Progtopia Archives

July 2017
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Wed, 26 July 2017

Episode 100 : Breaking the Speed of Sound with Thomas Dolby

With this milestone episode of the show, it's only fitting that we mark it by inviting to the program one of the most innovative musicians of his generation. Thomas Dolby is often pigeonholed by those who haven't delved into his output as a one-hit wonder, new wave technogeek, but when you get past "She Blinded Me with Science," you'll hear an artist who has dabbled in almost every style of popular music there is. Having taken a hiatus from music of nearly two decades to start a tech company and become the music director for the TED talks, he burst back on the scene in 2011 with an album and interactive online game called A Map of the Floating City. Since then he's taken a position as professor in the arts at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University, following in the academic footsteps of his parents and siblings. Host and long-time fan Mark Ashby talks with Dolby about his formative years listening to prog rock bands (and which soon-to-be-famous youthful comrade of his later insisted punk was the real deal), the doors that his most well-known hit opened for him, how he creates his own sense of home away from his actual homebase of East Anglia, and his upcoming memoir The Speed of Sound. You can locate him online at www.thomasdolby.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:
"I Love You Goodbye"
"Hyperactive!"
"Hot Sauce"
"Nuvogue"
"A Jealous Thing Called Love"
"The Toadlickers"
"Airhead"
"The Key to Her Ferrari"
"She Blinded Me with Science"
"Flying North"
"Neon Sisters"
"Spice Train"
"Oceanea"
"Cloudburst at Shingle Street"

"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 14 September 2016

Direct download: Progtopia_100_Breaking_the_Speed_of_Sound_with_Thomas_Dolby.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:11pm EDT

Wed, 26 July 2017

Episode 099 : A Free Fall with Profusion

If you combine "progressive" with "fusion," the resulting word you would come up with would probably be "Profusion." And the band in this episode certainly takes both of those words seriously. Hailing from Siena, Italy, band members Vladimer Sichinava (drums), Gionatan Caradonna (keyboards), Davide Pepi (guitars), Jury Maccianti (bass), and Luca Latini (vocals) combine many styles on their three albums, the most recent of which is 2015's Phersu. With influences including traditional music from Georgia, where Sichinava has roots, Profusion challenges and excites with their brand of Rock Progressivo Italiano. Host Mark Ashby taled with Caradonna about why they enjoy American prog so much, their support of AIMA (the Italian Alzheimer's Disease Association), and how a little bit of alcohol (or maybe a lot) can create some fun in the studio. Visit the band online at www.profusion.it.

Featured songs/excerpts:

"Free Fall"

"Vanity Fair"

"Chuta Chani"

"Nomen"

"Forgetful Hero/Wrinkled Maiden"

"Forbidden"

Originally posted 4 September 2016

Direct download: Progtopia_099_A_Free_Fall_with_Profusion.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:02pm EDT

Wed, 26 July 2017

Episode 098 : Dream the Electric Sleep Under the Good Night Sky

They've played festivals like RoSfest, although they don't wear their progginess on their sleeves. Dream the Electric Sleep (Matt Page [guitar, vocals], Joey Waters [drums], and Chris Tackett [bass]) has three albums out in the world, including their most recent called Beneath the Dark Wide Sky, and their sound might best be described as falling somewhere on the overlap of the Venn diagram of prog, grunge, and AOR. Perhaps like host Mark Ashby, you'll get so caught up in the hooks in their music that you don't even notice that the songs you're listening to aren't in 4/4. You'll hear from Page about how photographs from the 1930s informed the concepts behind the songs on the newest album, how Tori Amos and other women singers are influential to him, and what it might take for them to become more of a fixture on the touring scene. Find them online at www.dreamtheelectricsleep.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:

"Drift"

"Flight"

"Headlights"

"Culling the Herd"

"The Good Night Sky"

Originally posted 17 August 2016

Direct download: Progtopia_098_Dream_the_Electric_Sleep_Under_the_Good_Night_Sky.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:54pm EDT