December 2019

THE 80s - Loved and hated - a polarizing decade

20. December 2019

80er Jahre

DIE 80er - Geliebt und gehasst - ein polarisierendes Jahrzehnt

Probably no other decade polarizes musically as much as the 1980s. It was the decade in which pop music, having already become big business in the 70s, found its commercial flowering, performed in full awareness of its potential to captivate the masses. A decade of strange clothes, synthetic sounds, but also of ironic play with the meaning of pop itself, in which numerous styles cross-fertilized each other and new paths were taken. In a multi-part series, we remember a time that was more complex and multilayered than many remember.

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THE FLOWER KINGS - Back to the old spirit

20. December 2019

The Flower Kings Roine Stolt

THE FLOWER KINGS - Zurück zum alten Spirit

It's not easy getting Roine Stolt on the phone. The busy 63-year-old is too busy with his various bands and projects. Most recently he recorded new pieces with Transatlantic. When the phone call finally comes through, he is - of course - in his studio in Stockholm.

eclipsed: Can you announce anything new from Transatlantic yet?

Stolt: It's not quite certain yet. But we hope that we will have a new album in about a year.

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BRESELMASCHINE - Psychoactive vegetable stew

20. December 2019

Bröselmaschine Peter Bursch

BRÖSELMASCHINE - Psychoaktiver Gemüseeintopf

According to the "German Dictionary" of the Brothers Grimm, "Gebrösel" or "Brösel" in the Lower Rhine refers to vegetables cooked in a mess. However, the name of the folk herb prog-whatever-you-can-get formation Crumble Machine, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018 with the box set "It Was 50 Years Ago Today", owes its name to a cannabis crusher. After the Duisburg cult band had only given concerts sporadically between 1985 and 2005, they have been much more active again in recent years and with "Elegy" 2019 they have presented perhaps the strongest work in their long history.

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VOYAGER IV - music ambassador for prog

20. December 2019

Voyager IV

VOYAGER IV - Musikbotschafter in Sachen Prog

In August and September 1977 the space probes Voyager 1 and 2 started their missions to explore the outer planets of the solar system. Also on board: one gold-plated copper data plate each with analogue image and sound information, including classical and ethnic music, pieces by Chuck Berry and Louis Armstrong, which are intended to provide information about human culture to possible alien discoverers in the distant future.

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SWANS - Quiet is the new sound

20. December 2019

Swans

SWANS - Leise ist das neue Laut

Since 1982 - with a break between 1997 and 2010 - Michael Gira and his band SWANS stand for experimental noise rock at deafening volumes. But on the 15th studio album "Leaving Meaning" the 65-year-old suddenly strikes a very quiet, restrained note - a change of heart for which he has a simple explanation.

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JEFF LYNNE'S ELO - Return to space

JEFF LYNNE’S ELO - Rückkehr ins All

It's his second spring: Since Jeff Lynnes' big live shows have triggered an ELO renaissance of unexpected proportions, the multi-instrumentalist has also started to produce new albums of his project again. After "Alone In The Universe" 2015, "Out Of Nowhere" followed in November 2019, on which the man in the sunglasses acts almost as a one-man orchestra. Even if the music is less symphonically opulent than in the 70s, the ELO sound again invites you to go into space.

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DREAM THEATER clear up the misunderstandings about the past gigs

20. December 2019

Dream Theater

DREAM THEATER klären die Missverständnisse um die zurückliegenden Gigs auf

After the controversial summer open-airs, Dream Theater will return to Europe for indoor concerts at the beginning of 2020 to finally present the opulent three-hour "Scenes From A Memory" shows on the old continent. In January/February the Progmetal-Kings want to take the opportunity to reconcile their fan community at seven concerts in German-speaking countries. We talked to singer James LaBrie in advance.

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ECHOLONS)))) - Behind the mysterious door

12. December 2019

XXL-Interview Echolons

ECHOLONS))) - Hinter der mysteriösen Tür

echolons)))), this is the Marburg band, which currently consists of the two band founders Daniel Dorn (vocals, guitar) and René Zeuner (guitar, keyboards) as well as bassist Martin Brasche and drummer Hendrik Prause. After the two albums "Shoshaku Jushaku, Shake!" (2008), "About Sugar And Other Bitter Things" (2010) and the EP "Mount Neverest" the quartet now presents their third album "Idea Of A Labyrinth". A literally progressive mix of Artrock, Pop, Prog and Independent. Daniel Dorn and René Zeuner answered eclipsed questions about the new plant.

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HENRY KAISER - explorer of underwater worlds and ocean sounds

2. December 2019

Henry Kaiser

HENRY KAISER - Erforscher von Unterwasserwelten und Klangozeanen

The American music market is ticking differently than the European and especially the German one. Quite a few musical greats there find little or no attention in the Old World. Guitarist Henry Kaiser, for example, is only known in Germany to absolute connoisseurs of the niche between rock, jazz and avant-garde. He combines the best sides of Jerry Garcia, Frank Zappa and John McLaughlin.

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