, Theo Travis, Gavin Harrison, and so on. Both acts, Antony Kalugin and his bands and Iamthemorning, are quite modern and original, which is not so often the case in the subgenres in which they work, as the former is symphonic prog and the latter is chamber music-like crossover prog.

As a well-appreciated band, I'd like to mention TesseracT. Formed in Buckinghamshire, England, in 2003,  TesseracT is credited as one of the bands to pioneer the djent strand in the progressive metal genre. The group is well known for its intricate compositions and unusual time signatures. Playing progressive music that straddles the line between metal and djent, TesseracT conjures up strong cerebral imagery and sounds like progressive music of the future—at least for the younger generation of today.

With this arbitrary criteria of "modern prog", I will just go with the first quarter of the current century. "Success" is a rather nebulous term as well. Is it pure album sales, critical acclaim,etc? I am fairly certain that in terms of pure quantity in the broadest sense of "prog" the US And UK probably outnumber other countries. But with a few exceptions, most of what the US and UK have put out has gotten pretty stale, or even downright bad. Especially in regard to bands that have been around since the classic era.
When it comes to the subset of prog styles I enjoy, the bands are coming mainly from Norway, Sweden, France, Germany and Japan. If I go through my Last.fm it appears to be Sweden, but using scrobble data is limited to counting tracks rather than listening time. France has probably made me say "wow" the most in the last 5 years.





Edited by Tapfret - January 10 2024 at 09:15

Grumpyprogfan wrote: USA. In my opinion, they have the most quality and quantity of modern prog.

Of course, but the U.S. is so huge and such a big market that at least I don't see much sense in comparing it with these European countries. Maybe if we compare the progressive music production of each individual federal state in relation to a European country, it would make more sense.

Is the UK just a footnote now? In terms of prog artists they may not be the most numerous but they are certainly the best known and exposed. Consider that Marillion, Porcupine Tree, solo Steven Wilson, IQ et al have had albums out that made various charts in Europe and abroad over the last 20+ years. Recall that the OP's question asks for the most successful.

Edited by SteveG - January 10 2024 at 07:28

David_D wrote: In my book, the main criteria for being "successful" is to be appreciated.

Guapo is, for instance, a well-appreciated modern band in the avant-prog scene. And they are an English band.

MikeEnRegalia wrote: ^ by whom?

Edited by Cristi - January 10 2024 at 03:56