An Infringement Of Human Rights? We'll Play Anyway.

In spite of being labelled a silly blogger (I think that was the phrase used, although too much time spent in front of 4x12s may have rendered my hearing somewhat unreliable) on numerous occasions in my life, I have never yet felt the compulsion to commit my thoughts to any online repository.

And yet here I begin to record a new tract on what might be considered a lesser known corner of the web, known as PerfectProg. My consideration is that here are a number of likeminded global citizens (at this count, a mere 280) who nevertheless share a passion for progressive music styles, whether they be casual listeners, ardent aficianadoes or musicians themselves. Because of the very exclusive nature of our little clique I have decided that I would rather associate myself with such fine individuals than become lost in the conglomerate well of souls comprising Faceboob, Myface and Bebop, fighting for a breath of oxygenating publicity among the proliferation of compressed communications.

Before continuing, please allow me to introduce myself. I am the keyboard player and, until recently, vocalist (in fact, the vocals on the tracks found here are mine) for Core Project, a progressive heavy rock band based in London. A quick biography (there are others elsewhere so I shan't use too much space here); formed in 2004, we released an independently-funded album in 2009 entitled Singularities Part 1, and have recently been signed to Atomic Clock Records, an independent label in the UK. We are currently working on material for a second album, and our label and management are pulling strings to enable us to do a small UK tour in late 2010.

One might consider it no bad thing to be signed to a label, however small, and of course I would never complain about my lot. And I hope that it will signal the end of a small series of frustrations, many of which centred around a recent gig we played, which culminated in the sacking of our singer, just as we were on the cusp of being signed.

The fact that we had to eject him on the morning of the gig, which was at the University of Huddersfield, made it all the worse. The upside was that because he had not turned up for the gig in the first place, we didn't have to go through the trauma of sacking him there and then. And so we made our way to the University of Huddersfield, meeting a shady individual known only as "The Italian" in a petrol station in Acton to collect a snare drum, and possibly breaching the human rights of our drummer Remi along the way. But trivial details like the lack of a singer, some faulty equipment and the law didn't prevent us from seeing the gig out, and we prevailed! I trust that our management and label will be able to pout more stringent preparations in place for this Autumn.

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I notice that many members of PerfectProg are uploading their own music, and that the mysterious and allseeing Perfect Prog himself (or herself) has enabled each member to make use of a mighty 100-song MP3 player on their sites.

So far I have enjoyed listening to Scarlet Romeo, who seem to marry gothic doom with floating melodies, especially on Believe; Until Rain, whose funky riffs and constantly moving songs show great talent and musicianship; and Paean, whose music is at once downbeat and uplifting, if such a thing is possible. Good stuff.

I look forward to conversing with fellow proggers as the weeks go by, and hope to maybe even meet each other at some distant, faraway concert.