ONCE WE WERE - PART ONE

UK composer and musician Steve HUGHES is a rather well known name in progressive rock circles, known for his tenures in bands like Kino and The Enid, as well as his past in the current progressive rock darling Big Big Train. In 2013 Hughes launched a solo career with the release of the album "Tales from the Silent Ocean". "Once We Were-I" is his sophomore studio production, and was released by Progressive Promotion Records in the spring of 2016.

Hughes' own description of his music is progressive ambient art rock. Personally I'll opt for eclectic to be a better description of the contents, as there's a whole lot of music at hand here that couldn't be described as ambient other than in minor parts. The key ingredients appear to be classic symphonic prog and neo-progressive rock, with a subtle addition of elements from folk music and jazz here and there, explored in a context that, at least in sum, comes across as hard to accurately define. Those fond of sophisticated progressive rock with strong ties to the symphonic and neo-progressive aspects of the genre appear as a likely key audience for this production, and at least for me, this is a recording that is well worth spending some time getting familiar with.