To listen to previous podcasts, visit the podcast page at www.kscopemusic.com/podcast

Tracks featured:
Mothlite – ‘Something in the Sky’ (from Dark Age)
Steve Hogarth and Richard Barbieri - ‘Naked’ (from Not The Weapon But The Hand)
North Atlantic Oscillation – ‘Soft Coda’ (from Fog Electric)
Gazpacho – ‘What Did I Do?’ (from March of Ghosts)
Gavin Harrison and O5Ric - ‘The Man Who Sold Himself’ (from The Man Who Sold Himself)

While this podcast looks forward to what we have coming up over the next few months, the latest edition of Classic Rock Prog looked back at 2011 and there were three Kscope albums in their critics top 15 albums of the year. Steven Wilson’s Grace for Drowning was voted number 2 in the poll ahead of Falling Deeper by Anathema at #10 and Blackfield’s Welcome To My DNA at #11 (see below).

(click image for larger version)

For artist’s mini-sites, click below;
Mothlite
Gavin Harrison & 05Ric
Steve Hogarth & Richard Barbieri
Gazpacho
North Atlantic Oscillation
Steven Wilson
Blackfield
Anathema

Kscope is pleased to announce the release of ‘Not The Weapon But The Hand’, the debut album from Steve Hogarth and Richard Barbieri. The album will be available from February 27th 2012.

Hogarth is best known as the frontman of Marillion, the progressive rock legends that he joined in 1989, following spells in The Europeans and How We Live. In addition to the 12 albums Marillion have released in this time he has also recorded and toured as a solo artist, under the name h.

In recent years Richard Barbieri has been a core member of Porcupine Tree playing keyboards on all the band’s albums since 1993 as well as releasing two solo albums, Things Buried and Stranger Inside. Prior to this, it was in the new-wave pioneers Japan that he originally came to prominence, helping to create the groundbreaking synthesiser sound that defined the band and influenced the likes of The Human League, Duran Duran, Gary Numan, Talk Talk, Kate Bush and a whole raft of artists to follow.

The band also influenced Hogarth, at that point playing keyboards in The Europeans; ‘when I was in my mid-twenties Japan’s ‘Tin Drum’ album was a firm favourite and truly a groundbreaking work… Japan were one of those rare bands where each musician seemed to have reinvented his instrument overnight. Central to this sound was the unmistakable synthesiser programming/playing of my, now, chum Mr B.’

Many years later Porcupine Tree played some shows with Marillion and Steve invited Richard to be part of The H band on his ‘Ice Cream Genius’ album and subsequent tour (‘I asked him “Can you make me a sound which starts off like a gong and turns into a jet engine?” – it took him roughly 2 minutes…’) and this association developed into what Hogarth describes as ‘an easy working relationship which rapidly became an understanding beyond music.’

It wasn’t surprising then that the duo decided to collaborate on a joint project, a venture initiated by Barbieri as Hogarth recalls; ‘I remember where I was when the email from Richard arrived airing the possibility of a collaboration. I was in Starbucks in Leeds on tour a few years back. From that day forward it was on my mind fairly constantly. The only problem was finding the time to collaborate in between my Marillion schedule and his Porcupine Tree schedule. This year – a week here and a week there – we have managed to do it. Richard has sent me a number of beautiful and unusual instrumentals and I have found lyric ideas to create sometimes songs, sometimes narratives against his musical landscapes. 

‘It also goes beyond what you might expect from the two of us… The album consists of music which is at times moving, complex, multilayered (both instrumentally and vocally) spooky, goofy and of course, very personal to me.

‘I am now as excited about this album as I was at the prospect of the collaboration in the first-place.  Ain’t it great when a plan comes together?!…’

Not The Weapon But The Hand was completed in late 2011 and features occasional appearances from Danny Thompson on double bass, Arran Ahmun (John Martyn) and Chris Maitland (ex-Porcupine Tree, No-Man, Blackfield) on drums and guitar and string arrangement contributions from Dave Gregory (XTC).

The Three Fact Fader mini-site is now online at www.kscopemusic.com/engineers, which features info on the album, audio samples, a free mp3 from the album, downloads plus the video for the single Clean Coloured Wire and the chance to order from the Kscope store.

All orders placed through the Kscope store come with an exclusive 2 track CD featuring the radio edit of the single Clean Coloured Wire and the Steven Wilson remix of Sometimes I Realise. This will be the only physical release of these tracks and will only be available through the Kscope store.

To mark the release, the band  played their first live gig in over 2 years on July 10th 2009 at the Bush Hall in London. They were also joined onstage by special guest Ulrich Schnauss

In addition, Richard Barbieri (Porcupine Tree / ex-Japan) performed a rare live set on what promises to be a special evening.

Engineers are back. Four years after the release of their landmark debut, the band return with their epic second album, Three Fact Fader.

The 13-track album was produced by the band along with Ken Thomas (Sigur Rós, M83, Maps) over a period of two years, with the final tracks being completed earlier this year. It comes packaged in stunning artwork by legendary music photographer Tom Sheehan.

Engineers are not like any other band. Onstage Simon Phipps is the singer, Dan Macbean is the guitarist, Mark Peters is the bassist and Sweeney is the drummer, but the real clue is in their name: they approach their music like engineers, carefully constructing wonderful walls of sound.

Following the rapturous reception that greeted their mini-album Folly in 2004 and debut Engineers the following year, it’s taken them a long time to build their epic second album, Three Fact Fader. After initial recording sessions, Engineers became unwitting victims of record company restructuring and the album was left in limbo, unfinished until the band reconvened earlier this year, largely motivated by public support.

The band have now found a home on Kscope and Three Fact Fader will be released on July 6th.

More information on Engineers and Three Fact Fader can be found at the new website at www.kscopemusic.com/engineers. The site also features a free mp3, remixes, videos, downloads, gallery and more.

You can also pre-order the album from the site. All orders placed through the Kscope store will come with an exclusive 2 track CD featuring the radio edit of the single Clean Coloured Wire and the Steven Wilson remix of Sometimes I Realise. This will be the only physical release of these tracks and will only be available from this site.

The band will be playing their first gig for over two years on July 10th at Bush Hall, London. For the gig they will be joined by Ulrich Schnauss and keyboard legend Richard Barbieri (Japan /Porcupine Tree) will also be performing a rare live set. Tickets are available from ticket web and we got tickets.

Engineers’ long awaited second album, Three Fact Fader, is due to released on Kscope on July 6th.

To mark the release, the band will be playing their first live gig in over 2 years on July 10th at the Bush Hall in London. They will also be joined onstage by special guest Ulrich Schnauss

In addition, Richard Barbieri (Porcupine Tree / ex-Japan) will also be performing a rare live set on what promises to be a special evening.

Tickets are available now for £13.50 (plus booking fee) from and

The Three Fact Fader mini-site will go live on May 19th at www.kscopemusic.com/engineers, which currently has a short video of Dan and Mark mixing the album in the studio to the album title track. You can also join the mailing list to download a free track from the album, Brighter As We Fall.

Stranger Inside, the new solo album from Richard Barbieri is out now.

Spanning four decades, Richard Barbieri’s eclectic musical career has encompassed innovative contributions to Japan in the 1980s and contemporary worldwide success with Porcupine Tree. 

Following the artistic and critical success of his 2005 debut album Things Buried, Stranger Inside further develops Barbieri’s unique approach to texture, harmony and rhythm.

Writing and producing the album himself, the album includes contributions from long-term creative partners Steve Jansen (mixing/ co-arranging), Steven Wilson (mastering), Gavin Harrison (drums) and  the legendary double bass player, Danny Thompson (currently enjoying renewed acclaim as part of the reformed Pentangle). In addition the album features the sampled voices of Tim Bowness (No-Man) and Suzanne Barbieri. 

The CD comes in digipack artwork by Carl Glover and Luigi Colasanti.

To download a FREE track from Stranger Inside, download desktops and more, go to the mini-site at www.kscopemusic.com/richardbarbieri/strangerinside

Tracklist
Cave
All Fall Down
Hypnotek
Byzantium
Decay
Abyssyn
Morphia
Retina Blur
Stranger Inside

Stranger Inside is also available to download from the following stores:

Also released this week is the 2CD edition of the new Nosound album Lightdark.

Formed in Italy in 2001, Giancarlo Erra’s Nosound creates a seductive and original fusion of elements of Progressive, Ambient and Post Rock.

Regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the most interesting up and coming alt/art rock bands in Europe, Lightdark sees the Nosound identity evolve into something even more focused and powerful.

Lightdark inventively combines influences from ’70s psychedelia, ’80s/’90s ambient and contemporary alt/progressive rock.

Recorded in Italy, England and the US throughout 2006 and 2007, the album develops further the promise of debut album Sol29 and exhibits a stronger group identity which reveals a greater contrast between atmospheric detail and the walls of sound created by the band on stage.

Highlights include the 15 minute epic From Silence to Noise, the ethereal The Misplay (with cellist Marianne DeChastelaine), and the epic piano/mellotron driven ballad Someone Starts To Fade Away (which features No-Man’s Tim Bowness on vocals).

This 2 disc edition of the album includes an exclusive five track bonus disc including the video for Lightdark.

Tracklist
Disc One:
About Butterflies And Children
Places Remained
The Misplay
From Silence To Noise
Someone Starts To Fade Away
Kites
Lightdark

Disc Two:
Cold Afterall
Like The Elephant?
You Said ‘I Am.’
Clouds 
Lightdark (Enhanced Video Track) 

The Lightdark mini-site is now online at www.kscopemusic.com/nosound. The site features the video for Kites, a downloadable 15 minute sample of the album, including The Misplay (Instrumental Coda) & From Silence To Noise recorded live, as well as desktop and mobile phone downloads and other audio samples.

Lightdark is also available to download from the following stores:

New solo album from Japan and Porcupine Tree legend Richard Barbieri

Spanning four decades, Richard Barbieri‘s eclectic musical career has encompassed innovative contributions to Japan in the 1980s and contemporary worldwide success with Porcupine Tree.

Following the artistic and critical success of his 2005 debut album Things Buried, Stranger Inside further develops Barbieri’s unique approach to texture, harmony and rhythm.

Writing and producing the album himself, the album includes contributions from long-term creative partners Steve Jansen (mixing/ 
co-arranging), Steven Wilson (mastering), Gavin Harrison (drums) and  
the legendary double bass player, Danny Thompson (currently enjoying  
renewed acclaim as part of the reformed Pentangle).

Although instrumental in nature, most tracks feature radical and atmospheric manipulations of the sampled voices of Tim Bowness and Suzanne Barbieri.

The CD comes in digipack artwork by Carl Glover and Luigi Colasanti.

Stranger Inside is in stores from September 15th and will be available digitally from September 8th.

To listen to a six minute sampler of the album, download desktops and more, go to www.kscopemusic.com/richardbarbieri/strangerinside

Tracklist:
Cave
All Fall Down
Hypnotek
Decay
Abyssn
Byzantium
Morphia
Retina Blur
Stranger Inside