Sky Architect
Encyclopedia
Sky Architect is an emerging progressive rock
band based in Rotterdam
, Netherlands
. Their debut album, Excavations of the Mind
, was released in 2010 from ProgRock Records
. The drummer and backing vocalist, Christiaan Bruin, is also known for his solo project "Chris." They are currently signed to ProgRock Records
in the USA and Galileo Records
(GmbH) in the EU. Currently Excavations of the Mind is listed as the 8th best progressive rock
album
of 2010
on ProgArchives, a popular progressive rock reviews website. The band's latest album, A Dying Man's Hymn
, was released June 6, 2011.
academy
in Rotterdam
, Netherlands
: Wabe Wieringa (guitar
), Rik van Honk (keyboards) and Christiaan Bruin (drums
). These three men laid the foundation of Sky Architect, forming an instrumental
power trio
of sorts. While studying, the three met Tom Luchies (vocals and guitar
) and Guus van Mierlo (bass guitar
), who completed the final Sky Architect lineup. Through the years, the band wrote and recorded their debut album, , released in 2010. The album got generally good reviews from multiple notable reviewing sources, including BlogCritics
. In a post on their official website, the band announced a new album called A Dying Man's Hymn
. This album was released on June 6, 2011.
, they can be characterized by many of the genre's sub genres. The debut album shows influence of 70's progressive rock outfits, such as symphonic rock
bands Yes
and Gentle Giant
, and proto-progressive metal
band King Crimson
(along with other modern-revival prog bands such as The Flower Kings
). Away from 70's influence, the band also showcases influence from modern progressive metal
bands such as Dream Theater
, Pain of Salvation
, Opeth
, and with psychedelic rock
band Porcupine Tree
. There is also quite a bit of Jazz fusion
appearing on the album, especially on the Deep Chasm suite.
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band based in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Their debut album, Excavations of the Mind
Excavations of the Mind
Excavations of the Mind is the debut album of the Dutch Progressive rock band Sky Architect. It is a concept album about the mentally insane. The first four tracks are parts of a 19-minute suite Deep Chasm...
, was released in 2010 from ProgRock Records
ProgRock Records
ProgRock Records is an independent American record label that specializes in the Progressive Rock musical genre . The key distribution partners are MVD in the US, H'art in Germany, RSK in the UK and Borders in Sweden...
. The drummer and backing vocalist, Christiaan Bruin, is also known for his solo project "Chris." They are currently signed to ProgRock Records
ProgRock Records
ProgRock Records is an independent American record label that specializes in the Progressive Rock musical genre . The key distribution partners are MVD in the US, H'art in Germany, RSK in the UK and Borders in Sweden...
in the USA and Galileo Records
Galileo Records
Galileo Records is a GmbH Switzerland-based record label that publishes progressive rock and metal albums. The label was formed in 1998 by Konny Eisenring, after he left Black Rills Records, and Patrick Becker.-Background:...
(GmbH) in the EU. Currently Excavations of the Mind is listed as the 8th best progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
of 2010
2010 in music
2010 in music may refer to:*2010 in American music*2010 in Australian music*2010 in British music*2010 in Canadian music*2010 in European music *2010 in Irish music*2010 in Japanese music*2010 in New Zealand music...
on ProgArchives, a popular progressive rock reviews website. The band's latest album, A Dying Man's Hymn
A Dying Man's Hymn
A Dying Man's Hymn is the sophomore studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Sky Architect that is set to be released on June 6, 2011 on Galileo Records...
, was released June 6, 2011.
Biography
Sky Architect was formed in 2006 by three young men studying at a popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
academy
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...
in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
: Wabe Wieringa (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
), Rik van Honk (keyboards) and Christiaan Bruin (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
). These three men laid the foundation of Sky Architect, forming an instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
power trio
Power trio
A power trio is a rock and roll band format where the traditional power trio has a lineup of guitar, bass and drums, leaving out the rhythm guitar or keyboard that are used in other rock music to fill out the sound with chords...
of sorts. While studying, the three met Tom Luchies (vocals and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) and Guus van Mierlo (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
), who completed the final Sky Architect lineup. Through the years, the band wrote and recorded their debut album, , released in 2010. The album got generally good reviews from multiple notable reviewing sources, including BlogCritics
Blogcritics
Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site—a self-proclaimed "sinister cabal of superior writers"—was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn...
. In a post on their official website, the band announced a new album called A Dying Man's Hymn
A Dying Man's Hymn
A Dying Man's Hymn is the sophomore studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Sky Architect that is set to be released on June 6, 2011 on Galileo Records...
. This album was released on June 6, 2011.
Style
Although Sky Architect fits nicely into the genre of Progressive RockProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, they can be characterized by many of the genre's sub genres. The debut album shows influence of 70's progressive rock outfits, such as symphonic rock
Symphonic rock
Symphonic rock is a sub-genre of progressive rock. Since early in progressive rock's history, the term has been used sometimes to distinguish more classically influenced progressive rock from the more psychedelic and experimental forms of progressive rock....
bands Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
and Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band was known for the complexity and sophistication of its music and for the varied musical skills of its members. All of the band members, except the first two drummers, were multi-instrumentalists...
, and proto-progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
(along with other modern-revival prog bands such as The Flower Kings
The Flower Kings
The Flower Kings are a Swedish progressive rock group. Formed in August 1994 by veteran guitarist Roine Stolt as a touring band to support his solo album The Flower King, the band stayed together after the tour and have gone on to become one of the most prolific studio recording units in rock music...
). Away from 70's influence, the band also showcases influence from modern progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
bands such as Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
, Pain of Salvation
Pain of Salvation
Pain of Salvation is a Swedish progressive rock band featuring Daniel Gildenlöw, who is the lyricist, chief composer, guitarist, and lead vocalist. Their sound is characterised by powerful, accentuated guitar work, broad vocal range, abrupt switching between heavy and calm passages, intense...
, Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
, and with psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
band Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...
. There is also quite a bit of Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
appearing on the album, especially on the Deep Chasm suite.
Personnel
- Wabe Wieringa - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, producingRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Rik van Honk - synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, mellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, backing vocals - Christiaan Bruin - drums, backing vocals
- Tom Luchies- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, lead vocals, backing vocals - Guus van Mierlo- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
External links
- Sky Architect.com
- Sky Architect on MySpace
- [ Sky Architect on AllMusic]