TEE "The Earth Explorer"

TEE is a five piece flute front progressive rock band from Tokyo, Japan. Their so-called 'European' sound is unique considering their far-east origin. The imaginative tunes with complex ensembles and rhythms will definitely catch the attention of prog lovers all over the world. Their sound will remind you bands like Camel, King Crimson, Asia Minor or even Frank Zappa on some parts. The band was formed in 2004 when... more

Kevin BARTLETT

You may not know his name but you have definitely heard his music more than once or twice in your life. Maybe on HBO, or on MTV, or on VH1, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel. Doesn't ring the bell? How about American Idol Rewind, or Dr. 90210? We had interviewed Kevin Bartlett a couple of years ago when his second solo album GLOW IN THE DARK was released. Bartlett has been quiet since that time but but he has been secretly brewing new projects. A few months ago he had put a new song...more

Peter Hammill, founding member of Van Der Graaf Generator, released his 28th solo album " nearly 3 months ago. He recently got back home from a short tour covering North America, Canada and Italy. In the 70's when bands like...more

FRIGHT PIG Barque At The Lune *** REVERSAL OF GRAVITY Scuba Gear ***

DAYS BETWEEN STATIONS

Days Between Stations is the creative partnership between guitarist Sepand Samzadeh and keyboardist Oscar Fuentes. The duo came together in Los Angeles in November 2003, and named the band after the 1985 novel by Steve Erickson. The band’s sound – Samzadeh calls it “art-rock,” Fuentes labels it “post-prog” – reflects their varied influences, as well as a shared disregard for stylistic boundaries.

Indeed, on different tracks from their self-titled debut album that was released in 2007, one can hear influences ranging from progressive rock (Pink Floyd, Marillion, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, King Crimson) to post-rock (Sigur Ros, Godspeed You Black Emperor!) to ambient (Brian Eno, early Tangerine Dream) to jazz-rock (Miles Davis) to post-punk (Sonic Youth, Magazine) and even contemporary classical (Philip Glass, Steve Reich). The constant here is the band’s commitment to create a unique sound and to turn a deliberate blind eye to the passing whims of the mainstream.

To help flesh out the sound in the studio, the band contacted former Young Dubliners drummer Jon Mattox in 2005. Mattox (currently also with label-mates Uni) liked what he heard, and signed on not only as drummer but also as co-producer. The band further enlisted the help of guitarist Jeremy Castillo (also with the Mighty Six Ninety), Argentinian-born bassist Vivi Rama, sax player Jason Hemmens, singer Hollie Shepard, trumpeter Sean Erick, and trombonist Kevin Williams. Samzadeh’s uncle Jeffrey Samzadeh, who sings traditional Iranian classical music, also lent his distinctive, plaintive wail to the track Requiem for the Living.

According to the band, release of the album has been pushed back several times as band members struggled through very difficult times, including the devastating death of a family member. At one point, there was serious doubt that the project would ever be finished. In the end, this turmoil certainly influenced the dark, introspective nature of much of the material (as evidenced by some song titles: Requiem for the Living, Laudanum, A Long Goodbye, The Wake).

A welcome boost to morale came in 2004, when Fuentes and Samzadeh sent Bruce Soord, leader of the British band The Pineapple Thief, a CD with nearly an hour’s worth of mostly improvised material. Soord used some of this material as the basis for the song Saturday, which appeared on The Pineapple Thief’s 12 Stories Down (Cyclops 2004) and also on the 2CD version of its U.S. counterpart, 10 Stories Down (Cyclops 2005) – (12 Stories Down quickly sold out, although you can occasionally find a copy on eBay for a hefty sum).

The band has persevered and delivered an uncompromising debut they are proud of. And while much of the material on the album is dark (and deals, albeit instrumentally, with dark themes) and quite long – Requiem for the Living, which opens the album, is over 13 minutes long, while the epic closer Laudanum clocks in at over 22 minutes – the band does exhibit a “light” side. For example, Radio Song (with its vocoderized refrain of “Run! Run! Run!” that brings to mind Science Fiction films from the 50s) suggests a marriage between early Marillion and early U2 and has been chosen as the lead-off single from the album, as well as being featured in the recently-released independent film Young Single & Angry and its accompanying soundtrack. With release of the album set for September 2007, the band has been rehearsing for promotional gigs to support it. They are already at work on a follow-up, and there are also plans to release an EP featuring non-album tracks and demos. The band also hopes to branch out into film scoring.

Days Between Stations was also featured in June 2008 issue of Classic Rock Magazine and August 2008 issue of Progression Magazine.

They have world wide distribution for their CD including Amazon and CD Baby. The album is also available on iTunes.

To know more about Sepand and Oscar visit their official website at: www.daysbetweenstations.com.

You can also find them on myspace: www.myspace.com/daysbetweenstationsband.

Here at TheProgFiles, we had featured their debut CD last year as soon as it was released. You can read our review by clicking HERE.