4 diverse highlights and 39 more new releases this week!

Fans of electronic prog music can rejoice at least twice this week. Not only is there a new album by genre forefathers and innovators of Tangerine Dream. Riverside keyboardist and analogue synth expert Michał Łapaj released re-mastered versions of his improvised “Sessions” 1-3, complete with two new ‘Sessions’ (4 and 5) on Tuesday already. After his amazing solo debut album “Are You There” from last year, that at least partly featured ‘normal’ songs with vocal hooks and ‘traditional’ song structures, this release is obviously more for hardcore synth/electronic music fans rather than the occasional Riverside listener, but that doesn’t mean it’s of any less quality. The output from the Riverside camp has been quite extraordinary over the last year, with solo albums and side projects from frontman Mariusz Duda, ‘new’ guitarist Maciej Meller, Łapaj and an extensive Best of Boxset for the band’s 20th anniversary. But now it’s high time for new material from the main band itself, don’t you think? Dario

Copenhagen and Denmark seem to be a hotbed of modern prog lately. Être is a welcome new voice in that scene, rising from the ashes of South Harbour. Introducing the vocal talents of Freja Ordell, “I: Human” is the first in a planned trilogy of EPs. It’s a colourful affair, combining many influences, with Freja’s melodies and vocal harmonies clearly in focus for most of the time and the variety displayed in it’s 30 minute runtime paints a picture of a talented and hungry band with a clear artistic vision, and I am very curious about the next installment(s) of the series in particular and the development of the band in general. Keep an eye on them! Dario

Decidedly Scandinavian in nature, danish/faroese supergroup Iotunn made waves with the release of their high class debut album “Access All Worlds” through Metal Blade Records exactly one year ago. To mark the first anniversary, they decided to put out the acoustic medley of the album, which they had released in a live version on YouTube last year already. “Access All Worlds – An Acoustic Voyage” should appeal to fans of Green Carnation and Ayreon (as well as fans of fans of the full length album of course), and works both as companion to “Access All Worlds” as well as a nice bite-sized appetizer to tide us over to the next album. Dario

Always happy to see a promising band picked up by a label (remember VOLA’s      “Inmazes” or Molybaron’s “The Mutiny”?), Athemon’s self-titled 2021 debut album is getting a re-release through Wormholedeath Records today. Reason enough to share my initial thoughts on the album again:

Some four years after the masterpiece that was the first Psion EP, we finally get new music from ex-Haken/To-Mera bassist/guitarist Tom MacLean. Athemon is the name of his new project and it’s a collaboration with brazilian vocalist/guitarist Adriano Ribeiro. They forged their self-titled debut album sending files back and forth across the oceans without having met in the flesh as of yet, and self-released the result last Monday. Compared to Psion, the music they created together is rawer, less bombastic and orchestral, but a similar darkness permeates every note on it. Adriano’s voice has a nice doomy deep timbre and Tom’s bass is matching Adriano’s guitar tone perfectly, with a super solid drum performance by guest Gledson Gonçalves laying the rhythmic backbone. It’s an intoxicating raw darkness the two internet friends have created together with Athemon, and they are off to a great start with their first release. Dario