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Phonya — Heli1025
(Bandcamp no#, 2024, LP / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2025-03-13

Heli1025 Cover art

Phonya is a new Belgian band formed by Eric Vanderbemden (guitars, keyboards, bass) and Bernard Piette (keyboards), the co-founders of the mid 90s progressive rock band Ken’s Novel. Phonya also includes musician and graphic artist Gautier Delco (keyboards, bass). The band’s name doesn’t mean anything, but their debut album, Heli1025, is named after an old radio that Eric found in his aunt’s house that had remained unused for years. Amazingly, after switching it on, the radio worked and produced a warm and powerful sound that fascinated the trio by its performance and design. Heli1025 was recorded over a three-year period, starting from Eric’s demos recorded over fifteen years ago and enhancing the music with fresh ideas from Bernard and Gautier. Heli1025 contains six instrumental tracks:  “Evolution,” “Let Me Out,” “Breathless,” “Trans-HUMAN-ce,” “Lunar Sun,” and “The Infinite Game.” Even though the band cites Pink Floyd, Marillion, and Porcupine Tree as influences for the cinematic prog rock, there is a definite Camel resemblance to the track titles, as well as themes that form “Lunar Sun.” Each track imparts a different emotion from cinematic latter-day Pink Floyd to distorted and squiggly keyboards to aggressive melodic prog to throbbing bass lines that make for quite an enjoyable 53 minutes... though I still have not quite figured out how to pronounce or understand the meaning of “Trans-HUMAN-ce.” Be that as it may, Heli1025 is worth investigating if you enjoy melodic prog rock.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Phonya

More info
http://phonya.bandcamp.com/album/heli1025

 

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