Marco Glühmann (DE) - Crossover Prog

This one might turn out to be a borderline case which could go either way, but Marco Glühmann's solo album is an excellent effort in my opinion, and I think there's enough prog in it to just about get him a place in the Archives, so here goes:

Marco Glühmann will be familiar to many as the vocalist of the German Hamburg-based band Sylvan. His interest in music began when he started playing flute at school, and continued a few years later when he tried his hand at guitar. He often used to sing in the shower in his youth, but wasn't really 'discovered' as a singer until a school trip to Rome when he was 17, shortly after which he created his first band 'Mirrors Off', a project which was always intended purely to be a hobby, since Marco was studying physics at the time and only had limited time available to devote to the band.

He has continued his studies since then, and obtained a degree in physics from the University of Hamburg from 1992 to 1998, followed by a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) from 1998 - 2001. He also obtained a degree in economics from FernUniversität in Hagen from 1998 to 2002, and initially found a job as a science consultant, which he continued after he joined Sylvan (at that time known as Chameleon) in 1995 until around 2001.

He has had extensive work experience in the finance industry since then, adding a MSc in Mathematical Finance, obtained from the University of Oxford between 2003 and 2006, to his educational qualifications.

Mirrors Off and Chameleon had played together on several occasions during the early nineties, so when the original Chameleon singer/bassist Marko Heisig left, they asked Marco to take his place as the lead vocalist, the name of the band subsequently being changed to Sylvan in 1997.

Marco's solo project developed from 16 songs that Marco had finished off in 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic when Sylvan weren't able to be active as a band. Some of the songs were developed from old recordings that Marco had made more than 10 years previously, but the majority were new songs written from scratch.

Marco then whittled these songs down to 12 before sending them off to Kalle Wallner (Blind Ego) to be processed ready for inclusion on the final album, called 'A Fragile Present'. Kalle Wallner not only arranged and co-produced the album but he also plays four and six-string guitar parts, plus some bass. The album also includes contributions from Steve Rothery (Marillion) who provides a guitar solo on the closing track 'My Eyes Are Wide Open', and Billy Sherwood (Yes), who provides additional vocals on the opening track 'Hear Our Voice'. Both these guests supplied their parts remotely. 

Marco Glühmann's Sylvan bandmate Johnny Beck plays many of the guitar parts on the album, and as well as Kalle Wallner, two other RPWL musicians perform guest roles on 'A Fragile Present'. These are Markus Grützner (bass) and Yogi Lang (keyboards). Yogi Lang also assisted with the recording, mixing, mastering and production of the album. Drums were provided by Tommy Eberhardt, who was also the drummer on Blind Ego's 2007 debut album 'Mirror'.

Marco himself contributes some keyboards, guitar and drums to the album, but these parts were developed via midi programming using Logic Pro rather than being played on and recorded directly from an instrument. He also co-produced the album. 'A Fragile Present' was released on CD and vinyl via the Gentle Art Of Music label on 14th June 2024. However, with a total playing time of just over 56 minutes, the songs 'Faceless' and 'Life Is Much Too Short' had to be left off the vinyl version.

Marco will be promoting the album via a five-date tour supporting Blind Ego (which is essentially a solo project based around RPWL singer/guitarist/bassist Kalle Wallner) in November 2024, running from 20th to the 24th of the month. The music on 'A Fragile Present' has been described as ear-friendly progressive rock that is less complex and somewhat rockier than the Sylvan records. It remains true to its progressive roots by not being over simplistic, but tends to be more melodic and accessible than the material typical of Marco's usual band.

- Marco Glühmann / vocals, keyboards, guitar

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mFqZMdkcOStGetJ1J32oWN2zsFt6G3o8A.

https://awesomeprog.com/artists/24935.