(69:59; Dr Space) On Saturday 10th January 2026 at 10:30, four musicians started playing, and just two hours later they were finished. Scott Heller then engineered, mixed and mastered the recordings, and here is the result. Scott, in his alter-ego of Dr. Space (Øresund Space Collective and many others), provides Mellotron, analogue synths, Hammond and Modular Synth, and he was joined by guitarist Tom Ashurst (ex-Hawklords, China Bull Shop, Here & Now), bassist Martin Weaver (Øresund Space Collective, Doctors of Space, ex-Dark, ex-Wicked Lady) and drummer Darren Butler (Sonic Trip Project). Given that the album is by Dr. Space one would expect it to be far more synth-based, but in reality, what we have here is a rhythm section keeping it all together, the synths often providing a backdrop but rarely coming to the fore, with the guitar being the main lead instrument. The result is something which is obviously heavily influenced more by Hawkwind than Tangerine Dream, but more of a mod...

(79:28; Dr Space) In March 2025 Scott Heller went to Boston to spend three days with  Dr. Joe Paradiso, who over the last 50 years has built one of the world’s largest modular synthesisers. They spent three days recording 14 pieces of music (which they refer to as Movements), building layers of sound which somehow feels analogue and not digital, dated and certainly not at all modern. One can imagine lovers of Tangerine Dream getting quite excited about this. What we have here is Movement 13, “Swampworld”, which has been presented in three parts, although it is in reality a single piece of music. This is a very unusual album to listen to as although it is all keyboards I found myself thinking firstly of bagpipes and then of a bugle, certainly not instruments one would immediately think of when listening to electronic albums. The bagpipes are present as there is an underlying bass/baritone electronic drone throughout (which does change pitch but is always there), while at times the l...

(43:40; Iapetus) The first time I came across drummer and composer Diego Piñera was when I reviewed ‘Evidence’ which was recorded alongside John Patitucci and David Kikoski but now he has taken a very different musical leap as he combines a jazz quartet with a classical quartet to combine improvised and composed music in a setting where everyone can expand. There has been a total change in line-up to accommodate this so here is he is working with Igor Osypov (guitar), Peter Ehwald (saxophone), Marcel Krömker (bass), Semion Gurevich (violin I), Alessia Laurora (violin II), Joaquín León Fernández (viola) and Elisabet Iserte López (cello). I do not know if either quartet were operating before they joined forces, but they have obviously been working together for a while as this does not sound like two groups of four musicians from different musical areas, but very much as a seamless whole. Recorded over two days last October, this album finds Piñera taking Béla Bartók as a living influence...

(29:32; Moonjune Records [2026 Edition] ) I have long been a fan of “the Little Master”, who is renowned for being co-founder of popular Indonesian group Gigi who have now been in existence for more than 30 years, as well as having a solo career which commenced in the Nineties. However, it was his discovery by Leonardo Pavkovic and the consequent signing to Moonjune for his fifth solo album, ‘Dawai In Paradise’, that has led to a more international recognition of his talents. This 30-minute-long five-track album/EP finds him in a position far removed from his normal styles as here he is performing with the Czech Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michaela Růžičkova. Two of the pieces were composed especially for this project while the others are reworkings of previously recorded tunes which have now been expanded and given a very different style indeed. The result is a breathtaking combination of classical and rock, always intently musical and melodic with Dewa switching between classica...

(57:17; Tigermoth Records) When it comes to modern progressive rock bands there are few who find themselves compared to the mighty Renaissance, but in this album, I believe Magenta are definitely channelling those influences. As one may guess from the title, on this album we are taken on a journey through a tarot deck, with four small classical guitar studies (“Etude 1-4”) which act as dividers or palate cleansers between the first five songs, which are each about individual cards, before we end on the title cut. It is impossible to imagine Magenta without this core trio of musicians as they have been there throughout their 25 year-long history, while Christina sang on Cyan’s second album, ‘Pictures From The Other Side’, more than 30 years ago. On this album Christina (lead vocals), Robert Reed (keyboards, bass, piano, rhythm guitars, recorders) and Chris Fry (lead and nylon guitars) are joined by none other than drummer Nick D’Virgilio (Big Big Train, Spock’s Beard, Genesis, Tears For...

(64:34; Cuneiform Records) Here we have a recording which took place on  April 11th, 1995, at the Knitting Factory, New York, featuring Herb Robertson (trumpet), Ellery Eskelin (tenor saxophone), Denman Maroney (composition and sampled hyperpiano), Mark Dresser (bass) and Phil Haynes (drums). For those, like me, who wonder what hyperpiano stands for, I suggest you visit Denman’s website where it says, “When a piano is played the way it is supposed to be played, the keys are depressed, indirectly causing the hammers to strike the strings. But a piano can also be played by stopping, sliding, bowing, plucking, strumming and striking the strings directly with a variety of tools including bars, bowls, knives, bells and mashers of metal, boxes and bottles of plastic, mallets of various kinds, and blocks of rubber… Conventional piano music is made from a palate of 88 pitched tones having a particular timbre and envelope. Hyperpiano music is made from a much larger palette in which these t...