Featured album: Gazpacho - Night

[Trane]

http://www.progarchives.com/progress...3316112009.jpg

Let's in the Northern latitudes, but change radically of music realm


Gazpacho - Night

agaz.jpg



Tracks Listing :
1. Dream of Stone (17:00)
2. Chequered Light Buildings (6:34)
3. Upside Down (9:41)
4. Valerie's Friend (6:29)
5. Massive Illusion (13:37)
Bonus tracks on 2012 Kscope remaster:
1. Dream Of Stone (Live) (17:19)
2. Chequered Light Buildings (Live) (6:07)
3. Upside Down (Live) (10:27)

Line-up:
- Jan-Henrik Ohme / lead & backing vocals
- Thomas Andersen / piano, keyboards, programming, co-producer
- Jon-Arne Vilbo / guitar, "acoustics"
- Mikael Krømer / violins, programming, co-producer
- Kristian Torp / bass
- Robert Johansen / drums, percussion
With:
- Kristian Skedsmo / accordion, didgeridoo, mandolin, banjo, low & tin whistles



Here is what Erik Neuteboom had to say about it on ProgArchives:

Reading the reviews and looking at the posts in several threads on Prog Archives, this is a killer CD that will be one of the highlights of 2007! Well, here is my analysis, track by track.
1. Dream of Stone (17:00) : This long composition sounds very compelling featuring a hypnotizing rhythm-section, melancholic vocals, a wonderful strings-sound and beautiful acoustic guitar. The contrast between the mellow, moving and bombastic parts creates a lot of tension in the music, as I stated earlier: very compelling! The final part is great with first a dreamy atmosphere that contains violin and piano and then a moving climate with a propulsive rhythm-section and howling guitar runs, awesome prog! Gazpacho their sound in this song reminds me both of fellow Skandinavian bands Anekdoten and early landberk as progressive pop bands like Radiohead and Coldplay.
2. Chequered Light Buildings (6:34) : This track starts and ends with mellow organ waves, fragile piano play and melancholical vocals. In between we are carried away by a sumptuous eruption and a compelling atmosphere.
3. Upside Down (9:41) : The first part contains dreamy vocals and piano, then another compelling climate with strong melancholical overtones. Suddenly a break with sensitive electric guitar solo and finally a wonderful conclusion featuring sad sounding violin work and warm twanging guitar. Breathtaking!
4. Valerie's Friend (6:29) : After twanging acoustic guitar and warm vocals, we hear the surprising sound of a mandoline. Then a sumptuous eruption with sensitive guitar and dramatic vocals, culminating in a compelling, quite bombastic atmosphere with howling guitar runs. The final part sounds like ambient electronic music, quite a contrast with the mandoline in the first part!
5. Massive Illusion (13:37) : This final composition sounds very alternating and moving featuring the distinctive sound of the tin-whistle, majectic violin-Mellotron waves, twanging acoustic guitars and howling electric guitars. The dramatic vocals give this song a melancholical undertone. The end is again breathtaking with intense violin work and fragile piano play, how emotional!
If you don't have a problem with dark sounding prog with lots of emotion and melancholical vocals, this is a great CD to discover: the Fifth Of Gazpacho, a classic?

[Poisoned Youth]

Nice album. Arguably their best - sometime after they got everything together and sometime before everything sounded redundant. If you're a fan of H-era Marillion, symph era IQ, and/or even what's always felt like a rather Italian symph level of emoting, give Gazpacho a try.

[doh]

This is the one that hooked me. They are one of my favorite bands now. New album coming this year!

[Poisoned Youth]

This is a textbook example of how apathetic Prog fans can be to their own movement. Here is a band that has been around 20 years, put out 10 albums, is on a label with some visibility, and got the attention of Marillion fans early in their career. And there is no conversation.

[Valen]

It wasn't until Kscope signed the band that they appeared on my radar, with Missa Atropos.

Since then the label have reissued all the earlier albums, but Night is probably the strongest of these, where they're starting to shed the Marillion vibe and explore their own sound. It's the one album I can happily listen to all the way through.

The five albums released on Kscope all have a lot going for them, but they can occasionally drift off course in some of the longer songs. I like their singer, who has a nice laid-back vibe to his voice, but doesn't mumble in the self-indulgent way Steve Hogarth does, and the lyrics have poetic feel about them.

Their most recent album Soyuz is worth trying out: https://momentstransition.wordpress....ho-soyuz-2018/

[Trane]

This is a textbook example of how apathetic Prog fans can be to their own movement. Here is a band that has been around 20 years, put out 10 albums, is on a label with some visibility, and got the attention of Marillion fans early in their career. And there is no conversation.

Agreed... it can be discouraging.

Not really a fan of the band, though. If I featured them, it's because I feel an obligation to present all types prog, and figured it was neo-prog's turn.

Night is one of two albums I heard back then (I even reviewed Night the album on PA). I only remembered the whinny vocals until I searched for the YT links to see if there was anything available to make it a featured album. Your previous post more or less said it all for my POV.

[LeFrog]

One of the only bands that ever really grabbed me in a live setting without having heard their music before, when I saw them open for Marillion more than 15 years ago.
You could say Night set the formula that they have been using ever since.
I still think it sounds a bit monotonous because of the deliberate use of the same rhythm pattern throughout. I prefer the follow up Tick Tock which is more varied but no less atmospheric. Missa Atropos is also great though slightly heavier.
All subsequent albums have been hit or miss variations of the same formula to me, but March of Ghosts and the latest Soyuz are among the best ones.

[SunRunner2]

This is a textbook example of how apathetic Prog fans can be to their own movement. Here is a band that has been around 20 years, put out 10 albums, is on a label with some visibility, and got the attention of Marillion fans early in their career. And there is no conversation.

I'm not sure that it is due to "apathy" as much as it is due to the music itself, which sounds way too much like Thom Yorke and Radiohead for my liking. I gave it a second listening today after first listening yesterday and it just does not draw my interest. On "Dream Of Stone", it sludges on and on with little variation and the vocals are way too prevalent to allow the instruments to breathe. Very claustrophobic and, as one reviewer put it, "sounds too much like music from holocaust documentaries". "Chequered Light Buildings" has a more upbeat instrumental approach as it progresses, but again those vocals are too up front and annoying. "Massive Illusion" is the best cut that I heard, however it does not inspire me to purchase the album; the music is just too somber for my taste. I realize that it gets mostly good reviews on various sites, but this is not the type of neo-Prog that I can get into. At some point I kept hoping that they would change the pace and tone, and give the vocals a much needed rest.

I am glad that you featured the album though, as I have read about them and was thinking of exploring one of their releases.

[Poisoned Youth]

I'm not sure that it is due to "apathy" as much as it is due to the music itself, which sounds way too much like Thom Yorke and Radiohead for my liking.

Although Trane is currently handling the featured albums, I have done so for years of course. My comment was less about Gazpacho and more about the profile. For example, the last feature was Alamaailman Vasarat (who just had a band member pass) which is very different musically, and the response was also fairly sparse for it being featured for 1 week.

It's discouraging over time when you feel like you have to stick to the bread & butter features in order to get a discussion going. I think Trane is realizing that as well.

[aith01]

Although Trane is currently handling the featured albums, I have done so for years of course. My comment was less about Gazpacho and more about the profile. For example, the last feature was Alamaailman Vasarat (who just had a band member pass) which is very different musically, and the response was also fairly sparse for it being featured for 1 week.

It's discouraging over time when you feel like you have to stick to the bread & butter features in order to get a discussion going. I think Trane is realizing that as well.

That's understandable. I actually meant to post something in reply to your comment about Gazpacho; not sure why I didn't. Probably laziness on my part.

I've got Missa Atropos, Molok, and... I think I have Night too, but haven't gotten around to listening to it yet. My backlog is shameful.

Missa Atropos is good, but it came out during a rather depressing time in my life so I don't revisit it very often. I should go back and give it a shot, as it's been quite a while now. The title track has a really powerful section that I wish I could replicate myself when writing music -- I'd like to know how they did it.

[Kcrimso]

I used to really like Gazpacho but not so interested anymore. Not that they are bad or anything but their music is always little bit too similar. I think Missa Atropos is my the favourite Gazpacho album.

[JKL2000]

I often just don’t notice the Featured Album threads.

I was just listening to Tick Tock on Spotify today. This band never really grabs me either, but I try them occasionally.

[Trane]

MMmhhh!!!...

If you use an adblock (like I do from home), you won't see the album's artwork on the center top of the homepage and Main board.

Cozy or Duncan told me the only way to feature it visually was to enter it as an advert. However, this could be a (or one of the) reason why these FA thread don't get much notice. We'd have to look at the number of views to see if people are still opening the FA threads.

So yeah, those using an adblock won't really notice the Featured album unless perusing the top of the Main Board's thread list or looking into the What's New function.

[Poisoned Youth]

^^^ While that is true, if some of those people know how to make exceptions for various sites, the can do that on PE. Also, while it’s “just another thread”, it’s still one of the few “sticky” threads on the site. And when you feature a not-so-obscure 70s album, you get the activity.

Trust me. If someone starts a thread about Jon Anderson’s nipples it will get 100 replies. And when a troll creates a spam post, we are certain to hear about it. So people are aware of what’s on the boards.

[battema]

I'm not a fan of Gazpacho.

I'm also generally not a fan of posting just be posting. And for whatever reason, I'm not usually interested in contributing to Featured Releases.

When I was early on the scene and went to the festivals, I would often be glued to the merch tables (between sets) discovering wonders and chatting up endlessly about my revelations. Now, I go but mostly to say hey to my vending friends and say little/nothing about the music. I've heard it. That's pretty much analogous to how I feel about many threads here. Familiar ground given a new makeover but not really expanding anything that I personally haven't covered before. So, I lurk and leave it for newer faces to have their moment...and find other threads (or even forums) where those kinds of engagements feel fresh and exciting for me, where I'm not just the guy in the corner saying the same thing over and over. Speaking only for myself here, of course.

If it makes you feel better, I also checked my bag of damns with regards to Jon Andersons teats and confirmed I'm empty on that one too.

[miamiscot]

I really, really want to love this band but the Radiohead comparison is all too valid and holds back my already muted enthusiasm. I was listening to Soyuz last night and almost made it all the way through...

[SunRunner2]

^^^ While that is true, if some of those people know how to make exceptions for various sites, the can do that on PE. Also, while it’s “just another thread”, it’s still one of the few “sticky” threads on the site. And when you feature a not-so-obscure 70s album, you get the activity.

Trust me. If someone starts a thread about Jon Anderson’s nipples it will get 100 replies. And when a troll creates a spam post, we are certain to hear about it. So people are aware of what’s on the boards.

What appears to be surfacing here is a general disinterest in, or (perhaps in your earlier words) an actual apathy toward, the Featured Album segment. That would make it a different issue than members displaying an apathy toward Prog Rock releases in general that aren't part of the popular, legacy 70's Prog scene. The last two featured albums are a good example of somewhat "fringe" Prog output that either doesn't resonate with the majority of members or are too obscure to have been listened to and followed in the past. I fit in both of the these groups in that I had never heard of Amaailman Vasarat but gave it a listen from the samples and found it to be not for my tastes at all. As to Gazpacho, I had spotted a release of theirs on a Syn-Phonic addendum some time ago and investigated them on PA, RYM and Gnosis. The reviews and also the comparisons to Marillion and especially Radiohead lead me to believe that they weren't my cuppa. However, after listening to the samples I decided to weigh in on the featured LP "Night" as I am trying to get more involved with the featured album segment. My review was negative, however I don't think that you or the other moderators are averse to members criticizing an album as much as you are disappointed with the lack of people even clicking on it and providing feedback (pro or con). That is the key issue in my view, members aren't taking advantage of this segment which is supposed to shine light on output that was not in the Prog mainstream but that helped the scene evolve in different, perhaps new directions (see the other thread on Prog evolution). And, I think you resent the fact that if you featured classic Prog albums of the legacy era, you would see dozens of immediate posts commenting on it. But, isn't that a natural fact of life relative to "popularity".

This issue appears to be beyond resolution unless you can use friendly persuasion to encourage members to go directly to the featured album thread when first signing on. That's what I do ever since the last thread that bemoaned the lack of participation for a featured album, in which one poster opined that if this kind of lackluster trend and passivity continues it would eventually be the death of Prog sites such as this and Prog in general would fadeaway. I took that frightening forecast to heart and I also felt empathy with you and other moderators who spend the time and effort to provide members with this fine feature only to have a handful of responses to many of the albums.

One suggestion would be to "sneak in" a classic Prog album with no fanfare and see if your worst expectations occur (or if it gets ignored as well). Relayer, anybody?

[Don Arnold]

Really dig the music of Gazpacho. Yes, they can be a bit samey. Yes, there's emphasis on vocals. But their music resonates with me in some manner that's difficult to explain. Looking forward to their new release (though I haven't picked up Soyuz yet).

[Scrotum Scissor]

One suggestion would be to "sneak in" a classic Prog album with no fanfare and see if your worst expectations occur (or if it gets ignored as well). Relayer, anybody?

This was already done repeatedly in the past, only to have those worst expectations wholeheartedly confirmed. First of all, what constitutes a "classic" somehow appears almost as relative-to-habitus as every other subjective issue in here; second, a vast percentage of members apparently aren't too interested in the phenomenon of progressive rock in general but rather merely in a certain branch of stylistically interconnected names which serve to confirm something in itself. And I suppose the latter is why many folks obviously aren't interested in hearing genuinely new music to challenge that habitus, rather quite the opposite.

[Zappathustra]

I consider it a gesture of good manners to post in the featured album thread. Somebody is putting the effort and energy to preserve this thread, which is kind of a tradition for PE.
When I don't post - which is rare - I am not interested in the music, and therefore have nothing to say (which is the case with Gazpacho).
I think it would be good to have non-progressive albums featured too. How about a Led Zeppelin or a Charles Mingus or a Siouxsie and the Banshees album? Maybe this could also stir some more comments.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I think it would be good to have non-progressive albums featured too. How about a Led Zeppelin or a Charles Mingus or a Siouxsie and the Banshees album?

Indeed, that too was quite common in the old days. But somehow I suspect the current "activum" of PE might not be as eclectic in overall tastes as they used to come in here.

[Interstellar]

Like other posters, I've tried to get into Gazpacho's musical world, but it doesn't really resonate (well, I've heard the first 4 albums, which I had bought thinking I would finally "get" them, and excepts from the other ones). Thanks to this thread I will listen to Night again someday soon.
So far I've found their music a bit monotonous and depressing. That being said, I applaud their creativity and they come up with cool concepts and artworks.