The quintet LAZULI from the south of France is a guarantor for emotional music based on the progressive rock and art rock of the 1970s, yet sounding completely independent - as on "Le Fantastique Envol de Dieter Böhm" (Engl: The Fantastic Flight of Dieter Böhm), their first concept work. This is intended as a bow to the band's loyal fans and focuses on the special interaction between the band and its listeners

"But you have a lot of work with Lazuli," laughs singer/guitarist/main composer Dominique Leonetti when arranging the interview date. It doesn't matter - because in the case of the current album it's worthwhile once again to work intensively on the lyrics, although as a non-native speaker you often have to resort to a dictionary. Leonetti is again happy about this additional effort and is chatting accordingly relaxed about the band dynamics, the German fans and about the fact that Lazuli lyrics have meanwhile even found their way into French lessons.

The Beatles are a constant in a turbulent year, the rock scene shows itself to be stable, the prog fans are spoiled, and an album polarizes as rarely.

2019 was an eventful year in which global political events clearly divided society: One need only look at the increasingly erratic, autocratic presidency of Donald Trump, who continued to hold the world in check, or the eternal tug-of-war over brexite, which culminated in a new triumph of right-wing populism at the end of the year. But it was precisely this that led to an increased politicisation of society. Both exemplary and symbolic of this were the climate protests, which brought many young people onto the streets, especially in Germany

At the beginning of December a very impressive boxing set of the prog legend Gentle Giant was released. On 30 CDs "Unburied Treasure" not only collects all (remixed) regular albums of the band, but also numerous (partly unreleased) live concerts from all phases of their ten-year history. We talked to frontman Derek Shulman about this unique Christmas present for prog fans.

Shulman was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected success of the box: Even before the official release one day after our conversation, it was already almost sold out. However, despite all his satisfaction, he still stood by his decision to put the band, and with it his musical career, on hold almost 40 years ago.

eclipsed: Who had the idea for this monumental boxing set?

THE WHO are just experiencing their third spring at the age of 70. Because their current album "Who" has become a convincing collection of eleven tracks. One is reluctant to attribute the album to "late work" because the protagonists Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend on the record sound more like mid-twenties than mid-seventies

We meet Daltrey (75) and Townshend (74) - one after the other, of course, because love doesn't go that far to face an interview together - in an old-fashioned hotel in central London. The Who's singers and guitarist are in the best of moods. The joy about releasing a new album with "Who" 13 years after "Endless Wire" is great

eclipsed: Roger, your colleague, Pete Townshend, says he wrote the new songs with you in mind. Is that how you see it?

For two decades Magnum have been releasing great albums with almost uncanny consistency. "The Serpent Rings", their 21st studio album since their debut in 1978, is no exception. Although no one who has spurned the music of the Middle English so far can be disabused, songwriter and guitarist Tony Clarkin and his colleagues make sure that the band does not get bogged down in routine.

After Sons Of Apollo released their debut "Psychotic Symphony" two years ago, they went on a world tour with over 100 live shows in 28 countries. This has brought the band together, as you can clearly hear on the second album, as drummer Mike Portnoy and keyboarder Derek Sherinian never tire of emphasizing

The self-imposed retirement did not last long. In January 2017, the Canadian prog institution SAGA officially announced that after the upcoming "The Final Chapter" tour, the band will return to the concert arenas in spring 2020 under the motto "Out Of The Shadows", but without bassist Jim Crichton. And there are also some news concerning the music.

eclipsed: It was just a quick goodbye to live performances. Why do you return so quickly, Michael?