KING CRIMSON - Always back to the beginning
In 1969, King Crimson presented their groundbreaking debut that redefined the coordinates of rock music. Then the band broke apart. But Robert Fripp did not want his project to die. Six more fascinating recordings followed. Each one was the result of an incredible feat of strength, as Fripp had to keep looking for new musicians to realize his vision. 1974 it finally came to the first split. On the occasion of Fripps seventieth birthday and the Crimson comeback tour we take a look at the early phase of the group. We garnish this with an unusual interview that Fripp gave in 1974 a few days after the official end.
KEITH EMERSON - The Last Fanfare
It was only a brief moment in 1992, when Keith Emerson shook his right hand with a pain distorted face at a concert by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. What at first looked like a spasm turned out to be a chronic nerve disease. A year later, he was operated on his right arm and his play has not been the same since. The pain had apparently become so bad lately that it probably led to Emerson shooting a bullet in his head on March 10. The sudden end of the life and career of one of the most innovative musicians in rock history.
HAKEN - The dream of the throne
Leprous, Textures, TesseracT, Periphery, Between The Buried And Me - a new and exciting generation of progmetalists is coming up - loud and with high quality. However, none of these bands could yet emerge as real contenders for the progmetal throne. With their just finished album "Affinity" Haken make a remarkable new attempt.
RAINBOW - The Monster Of Rock
The "Rising" fist finally rises again from the stormy sea. For almost twenty years, Ritchie Blackmore had only sporadically got his Stratocaster out of the medieval band Blackmore's Night. Now Rainbow is back to full blast. In 1980 the Hardrock troupe took part in the first "Monsters Of Rock" festival. It is within this nominal framework that she is now celebrating her live comeback. Thin Lizzy, Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Thin Lizzy will be part of it. To get in the mood for the concerts in June we browse a little in the history of Rainbow.
LONG DISTANCE CALLING - Münster and the World
They are regarded as one of the most prominent instrumental bands in Germany. Now Long Distance Calling have a singer in their ranks. With this the progressive postrock formation from the Westphalian town of Münster travels to unknown waters.
OKTA LOGUE - With one foot in new territory
With their pleasantly natural psychedelic pop and rich melodies, Okta Logue are among the country's great talents. Their audience has long been international - not a matter of course for a band from the otherwise rather rock'n'roll unsuspicious Darmstadt.
CHEAP TRICK - Tricky and smart
The "Beatles des Hardrock" are one of the busiest live bands in the USA. Cheap Trick have just been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and for good reason. They have been among the best and most consistent rock bands for over forty years. On their new album "Bang Zoom Crazy... Hello" they are in top form. Singer/rhythm guitarist Robin Zander is standing by to answer our questions about what's going on with the band right now.
GRAHAM NASH - Two divorces at once
At seventy-four, a man is neither too old for young women nor for radical changes in his own life. At least that means Graham Nash. Celebrated as a member of Woodstock veterans Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the musician has the right to seek his fortune in a new relationship while keeping negative energies at bay - which is why he has split up with his wife and a disagreeable colleague.
THE RIDES - Still Stops Standstill
For Captain Many Hands the end of Crosby, Stills & Nash has also increased the workload: the 71-year-old American presents a second Rides album and works on his memoirs. And during the creative breaks he laments his state of health.
UDO LINDENBERG - Man with hat
We go on beyond the horizon. This is the slogan that is mostly associated with the name Udo Lindenberg today. With the musical, which was created from his songs, he has finally become a big player in the German entertainment business. His stage work is rightly called "I've never been to New York before" in one go with the Udo-Jürgens-Revue. The pop uncle and the agitator on the same level? When at the beginning of the seventies he mixed up the primeval reasons of German intellectual life with his flippant manner and his disrespectful lyrics, he could hardly have imagined that. On 17 May Lindenberg turns seventy.
Atomic Big Bang - On the soundtrack album "Atomic" MOGWAI explore new ways of making music
2015 was a year of change for Mogwai. Original member John Cummings left the band surprisingly, but a new project was already on the way. Northern Irish director Mark Cousins hired the quartet to accompany his ambitious documentary "Atomic, Living In Dread And Promise" with music; a job the band didn't want to cancel despite Cummings' departure. "The album was also a test for the band," explains multi-instrumentalist and sound witch Barry Burns, "we didn't know how Mogwai would work without John.
The unvarnished truth - With "The Hope Six Demolition Project" PJ HARVEY holds America up to the mirror
In the 60's, 70's and 80's it was customary for musicians to take a stand on current events and choose clear words - Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and CSN stand for this tradition, but also punk rockers like The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers and reggae artists like Bob Marley. But who still sings today about global grievances? Who dares to put his finger in the wounds and also to take criticism for it?
Three is not too many - HENRIK FREISCHLADER now celebrates "NewBlues" in a trio after his short break
He really surprised the blues rock community when he disappeared from the scene for some time after his live album "Live 2014 - Night Train To Budapest Farewell Tour". The multi-instrumentalist, who had first come into focus ten years earlier with "The Blues" and who first came to guitar via his enthusiasm for the blues albums of Gary Moore, took a break. But it was clear that this could not be the final farewell to the music scene, because such a talent doesn't draw a line at the beginning of 30...
The Gentleman - With GEORGE MARTIN the pop world lost its perhaps most modern traditionalist
He was as British as one could wish for in the selfish, extroverted world of pop. This was not least reflected in his ironically imbued self-perception. He never took his job and his merits as a producer as an opportunity to put his own person in the foreground. He preferred to step back behind the work and praise the artistic genius of his clients. At a time when he was helping to establish the studio as a musical instrument, he saw himself, he once said, in the tradition of those foolhardy men in their flying boxes who had once conquered the airspace as "daring pilots, without a plan and in the open cockpit". Very British, indeed.
Rappelkiste - IRMIN SCHMIDT looks back on his life's work in the form of the box "Electro Violet
The composer and keyboarder Irmin Schmidt, who lives in southern France, is one of the most influential musical personalities Germany has produced in the twentieth century. First and foremost, his name is associated with the Cologne band CAN, but he has also created numerous solo albums, soundtracks and even an opera. One year before his eightieth birthday, a box entitled "Electro Violet" with the retrospective of his complete works appeared. With a not insignificant limitation.