Your Greatest Prog Discoveries of 2021
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Top 10s and lists
Forum Description: List all your favourites here
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=128113
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Topic: Your Greatest Prog Discoveries of 2021
Posted By: zwordser
Subject: Your Greatest Prog Discoveries of 2021
Date Posted: December 28 2021 at 18:53
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I think I've seen this topic posted end-of-year(s)
before, at least a couple of times, but haven't seen it for 2021. So
just decided to start the thread. List
(primarily) bands and/or albums you hadn't heard prior to 2021. Mention
any particular albums and/or tracks you really liked. Doesn't have to
be new albums from 2021, but can be. Here's mine: Cherry Five and Arti E Mestieri, Tilt (great 70's Italian Prog, among several other 70's Italian albums I've been collecting, these sounded the best to me) Older Anekdoten albums, especially Vemod (don't like it as much as Until All the Ghosts are Gone, but very good nonetheless). Rachel Flowers (she's kind of like a female Stevie Wonder, but Proggier. Dawn Points (from the album Listen) was the first in a long time to go into my "achingly beautiful" playlist.) Bent Knee (Shiny Eyed Babies, in particular) Bi Kyo Ran (as part of my effort to explore more Asian prog--very King Crimson-esque). French TV (Violence of Ametures--cool, mostly up-beat quirky Avant-Prog) Finally acquired Amarok and Exposed by Mike Oldfield, which I now consider two of his best albums. Psychotic Waltz (might have gotten Into the Everflow in 2020, but finally listened to it all the way through--impressive!) Zopp (Wow! this is just too cool--modern Canterbury at its finest!) Il Bacio Della Medusa (Epic; wish I could understand the lyrics) All Traps On Earth (while I still like Anglagard more, I sense that this can grow on me significantly with more listens) Magick Brother and Mystic Sister (excellent throw-back psychadelic stuff; from Spain??) And
plenty more. In all, upped my collection by about 80 albums and did
quite a bit of sample/online listening, but the above are what come to
mind first. Most (but not all) were acquired/listened to after
researching on PA. ------------- Z |
Replies:
Posted By: Hiram
Date Posted: December 28 2021 at 23:21
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Here's a few off the top of my head. Maybe I'll add more later. Wobbler (Dwellers of the Deep, takes the best bits of classic Yes and Genesis. Not retro or modern, but timeless.)
Stormy Six (L'apprendista. Also heard La Volo, but didn't like it at all.) Billy Cobham (Spectrum) Moving Gelatine Plates Jean-Paul Prat Suomen Tulli Deep Purple (Burn. I've dismissed all other except MkII era Purple, which seems to have been a big mistake.) Traffic (John Barleycorn... and Shoot Out...) |
Posted By: Progishness
Date Posted: December 28 2021 at 23:58
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For me it's been a year of catching up with the back catalogues of several less well known bands that were established in the 70's (and I'd previously overlooked), as well as exploring the ladies of prog & psychedelia (I made a forum topic about it back in the Spring), and I have particularly enjoyed the following, all of whom were new to me. Aguaturbia (obscure Chilean psychedelic rock band; they made two good albums in 1970) Lily & Maria (s/t) Angel'In Heavy Syrup Ars Nova (the Japanese band, especially 'Android Domina', 'Biogenesis Project', and 'Seventh Hell') Frumpy (all three albums) Mother Gong (a special mention for Gilli Smyth's solo album 'Mother' which pre-dates the Mother Gong project.) Mother Superior (s/t) Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes (their entire catalogue, but most especially 'Paix') Carolyn Hester Coalition (s/t) Linda Perhacs ('Parallelograms') Jonna Gault & Her Symphonopop Scene (s/t) Kali Bahlu (only made one album 'Cosmic Remembrance' but what a stunner) Michele O'Malley ('Saturn Rings' is highly recommended) Kathy McCord (s/t) Margo Guryan ('Take a Picture') Ruth Copeland Sally Eaton ('Farewell American Tour') Coven ('Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls') Rina Sawayama
------------- "We're going to need a bigger swear jar." Chloë Grace Moretz as Mindy McCready aka 'Hit Girl' in Kick-Ass 2 |
Posted By: Progishness
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 00:07
I'd highly recommend all three Mark I albums if you've not got round to them yet - a much more proto-prog sound than the hard rock of the sublime Mark II era. ------------- "We're going to need a bigger swear jar." Chloë Grace Moretz as Mindy McCready aka 'Hit Girl' in Kick-Ass 2 |
Hiram wrote:Posted By: Hiram
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 00:48
No I haven't but will do asap. Thanks for the tip/reminder!! I like a lot of proto-prog so I can only wonder why I haven't checked those out yet.
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Posted By: Hiram
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 00:50
Great stuff!!
 |
Posted By: Mirakaze
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 01:09
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I discovered a lot of great artists this year, but I think the ones that will stick with me the most have got to be (in alphabetical order): * La 1919 * Wippy Bonstack * Roberto Colombo * Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden * Rich Woodson's Ellipsis * The Fourth World Quartet * Jork * Lacrymosa * Mahogany Frog * Microkingdom * Monobody * Música D' Repuesto * Nichelodeon * Stubbs * Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer * Unbeltipo * Alex Ward ------------- https://mirasnelder.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow - Freelance composer, accepting commissions | https://mirasnelder.bandcamp.com/album/altered-acuity" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp page |
Posted By: Progishness
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 01:28
In that case I'd also recommend you try the two Aguaturbia albums from my list, if you can find them that is. ;) ------------- "We're going to need a bigger swear jar." Chloë Grace Moretz as Mindy McCready aka 'Hit Girl' in Kick-Ass 2 |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 06:32
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Mainly jazz & the London Windmill scene Windmill black midi Black Country, New Road Squid Jazz Ill Consider Jaimie Branch Daniel Casimir Graham Costello Fela Kuti Binker & Moses Avant Prog Primate 3 Wax People Camberwell Now Android Trio Alex Ward David Bordens The Holy Family Bisbâyé ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: Heart of the Matter
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 06:39
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Robby Steinhardt - Not in kansas anymore / A prog opera (2021) Not a true "discovery", since I already knew Robby from his tenure with Kansas, but still a great surprise (after his sad demise). 
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Posted By: BrufordFreak
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 07:02
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Some of these were totally new to me, others I finally took the time to get to know: The CollectorsRachel Flowers Needlepoint Hands of the Heron black midi Beautiful Bedlam small tape yoo doo right Caligonaut Pale Mannequin Ain Soph Anyone's Daughter Bondage Fruit England Fovea Hex Galadriel H.P. Lovecraft Strawberry Alarm Clock It's a Beautiful Day La Bocca della Verità Molesome Myrkur NichelOdeon Pär Lindh Project The Pretty Things Sebastian Hardie/Windchase Semiramis Steeleye Span Thallo That Joe Payne Trees Ultimate Spinach The Watch Yeti Rain ------------- Drew Fisher https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/ |
Posted By: zwordser
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 08:13
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^ Nice list. I too "discovered" Steeleye Span (heard before, but not in depth) purely by chance--found three of their albums while browsing in thrift shops; also found four Clannad albums the same way. I wouldn't consider them "great" finds of the year, but definitely good ones.
------------- Z |
Posted By: zwordser
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 08:20
What a cool cover! I've heard this is really good. ------------- Z |
Posted By: Hrychu
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 08:32
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The greatest discovery this year for me would be Mourning Knight. ------------- “On the day of my creation, I fell in love with education. And overcoming all frustration, a teacher I became.” — Ernest Vong |
Posted By: Grumpyprogfan
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 10:20
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Not a lot for me. This year I bought the least amount of CD's in my life. Two discoveries - Beautiful Bedlam and MFTJ. |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 10:44
better late than never  ------------- let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword |
Posted By: progaardvark
Date Posted: December 29 2021 at 18:28
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Mostly newer bands, but a several older ones I knew about but had never listened to until this year. Ahvak Aquaserge Ars de Er black midi Bubblemath cHoclat FRoG Colonel Petrov's Good Judgement Combat Astronomy Caio Csizmar Das Rad Evohé Fair Wind Pleases Falling Into Birds The Flying Luttenbachers A Formal Horse Fragile Glasgow Coma Scale Gnohgnuhgnlus Hieronymus Dream Horte Jack Dupon Jü K'Mono Korekyojinn Krokofant Laktating Yak Lucas Lee Looking-Glass Lantern Monobody Mourning Knight Neom News From Babel Noisy Diners Papangu Partner Perilymph Present Primaleón Quill The Red Masque Regal Worm Retroheads Schizofrantik Schnauser Shamblemaths Shurakay Soup Suburban Savages Syncatto Trees Speak Twombley Burwash Pierre Vervloesem Ulls Upsilon Acrux Už Jsme Doma Alex Ward Wax People Willowglass The Work ZeitGeistS ------------- ---------- i'm shopping for a new oil-cured sinus bag that's a happy bag of lettuce this car smells like cartilage nothing beats a good video about fractions |
Posted By: zwordser
Date Posted: December 30 2021 at 09:06
Wow! Looks more like the "collaborator's work is never done" list than "greatest discoveries", but your musical pallet may be quite expansive  Which of those you listed did you like the most? ------------- Z |
Posted By: yogev
Date Posted: December 30 2021 at 10:41
| One of my biggest discover of the year was Deafheaven, they are sooo good. They doesn't sounds like any band I've heard before, and they're always refresh their sound. Beautiful and chaotic. |
Posted By: progaardvark
Date Posted: December 30 2021 at 11:11
I try to keep up to date with all the new bands added and check PA every day. It also helps that I can listen to about 4 to 6 albums a day while at work (desk job; on computer all day). Having said that, I still miss some things that fall through the crack. The one I liked the most was Present. I've had that band in my list of things to check out for over a decade and have seen them mentioned countless times on the forum in many "top this or that" album lists. An egregious mishap on my part, but better late than never. Already acquired their first two and Certitudes. I don't know how common it is on this site, but I appreciate RIO/Avant/Zeuhl as much as I do Symph/Neo. So, I'm equally interested in listening to bands from both ends of this spectrum. ------------- ---------- i'm shopping for a new oil-cured sinus bag that's a happy bag of lettuce this car smells like cartilage nothing beats a good video about fractions |
Posted By: zwordser
Date Posted: January 04 2022 at 18:41
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... forgot to include Crisalida, Terra Ancestral to
my list. Even though I first heard them at Baja prog in 2014, getting an
album of theirs this year was way overdue. Fantastic, somewhat
Latin-flavored hard-Neo Prog! ------------- Z |
Posted By: Xonty
Date Posted: January 07 2022 at 13:26
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Sticking with albums... Banchee - Thinkin' [another incredible gem from 1971 in that proggy heavy psych style, well worth checking!] Black Midi - Cavalcade [was sceptical after I found their debut over-hyped, but really enjoyed this] Colosseum - Live! [gutted I only just discovered this after years of playing Valentyne Suite to death] Explosions in the Sky - Those Who Tell the Truth... [not strictly prog but it's on the website! Was pleasantly surprised] Greenslade - Bedside Manners are Extra [a cracking little gem] Jack O' The Clock - Repetitions of the Old City II [got really into this group in 2021, check them if you haven't!] Monobody - Raytracing [incredibly tasteful mathy prog which I usually grow really tired of, but this hits the spot] David Sylvian - Secrets of the Beehive [took me a while to get around to this but worth the wait] Trees - The Garden of Jane Delawney [preferred to On the Shore for sure] |
Posted By: Grumpyprogfan
Date Posted: February 28 2022 at 14:57
| Wippy Bonstack. Most incredible music I've heard in a long time. Would have never found this if I hadn't read Mirakaze's recent review. Much thanks. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: March 02 2022 at 03:27
I would strongly recommend Dirty Rotten b*****ds by them which is something of a modern classic imo.
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: March 02 2022 at 03:33
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I don't think I've made enough effort but I did come across the Norwegian band Krokofant and their Fifth album that is entitled 'Fifth'. I put that only behind Frost* -Day and Age as far as 2021 releases go. Black Midi , Needlepoint and Shamblemaths also came to my attention but I don't like them as much as Krokofant at the moment. That can change I'm sure..
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Posted By: Ronstein
Date Posted: March 02 2022 at 03:58
| Cardiacs. Found them through William D.Drake. I can listen to (and watch the videos for) 'R.E.S.' and 'Tarred and Feathered' all day long!! |
Posted By: miamiscot
Date Posted: March 07 2022 at 08:08
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Black Country, New Road ------------- The Prog Corner |
Posted By: Gentle and Giant
Date Posted: March 07 2022 at 12:11
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black midi ------------- Oh, for the wings of any bird, other than a battery hen |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: March 08 2022 at 05:53
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Hi, Sad to see in many lists a lot of old folks and bands, that in all reality do not really have the touch anymore and are, somewhat, repeating themselves. There is too much music out there, and thanks to at least one post with an insane listing, and Guy Guden from Space Pirate Radio, in general, for me, the "NEW" music is not going to come from any listings in PA at all, but from the places where the music actually is ... and while someone here can list them, and yeah, what a list that is, the sad part is that the majority of folks here, will not even bother to check 5 of those bands out because their old favorite has a new album of the same old stuff, and smelly carpet! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: March 08 2022 at 08:33
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My first guess would maybe be Big Hogg - which has released its third album last year but I didn't know about the band being around since 2015 and its previous two albums Soooo that's it for discovering new or unknown to me artistes my discoveries fave been albums, be they the latest or their first one..
like Ian (with the notable exception of Fela Kuti ), 98% of my 2021 discoveries have been 2021 releases or the last two preceding years - so you may want to look up my list of top 2021 posted on the collab top 2021 thread. ------------- let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword |