The U8 Touch Guitar is quite the versatile instrument. Creator Markus Reuter uses it as part of the dynamic group Stick Men but also in the avant-garde centrozoon. Another minimalist-style composer who employs the U8 is French-born, Austin-based Cédric Theys. Founder of Mad Ducks Records, Theys has already released two albums this year -- Imagur as part of the duo Dim13nsion (pronounced Dimension 13) and his solo effort Eternity's Antechamber -- and both will appeal to those who enjoy ethereal soundscapes. Host Mark Ashby talked with Theys about his preference of the U8 to the Chapman Stick, his spontaneous composition style, and the other acts on his record label, which you can find at www.madducksrecords.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:

"We Can't Use the Sun Anymore"

"A Small Stretch of Eternity"

"Atomic Fission"

"Stepping Through Existence"

"Peaceful Plains"

"Like" Progtopia on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Progtopia and www.facebook.com/groups/1380357308874546/) and follow Progtopia on Twitter (@Progtopia) to send a message about the show and to receive news about current and upcoming interviews. Thanks for listening!

Originally posted 30 Sept 2015

Are they prog? Are they punk? Are they post-rock? Whatever box you put them in, The Fierce and the Dead will probably squeeze into it. This instrumental four-piece with guitarists Matt Stevens and Steve Cleaton, bassist Kev Feazey, and drummer Stuart Marshall have indeed created a cult following beyond their UK home, vocals be damned. Their newest EP Magnet has just been released on Bad Elephant Music, and they've been making the festival circuit in the late summer/early fall. Host Mark Ashby speaks with Stevens about the unclassifiability of TFATD, the scientific ideas that went into their album Spooky Action, and why they embrace the EP as a medium for releasing their songs. Visit them online at www.fierceandthedead.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:

"I Like It, I'm Into It"

"Let's Start a Cult"

"Part 1."

"Ark"

"Part 6 (The Eighth Circuit)"

"Palm Trees"

"Like" Progtopia on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Progtopia and www.facebook.com/groups/1380357308874546/) and follow Progtopia on Twitter (@Progtopia) to send a message about the show and to receive news about current and upcoming interviews. Thanks for listening!

Originally posted 9 Sept 2015

For the second show in a row, we feature a band with a powerful woman at the microphone, although this time, the music is decidedly heavier. Stockholm's The Murder of My Sweet (Daniel Flores [drums, keyboards, vocals], Christopher Vetter [guitar], Angelica Rylin [vocals], and Patrik Jonson [bass]) released their third album Beth Out of Hell this month, and it's a dark concept album about the interplay between good and evil that shows how the world and the forces many believe control it are not necessarily black and white. Host Mark Ashby talks with Flores about the research that went into the story for the album, their acceptance of the "cinematic metal" label that was applied to them early on, and what it means to be a female-fronted band that doesn't subscribe to all the conventions many expect from that genre. Find the band online at www.themurderofmysweet.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:

"Euthanasia"

"Always the Fugitive"

"Bleed Me Dry"

"The Awakening"

"Requiem for a Ghost"

"The Humble Servant"

"Like" Progtopia on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Progtopia and www.facebook.com/groups/1380357308874546/) and follow Progtopia on Twitter (@Progtopia) to send a message about the show and to receive news about current and upcoming interviews. Thanks for listening!

Originally posted 27 August 2015