Exposé Online » Issue 15

Date : July 1998
Pages : 80
Summary : Baja Prog '98, Yes, Sound Resources Studio, XII Alfonso, Benoit Widemann, Michael Brook, Cloud Chamber, Stan Whitaker on the Happy The Man reunion, Doctor Nerve Interview w/Nick Didkovsky, Mickey Simmonds, Kraftwerk, Patrick Forgas
Items found : 47

The World Comes to Seattle —
WOMAD USA 1998

The first WOMAD (World Of Music Art and Dance) festival was in 1982, inspired in large part by Peter Gabriel’s love of music from around the world. Since then, there have been festivals in various locations in Europe, Africa, and Asia on a regular basis, but aside from a short tour of one-day mini-festivals in 1993, WOMAD has never gained a foothold in North America. The festival has finally found an American home in Redmond, Washington at Marymoor Park, not far from Seattle. 1998’s WOMAD USA is the first of many projected annual festivals, and if they can all be as interesting and varied as this one, I wish them a long and healthy life. One of the things that sets WOMAD apart from other festivals is the chance to interact with the artists in workshops, discussions and interviews.  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 1998-07-01)

(Tom Newman) - Variations on a Rhythm of Mike Oldfield - David Bedford

This is a four track EP, and is basically a Tom Newman album. It's confusing, I know. This is some of that stuff you know Oldfield and Co. did for laughs (when perhaps beer and worse entered the...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dane Carlson 1998-07-01)

Alejandro Lomelin - Luz de Intenso Azul

Luz is the instrumental solo project of keyboardist Alejandro Lomelin, of the Mexican band Caja De Pandora. For the most part this is a work of simpler repetitive piano figures and...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1998-07-01)

Amber Asylum - The Natural Philosophy of Love

For quick reference you might call this "Gothic Ambient". Amber Asylum is Kris Force (Swans), Martha Burns, and Annabel Lee, but Force is the major songwriter. Several other musicians...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dane Carlson 1998-07-01)

Ancient Curse - The Landing

The strains of an acoustic guitar, a soft vocal, then comes the barrage. If I were to contain this review to only word, it would be: Metallica. Ancient Curse do not appear to make any claims at...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dane Carlson 1998-07-01)

Anekdoten - Live EP

Recorded one night in Cozmoz, Sweden in 1996, this short EP is a solid testament to the raw power Anekdoten exude in the live setting. Four tunes are included: "Nucleus," "The...

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(Posted by Dan Casey 1998-07-01)

Anekdoten - Official Bootleg: Live in Japan

Recorded over two nights of the band's recent trip to Japan, this double-CD live set captures perfectly the confident and relentlessly energetic live sound Anekdoten has developed. The set...

 » Read more
(Posted by Rob Walker 1998-07-01)

Bill Bruford with Ralph Towner and Eddie Gomez - If Summer Had Its Ghosts

When Bill Bruford is on break from his drum duties with King Crimson, what would you expect him to do? Should he go on vacation or work in another less hectic, but rewarding mode? If Summer Had...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Bruford Levin - Upper Extremities

Upper Extremities serves as one of the new Crimson off-shoot projects while the next incarnation literally plays its way into existence. Bill Bruford and Tony Levin have conceived and executed a...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Buckethead - Colma

You really have to ask yourself: what kind of credible artist wears a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on his head and a Friday the 13th mask? Most people would think he must be somewhat of...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Curlew - Fabulous Drop

Raw, jazzy, abrasive, avant, noisy, and yet oddly smooth. That's Curlew rapped up in a nutshell. Led by the blaring sax musings of George Cartwright, Curlew forges on strongly with this new...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dan Casey 1998-07-01)

Didkovsky / MacLean / Vrtacek - Flies in the Face of Logic

This disc is sectioned into three distinct perspectives of composition, using an unfamiliar primary instrument for each composer: the piano. First up is Steve MacLean, who in the course of four...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Elton Dean / Paul Dunmall - If Dubois Only Knew

Two seasoned British sax players: just them, no keyboard, guitar, bass, or drums for accompaniment. Uh-oh! Eight songs of duets and free jazz performance? God, I need some Tylenol, just thinking...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Escapade - Obscured Dialogues

Those who have checked out Escapade’s previous two releases, Searching for the Elusive Rainbow and Inner Transluscence, may have some idea of what to expect from this...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1998-07-01)

Gentle Giant - King Biscuit Flower Hour

Gentle Giant as a live touring band (1970-1980) were always in a period of transition and refinement. The group would craft a challenging album from the palette of musical ideas by Kerry Minnear and...  » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Gentle Giant - Under Construction

Gentle Giant was at its best when adding polyphonic arrangements to aggressive rock music. Determining who was responsible was merely a scan of the writing credits, where "Shulman, Shulman and...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Gong - You Remixed & Hawkwind - Future Reconstructions

It's a prog chill-out! Phew! I made it. The disc is over! God be praised! What we have here is a techno / ambient version of Gong's masterpiece, You. 16 different "bands"...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dane Carlson 1998-07-01)

Hawkwind - Love in Space

A live album from the Alien 4 tour, featuring Dave, Alan, Richard. and Ron Tree. Judging from the photos in this neat little package, the tour props were pretty good. A Terminator...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dane Carlson 1998-07-01)

Hoahio - Happy Mail

Have you ever heard Japanese cult band After Dinner? Not another (neo-)prog oriented band from Japan, I reassure you, but one of the most simply beautiful melodic RIO and avant-garde groups from...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jerome Schmidt 1998-07-01)

Holger Czukay - Moving Pictures

If Holger Czukay continues to bring forth projects of the caliber achieved here, he will continue to keep my attention. For Moving Pictures is much more delicate on the sensitive ear than...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1998-07-01)

Idiot Flesh - Fancy

Sadly this will probably be the band’s swansong, as they played their final concert on March 13, 1998 (yes, Friday the 13th) in San Francisco. But if all one ever knows of this band is their...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1998-07-01)

Jan Akkerman - 10,000 Clowns on a Rainy Day

Word is out that Thijs Van Leer has reformed golden age prog band Focus with a flashy new lead guitarist. Clearly, where would Focus be without original shredmeister Jan Akkerman, who earned 70s AM...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Jeff Greinke - Cities in Fog

Albums this peripheral and ambient are rather rare in my opinion. Roach and Rich have both done albums in this vein, the latter in his early days, and of course Brian Eno did his pioneering work in...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1998-07-01)

Kate St. John - Second Sight

When I reviewed Channel Light Vessel's recent disc, Excellent Spirits, I...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Lars Hollmer - Andetag

Hollmer has been producing solo albums long enough to garner him attention beyond that of being Zamla's keyboardist and one of their main writers. His music still, after all these years, defies...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1998-07-01)

Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment

Having lost interest in Dream Theater after their second album many years ago, this writer wasn’t certain what to expect from an instrumental collaboration between two guys from that band...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1998-07-01)

Lydia Domancich - Regard

Lydia Domancich is a pianist whom most zeuhl fans around the world should be acquainted with. Sister of Sophia Domancich (who leads an intimate post-Coltranian jazz trio), Lydia formed this quartet...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jerome Schmidt 1998-07-01)

Mani Neumeier - Privat

Guru Guru drummer Mani is still going strong, to which two recent Japan visits will attest. Through the 80s and 90s he has kept busy with projects such as L.S. Bearforce, and Tiere de Nacht. This...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1998-07-01)

Mats / Morgan - The Music or the Money...

This Swedish duo may be known to some for their featured participation in the 1991 Zappa's Universe performance. On this new 2CD set, Mats Öberg, on keyboards, and Morgan Ågren, on...

 » Read more
(Posted by Rob Walker 1998-07-01)

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook - Remixed: Star Rise

Prior to Khan’s death last year, several artists were at work remixing several groundbreaking pieces that Khan and Brook together had recorded on their last successful album from 1996,...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Pauline Oliveros - Alien Bog / Beautiful Soop

Born in 1932, accordionist / musical philosopher / teacher Oliveros has been hailed a champion of the avant garde in America, ever since instigating the field of meditative music. Founding the Deep...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1998-07-01)

Pearls Before Swine - One Nation Underground & Balaklava

A slice of the past, but certainly one that shouldn’t be overlooked. Pearls Before Swine was essentially the vehicle of guitarist / composer / poet / singer Tom Rapp, which over the course of...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1998-07-01)

Popol Vuh - Shepherd's Symphony

Those of us who grew up listening to Popol Vuh in the 70s recall a sound that was at times haunting and other times shimmering and uplifting. Regardless of the album, Popol Vuh created atmospheres...

 » Read more
(Posted by David Ashcraft 1998-07-01)

Quarkspace - Spacefolds 3

Space-rockers from Columbus, Ohio, Quarkspace are back with volume three in their Spacefolds series. This four track EP, while rooted in traditional space rock a-la Hawkwind nevertheless...

 » Read more
(Posted by Paul Hightower 1998-07-01)

Rapoon - The Fires of the Borderlands

Take a simple repeating ascending pattern of three notes and run it through a dense whirlwind of heavy processing, changing patterns and directions from time to time, and one might get a rough idea...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1998-07-01)

Sabah Habas Mustapha - Jalan Kopo - The Sunda Sessions

Sabah Habas Mustapha is (so the story goes) the Western-educated younger brother of the more famous (at least within Indonesia) 3 Mustaphas 3. He’s basically a singer / guitarist / songwriter...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1998-07-01)

Silver Apples - Decatur

Could this be the soundtrack for an alien abduction? Last year the Apples bounced back with original leader Simeon after almost 30 years, with a new disc Beacon, an album of songs, some...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1998-07-01)

Soft Machine - Virtually

The classic four-piece lineup that recorded Third and 4 is captured here live in concert from March 1971 in Bremen, Germany, only weeks before drummer / vocalist Robert Wyatt...

 » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1998-07-01)

Steve Gorn, Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta - From the Caves of the Iron Mountain

Take a woodwind player and the early 80s rhythm section for Peter Gabriel (circa Security), put them together in a cave and you'd be surprised what they come up with! The second...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Stips - Egotrip

Originally I thought this album was a throwaway, but a shrewd scheme unfolds after a few passes through the disc.  » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Surge - For the Time Being

Why is European mainland jazz ignored or worse yet, simply prejudiced as being lesser than US contemporaries? And does jazz have to be black to be good?  » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Teru's Symphonia - Do Androids Dream of Electric Camel

Teru's Symphonia is a Japanese band lead by guitarist and composer Terutsugu Hirayama, but it's the vocals of Megumi Tokuhisa that get your attention. She's a great singer. On...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dane Carlson 1998-07-01)

The Reptile Palace Orchestra - Hwy X

An unusual fusion of musics from across a wide variety of influences, The Reptile Palace Orchestra seem an anomaly for an American band. They draw their repertoire of melodies and stylisms from...

 » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1998-07-01)

Various Artists - Area 51 - The Roswell Incident

Cleopatra keeps churning out these space compilations — they are getting a lot of mileage out of their acts and property. Area 51 features all the same bands you've seen the...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dane Carlson 1998-07-01)

Various Artists - Giant for a Life - A Tribute to Gentle Giant

The second of two tributes to rock's most misunderstood progressive band is another hodgepodge of tracks from the Gentle Giant catalog. Most bands seem to adopt the policy of covering the...

 » Read more
(Posted by Jeff Melton 1998-07-01)

Virgil Moorefield - The Temperature in Hell Is over Three Thousand Degrees

Forget that you ever heard of Virgil's last Cuneiform outing Distracions on the Way to the King's Party, because this album simply has nothing to do with that whatsoever. Virgil is...

 » Read more
(Posted by Dan Casey 1998-07-01)

You Are Here - You Are Here

You Are Here are a new band out of Toronto with this eponymous EP as their debut. First off, I should point out that while a keyboard player is present, this quintet have a much newer and younger...

 » Read more
(Posted by Pam Thompson 1998-07-01)