The Forum Theatre, Billingham Wednesday, 15th November 2017 One man, a grand piano and some Wonderous Stories! Rick Wakeman concludes 2017 with a lengthy series of intimate, one man shows under the title of Piano Portraits and in support of…
View More Rick Wakeman – Piano Portraits
Back in 2014 an album arrived for review from Finnish composer, arranger and keyboard player Juha Kujanpää, and, as with many things unexpected, it turned out to be a rather pleasant surprise. This agreeable trend carries on with Niin Kauas…
View More Juha Kujanpää – Niin Kauas Kuin Siivet Kantaa | To Where My Wings Will Take Me
In 2015 I reviewed, in some depth, King Of Agogik’s Exlex Beats, the studio project of drummer and multi-instrumentalist Hans Jörg Schmitz. An enjoyable release if not a tad overlong in my humble opinion. Morning Star, albeit about five or…
View More King Of Agogik – Morning Star
I can still remember that voyage of discovery, when as a young teenager, I started to unearth the world of music. Excitedly travelling each Saturday morning to the, then plentiful record shops to buy one album, but which one was…
View More Antoine Fafard – Proto Mundi | Doomsday Vault
With news of a new studio album from Alan Emslie scheduled for late 2018 and with the new re-mastered editions of his first four releases appearing in April this year, it seems a timely opportunity to revisit the early years.…
View More Alan Emslie – Floating | Emotive Bay | Driven Heavy | Dark Matter
In 2014 TPA reviewed Fractured Despondency, the second release from Edinburgh based project Plastic Noose, which despite some early misgivings at the time, turned out to be a damn fine album – especially the sixteen minute album closer Suicidal Crisis.…
View More Plastic Noose – Desolation
The Voodoo Café, Darlington Friday, 7th July 2017 There’s very little that comes to this neck of the North East so the opportunity to catch three “proggy” acts at one event is surely one not to be missed? But I…
View More Jack Arthurs | Andy Tillison | Tom Slatter
Another collaborative venture and another opportunity to delve into the creative world of Liverpool based composer, classical guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Neil Campbell. In a little over ten years Neil has released an impressive collection of music that has never disappointed…
View More Seán Street/Neil Campbell/Perri Alleyne-Hughes – Estuary
Following on from the pleasant discovery, late last year, of the rather intriguing Cubic album from LITE, I noted that regular touring partners were fellow countrymen and Tokyo based trio, Mouse on the Keys. At the time I remember checking…
View More Mouse on the Keys – Out of Body [EP]
In what seems to have become a relentless, burgeoning and ever diversifying musical climate it is so easy to lose sight of what first attracted you, so with the release of The Last Of England the opportunity to reflect, rekindle…
View More Gordon Giltrap & Paul Ward – The Last Of England