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11th of April The Rock Tempel Kerkrade.
Magenta
Interview '09.
Live reviews + photo's; Magenta, The Reasoning, Marillion, Gazpacho,
Mostly Autumn, PBII, Pure Reason Revolution & RPWL.
Solo & Sessions
News; single released in November 2009!!!
A review of Home.
Live Pictures + review.
More at his site.
PBII, Magenta & RPWL.
They really rocked the boat, sparkling performance by Christina and the lads. This Welsh Prog Goddess really knows how to set the crowd on fire.
Rob Reed the keyboard wizard is the main creative force on the Magenta team, but Chris Fry on lead guitar is given space to deliver some astonishing solos.
They played some classics from their album Seven and some shorter songs from their latest, Metamorphosis - only 22 minutes long! It's a shame they
don't tour more, 10 out of 10 for their show! Magenta is indeed the colour of Prog.
Nick.
Interview with Christina.
Interview with Mathew Cohen.
Both from July 2004 by me!
ProgAid ('05).
The leading writer force of Magenta seems to be Rob Reed, but first there was another colour CYAN. A band formed in 1984! The band had some small succes but splitt up around '00.
Rob wrote some new material and wanted a fresh start and formed the band Trippa with a small single success. The band had Christina on vocals and Rob played guitars and keyboards. They had appeared on TV a number of times. It was during this time that Rob decided that Christina has the perfect voice to sing lead vocals on a future Progressive Rock project. The initial ideas for MAGENTA were formed then.
MAGENTA.
Revolutions (a double album) released in 2001 with 4 (yes four) epics (!) is the
debut album of Magenta:
Music by Rob Reed,
Lyrics by Steve Reed,
Excellent artwork done by Adam J.Hodgson (www.naturantasy.co.uk).
A concept album based on the seven deadly sins... The lyrics have a small depth and
that is interesting, as they should be on such a concept album.
The songs have a high Yes-Genesis feel,
sometimes catchy but not predictable: the rhythm is constantly changing, without becoming
not accesable. Opener "Gluttony" has some spoken words with the likeness of Peter Gabriels
"Fly on the Windshield": creepy.
The production is marvelous, a warm and rich sound: a real pleasure for your ears. The
strings of the Vienna Orchestra give it some extra depth without becoming smooth. Listen to
"Lust" and you'll agree with me.
Rob guitar playing does has some echo's of Steve Howe and the other fabulous Steve Hackett,
while Martin Shellard made an excellent Gilmouresque solo in "Sloth". And Christina turns the
song into a Great Gig In The Sky Part II.
Christina ... a wonderful warm and crystal voice, Joanne Hogg, Rachel Jones and Heather
Findlay got a good looking competitor for the best female voice of 2004!
They've a definite, recognizable style of their own, though there are the obvious
influences.
Excellent prog album with a 70-ies feel, very melodic, with a lot changes of the rhythm,
and full of musical virtuosity. Christina's voice is sublime.
Highly Recommended.
Tracklist:
Broken is an EP also from 2004. Currently this is available from F2 Music as part
of a double-pack with Seven, but its due for release as a stand-alone item in June.
The lyrics of "Broken" are written by Christina and the lyrics of
"Lammikainen's Lament" by Marco Bernard.
Sharon Janny den Adel, Anneke van Grinsbergen or Sharon Janssen are a few names what
came up in my mind by hearing the beautiful vocals on "Broken".
And the EP is performed by the "live" band.
Tracklist:
In the meantime the band did some great live gigs and the likeness with Mostly Autumn, Karnataka, Iona and Landmarq are made different times.
Magenta - Another time, another place - DOUBLE LIVE CD!
&
Magenta -I'm Alive - 5 TRACK CD SINGLE.
The powerful live versions were taken from various gigs over the past year
and is a real stomper of a live album. Excellent sound quality, surprising and
adventurous. Almost the whole "Seven" album is played, of course the amazing
epic "The White Witch" and their single "Broken" are already classics.
Magenta proves that they really earned the Classic Rock Nomination for
"Best Female Vocalist" and "Best Live Band".
The cd starts impresses with Rob on keyboards with an Opus, almost 3 minutes absolute
kicking keyboard layers.
Then a refreshing intro of "Gluttony" and all the musicians kick in, great guitar solo's,
a rolling bass together with the drums forms an excellent rhythm section, Christina with her
wonderful amazing voice and then a step back to the old Genesis-era when Rob Reeds starts a his
vocal part. Great!
The heating says it's 20°C in our house, but I got shivers.. and I'm feeling excellent!
Highly Recommended.
Matthew wrote me about the incredible perfection of the live sound: Cheers,
Nice to hear from you again. The live album is live. The reason for the clarity, is that
All the tracks were recorded using state of the art computer recording equipment. A
portable Apple laptop and MOTU converters. Loads of shows were recorded and the best
versions of each song were used.
Most of the instruments were recorded DI ( direct from the source) straight into the
computer, bass, keyboards, guitar, vocals. They were also recorded without reverb
and then the ambience was added later. They were then remixed by Rob, using the computer
to automate the levels of all the instruments, so that everything could be heard at the
correct level. Any pops, buzzes or noise problems could also be addressed. Thus l
eaving a more pleasurable listening experience for the listener.
Anyway, take care and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Keep rocking.
Matthew and Magenta.
Look at
www.progrock.co.uk for a
special offer.
The single features 4 previously unreleased tracks
plus the promo video for 'Broken', this is a great addition to any CD collection!
These tracks will not be released anywhere else.
Broken | |
Gluttony: Full track - MP3 sample (64kbps - 5.5MB) | |
Anger: Full track - MP3 sample (64kbps - 2.4MB) | Thanks to: http://www.progrock.co.uk/! |
THE GATHERING DVD:
|
extras: Broken - promo video Interview with Rob Reed Interview with Christina Rob chatting in studio and also playing a track from Home Fans entering the DVD gig Interviews with fans following the DVD gig A ROSFest picture slideshow |
An absolute marvelous dvd and live recording! Normally bands record several gigs and mix them to one movie.
Magenta had the guts to film it in one shot without extra addings and enchanting things after wards.
The sound is perfect, just like their double live cd "Another Time Another Place". The quality of the
movie looks like a high definition pixel movie.
Nice shots of the
live set and good show with smooth projections. The film catches the live atmosphere on a very natural way.
Rob Reed is the leader of the band and he is
absolute fabulous keyboard player,
but Christina and Chris are stealing the show with wonderful vocals and great guitar playing.
Two new songs "Demons" and "Overture" are making me curious to their new studio album
"Home".
An absolute must have for who loves symfo and prog!
This band must undertake a world tour, so people get convinced that Magenta is the true collour of Prog.
If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a production can go wrong, then a fifth way will almost certainly raise it's ugly head. This was the experience of post producing The Gathering live DVD. Let's just say that following an exciting and very enjoyable recording in front of a fantastic audience, a number of issues raised "opportunities" to be solved. However, as the Sun sets on Rob's nervous breakdown, the DVD is now well on the way to completion; it's looking and sounding fantastic by the way (if we may be so bold!) so many thanks to all of you who came along and made it what it is. We're all sure that you'll love the end result and that the little extra time will be well worth the wait. The DVD should be available for the Rotherham gig on the 29th of October; we'll keep you well informed on that one.
The Gathering DVD is now available for order at Progrock.co.uk.
They were awarded with the honour of having the Best Live Album 2004 by the Hungarian Progressive Rock Friends. We beat such luminaries as "IQ ", "Neal Morse", "Mostly Autumn" and "The Flower Kings". A real honour indeed and we thank all our fans and friends in Hungary.
Matthew Cohen left the band in June 2005, for personal reasons.
Magenta are delighted to announce that Daniel Fry will be joining the band as their new bass player.
At a recent audition, Daniel, who has played in a number of previous bands, impressed everyone with his technical ability, enthusiasm and stage presence.
You may be intrigued at seeing the name Fry - he is indeed the younger brother of Magenta guitarist Chris Fry, and is sure to add yet another dimension to the already exciting Magenta live experience. With Daniel on board, Magenta can now continue to work on their new stage show, ready for live concerts later this year. With the release of the band's first DVD and their much anticipated new CD 'Home' coming soon, these are indeed exciting times for Magenta.
NEWS; Troy Donockley plays Ullian Pipes on the new studio album "Home", release date apperently May 2006.
Annie Haslam will sing together with Chris on their new single!
Home ('06)
Tim Robbinson - drums,
Martin Shellard - guitar,
Lee Goodall - tenor saxes,
Hywell Maggs - guitar,
Christian Phillips - Guitar, backing vocals,
Troy Donockley - Uillian Pipes,
Mal Pope - backing vocals, &
Lorrain Ling - backing vocals.
Design by - Adam J.Hodson,
Photography -Chris Walkden.
Night and Day CD SINGLE ('06)
We can at last announce that F2 Music will release a single by Annie Haslam
(ex-Renaissance) with Magenta called 'Night & Day'. This is an exciting
prospect for many music fans out there, and it really is as good as you
would hope!
1. Night & Day
2. Night & Day (Evening Mix)
3. Essence Of Love
4. Night & Day (duet with Christina)
With Annie Haslam !
Speechless single release of Magenta in early 2007.
Track Listing:
Magenta : The Singles
Contains 14 tracks consisting of every song that has made up the band’s four EP/singles. 8 of these tracks have been specially re-recorded exclusively for this release,and none have been available on a full length Cd before Availability : | |
Speechless (Single Version) Anger King Of The Skies (New Version) I'm Alive (New Version) Call Me (New Version) Sunshine Saviour (New Version) Broken (New Version) Lemminkainen's Lament (New Version) Night And Day (New Version) Essence Of Love (Instrumental) Cold (2007 acoustic mix) (New Version) Bonus Tracks: Opus 3 (Instrumental) / Pride (Director's Cut) / Sloth (String Mix)
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Make your order at www.sonicbond.com or F2Music.
Metamorphosis ('08)
The album will be released on April 21st, but will be available from March 22nd from the Magenta shop at The Magenta Shop . Watch out for a special pre-order offer to be announced soon.Regular video updates and sound clips to follow on the website over the next few weeks.
A trailer for the album can be viewed : Here
Footage from the mixing session at Rockfield can be seen at: Here
Album Information:
Track Listing 1. Opus Three 2. Speechless 3. Envy 4. Hurt 5. Moving On 6. The Journey 7. Towers of Hope 8. Demons 9. Morning Sunlight 10. The Dream 11. The Visionary 12. Anger Dics 2 1. Man the machine 2. Genetesis / The warning 3. Sloth 4. The White Witch (excerpt) |
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Live at The Point 2007 DVD (April 2009)!
A stunning new live dvd at the legendary The Point in Cardiff, with sadly had to close their doors.
A must have...
Seven Special Edition
Magenta are thrilled to announce the forthcoming release of Seven – The Special Edition. Since the album was featured in “Classic Rock Present’s
Prog’s all time Prog Top 50”, there has been renewed and unprecedented demand for the CD and we are very excited to be able to offer it in a very
special 2 disc version.
January 2010.
Nov 2009:
Magenta to release Yes Classic as Download only single on Novermber 15th.
Magenta are excited to announce that they will release a version of the Yes classic Wonderous Stories as a download-only single, on Tigermoth Records, on November 15th.
The song, which will come in three alternative versions, will be available to download from all normal download sites – including Amazon and Itunes worldwide. Rob Reed talks about the bands reasons for the release:
“We are often compared favourably to Yes, and many of our fans have been asking us to have a go at a Yes piece for a while. We have been playing Wonderous Stories as part of our set during our recent run of acoustic gigs, and it was great fun to do and really well received, so we thought we’d take it into the studio and give it the full-band Magenta treatment. We think that we’ve brought something new to the song while maintaining total respect for the original, and we really hope people enjoy it.”
Wonderous Stories, from the Going For the One album, was Yes’ biggest UK hit, reaching number 7 in September 1977.
The three versions of the song will be:
June 2009;
The band have just got back from a triumphant night at the Classic Rock Society Awards at the Montgomery Hall, Wath, presented by Genesis legend Steve Hackett. After a wonderful special performance of Metamorphosis earlier in the evening, the band went on to win 5 awards:
Magenta are delighted to announce Kieran Bailey as their new drummer.
Kieran is only 20 and, like the rest of the band, is from South Wales. He has recently completed a diploma at the Drum School in London. Already a skilled and versatile musician, the band have been hugely impressed by his technical proficiency and enthusiasm behind the kit.
Rob Reed says: "People are going to be surprised by the transformation that Kieran has brought to the band. We think that alongside Dan Fry on bass guitar, we finally have the rhythm section we've been looking for, and are now eager to get out and play live again."
NEWS Dec 2007;
Martin Rosser leaves Magenta too!
Martin Rosser and Allan Mason-Jones, formally of Magenta, would like to thank everyone in the band for 5 years of fun and some great gigs to match. A special thank you needs to go to all those fans that follow Magenta with such conviction, your kind words and unlimited support over the years was much appreciated. It is without doubt that Magenta will continue to grow and produce some fine music in the years to come.
Martin and Allan will now be concentrating on their “C-Sides” project which also includes Dan Fry from Magenta. For C-Sides Dan is not only back on guitar he also takes on the role of lead vocals. The new CD ‘Devitrification’ is now close to completion and has a strong rock influence which is both dark and melodic. Over the next few months a C-Sides website will be up and running with news and some free downloads from the new album.
Dan Fry will remain very committed to Magenta, besides his work for C-Sides. Magenta are are currently putting the finishing touches to their fourth album, which is slated for release early 2008.
In other news, the band will be playing the FMPM Festival in Canada in September 2008, which also features Riverside and Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso.
Cold Lemminkainen’s Lament Hate You (Hanging by a thread) Anger Blind Faith King of the Skies Speechless This Life Moving On Demons Morning Sunlight Journey’s End Greed The Ballad of Samuel Lane Prekestolen Metamorphosis |
Night and Day I’m Alive All Around the World |
“Saturday 21st November 2009 will linger long in the memories of around 60 lucky Magenta fans as Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios near Bath, UK, played host to the band’s first live acoustic recording.
This is a visual record of a remarkable event. With Rob Reed making use of the Wooden Room’s superb acoustic piano, and the band supplemented by a string quartet and oboe player, Magenta present beautiful new arrangements of many of its best known pieces. As well as extensive excerpts from both the ‘Home’ and ‘Metamorphosis’ albums, there are rare outings for ‘Greed’ (from ‘Seven’) and both ‘Cold’ and ‘Lemminkainen’s Lament’ (from ‘The Singles’).
This is an opportunity to appreciate the charm and subtleties of a band best known for its high-energy electric performances, and is not to be missed. Magenta – unplugged but still the Real Deal.”
“After Metamorphosis was released I ploughed straight into the next Magenta album, spending several weeks working flat-out in the studio. I was really happy with what I had written but I got sidetracked with other projects and everything sort of got left on the back burner. Then about six months ago I had another creative spurt and another 50 minutes of great ideas emerged. When I sat back and took stock of what I had before me I realised that both writing sessions produced distinctive musical styles. The tracks from the first session were quite edgy and more contemporary and the second batch were more traditional, almost like ‘Seven’ in style. It quickly became apparent that I had written two completely different sounding albums. I decided to then make each album independently, and also to try a different recording process for the more contemporary songs. Christina and I also had a few tracks that we had written together that were going to be future Magenta singles, so along with the edgier material, we had plenty of pieces that she could start writing lyrics for. We then got Kieran Bailey into the studio and it wasn’t long before we had recorded the drums for eight new Magenta tracks. Chris Fry then came and weaved his magic and before long what originally was planned as a new single, or possibly an EP, had escalated into a great sounding album. As I’m writing this, we currently have six tracks completed and the other two are in the mixing process.”
New project form the proggers from Wales.
Chris Fry - guitars
Rob Reed - keys, bass, guitars
Guest:
Kieran Bailey – drums
Martin Rosser – guitar
Sessions & Solo:
C-SIDES.
C-SIDES : Devitrification ( Release Date : June 4th 2011).
The C-Sides were formed in 2007 by former Magenta members : Martin Rosser ( Guitar ), Allan Mason-Jones (Drums) and Dan Fry (Bass and Lead Vocals).
Taking a modern rock element and weaving it with the classic early 1970's Rush sound, they made the C-Sides.
Featuring the layered guitar of Martin Rosser, the puchy drums of Allan Mason-jones and the dynamic vocals of Dan Fry, the C-Sides came together to make a classic rock album, that also captures elements of the modern heavy bands of the moment.
VIDEO:
YouTube.
ROB REED.
Fireworks ('98):
Recorded at a farmhouse in the lovely South of England this album is created by all the players. And
again a real 70-ies prog album in the style of Genesis and Yes, with some violins, sax and flute...
The Othello Syndrome - The Shadow Of Dreams ('99).
Erasmus ('02) see Matthew Cohen.
Chimpan A ('06).
A new project with:
Sam Brown,
Aitch Mc Robbie (Jools Holland, David Gilmour, Deep Purple),
Christina Booth,
Margo Buchanon (Seal, Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, Joni Mitchell),
Sian Cothie (Phantom of the Opera),
Tony Dallas - spoken word,
Nigel Hopkins, - strings,
Ruchard Bluey Cornhill - decks,
Andrew Griffiths - trumpet.
Trippa.
For anyone who is unaware, Trippa was a pre-Magenta project between 1995 and 2000 featuring Christina Booth (vocals) and Rob Reed (keyboards, guitar, bass). An abundance of Trippa material was recorded during that period and much of which has been gathered together for the 17 tracks that make up the new album. Demonstrating the song-orientated side of Rob and Christina's writing abilities, it will be essential listening for all Magenta fans, plus anyone interested in inventive and dynamic music.
Produced by Rob except "Speecless/Falling produced with Bird & Bush.
With:
Kompendium, a side project of Magenta’s Rob Reed, will release their debut album, Beneath The Waves, September '12. Featuring a
veritable who’s who from the progressive world icluding:
Beneath The Waves will be released on 24th September and will be available in various formats including a vinyl version complete with gatefold sleeve cover. The cover artwork has been produced by illustrator and artist Geoff Taylor.
MATTHEW COHEN.
Again an album with heavely 70-ies Prog. Screaming guitars, Matthew is giving his
bass some
best fingerthreaths and a lot of organs. Mathew likes Rush, indeed he does. Unespected
changes of melodies and turns, some very good sounding interesting chords, but heavy.
Rob Reed is involved so it al gets some Reed-treatement. Matthew joined with Magenta after
this release, and he's more as 26 hours a day commited to this colourful band,
so this chapter wil be closed. Yayde is working on a solo album.
Fans from Rush, Arena, IQ, Paralel of 90 Degrees and Dream Theater will like this release. And of course it is a
must have for the Magenta affinicado's.
NEWS october 2005:
Hey Nick,
So great to hear from you sir. ..... I am very busy with my new band, The Reasoning.
We are currently recording demo songs for the album and things are coming on very nicely.
I also have the original Magenta drummer, Rhys, on board with me too, so that is cool.
We are doing a more rock thing but with prog influences/ We will be more like Coheed and
Cambria, Amplifier and Pure Reason Revolution.
Matthew.
A new band, which is working hard on their debut album.
CHRISTINA MURPHY-BOOTH.
Cyan (remastered and others).
Trippa (a side project with Rob Reed and a real pre-Magenta, the single is a must have for Magenta fans!).
Erasmus (a project of Matthew Cohen).
Christina will be a special guest, with friends on the Summerendsfestival (Sept 2007).
Galahad ('07).
Trippa ('07) with Rob Reed, see above.
She is working with Clive Nolan on a new Project!
Parzivals Eye ('09), a solo project of Chris Postl (RPWL).
CHRISTINA (MAGENTA) Solo CD PRE-ORDER.
Tigermoth Records is delighted to announce the release of the long-awaited debut solo album by Magenta front woman Christina - “Broken Lives and Bleeding Hearts” on June 1st A limited edition pre-order is NOW available from the Magenta shop. www.magentashopfront.com/page6.htm . The first 100 CDs ordered will also be signed by Christina.
Christina has co-written all 10 tracks with long-time collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Rob Reed (Magenta, Trippa, ChimpanA) who also mixed and produced the album. Other guests on the album include John Mitchell (Arena, It Bites, Frost), Steve Balsamo (The Storys, ChimpanA), Troy Donockley (Barbara Dickson, the Bad Shepherds) and Chris Fry (Magenta), with a wonderful remix of “Deep Ocean” by Jem Godfrey (Frost).
Says Christina of the album: “ Although it’s not Prog, it’s pretty varied and I hope that Magenta fans will find plenty to like. It’s certainly been a labour of love, and I really believe it’s the finest set of songs I’ve ever written.”
Varied it certainly is, from the acoustic, gospel-tinged opener “Free” to the progressive pop of “Immortality”, and the dramatic balladry of “Tales of Tales of Broken Hearts”, not to mention the bluesy swagger of “Do or die” or the smooth, jazzy “Deep Ocean”. These are songs that are immediate yet full of depth, beautifully performed by the Cardiff-based singer songwriter.
Christina also talks about the heartfelt subject matter of the album: “All of the songs look at the up and downs of human relationships. Inevitably, there’s a lot of heartbreak involved, but I’ve also tried to show how resilient the human heart can be, so there’s an upbeat message too. “
She laughs. “So I guess, it’s a bit of a concept album!”
A five minute sampler of the album can be heard at the Christina Myspace page: www.myspace.com/christinaboothmusic and a website will also be available shortly at www.christinabooth.net (it currently points at the Myspace site) as well as a facebook page at www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Christina-Booth/92505481597
The opening song “Free” can be downloaded at http://christinabooth.bandcamp.com and a video for the song is now available on the Myspace page or on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XybyzbMCpak
Alan Reed (ex-Pallas) (Oct 2012).
Clive Nolan (Autumn 2012).
CHRIS FRY.
Chris plays with some friends classical music.
and they're working on an album too ;-)
Chris made his first solo album in April 2012 called Composed.
Chris Fry website.
PROGAID.
They all are involved at ProgAID
('05).
A project with almost 50 proggy musicians from The Flower Kings, till Glass Hammer, Mostly Autumn Arjen Lucassen and and and and...
The song was written by Rob.
Thank you all for your faith and support.
Nick.
MAGENTA is
Home again.
Please be so free and sign my guestbookor leave a message @ MySpace.