The Free Radical

“Progged Down” is a sub-genre of The Progects. This is my catchall category where pretty much anything goes in the general realm of prog music. Here I can mix vintage with more contemporary prog. I can draw from established sub-genres including Symphonic or Eclectic Prog, or even Jazz-Rock to Funk. Each separate mix however will still exhibit some thematic or stylistic cohesion in order to maintain a particular vibe or flow.

This initial set is 3 hours long. It was actually created several years ago. It has now been updated in order to substitute YouTube videos in place of the original WordPress audio players. This has been done for reasons of copyright compliance.

Tracks:

0:00 The Gourishankar: Considering the current geopolitical climate, I thought I’d start off with a Russian band. Maybe this can help send some love Russia’s way. The song is the opener on their 2007 album 2nd Hands, and is called Moon7.

10:09 Steve Wilson: Luminol from his 2013 album The Raven That Refused To Sing. If you’re not yet familiar with Mr. Wilson, the alpha male from Porcupine Tree, then perhaps this might inspire you to check out his extensive back-catalogue of incredible work.

22:16 Wobbler: Now we shift to Norway. These lads are featured three times in this first hour, all songs from their 2011 album Rites at Dawn. This first one is called In Orbit. The sound they seem to be going for is mid-seventies classic prog… and that’s why I mixed them with this next band.

34:45 Starcastle: Elliptical Seasons from their 1976 self-titled debut album. The main criticism these guys usually face is that they sound too much like Yes. That’s a bad thing? Perhaps they did copy the instrumentation of Yes a little too precisely… but they’re certainly not Yes… and therefore, they should be appreciated for who they are, and not criticized for who they’re not.

39:10 Wobbler: The River is the second song from the Norwegian prog masters. 48:55 Starcastle: Lady of the Lake (excerpt). This is the opening track from their debut album, and I only used the first six and a half minutes. I do that– little edits here and there.

55:25 Wobbler: The third song from Wobbler is A Faerie’s Play.

Tracks:

0:00 Beardfish: This second hour is bookended by the Swedish fiends Beardfish. From Norway to Sweden… I know Frank Zappa was very popular in the nordic countries; perhaps that explains the modern blossoming of prog there…?? This first song is called Factory, and is only an old rough copy of a song the band never fully produced. It’s also in this second hour where some questionable lyrics might crop up. Don’t worry, the one thing prog doesn’t allow is gobs of cheesiness.

8:26 The Gourishankar: The Russians are singularly distributed throughout each of the three hours; this is their second instalment, an excerpt from the final song on their most excellent album. The song’s called Marvellous Choice… and it is.

16:23 Mars Hollow: Walk On Alone is the opening track from their 2011 album World in Front of Me. Their previous album was pretty good too.

28:51 Echolyn: I can’t say enough good things about this band! This is them at their proggy best from their 2012 album… apparently just titled Echolyn. These guys have an extensive back-catalogue too… in case you like what you hear. (This is one of my very favouritest bands!) This song is called Island.

45:07 Beardfish: Here they are again with a fully produced epic from their most recent album (2015) +4626- Comfortzone. The song is called If We Must Be Apart. Beardfish are very good at telling stories with their songs, artfully and intelligently.

Tracks:

0:00 Izz: Here’s another band with whom I can find no flaw, also with a hefty back-catalogue… and about to release another studio album in a few days. This Reality is a song from their 2012 album Crush of Night. Everything they do is classy.

13:30 The Gourishankar: This is the third instalment from the Russians, an instrumental song called Syx.

24:24 Starcastle: Okay, I had one of these leftover and I figured it would segue into the next one fairly well. This song, To The Fire Wind, is from 1976; the next one goes back to 1974, a classic.

29:38 Utopia: Originally the full name was always Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, since Todd Rundgren had some coin in the music scene of the time. This debut Utopia album from ’74 was really the truest prog Rundgren did, and I think it’s a damn-straight prog classic– called The Ikon.