With great sadness we regret to inform you that Mick Karn has recently been diagnosed with advanced stages of cancer. Mick is currently in a positive mood and undergoing further tests and treatment. His family and friends are close with him, supporting him in practical ways, and surrounding him with their love, friendship and care.

Mick has been struggling financially for some considerable time now and we are hoping that this appeal may help to raise funds for any necessary treatment and perhaps go some way towards providing a small degree of financial support whilst Mick's immediate family provide the care and comfort we would all wish for him. We are hoping that his friends, fans and musical colleagues will, over the coming months, offer any support they feel capable of giving. Quite aside from the sheer brunt of daunting medically-related costs, Mick's clear and major concern is for the security and well being of his wife and young son.

If you would like to make a donation whether as an individual or as a group, you can do so via the paypal link on Mick Karn's website which has been set up for this sole and express purpose. Any support you are able to give, no matter how small, could make a difference in helping Mick cope during this difficult period. His friends will be looking at a variety of ways to raise funds. If you would simply like to leave your kind messages of support for Mick, please do so, here: Messages. We will keep you all updated as often as we can. Please do note that news is released with Mick's full approval.

In order to generate much needed medical funds for Mick, Porcupine Tree has donated a couple of their personal copies of the ultra-rare RED Anesthetize Special Edition to help raise funds/awareness - Click HERE for full details.

There is a brilliant movement in Poland that aims to champion music of real quality, a reactionary stance against the mediocrity of the mainstream. At the heart of that movement a DJ called Artur Chachlowski of MLWZ radio show/webzine is rising to the forefront with his enthusiasm, discernment and lucid sensibility. This is a man who really knows his music!

In his own words... "Music is a passion, a way of life, a harbor where I escape to from a grey reality. It is a medium that brings people closer together. Music plays inside each of us....It is a source of unforgettable experiences".

Artur's radio show "MLWZ" ("Mały Leksykon Wielkich Zespolow") on Radio Alfa Krakow 102.40 FM has deservedly just won first place at the "Conquerors Of The Air" awards ("Zdobywcy Eteru") of Polish MediaFM web site.

"MLWZ" roughly translates as 'A small lexicon of great bands', which is a modest title for a show that is often the first to air some of the best new progressive rock music amongst carefully selected classics. The show has been running since 1994 and continues to go from strength to strength. The award is a fitting commendation for such a humble pioneer.

If you are not already aware of MLWZ, I would strongly recommend checking it out, especially as his website doubles as a fantastic music webzine. The file with the recent radio shows can be downloaded in AUDIO sction of MLWZ website.

"Zdobywcy Eteru 2009" Poll:
'Best Radio Show' - No.1 - "Mały Leksykon Wielkich Zespołów"
'Radio DJ Of The Year' - No.2 - Artur Chachlowski
'Radio DJ On The Web' - No.4 - Artur Chachlowski

On “Bateless Edge,” Frogg Café consists of Bill Ayasse (violin, mandolin, vocals, hand percussion), James Guarnieri (drums, glockenspiel, orchestral percussion), Andrew Sussman (bass, cello, acoustic guitar), Nick Lieto (lead vocals, keyboards, trumpet, flugelhorn), John Lieto (trombone), and features the triumphant return of co-founding member, Frank Camiola (guitar, string bass, banjo). “Bateless Edge” is a stunning 78-minute statement, described by bassist/composer Andrew Sussman as a "reflection on incidents revolving around our own personal lives, as well as an integrated and newly formed sound that takes this band into realms that have been unexplored until now." “Bateless Edge” sees Frogg Café fearlessly breaking new musical ground while crafting some of the darkest and most intense musical statements made thus far by this ever-evolving band.

In this elaborate journey, Frogg Café explores many new textures and colors that add great dimension to the contemporary jazz-fusion sound that is unmistakably their own. The band incorporates for the first time detailed orchestration akin to symphony music. Clarinets, mandolins, cellos, glockenspiels, bass clarinets, xylophones, string quartets and many other instruments all integrate to create a soundscape that will yield the listener infinite details on future listens. Classical Indian influences also find their way into the mix, along with new levels of intricate compositional complexity, including a track that boasts a 28-page musical score consisting of roughly twenty-five different instruments.

Many additional instrumentalists were recruited to record this latest opus, including Andrew Sussman's father, Steve Sussman, on clarinet, Cardboard Amanda member, Dee Harris, on Indian Slide guitar and Tamboura, as well as fellow 10T artists, Vessela Stoyanova (Fluttr Effect), and Steve Kastikas (Little Atlas).

“Frogg Café is very special to 10T Records,” says label president Steve Carroll. “They were one of the bands that were foundational to the creation of 10T, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be bringing this release to the world. It is quite simply the definitive creative statement for a band that has consistently made a career out of being among the best of the best.”

“Bateless Edge” is available for pre-order starting on June 1, 2010. All orders received between now and the official release date will ship by the end of the week prior to the official release.

Additionally, everyone who pre-orders “Bateless Edge” will receive exclusive FREE temporary access to download “On the LillyPadd,” a full length digital album featuring the following previously unreleased Frogg Café recordings:

1. A Brass Quartet piece called "Prelude" that was originally recorded for Bateless Edge, but was cut due to time constraints.

2. A 25-minute in the studio spaced-out Frogg jam called "At the Table of the Leptons".

3. Excerpts from a never-released live show from Orion Studios recorded in Dec. 2006.

The band feels that this was one of their best shows, and features never been heard tracks.

All tracks from “Bateless Edge” are currently available to preview in their entirety through the 10T Records website.

Washington DC's premiere music festival returns for another exhilarating blast of avant music to challenge, provoke, inspire and delight DC area audiences. The tenth edition of Sonic Circuits will offer up the best in improv, avant rock, electronica, noise, and contemporary composition from around the globe. Our 10th anniversary deserves special celebration, and thus this year Sonic Circuits will shine a spotlight on the Francophone world to reveal some of the most creative and innovative contributions in contemporary music (including music genres that erase the classical/popular divide) and to present an astonishing number of avant-garde music’s most legendary artists to Washington DC audiences for the very first time. 2010 will also see the third installment of the popular District of Noise CD compilations featuring music by DC area experimental artists with a bonus LP of 100 lock grooves. We hope you'll join us for what will be an amazing week of musical discovery!

Formed in 2006, this group of young German musicians had instant chemistry with their new band Intersphere and set about crafting the songs for their debut album "s.o.b.p.". This album led to quite a few live dates and a lot of attention which inspired the band to work on their follow up "Interspheres - Atmospheres".

This sophomore release manages to blend a bit of heaviness with groove, catchy melodies on top of a progressive bedrock. The band is currently playing about 5 live shows a month throughout Germany and is looking to expand their fan base with this broader availability.

The band had this to say about partnering with ProgRock Records: "We are really delighted about signing with ProgRock Records. We were looking for a strong partner that knew their way around in the progressive genre and we are very confident that Shawn and his label can help us reach a lot of music lovers around the world."".

"The band was brought to my attention by my friend, vocalist Juan Roos after he saw a show of theirs in Germany and he was blown away. Knowing my tastes, he immediately sent them over to me and the song ‘Prodigy Composers’ had me totally hooked. I’m really happy to have worked a deal out with these talented young men, I think you’re going to like it.", said Shawn Gordon, President of ProgRock Records.

"Interspheres - Atmospheres" is the new worldwide ProgRock Records release from The Intersphere and can be found HERE. The album will be released late June 2010 and available in stores on September 7, 2010

Thorsten Sudler-Mainz aka Deep Imagination signed a contract with the renowned German record company BSC Music. Like the album's of his band "Art Of Infinity" the third album "Awareness" by Deep Imagination now appears on the BSC Music main label Prudence too.

The CD will be released on August 27th 2010 (distribution by Rough Trade), download will be available wordwide on August 13th 2010. To listen to Awareness soundexample please visit: Official Website or MySpace page.

A new Awareness one-minute-trailer is now online at YouTube :