(52:51, Stefan Petanovski) Track list: 1. Tanaka 2:59 2. New Moon 7:15 3. Eros 5:10 4. Restless Mind 4:17 5. Ocean Wave 4:03 6. Heartsease 4:28 7. Cafune 2:45 8. Shemomedjamo 6:49 9. The Path: Life's Light and Suffering 12:13 10. Waning Crescent 2:52 Line-up: Stefan Petanovski - guitars, synths, vocals, programming Ana Petanovska - vocals Stefan Mitev - bass with: Eric Gillette - guitars John Waugh - saxophone Filip Dimiskovski - piano Stefan Aleksovski - keyboards Damjana Apostolovski - vocals Prolusion. Macedonian composer and musician Stefan PETANOVSKI appears to be a fairly recent addition to the European music scene. He released his first solo album "Architect of Reality" back in 2019, which has been followed by a handful of single releases. This year he returns with his second album "Eros", which will be self-released in March 2021. Analysis. While Petanovski touch base with a number of different styles of music throughout his second album, the common deno

(63:18; Purple Pyramid Records [2020 Edition] ) I was somewhat surprised when this arrived just the week before Christmas, as not only was it pushing it to have it reviewed before Christmas (I obviously failed), but it was an album I already knew well and reviewed quite a while ago. Originally released in 2000, after it was suggested to Rick that it might be a nice idea to record an album of carols in a similar vein to the one he had recorded on hymns, what we have here is a reissue on digital, digipak CD and a 2LP coloured vinyl set in a gatefold jacket with new artwork, plus 2 additions to the original 10 tracks. These are “Silent Prayer” and a live performance of “Amazing Grace”, recorded at Lincoln Cathedral in 2018. I have no idea how many Wakeman albums and DVDs I own, but it is probably “lots”, as I have been a fan of his ever since I first encountered Yes, and in the last 20 or 30 years I have bought far more of his solo material than I have of theirs. One reason is of course

(46:54; Purple Pyramid Records) Here is another which arrived too late for me to write about before Christmas and is the latest in a host of recordings which have been released by ex-Hawkwind bassist Alan Davey over the last couple of years. I have no real idea of the line-up, but apparently includes performances by Glenn Hughes, Rick Wakeman, Robby Krieger as well as Hawkwind alums Huw Lloyd-Langton, Nik Turner and others. There are a couple of issues with this, the first being that this sounds far more like a project than an album and is musically all over the place, and secondly while this may have seemed a good idea when everyone was drunk, they should have just walked away when they were sober. They take themselves way too seriously, and the result is something which falls between the camps of fun and missing the point altogether. By far the best song is the last, and if they had performed the whole album like this, then it would have been a different story altogether. “Twelve

(29:28; Zach Records / Red Wig) Experimental Austrian RIO band Ni released this album in 2017 but it has only recently come to my attention. Although there are some vocals here and there, they are basically being used as an additional instrument and it is best to view them as such. Here we have an album that is complex, incredibly staccato, and musically all over the place. I have become far more interested in this style of music in recent years, and although I have always had an appreciation for it, these days I find myself being drawn towards the genre more and more. I am I am sure that a large part of that is the sheer refusal to conform on the behalf of the musicians, knowing that listeners will always be in a small minority but those who “get it” will be greatly enamoured of what they are achieving. That they perform in rather strange matching that make Devo look positively normal only adds to the interest. Such is the case here with complex guitars linking in with drums as th