Progressive Music of Our Era

Hello to all followers, fans and friends!

I've been absent a lot lately, let's say my life has changed, a new job, a lot more of responsibilities, no so much time to spare, you know...but well here I am, in this post I will be rather talking a few things about how progressive music has been in this late year, and maybe do a little recap on some albums that make me feel in that way.

Of course prog fans out there know more about the topic and can argue about this, but I will express despite my knowledge in the topic. First of all, progressive music, is turning now in 2011 to be different, to be more accessible and not so under grounded as 10-15 years from now, with albums like Grace For Drowning, and Heritage, is obvious that prog/art rockers and music composers are reviving the whole prog scene of the 70's (best times for prog music, period), and I base my ideas in this, there are two lines: the first is the idea of making progressive music more mainstream, is really a challenge, but bands like Gazpacho, Porcupine Tree, Pinneaple Thief, just to name a few, are mixing in terms of music, songwritting, production and musicality influenced in mainstream succeful bands like Radiohead or Muse, for example, why? b/c these bands are modern, mainstream but have that progressive music touch and/or influence. Pinneapple Thief for example, is a mix of good song writing, Radiohead, and a little bit of art rock of the 70's. This is emerging its own name, and it is called "Post-Prog".

Despite all this, progressive music now, is tending to sound more fresh, lush, orchestrated and relying on improvisations and more experimentation (Experimental giants right now, is Mars Volta), is the real new approach of what Progressive Rock is becoming nowadays, the music is tending to be modern, but, is making its foundation on the 70's scene, with bands like Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and Jethro Tull just to name a few, however, the music is tending to sound more jazzy and more eclectic, making it what progressive rock/music truly is!

I could hear this new approach in the newer Steven Wilson music, and the latest Opeth album, I mean, take Opeth for example, a death/prog/metal band, difficult to hear by some people, but do you realize the change? yeah, that's ladies and gentlemen is the approach of progressive rock of our era...and maybe, others will hate it, others not, in MY particular case I love it, it evokes the artistic feel, less compressed, more dynamic progressive rock that I love!

Later!

Iros RR

A Band Request?

I´ve been asked to join a band, yes, it was requested by an good friend of mine in terms of musicianship, (can´t give the details now), he is forming a band and he just thought about me and ask me, he said that I will be taking the singer, front-man, songwriter, background guitars job, I´m sharing the songwriter job with other dude though.

Is kind of a interesting request I think, but, some people always complain about me, because how control freak I am in terms of music, yeah, I am, and that is why I´m going solo, you know to do whatever the hell I want to do with my music, and my stuff, which is pretty a good way to be free and not sticking so much on other decisions.

I´d always considered myself very self-indulgent and very self-dependant in almost every aspect of my life, so that´s why I trained so hard to be a well-rounded musician and be able to make music by my own, but that doesn´t mean that I can´t be in a band environment, if the roles are well taken, then no problem. In a band, is different, is all about collaborations, roles and consensus, opinions are important, you are in a band because you want to interact with others musically and let them apply their talents, is rather easy...

I can´t give you to much details now, but I´m kinda tired with these highs and lows in the music department, a band? well...we have to clear up some things at the start of all this...

What I think of this?, well. is a great opportunity, a great vision, but, I will be realistic, a band for me, is like building a empire, a company, it is motion, feel, compromise, it is like building a family and most important time consuming, I compare it with relationships, LOL.

I don´t know where this could get, but it is decided that I will go for branching, and have my own stuff down my sleeves, you´ll never know what will happen....In the worst of the cases, I have my own stuff, this, will be like just giving out some of my talents and some of the things I can do to the band. In fact, some of the last things I wrote was my first contributions with the band.

I will get with all of them together, talk about stuff and see what happens, still, if this is for me, no problem, if not, I´m sticking in with my beloved stuff!

Later!

Prog Metal as my signature sound?

For me, it has been difficult to establish a certain style of music to be focused on, if you know me personally my musical visions changes every time, and that’s not new, back in the 90’s and my teens I spend lots of time hearing a totally different music that I’m hearing now, that was before I discovered Progressive Rock music back in the start of the second millennium.

From that inception I’m still sticked to it, and yeah God bless prog music, really, I thank myself for discovering it and embracing it, it definitely changed my musical formation dramatically. Needless to say, I’m stick to any kind of good music, not just progressive music, in fact I enjoy Jazz a lot, fusion, orchestral film soundtracks, metal music, I mean every type of music that is “good” despite the style, so, however I knew from the beginning that I was preparing myself musically to actually write, compose and even produce music, I knew that one single project can’t cover all, so my mind was set in multiple projects, you know, projects and side projects that cover the passion for other musical styles.

But, since the “Titan Atlas” inception, it was a band inspired in the type of music that “flow” naturally within my veins, having a musical project and a band is hard, that’s why the monster called Titan Atlas was annihilated, sadly, but, sure, I have this new project called “Skies Of Mars” that it’s centered to be my main focus and main stuff, aside from other side projects that I worked on, (Square Motion, Atomic Tangerine), I was aside all metal stuff for one purpose, metal music blinds you from things like arrangements, production, songwriting, so for 2 years now, I’ve been out for metal, because of this, and this 2 years I was having a blast hearing things like, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Steven Wilson, Blackfield, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Zappa, Minus the Bear, Billy Joel, Pete Townshend etc. even trying things in local pop rock stuff like Zoom and Bocatabu, you know to get this “feel” about songwritting and production, which is veeery important.

I have lots of stuff written here but is pretty much in a approach of good songwriting, vocal/piano and vocal/acoustic guitar kinda songs, ballads, love songs, and psychedelic/space/ambient rock things, which I learnt a lot of important stuff about chords and arrangements in that time, that for me, it’s necessary…

But yeah, since the Titan Atlas inception and creation, this is the kind of style that fits well in me, and the one who I must attain my main focus on, progressive metal and progressive rock can get up a little too extreme at times, it is intended to be a “virtuoso-shit” kind of music, and with this, looking up for musicians in DR to play this stuff is staggering and the hunt can get infinite in a way, so that’s why one of the reasons I wanted to lay low on that, and do something more “accessible” to the players…

In fact, in a band situation is normal that you end up playing others parts, and riffs, but looking for musicians who are aware of that and are at the same page of you, IS HARD!

Updates and more updates!

I’m happy to inform you that this “musical vacations” are coming to an end, I had, in a way, renew my muses immensely, I picked up the guitar one night and I wrote some cool sections, and I recorded them with my mobile phone! they ended up being cool sounding songs I suppose, I will talk about each one in a nutshell:

“Summer Rain”: This song came up one rainy night, about middle summer I think, It start with the muse of the rain falling and all that, picked up the lonely and dusty guitar, and experiment with some chords…and about 20 mins away voila! a complete song with verses, chorus, bridge and all that! have to work on the lyrics more I think…

“Between the Moon and Mars”: This song is just a mix of a lot of cool D sections that I had recorded in little pieces, the fundamental thing is structured I think…and is instrumental, maybe some of the chordy and spacey sections will end up to one or two vocal songs…in a re-orchestrated form, the song is based in a 7/8.

“Here and Away” (working title): This song is influenced a lot by Floyd, it was an idea based on: “hey, forget about those distortion riffs, and psychedelic stuff for a moment, and write a SONG, with simple chords!” haha! and yeah, it is a 4 min song base on G mayor and just 4 more chords!

“Gargantuan” (working title): This song came about 10 minutes after playing with my dusty guitar, is the last one I worked on, is a low D tuned song, one of the heavy hitters I think, very Tool-ish, I have almost all sections recorded in little pieces, but yeah, I got the whole picture of the song in my head, still have to work more the lyrics of it.

I know that I will keep writing things and experimenting, lots of the things recorded are sections and parts that I’d kept for revision, so there’s is really a lot of material in here! that could made it for a possible album or EP. this will be the songs, without counting the others demos and little experimentation that I have done with spacey and ambient music in mind:

- Light of Love

- It Burns Inside

- Happiest Days Of Our Lives

- Line That Defines

- Intertwined

- The Sorcerer

- Building the Pyramid

- Here and Away (working title)

- Summer Rain

- Between the Moon and Mars (instrumental)

- Meta Emotion (this is an acoustic song experimenting with a capo, the idea is mix songwriting with heavy stuff, not yet defined thou…)

- Disposition (another acoustic song, this one not yet polished).

- Gargantuan (working title)

*Right now writing this, I’m working in another heavy hitter, this one in standard E tuning and is very influenced by Opeth, right now I’m working on some ideas, bunch bunch of riffs are coming out!

The difficult thing here is that every song, every single one, has a different style, which can be good or bad…still after my vacations are finally over, I’m willing to keep writing, maybe 10 or 11 songs will come up, but I think I’ll write a lot more material and then choose wisely between them.

Stay tuned for more details later!!

Iros RR

My musical vacations...stop the hiatus!

As the title of this post embraces it, I'm formally taking vacations of music activities, such as, writing, transcribing, playing, practicing, studying etc. Right now my main focus is Skies Of Mars, and this project is turning to a "stand alone" kinda thing, in this manner, I have to think bigger, and harder, not only because of the music, but everything, I'm not thinking anymore in writing individual songs, but entire albums! The recording of footage, covers, and learning parts and the "Sharing and Covering" Series will be paused too...

The last thing I worked on was the "Skies Of Mars: Musical Project Plan" which is a document presenting the guidelines and descriptions of the project itself, holding useful info for the purpose of gathering interested musicians who can be possible members of the band for making it operate.

This plan is finished, it took me almost a month to prepare it, and it has been sent for revision, but in the process of writing this plan I'd encountered that this hiatus must be paused, not only because after distributing this plan to people I must be ready to be hyped and with lots of new energies to operate this with proactivity and commitment, but because I have to be prepared, with the proper equipment and with refreshed muses.

No, Im not throwing the towel here, it's just a pause of this musical hiatus, time for preparation and being inspired again, I'm still hearing a lot of music, and try to feel inspired all the time, but, music cannot be forced, the greatest songs come out with inspiration that hit you like surprise, I know that I can write, sit on the piano, sit with the guitar and create interesting stuff, but no, with this project I really want to step out with the music, and I'm very cautious with that, simply, the music cannot be forced.

However, is obvious that I want time to think, to do other things, to spend time with my friends, with my beloved ones, with family, spend time with sun, a beach, fresh air, rather that be in my room with a pen, paper and musical instruments. The thing is, that this project is gonna be a monster and I have to be prepared for it, I have to invest myself in gear, try to be prepared to do some demos, and try to do everything on my own, writing this plan opened my eyes and I concluded, "You're not yet ready!!" that's all!

Guitar, Piano, PC, Books, will be thrown away in a corner of my room for this summer, maybe more, the time is not set yet, I will be away from the blog too, well, maybe posting other things such as news of the things or bands I'm discovering now, maybe some reviews, maybe, who knows.

See ya after this summer!

Later

IRR

The Future of Skies Of Mars

Dear friends, fans and followers

I regret to inform you that Skies Of Mars have split up.

An explanation for this, is neither forthcoming or indeed necessary, the future of the band is rather in my own responsibility now, right now I'm working on the writing of a formal musical plan for this project for the people to really see what SOM is really about, and then evaluate it so they can accept or not the compromise, until now, SOM is transforming into a soloist and personal thing, sadly, it is the way things have to be done, at least for now...music will be presented almost in a 90% to the interested musicians that came in the ride.

More details of this plan later

Musicians stay aware of this!

Later

Iros RR

The Philophofia theme for a future album?

This term came to me after using google and wikipedia for quite some time investigating and after reading about topics about how human beings and the human mind have sort of this "disorders", "sickness" "phobias", "depression", "distress" and all that weird stuff. "6 Degrees of Inner Turbulence" of Dream Theater and "Fear of a Blank Planet" of Porcupine Tree, both albums kinda open me to that kind of stuff, when I encountered this term "Philophobia" I don't even knew that this kind of phobia existed, I don't even believed that this "thing" happens to actual people! It's a weird and at the same time interesting and new to me.

This whole thing and concept is inspiring me in doing a similar concept for a album, because it is too extensive to give it in just one song, so this, "thing" called Philophobia will be used for a theme, and not only that, all that kinds of "disorders", "mental stress", "sickness" and all that stuff, if you noticed is about all those things that people set in their minds that don't even is an actual danger to them, and how the people are telling that they are "sick" all the time and don't even be sick at all!

///

Este término vino a mí después de usar google y wikipedia desde hace bastante tiempo tras investigación y después de leer sobre temas acerca de cómo los seres humanos y la mente humana tiene este tipo de "desórdenes", "enfermedades", "fobias", "depresión", "Angustia" y todas esas cosas extrañas. "6 Degrees of Inner Turbulance" de Dream Theater y "Fear of A Blank Planet" de Porcupine Tree, ambos discos me dejo un poco abierto a ese tipo de cosas, cuando me encontré con este término "Philophobia" Yo ni siquiera sabía que este tipo de fobia existía, ni siquiera creia que esta "Cosa" le sucede a las personas! Es un extraño y al mismo tiempo interesante termino nuevo para mí.

Todo esto y el concepto es inspirarme en hacer un concepto similar para un álbum, porque es demasiado extenso para darle en una sola canción, por lo que esta, "Cosa" llamada Philophobia será utilizada para un tema, y ​​no sólo eso, todos los que tipo de "desórdenes", "el estrés mental", "enfermedades" y todas esas cosas. ¿Has notado sobre todas esas cosas que la gente encuentra en sus mentes que ni siquiera son un peligro real para ellos?, y cómo la gente está diciendo que

están "enfermos" todo el tiempo sin ni siquiera estarlo?