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Thread: Haken's fourth album "Affinity" due on 4/29/16

  1. #1
    Progdog ThomasKDye's Avatar
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    Haken's fourth album "Affinity" due on 4/29/16

    https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news...ml?no_takeover

    (It's also on the Haken website but they've chosen a "cutesy" way to announce it there: http://hakenmusic.com/haken-album-four-press-release

    I can't wait for this. To me, Haken is what DT should have become. Their three albums and "Restoration" were wonderful.

    Tracklist:

    1. affinity.exe (1:24)
    2. Initiate (4:16)
    3. 1985 (9:09)
    4. Lapse (4:44)
    5. The Architect (15:40)
    6. Earthrise (4:48)
    7. Red Giant (6:06)
    8. The Endless Knot (5:50)
    9. Bound By Gravity (9:29)
    "Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)

  2. #2
    Member Wounded Land's Avatar
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    Agreed both about your excitement and your assessment of them vis a vis DT. Stoked for this!

  3. #3
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    I smell a classic on the way.
    The Prog Corner

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by ThomasKDye View Post
    To me, Haken is what DT should have become.
    Uh, no. Haken is a very different band from DT, and I don't see any path that would have led them there. Personally, I love Haken, but there is no need to bash another unrelated band to praise them.

  5. #5
    Member doh's Avatar
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    Oh my. Over the last year, Haken has become my favorite band of all time. And that's in the same year I discovered Cardiacs. *ducking*

    I'm excited for this.

  6. #6
    Haken's probably my favorite guilty pleasure band, so I'm pretty excited for this. Maybe it'll have some nice, awful 80's keyboards in it, this is one of the few modern bands that could make that type of sound work.
    A vie, a mort, et apres...

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by ThomasKDye View Post

    I can't wait for this. To me, Haken is what DT should have become.
    The way I'd put it is that they now scratch the itch that DT used to for me.

  8. #8
    If it's as good as The Mountain then we are in for a treat!
    Looking forward………

  9. #9
    Member PotatoSolution's Avatar
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    I saw them on the boat at Prog Nation '14, and they were terrific.

    I was also happy they clarified how to pronounce the band's name (rhymes with "bacon").

  10. #10
    Really excited about this and love the trailer for it.

  11. #11
    Member gearHed289's Avatar
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    Looking forward to this. The Mountain is a great record in my opinion, and they were great live. Hoping they return to Chicago before too long.

  12. #12
    Member sergio's Avatar
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    super excited and cant wait! who is DT...

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by PotatoSolution View Post

    I was also happy they clarified how to pronounce the band's name (rhymes with "bacon").
    How could you NOT like a band that rhymes with 'bacon'?!?

  14. #14
    Guilty pleasure, yes I suppose. I got their previous album and think it's OK.

    I really dig this quote (Wiki) from one of the band members, though:

    According to keyboardist Diego Tejeida, the band "didn't set any boundaries for how we wanted the album to sound".[4] He added that "The Mountain was tangibly influenced by 70's music, at the same time we threw in some prog-unrelated influences like: ambient, soul, jazz, 80′s synthpop, minimalism or even those Glitch Hop Drums on 'Because It's There'."

    I should probably get out more and discern those prog-unrelations. Or Old News.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  15. #15
    Difficult to say anything of substance based on that teaser. It sounds too plastic, but that's only a teaser, I doubt any judgement on the production can be made based on this.
    Almost nothing grabbed me in that trailer, but they're only short excerpts which doesn't really show what to expect.
    I doubt this will be anything as interesting as Aquarius, I hope it is, I prefer that one and their first EP to all the others.
    So here's a wait and see approach required. The mention of the 80's music influences sound exciting.

  16. #16
    Progdog ThomasKDye's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by selmer View Post
    Difficult to say anything of substance based on that teaser. It sounds too plastic, but that's only a teaser, I doubt any judgement on the production can be made based on this.
    I definitely doubt that. You get barely two seconds before you hear that irritating fast forward noise. I can't get a handle on what anything will sound like. I just know their batting average is pretty high for me, so it's a buy-sound-unheard thing.
    "Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)

  17. #17
    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    I came to the Haken party late, and must say that the first time I heard a note was their live Rosfest set. Had all 3 albums within 10 minutes after they were done playing and I could stop shaking my head (in a good way). They achieved autobuy status immediately that day for me.

    Their eclecticism and lack of predictability (I just don't see the "samey" label myself) are very refreshing.
    "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"

    President Harry S. Truman

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by ThomasKDye View Post
    I definitely doubt that. You get barely two seconds before you hear that irritating fast forward noise. I can't get a handle on what anything will sound like. I just know their batting average is pretty high for me, so it's a buy-sound-unheard thing.
    All the albums since Aquarius have songs which I like and others which I'm indifferent about. It's a 50/50 situation. With Aquarius the difference is that it had more standout moments which the others have less. But it's about taste. Also Aquarius was written based on keys, all the others - on the guitars.
    I agree that it's difficult to make a judgement based on those samples. Basically they don't give almost any indication of what to expect.

  19. #19
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    I thought The Mountain, and the last EP were incredible. I'm a little lukewarm on the earlier stuff (yes, I know that the EP was rerecordings of earlier songs), so have every reason to believe that the new one will be awesome. Can't wait.

    neil

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by ThomasKDye View Post
    To me, Haken is what DT should have become. Their three albums and "Restoration" were wonderful.
    One thing that hit me about Haken: Their singer seems to like Mike Patton just as much as Jimmy The Cheese likes Steve Perry. Which makes sense, since in a way Mike has become the new bar for "good", technically gifted singers. Although, unlike SP, he has few followers - perhaps because, unlike the excellent but relatively generic Perry, he is so idiosyncratic that any influence becomes an obvious imitation.

  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Baribrotzer View Post
    One thing that hit me about Haken: Their singer seems to like Mike Patton just as much as Jimmy The Cheese likes Steve Perry.
    One could only hope, then, that somewhat more eclectic influences would reflect in Haken's music.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  22. #22
    Member ombasan's Avatar
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    The announcement on the website is quite cool! Looking forwards to this!

  23. #23
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    I'm in.

    Their set at Rosfest blew me away. My only minor quibble is I would have loved it if they had ended their set with Celestial Elixer and then encored with Visions.
    "The woods would be very silent if the only birds that sang were those who sang best..." - Henry David Thoreau

  24. #24
    Progdog ThomasKDye's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    One could only hope, then, that somewhat more eclectic influences would reflect in Haken's music.
    There's a Dixieland section in "Celestial Elixir." I can't think of another prog band that would try something like that.
    "Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)

  25. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by ThomasKDye View Post
    There's a Dixieland section in "Celestial Elixir." I can't think of another prog band that would try something like that.
    Hm. Family did that in 1969 in "From Past Archives", and I can actually think of several ensuing examples. But yeah, my comment didn't express the intended meaning at all. What I should have written was that the band has it in them to completely transcend the 'subgenre' of progressive rock they represent, and that they should emphasize their obvious eclectic potential.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

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