Innes Sibun

Innes Sibun - Can't Slow Down (Live at the Estrado) - 2012 - Peppercake

"One of the top three blues guitarists in the UK" - Paul Jones (The blues band/BBC radio 2)

"He's toured the USA in Robert Plant's band, topped major festivals across Europe with his own band, and is one of the finest electric blues guitarists in the UK. So why isn't Innes Sibun famous? Answers on a postcard ....." - Venue magazine

"Powerhouse guitarist who plays electric blues. Hugely popular on the continent, Innes is one of the many unsung heroes that populate a British music scene dominated by TV-promoted nonentities" - Venue magazine

A live recording from 12.03.2011 from the Estrado in Harderwijk, Netherlands. If you like blues rock in the style of guitarists like Joe Bonamassa, you may like this album. This is Grade A blues rock by a great unheralded British guitarist, and HR by A.O.O.F.C. Check out Innes' "Superstitious" album on this blog, and buy Innes' "After Dark Live" or "East Monroe" album and support great modern blues rock. Read more @ http://www.innessibun.org.uk/media.html [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 114 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Sandy 6:24
2 Mean Disposition 11:29
3 Obsession 5:33
4 It's Too Late 8:01
5 I Found Your Letter 7:58
6 My My My 6:26
7 East Monroe 3:53

All tracks composed by Innes Sibun

MUSICIANS

Innes Sibun (Vocals, Guitar)
Steve Hall (Bass Guitar, Background Vocals)
Jon Buckett (Keyboards, Background Vocals)
Rob Brian (Drums)

BIO

Blues guitarist Innes Sibun began playing guitar at the age of 12 after hearing B.B King. As a teenager he played in many bands playing punk, reggae, rock, folk & jazz learning from different musicians along the way. His first band the "Blues explosion" recorded the album "Thats what the blues can do" with legendary producer Mike Vernon (Eric Clapton,Peter Green's Fleetwood mac) in the producers seat. The album gained critical acclaim & was voted best blues album in Ireland that year. The band toured throughout the UK & Europe on their own & also toured with "Wild child" Butler, Jay Owens, Jesse "guitar" Taylor & Johnny Adams as well as opening up for Joe Louis Walker, Ronnie Earl, the Fabulous thunderbirds, Walter Trout,the Blues band, Boy George, nine below zero & Moody Marsden band & playing all the major blues festivals throughout the UK. In 1993 Innes was asked to join Robert Plant's band for his "Fate of nations" tour. The tour took in America, Europe & South America where they played the Rock in Rio festivals in Sao Paulo & Rio as well as playing in Argentina, Chile, Venezuela & Mexico. During the U.S dates Innes was able to meet & play with many of his blues heroes like Buddy Guy & James Cotton in Chicago, he also jammed at Antones blues club in Austin Texas with Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton, Chris Duarte & many other legends of the Austin blues scene. His guitar playing can be heard on Robert's "66 to Timbuktu" & "Nine lives" albums. Following the tour with Robert Plant Innes made several albums for Viceroy records, "Superstitious" & "Honeypot" with his new band, they toured throughout Europe & opened up for Peter Green in New York as well as touring Europe with Roger Chapman & Chris Farlowe. Two albums followed for Provogue records & the critically acclaimed "East Monroe" came out on Ulftone records in 2001. After many years of touring the band decided to rest & went their own ways. In 2004 Innes put together a new band who were asked to play at the Gloucester blues festival & Trowbridge village pump festival. The band soon found themselves in the studio & recorded "Farmhouse blues" which was released on ZYX records. Several tours of Germany followed with appearances at Colne, Gloucester, Cambridge & Bristol blues festivals in the UK as well as Mostar blues festival in Bosnia & others in Belgium, Austria, Germany & Slovenia. 2007 saw the release of "Tail dragger" on ZYX records to much critical acclaim (reaching number 6 in the German blues charts) as well as playing shows in Africa, U.S.A, Germany, Holland & the UK. 2008 started with more European shows & support slots with Johnny Winter, Taj Mahal, Steve Cropper & Al Kooper as well as appearances at the London blues festival & the Windsor blues festival in Ontario Canada. Recently the band has played tours of Germany, France, the UK & the Netherlands as well as festivals in France, Spain & the UK & in April 2009 embarked on a tour of the U.S.A as headliners. Innes also released a solo acoustic album on mp3 called "Snake wine". In 2010 the band released a live album on ZYX records entitled "The box set", they also played at the Rory Gallagher festival in Ballyshannon Ireland by special request of Rory's brother Donal Gallagher. 2011 saw the band record "Cant slow down" for 2012 release on ZYX records in 2012 as well as playing dates throughout Europe. Innes was invited to play in New york city for the Rory Gallagher show at the Iridium club to celebrate the release of the "Notes from San Fransisco" album. 2012 has seen shows in Latvia & the UK with dates coming up in Lithuania, Germany, Belgium & the Netherlands in the summer. © 2013 innes sibun (innessibun.org.uk) http://www.innessibun.org.uk/bio.html

7 For 4

7 For 4 - Diffusion - 2008 - MGI

The instrumental band 7for4 was founded in 1999 by guitarist Wolfgang Zenk. Since then 4 albums have been released. The 4 musicians stop for nothing: Whether Funk, Jazz, Metal or Country, they pack the best elements from most different styles into extraordinary but coherent compositions and perform their music with impressive virtuosity. Catchy melodies and spherical tunes alternate with full power passages, surprising the listener again and again with complex rhythms and virtuosic playing and soloing. © 2001-2014 | 7for4 http://www.7for4.de/about.html

Many of you may be familiar with Wolfgang Zenk’s work with the progressive metal band Sieges Even. While drawing a few similarities, 7for4 can best be described as fusion that borrows heavily from many other genres. As the booklet best describes it: "Whether Rock, Funk, Jazz or even Country and Latin 7for4 pack the best elements from different styles into extraordinary and progressive compositions." With a majority of the influences coming from the metal, jazz and even shred. The first thing that becomes apparent is that almost this entire album is driven solely by the Wolfgang’s guitar work. A few songs such as Emoctify and Cyclotron sound a lot like Premonition era Tony Macalpine with many harmonized guitar parts and even similar melodies. The amount of influences on this album was what really kept me coming back for more. Silent Flow is a slower, blues based song with excellent melody and very tasteful guitar playing. Spiral Dance has an initial flamenco vibe to it which then progresses nicely into a heavier section that retains the same feel. My favourite track by far is Mystic Mouse. There is a slow, syncopated, ominous feeling at first which then leads into a few Liquid Tension Experiment inspired riffs that wouldn’t really be out of place on Biaxident or When The Water Breaks. A good thing to keep in mind about Diffusion is that, as opposed to a lot of other fusion type bands that have many bass and keyboard based sections as well as guitar, this is almost all based around Wolfgang Zenk. Even as a guitarist I have some reservations about music strictly based around guitar because I enjoy what the other musicians can bring to the table when given adequate room to play. This is one of the few cases where an album such as this made a huge impression on me. Not only does the style of music shift from song to song, it does so seamlessly within songs while remaining largely coherent. As with all music such as this, it does require some time to begin to hear to subtleties in compositions as opposed to a jumbled mess that it first sounded like to me. Highly recommended for fans of fusion, world and metal based instrumental music.
Conclusion: 8.5 out of 10 © CHRIS JACKSON © DPRP

What a treat, when every few years guitarist Wolfgang Zenk, and his quartet of fusion explorers consisting of: Klaus Engl on drums, Marlkus Grutzner on bass and Markus Froschmeier on keyboards, take on a new challenge to deepen the 7 for 4 discography. 2008 sees the release of the band's newest addition, with their third recording with the aptly named Diffusion, which in physics means, an intermingling of molecules, and yet another definition:To become widely dispersed; spread out. Which in regards to musical genres is very fitting of the bands' overall sound. Start with the vibe that is 7 for 4, they are all musicians that have spent a lifetime of dedication to their instruments, each player shares in the musical direction by injecting their personal touch to these elegantly written compositions. Granted, Wolfgang Zenk's guitar is at times the voice of the band so to speak, but each players is important to what the band achieves compositionally. Unlike many fusion bands that set up grooves or progressions for the sake of showcasing individuals' solo skills, these songs are much more intricate and cinematic in style. What they are creating are graceful songs that set a perfect backing for imaginary scenarios and would be cinema soundtracks. It's that rare marriage of talent and writing where progressive music meets fusion's high standard of musicianship, no ideas or styles are excluded, as this music can be soft or heavy, calm or stormy, contemplative or extravagant. It is the music of extremes, yet never dull or dispassionate. What I hear with 7 for 4 is the same feelings I had when hearing Return to Forever's - Romantic Warrior for the first time, not that the bands sound at all alike, but having four greatly skilled musicians creating composed music that mixes rock, jazz, metal, latin, etc, yet with such a natural chemistry that it all comes out sounding like only something 7 for 4 would do. That is what I love about the band so much. They have a personality, no cloning, no derivative comparisons really, but a band that has a gift that exists between them that allows the magic to sort of manifest without pretensions or formulas. My understanding is that this cd was over two years in the making, and as intricate as this music is, that is very understandable, as any great production should be, taking the time to perfect one's craft typically produces a desired result. 7 for 4 have yet to produce anything short of excellent, each of their cds is an adventure into the future of instrumental progressive fusion, this being the latest cd, I can hear some familiar sounds, and some new ideas, yet as always, launching the band boldly forward from where they were in 2004 with the release of Time. In this day and age of what seems like an endless array of musical clones, we have a band that has taken on an identity all of their own, the power of metal, the elegance of jazz, the sophistication of progressive music, and the flavor of various ethno rhythms, and a great presentation of these themes, paired with a fantastic production quality, and what you have is what is proving to be a frontrunner for my favorite cd of 2008, it will certainly be a hard one to beat. © MJBrady © ProGGnosis 2000 - 2015 where appropriate - All rights reserved. http://www.proggnosis.com/RELEASE_Detail.aspx?RID=25394

Wonderful instrumental prog metal and jazz fusion from this great German group. This band play a terrific blend of fusion with jazz rock, Canterbury, classical, and even Latin touches. The individual musicians are all virtuosos. The album is not a masterpiece by any means but the fabulous musicianship carries this album over the line. HR by A.O.O.F.C Check out the band's amazing "Contact" and "Time" albums on this blog and consider buying the band's "Splash" album released in 2014. [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 121 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Diffusion 5:54
2 Indigo Dunes 5:55
3 Emoctify 4:50
4 The Winding Path 6:45
5 Silent Flow 7:43
6 Cyclotron 4:24
7 Spiral Dance 6:24
8 Hidden Depths 5:32
9 Mystic Mouse 5:11

All songs composed by Wolfgang Zenk

MUSICIANS

Wolfgang Zenk - Guitar
Markus Grutzner - Bass
Markus Froschmeier - Keyboards
Thomas Streck - Additional Keyboards
Klaus Engl - Drums

BIO

7FOR4 are four very talented guys from Munich/Germany. Maybe talented is not the right term here because all four dispose of experience and know-how. Wolfgang Zenk who impresses with his virtuos guitar playing was a member of the German prog metal band SIEGES EVEN (which can also be found in the Prog Archives) as well as leader and lecturer of MGI München (Munich), Germany's best known institute for professional guitar education. Markus Grützner played bass for several Jazz/Fusion bands and did so on several European tours of the well known Broadway musical "Hair". Klaus Engl also is a lecturer, he works for the drum-institute "Drummer's Focus" and played together with Markus Grützner in a Heavy-Rock band. The keyboard player Markus Froschmeier has his roots in the classical genre and adds some of his influences to the general sound of the band. Speaking about general sound I have to mention that it is quite difficult to find a term describing the style applicatively. Besides the fact that the music is all instrumental, you can say that it is a mixture of Prog Metal and Jazz Rock/Fusion, sounding as if LTE and the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA get together. But nearly every song seems to have different influences so you can find tunes with a country, "gypsy music" or Brazilian samba flavour, most of it played incredibly fast. The band released two albums so far. The first one called "Contact" was released in 2001. Their current album is called "Time" and was released in 2004. Both albums are incredible and feature the quite unique sound I described above as well as awesome cover artwork. You can't say which of them is the better one. My suggestion is that you purchase both. With that said I can end with mentioning that I really recommend checking out this terrific band. If you have the chance to get one of their albums, don't wait and grape it. If you even have the chance to see them live, don't falter, I can tell you that it's really worth the effort, I've seen them and they really blew me away. © Martin Dietrich, GERMANY © Prog Archives, All rights reserved http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1279

The Magic Elf

The Magic Elf - Elf Tales - 1998 - Big Shoe

This is undeniable Dregs-style rock with brief flashes of Holdsworthian/Ray Gomez/Beck jazz rock fusion slant. This is a tasty riff fest by the accomplished Carl Roa that guitarheads are gonna enjoy. This Elf Tales reminds me of Morse's The Introduction. The bass work by Magic Elf's George Panos and Saul Zonana is strong. Roa is Steve Morse all over this release. He is very close to the Morse-emulations that Ben Sherman or Dream Theater's Petrucci lay down. Consistently, you find percussive chops and fretboard gymnastics that scream Dregs. Even that Deep Purple w/ Morse's gritty punch comes through on "Hobgoblins." What a note blitz. And as Morse loved the classic guitar and that dreamy, ascent-to-heaven progressions, it is all there on Elf Tales "Greensleep," "Tree Talk," and the 7:02 finale, "Cobbler's Quest." Throughout the album it is all held together and relentlessly driven to perfection with rock steady drums by Dave Miranda. © John W. Patterson © 2015 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/elf-tales-mw0001075915

The Magic Elf is the prayer answer to all those Dixie Dregs fans who have just given up hope that the Dregs will ever release an album that doesn't sound identical to the previous one (including Morse solos). Playing a blistering brand of instrumental fusion and progressive rock this trio also strays slightly into metal, classical, and even a dash of country. Guitarist Carl Roa studied at the Berkley College of Music and graduated from the University Of Miami with a degree in Jazz Performance and Composition. Drummer Dave Miranda studied jazz fusion and also plays in the hardcore outfit The Six & Violence. Bass duties are handled on various tracks by George Panos and Saul Zonana. Much of what gives the Magic Elf their identity (apart from the obvious influences) is rather than being a showcase for guitarist Roa, Magic Elf is a power trio that seems to give equal prominence to the guitar and drums. Roa is very much a "vocalist" in that his guitar creates each song's melody, but Miranda's drumming right out there with him helping to create the feel of the songs. There's plenty of heavy rockin' here that display the musicians' proficiency and ability to handle both flash and good melodies. Songs like "Mr Destructo", "Hobgoblins", and the metallic "Limbonic State" will put you in the seat of the guy in the Maxell tape commercials where the chair is blown across the room by the rush of the music blasting from the stereo. Magic Elf do allow some breathers as well. "Greensleep" is an ambient-acoustic piece that briefly slows the pace and "Tree Talk" is a solo classical acoustic guitar number. It's interesting that despite the heavy Dregs sound, the opening track, "The Big Shoe", forecasts that this will be more along the lines of Allan Holdsworth. I don't hear the Rush influences that several reviewers have cited, but I haven't heard a lot of Rush in recent years. In summary, The Magic Elf will blow you away if you like technical progressive fusion that has chops galore, but is also creatively composed. A note to the band: Heed the first line of this review and don't fall into the same rut Morse and company did. Reviewed by & © Jerry Kranitz From Aural Innovations #6 (April 1999) http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue6/magelf01.html

Magic Elf is an instrumental rock, progressive, fusion trio formed in East Setauket, NY, in 1985. The band's style is often compared to The Dregs, Rush, King Crimson, Eric Johnson, Allan Holdsworth, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Dream Theater and the like. "Elf Tales" is a brilliantly constructed album of technical progressive fusion. Carl Roa is the guitarist of this highly acclaimed band. Whether ripping through a supercharged rock solo or gliding through a maze of soulful chord progressions, Carl's ability to balance musicality and technique has delighted music fans worldwide. Receiving accolades from Guitar World, Progression and Billboard magazines, Carl's unique and diverse playing style has put him in the forefront of today's progressive rock / fusion movement. Check out Magic Elf's "Heavy Meddle" album and Carl Roa's "Lord of the Strings" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 125 Mb]

TRACKS

1 The Big Shoe 3:39
2 Elf Rock 3:51
3 Mr. Destructo 4:26
4 Limbonic State 4:32
5 Greensleep 1:48
6 Troll Toll 4:04
7 Hobglobins 4:57
8 Tree Talk 1:27
9 Cobbler's Quest 6:57

All tracks composed by Carl Roa

MUSICIANS

Carl Roa - Guitars
George Panos - Bass
Saul Zonana - Bass on Tracks 2,4,6,9
Dave Miranda - Drums