My segue into your belated Friday post isn't quite as direct as Wednesday-to-Thursday was, but bear with me and we'll get there alright. To start: you know instrumental prog act Scale the Summit, right? Well guitarist Chris Lecthford has some more solo work just over the horizon that you might be interested in.
This time around it's in the form of new project islnds (rather than simply Chris Letchford solo stuff) and accompanying new album History of Robots, which features some guest vocal work from a few familiar faces. First single "Momnts", for example, features Joey from The Reign of Kindo, and promo material indicates Tesseract alumnus Ashe O'Hara is involved as well.
Musically speaking, things are a bit more mellow than Scale the Summit (not that StS is the heaviest thing in the instrumental prog world) but Chris' musicianship and melodic sensibility is still plainly evident. Spin this if you need a laid back jam tonight.
Showing posts with label The Reign of Kindo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Reign of Kindo. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Thursday, 23 October 2014
The Reign of Kindo - Breathe Again
There's dark music, and then there's weird music, and then there's darkly weird music, or weirdly dark music. Today's song is one of those last ones. But it's also, as I'm hoping you'll discover, a beautiful song.
I've written about New York's The Reign of Kindo and their piano-centric jazz-pop before, but I recently picked up a copy of their first record Rhythm, Chord, & Melody and one song in particular struck as being twisted in just the right way. It's way not metal (except maybe lyrically...) but it might still be up your alley.
"Breathe Again" is a dark little song about a Christmas morning gone awry, and while I won't spoil how that happens, or how the story turns out, but I will say that it wasn't at all what I expected after the first few lines of what sounded like another sappy Christmas song. Check it out and have your expectations blown apart.
I've written about New York's The Reign of Kindo and their piano-centric jazz-pop before, but I recently picked up a copy of their first record Rhythm, Chord, & Melody and one song in particular struck as being twisted in just the right way. It's way not metal (except maybe lyrically...) but it might still be up your alley.
"Breathe Again" is a dark little song about a Christmas morning gone awry, and while I won't spoil how that happens, or how the story turns out, but I will say that it wasn't at all what I expected after the first few lines of what sounded like another sappy Christmas song. Check it out and have your expectations blown apart.
Saturday, 7 June 2014
Chris Letchford - The Star Boys
Time for a little something light and jazzy for your Saturday evening courtesy of Chris Lecthford, whose work I'm sure you're familiar with even if you can't quite place his name.
Chris's guitar work with instrumental prog-heads Scale the Summit already has a decidedly jazzy bent to it, so it should come as no surprise that his forthcoming solo LP Lightbox is shaping up to be a pretty solid instrumental jazz record. He's even had the good fortune to get Evan Brewer (bassist extraordinaire, lately of The Faceless), Mark Michell (bassist from Scale the Summit), Steven Padin (drummer to the stars in The Reign of Kindo) and Danny Pizarro (pianist/keyboardist, also from Kindo) to combine their powers as his backing band. So basically, this record has had bucketloads of talent thrown at it.
Lead single "The Star Boys" is a little all over the place, but in a good way. Chris changes direction just enough to keep you guessing, but not so much as to leave you disoriented. Well, you might be disoriented, but it'll be by the intricacy and complexity of the musicianship rather than the meandering course of the song. Instrumental fans and jazz freaks alike should take notice of this one.
Chris's guitar work with instrumental prog-heads Scale the Summit already has a decidedly jazzy bent to it, so it should come as no surprise that his forthcoming solo LP Lightbox is shaping up to be a pretty solid instrumental jazz record. He's even had the good fortune to get Evan Brewer (bassist extraordinaire, lately of The Faceless), Mark Michell (bassist from Scale the Summit), Steven Padin (drummer to the stars in The Reign of Kindo) and Danny Pizarro (pianist/keyboardist, also from Kindo) to combine their powers as his backing band. So basically, this record has had bucketloads of talent thrown at it.
Lead single "The Star Boys" is a little all over the place, but in a good way. Chris changes direction just enough to keep you guessing, but not so much as to leave you disoriented. Well, you might be disoriented, but it'll be by the intricacy and complexity of the musicianship rather than the meandering course of the song. Instrumental fans and jazz freaks alike should take notice of this one.
Sunday, 16 March 2014
Saturday: The Reign of Kindo - The Hero, The Saint, The Tyrant & The Terrorist
It's the weekend once again (funny how it happens approximately once a week, right?) and we're once again going with some more chill, less metal songs to cap off another seven days under the sun. But, as I've often said before, just because stuff isn't metal doesn't mean it can't be really cool.
Today's band is the perfect example. The Reign of Kindo weave multi-instrumental magic with their blend of rock, funk, jazz, and even some latin salsa flavour. The result is catchy while still being interesting, the kind of thing that stands up to, and even rewards, multiple listens. I've written about these guys before, but they definitely deserve another day in the sun.
So have a listen to "The Hero, The Saint, The Tyrant & The Terrorist" from the band's 2013 album Play With Fire and see if The Reign of Kindo's special brew is right for you.
Today's band is the perfect example. The Reign of Kindo weave multi-instrumental magic with their blend of rock, funk, jazz, and even some latin salsa flavour. The result is catchy while still being interesting, the kind of thing that stands up to, and even rewards, multiple listens. I've written about these guys before, but they definitely deserve another day in the sun.
So have a listen to "The Hero, The Saint, The Tyrant & The Terrorist" from the band's 2013 album Play With Fire and see if The Reign of Kindo's special brew is right for you.
Monday, 22 April 2013
Song of the Day: The Reign of Kindo - Thrill of the Fall
This evening we've got another Facebook feed find, thanks to someone over in the Periphery camp, who've pointed me towards some cool stuff in the past. Tonight's band The Reign of Kindo is no exception.
Your song tonight is "Thrill of the Fall", the opening track from Kindo's sophomore full length, 2010's This is What Happens. Jazzy, funky, vaguely latin, "Thrill of the Fall" boogies its way into your head from the opening piano riff. Metal it sure ain't, but if you as a metalhead can appreciate a band like, say, Trioscapes, or T.R.A.M, or the like, then it's a short hop to the smooth melodies of The Reign of Kindo. They're not all as high energy as "Thrill of the Fall", but they've got a few real corkers in their catalogue.
Yes, I just used the phrase "real corkers". Just listen to some of The Reign of Kindo already.
Your song tonight is "Thrill of the Fall", the opening track from Kindo's sophomore full length, 2010's This is What Happens. Jazzy, funky, vaguely latin, "Thrill of the Fall" boogies its way into your head from the opening piano riff. Metal it sure ain't, but if you as a metalhead can appreciate a band like, say, Trioscapes, or T.R.A.M, or the like, then it's a short hop to the smooth melodies of The Reign of Kindo. They're not all as high energy as "Thrill of the Fall", but they've got a few real corkers in their catalogue.
Yes, I just used the phrase "real corkers". Just listen to some of The Reign of Kindo already.
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