Mandragora - Psych Electronic Rock (UK)

MANDRAGORA are a space-rock/world dance-music band from Brighton, England, whose formative output can be described as psychedelic rock with ethnic sounds and tribal rhythms. Formed in 1983, the band have released 5 albums of their own, and a collaborative album with Phil Thornton.  They built up a loyal following on the free festival circuit of the 1980s and 1990s, and were signed to Delerium Records. In recent years Mandragora have evolved into a world music/electronic dance act featuring singers and musicians from all corners of the globe.

Earthdance (1992)

RUPHUS - Heavy Prog • Norway

Ruphus biography ( http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1313 )

RUPHUS is probably one of the most important 70's Norwegian hard rock band with progressive tendencies (there were a few of those back then: AUNT MARY, TITANIC, POPOL VUH / ACE etc..) but their music evolution would differ greatly from those groups. Their debut "A New Born Day" is certainly one of the best Norwegian albums with a very exciting sound and its extraordinarily communicative enthusiasm, even if a bit dated. But three members left after the album release and a new singer was found for their second album "Ranshart", a more progressive record looking towards YES and FOCUS, but it was not quite as exciting as the debut. Future jazz-rock legend Terje Rypdal produced their third album "Let Your Light Shine", a jazz-rock album that had much success in Germany, but again, personnel change struck at the worst of times, but their fourth album "Inner Voice" continued the formula, but further changes undermined the group, eventually folding at the end of the decade to general indifference.

Ruphus - Let Your Light Shine (1975)

_____________________________________________________

More Prog Rock

Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon Legacy...

Influências do "The Dark Side of the Moon" do Pink Floyd

MOOM - Canterbury Scene • United Kingdom

Moom biography (http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=6706)

Founded in Northampton, UK in 1992 - Disbanded c. 2001

Moom started off as a coalition of members from other bands. Andy Fairclough, Greg Myles, and Jim Patterson had previously been in a group called Medicinal Compound, and Kristian Hartridge was playing with the group Blim, based in Birmingham. In 1992, Hartridge relocated to Northampton, and at this time Rob Falmer and Toby Kay joined the group and Moom was formed. Rob Falmer left the band after several gigs, and in 1993 the group had saved up money to record some material. The studio in which they were recording was owned by Robert John Godfrey (The Enid), and with his help they recorded and mixed an entire album in only nine days. These sessions resulted in the tape Helicopter Tortoise Collection, which didn't manage to bring the band much publicity. 

With the help of Robert John Godfrey and the Enid, the group was chosen for a slot in a festival in London, in 1994. This festival earned the group a feature article in the magazine Progress, at which point Delerium Records gained interest in the group and their music. The members of Moom sent the company a copy of their early tape, which resulted in the album Toot being formed from the best tracks on the tape. The group has since recorded a second album, Bone Idol, released in 1999. Over the years, Moom has played as a supporting act for groups as varied as Porcupine Tree, The Enid, and Jefferson Starship.

Moom is recommended to fans of Hatfield and the North, Frank Zappa, and the Canterbury side of fusion, being heavily influenced by the sounds of the original Canterbury scene. 

Toot (1995)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

More Jazz Prog Rock

Atrium - Progressive Jazz Rock (Germany)

SBB - Ecletic Progressive Rock (Poland)

Plexiheads - Rock (Brazil)

Plexiheads is a band formed in 2010 by four veteran musicians from the São Paulo scene, whose musical careers added probably represent almost a century of struggle. Plexiheads released a highly competent album called Let me show you something (2013). I said "almost a century of struggle" because, as many of you have already discovered, rock musician in Brazil does not play, battle!

Luiz Sacomano (vocals and guitar), plus his friends Fred Berlowitz (guitar), Athos Costa (Drums) and Norton Lagoa (bass) the quartet produced this excellent album that you should be listening to right now. As you may note, on this album, we are gifted with a powerful, accurate and well done Hard Rock where the band performs songs of their own making with a confidence and skill that leaves us with no doubts that we are listening to international material. The first thing we notice is that this band does not seek to follow fads or new trends and that they only play for love and devotion to this particular Rock style.

Let Me Show You Something

-------------------------------------------------

More Rock

Temple of the Dog - Grunge Rock

Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes - Hard Rock (USA)

The Communards - Pop (UK)

The Communards were a British pop duo active from 1985 to 1988. They are most famous for their cover versions of "Don't Leave Me This Way" and "Never Can Say Goodbye". The Communards formed in 1985 after singer Jimmy Somerville left his earlier band Bronski Beat to team up with classically trained musician Richard Coles. Somerville often used a falsetto singing style. Coles, though mainly a pianist, played a number of instruments and had been seen previously performing the clarinet solos on the Bronski Beat hit "It Ain't Necessarily So". They were joined by bass player Dave Renwick who had also played with Bronski Beat.

The name Communards refers to the revolutionaries of the 1871 Paris Commune. The name seems to have been used to express political sympathies while avoiding immediate connections to contemporary activism.

The band had their first UK Top 30 hit in 1985 with the piano-based number 30 single "You Are My World". The following year, they had their biggest hit with an energetic Hi-NRG cover version of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' soul classic "Don't Leave Me This Way" (in a version inspired by Thelma Houston's cover) which spent four weeks at number one and became the UK's biggest selling single of 1986. It also made the US Top 40. It featured Sarah Jane Morris as co-vocalist, taking advantage of the contrast between Morris' deep and rounded contralto and Somerville's soaring falsetto. Morris performed both backing and co-lead vocals on many of the Communards' other recordings, and appeared in group photos as an unofficial third member.

Later that year, The Communards had another UK Top 10 hit with the single "So Cold the Night", which reached number 8. In 1987, they released an album titled Red, which was partly produced by Stephen Hague. Red featured a cover version of the Jackson 5 hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" (in a version inspired by Gloria Gaynor's cover), which the Communards took to number 4 on the UK chart. Their last released single was "There's More to Love (Than Boy Meets Girl)" in 1988, which reached number 20 and was their final Top 20 hit. Red is also noteworthy for "Victims" and "For a Friend" (also released as a single), which address people living with and having died from HIV/AIDS.

The Communards (1986)

Alternative Link

--------------------------------------------------------------------

More Pop Music

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Pop (UK)

A Flock of Seagulls - Britsh New Wave

Gloria Gaynor - Soul Pop Disco (USA)

MINDGAMES - Neo-Prog • Belgium

Mindgames biography ( http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=653 )

Belgian band MINDGAMES influences are to be found in the whole progressive rock history. Element of FLOYD, YES, GENESIS, MARILLION and too many others to mention can be found in here. The band grouped in 1997 but it took 2 years until they entered the recording studio to shape their first recording demos. The rehearsals for their debut album took the next three years until the album was ready, in 2002, and was finally released in 2003. This output was carefully structured with mid-long pieces and three epics. It's a very sophisticated music, precisely played and perfect balance between energy and softness. Strong melodies, multiple rhythm changes and a nice instrumental colouring of the songs are warp and woof on "International Daylight", an album that achieved a great success among the lovers of Symphonic Progressive. In 2005, MINDGAMES returned to studio to prepare their second album, "Actor In A Play", released in 2006 that received very positive reviews from the international press and fans. With this album, MINDGAMES keep following the same path from their beginning, a well-balanced sound between Neo and New Symphonic, blended with several other influences. Recent news inform that MINDGAMES had important line-up changes and that they are shaping a new album to be released by 2009, but anyway keeping their original style. 

Mindgames official website

Mindgames - International Daylight (2003)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

More Prog Rock

Kansas - Progressive Rock (USA)

Marco Antonio Araújo - Symphonic Progressive Rock (Brazil)

Charles Bradley - Soul (USA)

Charles Edward Bradley (November 5, 1948 – September 23, 2017) was an American singer. His performances and recording style were consistent with the revivalist approach of his main label Daptone Records, celebrating the feel of funk and soul music from the 1960s and 1970s. One review said he "echoes the evocative delivery of Otis Redding".

Calling himself "the screaming eagle of soul", Bradley was the subject of the documentary Soul of America which premiered at South by Southwest in 2012.

 (2011) No Time For Dreaming

--------------------------------------------------------------

More Soul

George McCrae - Soul Pop

Barry White - Soul Music

Al Green - The Soul Hits Man

The Philadelphia Experiment - Fusion Jazz & Funk (USA)

The Philadelphia Experiment is a 2001 studio album by The Philadelphia Experiment, a collaborative project including pianist Uri Caine, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson. It features guest appearances from guitarist Pat Martino, trumpeter John Swana, and cellist Larry Gold. It peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. The album borrows its name from an urban legend about a supposed U.S. Naval experiment on invisibility carried out in 1943, referred to as the Philadelphia Experiment.

It is the first entry in a series of albums, the second being The Detroit Experiment (2003) and the third being The Harlem Experiment (2007). In 2002, King Britt released a remix album, titled The Philadelphia Experiment Remixed.

 The Philadelphia Experiment (2001)

--------------------------------------------------------

More Fusion Jazz

A Forest Mighty Black

Fabiano Orchestra - Jazz Fusion from French West Indies

9DW - Eletronic Jazz Fusion (Japan)

Tom Scott & LA Express - Jazz Fusion (USA)

Thomas Wright Scott (born May 19, 1948) is an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He was a member of The Blues Brothers and led the jazz fusion group L.A. Express. Scott was a founding member of the Blues Brothers Band, despite his absence in the two films, The Blues Brothers and Blues Brothers 2000. According to Bob Woodward's account in Wired, a biography of John Belushi, Scott left the band after their 1980 tour over a salary dispute. However, he reunited with Dan Aykroyd and the Blues Brothers Band in 1988 to record a few tracks for The Great Outdoors.

Scott led the house band on two short-lived late night talk shows: The Pat Sajak Show and The Chevy Chase Show. He was music director for the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, several Emmy Awards telecasts from 1996 to 2007, Ebony's 50th Birthday Celebration, and the People's Choice Awards telecasts.

The L.A. Express was an American jazz fusion ensemble. Members of L.A. Express played on several Joni Mitchell albums, namely Court and Spark, The Hissing of Summer Lawns and the live album Miles of Aisles between 1974 and 1975.

The band also had two jazz instrumental albums on their own - L.A. Express (1976), and Shadow Play (1976). The latter featured backing vocals and cover art by Mitchell. Both albums were recorded at James Guercio's Caribou Ranch studio and were the first albums released on the Caribou label.

Tom Scott & The L.A. Express ‎- Tom Cat 1975

Alternative Link

---------------------------------------

More Jazz

Casiopea - A Fusion Jazz Legend (Japan)

Return to Forever - First Class Fusion Jazz