Issue 2025-063
Crypto Knight — Shifting Sands
Sergey Nikulichev
Being somewhat of a royal chronicler at the court of Crypto Knight with two reviews in anamnesis, I was positively happy to continue my acquaintance with the duo's career. While the first EP I reviewed seemed promising but uneven, the CK1 collection proved to be a great addition and one of the past year's personal highlights. The band showed nothing “progressively” mind-bending but gained a reputation of solid songwriters with a style – at least for me. While I am still to catch up with their early 2025 full-length release A Traveller's Tale, curiosity pushed me to hit play and get lost in Shifting Sands.
Less adult pop, more prog this time! While maintaining sublime influences from The Alan Parsons Project and going parallel courses with modern bands like Legacy Pilots and Cosmograf, the Johnson-Malugin duo extended the songs' length, added more airy synths. The resulting effect made the sound thicker and less acoustic-guitar-oriented, than CK1 - to the extent that at times Shifting Sands sound closer to Eloy in their late 70-ies period of career and 90-ies Floyd. What is equally important, the slightly nonchalant, relaxed mood of the previous releases gave way to more melancholic and – I'd risk saying – darker undertones here. Gone are the 4-minute songs and relaxed strumming of strings, enter sorrowful and introspective emotional palette, especially on the title track. Even the quazi-reggae rhythms on Sleeping Horse do not sound as optimistic as they would have been a year ago, while the vocalist, Tim Malugin, does his best to render another heartfelt, charismatic performance.
Despite the changes, not everything is yet perfect. On the downside, Crypto Knight still rely on programmed drums, and upon closer inspection, this may undermine any prog-purist impression. Both the sound of the drums feels plastic, and they are arranged with the other instruments in a rather cumbersome way. The cover art approach is equally amateurish and screams “homemade production”, not doing enough justice to the music. But on the whole, this “under-the-radar” project continues to deliver fine material in 2025, literally at Neal-Morse speed. Despite the low-budget approach in many aspects, the creative potential shines and does not disappoint. For everyone who's looking for something fresh and simple in their playlist, I reassert my earlier recommendation to pay attention to this project. This is an imperfect but rewarding experience.
Les Dunes — From Etne To The Edge Of Space
Mark Hughes
This is the second album from Norwegian post-rockers Les Dunes and their first appearance in DPRP. In case you are wondering about the album's title From Etne To The Edge Of Space, perhaps I can elucidate. Etne is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway, although from what I can discover, the band are actually from a neighbouring municipality of Haugesund. The group should not be confused with the American band L.S. Dunes! The Norwegian band is based around bassist and guitarist, although he limits himself to bass on this release, Per Steinar Lie who is also a member of, or played with, The Low Frequency In Stereo, Undergrünnen, Lumen Drones and Action & Tension & Space. The two other members are drummer Morten Jackman, who also plays with Helldorado, and guitarist Per Andreas Haftorsen, who seemingly is the slacker of the group and is not a member of any other band! It has been a couple of years since their eponymously titled debut, which by all accounts seems to have slipped under the radar somewhat.
Perhaps that is because, to the casual listener, it is often difficult to differentiate between a lot of post-rock bands, which I admit is rather a sweeping statement, but it is certainly true that diversity within the post-rock genre is not as wide as it is for, say, prog in general. Naturally, there will always be standout groups within any genre with my own personal favourites being Mono, Mogwai and early Godspeed You! Black Emperor. If you are into this type of music, then Les Dunes are worthy of attention as what they do, they do very well.
Expect plenty of atmosphere, plenty of transitions from quiet to loud sections, although the tempo, at medium pace, is pretty consistent throughout. The production is very clear with none of the three main instruments overtly dominating or being pushed too far back in the mix. The occasional use of other instruments, such as the xylophone on AGF, adds some variety.
It is not until the last two tracks, what would constitute the second side of an LP, that the band stretch out beyond five minutes. Vangen, presumably the Norwegian word for field or meadow and not the Dutch verb meaning to catch or capture, suffers a tad from a lack of variety while the title track itself has a very slow-core vibe yet is more emotionally intense.
A good album that adds something to the genre and stakes the claim that the band could be one to achieve great things in the future.
Cagri Raydemir — Compulsion For Approval
Martin Burns
Munich-based singer-songwriter and music producer Cagri Raydemir's new EP Compulsion For Approval comes after a line of other four track EPs and albums (a whopping 10 and 12 releases respectively), and carries on his artistic vision in a more stripped back and acoustic way. That's not to say there isn't his favoured electric guitars on here just that they are less integral to his overall sound.
Cagri Raydemir is responsible for all aspects of the music, lyrics, arrangements, production and instruments except for a guest Julian Hesse on trumpet on Celebrated Limitation. The music itself is drum-free and focuses on varied and often beguiling guitar texture that structure the good melodies.
The opening track has a stumbling rhythm that I found difficult to get on board with but the aforementioned trumpet saves this. Externalities has elements of free-jazz textures. Timely Intervention and Reputation both have a more conventional singer-songwriter feel to them with some nice electric playing.
I think I would have liked this more if it had been purely instrumental. The lyrics take on the human condition in all its complexity, and the ambition is great. What I didn't enjoy and was never won over by Cagri's singing style. He has a strong voice and can hold a tune, but it is too mannered and similar across all the tracks. It is the rising inflections at the end of the lines that spoil this for me. It's like being prodded in the chest when you have a heated debate with someone. Approach with caution.
Red Sand — The Sound Of Silence
Greg Cummins
Red Sand is a band I have been following for many years and have collected just about all their main albums since 2004 with The Sound Of The Seventh Bell being my favourite, followed by Pain't Box, Crush The Seed and Mirror Of Insanity. Most of their other albums are quite good with only the odd clanger amongst them.
One nice thing is that the band remains a compact, tightly-knit trio which gives the sound a lean consistency. Michel Renaud handles vocals — his tone is expressive, capable of vulnerability and occasional grit. Simon Caron plays guitar, bass, and keyboards — he's the multi‑instrumental backbone, weaving together the harmonic and textural threads while Perry Angelillo is on drums, giving the rhythmic framework solid punch and nuance. Because Simon covers guitars, bass, and keys, there is a kind of unified compositional vision whereby you can sense that many of the arrangements sprang from a single mind, rather than being patched together from wholly independent parts.
While I find much to admire, there are some tracks that stand out to me as especially strong and worth returning to again and again. The band opens with a track called Puzzle which may slightly remind some fans of the 70's German band Triumvirat who used a similar style of work on the organ. This is a bouncy type of affair and is the ideal song to open the innings.
Lost Fantasy is probably my favorite track. It opens with a spacious synth pad and a hesitant guitar motif that gently circles before the drums join in. The vocal melody is haunting, and there's a nice dynamic arc: a restrained verse that builds into a more assertive chorus. The interplay of guitar arpeggios and sustained keyboard pads gives it a semi‑ambient edge, yet it never loses momentum. The soaring lead guitar breaks throughout are seriously good and extremely melodic. Just the way I like them!
The Sound of Silence Part 1 / Part 2 is the heart of the album. Part 1 works more as an overture, sketching thematic material with melodic fragments in a minor mode followed by some subtle harmonic shifts when the keyboard moves beneath the guitar line. Again, the soaring guitar is incredibly enjoyable and will remind of Steve Hackett or Andy Latimer. In Part 2, the themes return but with a more restrained impact. There is less rock pulse with a more introspective texture. However, there's a satisfying resolution toward the end, though it's tempered — not a full “triumph,” but more like subdued acceptance.
Watcher struck me as the emotional core. The lyric (as I hear it) wrestles with observation, distance, and longing. The middle section features a guitar solo that, while not blistering, is very expressive. It uses bends, phrasing, a little delay and rides just on the edge of the harmony. The harmonic progression underneath shifts in a way that re-contextualizes earlier melodies but are played in a new light.
The Last Voice is more direct and song‑oriented, feeling more “band in a room” than atmospheric. The chorus is memorable, the rhythm section is locked in, and there's less meandering, despite its epic length of over 18 minutes. It's one of the tracks that ground the album when the more ambitious parts begin to float.
Those are the ones I return to first. I also like Puzzle for its role as opener as it sets the mood perfectly, while The Best ties up the lyrical and musical threads, albeit in a somewhat safe, familiar style.
Is the album a step forward or a step backwards? That is something I still need to wrestle with to finally decide. The obvious strengths of the album include a definite coherence of vision. Because Simon Caron is orchestrating so many of the instrument parts, the album feels unified. The transitions, motifs, and reappearances of melodies give an internal logic to the record. There are moments of genuine beauty, where space, silence, ambient textures, and restraint are used very effectively. Even when the instrumentation is complex, the emotional messages (loneliness, introspection, hidden conflict) often comes through with nothing to hold them back. Conversely, there are comparatively modest dynamic peaks. There are fewer moments of real “epic release” than I had hoped for. On their 2021 album (The Sound of the Seventh Bell), there were moments where the emotional crescendos felt sweeping, more cathartic. Here, sometimes you sense they're holding back or being cautious.
Because many of the tracks share similar textures (guitar and keys layering, drum fills bridging to the next section), after a few listens some of the transitions become a little predictable. A stronger contrast (e.g. a sudden breakdown, or a harsher tonal shift) would have helped jolt the listener more often. Having said that, however, this is still a good, if not brilliant album that should appease many fans. For starters, fans of fellow countrymen, Mystery will find much to enjoy here as the song smithing is on a similar professional level, while I can't dismiss the excellent similarities from Polish band, Millenium. There are many other similar bands who are creating quality neo-prog, so if that genre of music is up your cul-de-sac, then Red Sand is certainly a band you could comfortably try as there are often more positive points to their music than negative. Another great quality album just slightly eclipsed by their 2021 album.
Sequentia Legenda — A Ray Of Light
Jan Buddenberg
Having celebrated a decade of artistic and spiritual evolution with 2024's Decem, the prolific Laurent Schieber (a.k.a. Sequentia Legenda) returns with A Ray Of Light. On this glowing first album of 2025 (I anticipate on several others when I take Sequentia Legenda's four-album streak of 2024 into consideration; see the Search Page), Schieber steadily continues to share his visions of the Berliner Schule art with three long-form compositions that frequently recall Klaus Schulze.
Spiritually inspiring and recorded in the healing 432 Hz frequency that allows for closer harmony and stimulated feelings of connection, relaxation, and meditation, these three compositions in sequence offer "a gentle call to align with the universe, embrace peace, honour love, and awaken the Light within". And once again give unlimited freedom for imagination and inner contentment through their harmoniously created mosaic of dreamy atmospheres and brightly glowing sequences that wrap one in a comfortable blanket of peaceful serenity.
In full title reflection and awash with vast oceanic purity, opener Stellar Energy Portal transports one into bright ethereal atmospheres and rich luminescent melodic arrangements aglow with radiant sunbursts and dream-hypnotic sequences. It pulsates onwards in finest Berliner Schüle tradition with an energetic collage of thunderstorm explosions and meticulously glowing synth flows. Together with an element of mysteriousness around the 14 minute mark, it creates a wonderful sense of divinity that soothingly reminds of Schulze, Tangerine Dream and Jean Michel Jarre.
Symphony Of Galactic Vibrations resonates with Eloy. Harmonious symphonies gravitate with rhapsodic bliss. A fascinating kaleidoscopic whirlpool of extra-terrestrial sounds effects and palpitating Zen melodies flow onward brightly.
The concluding Children Of A Solar Light, heralded in the accompanying booklet as "The illumination of the Path to Peace And Harmony", takes this wonderful created spiritual feel even higher with lush synth flows and crystalline chiming sequences that from afar yields Mike Oldfield. It ultimately reaches a wonderful level of tranquillity, contemplative awareness, and enlightenment through softly twinkling melodies and absorbing breezy atmospheres.
In analogy to Decem and Alcyone, A Ray Of Light is again a fully satisfying experience that serves up a multitude of intricate details and stirring arrangements, fully worth discovering for EM enthusiasts. Personally, the album doesn't shine as bright as the exceptional Galactic Crystals for me. But that's simply down to taste. Because A Ray Of Light is another impressive album by Schieber. And comes highly recommended for those who cherish the masterful Berliner Schüle art form traditionally attributed to Klaus Schulze.
Asaf Sirkis — The Journey Is You
Owen Davies
I have always appreciated the quality of the solo albums of Asaf Sirkis and have been impressed by his recent contributions to Soft Machine. Sirkis is undoubtedly one of my favourite drummers and ranks alongside such accomplished players as Bill Bruford, Focus' Pierre Van Der Linden and the much missed John Marshall (whose work with Eberhard Weber, Nucleus, Soft Machine and many others was absolutely enthralling).
During The Journey Is You there are several stand-out moments in the excellent compositions where dexterity feel and touch behind the kit come to the fore. However, it is the quality of the tunes and the sensitively spun arrangements leave a memorable impression. The carefully spun tunes enable all the players to shine, and their collective contribution makes the greatest impact on this impressive album.
There is a great sense of continuity as the album unfolds. This is largely due to using recognisable melodies motifs and themes. These recur or are fleetingly revisited in pieces such as, In Breather, Neptune, Awakening, The Journey Is You and The Voice.
The human voice is used as an instrument in several tunes. This creates a fascinating atmosphere that is strikingly evocative, often beautiful, and warmly emotive. It is arguably this contrast between the frail elegance of the human voice and the expressive high and low tones of the keyboards, bass, and guitar (frequently underpinned by Sirkis crisp rhythms), that makes this album so interesting and so utterly gratifying.
Nevertheless, there is one composition entitled Sycorax that is predominantly a drum piece. It is essentially a showcase for Sirkis masterful ability. Sycorax bursts from speaker to speaker, rattles and shakes the curtains and tummy with a rhythmic rumble.
The album begins with In Breather. It has many different sections and features a striking guitar motif and a pure toned human voice (which on reflection might be enhanced with have some sort of effect, or may even be keyboard generated).
The discordance of the guitar contrasts with the mournful beauty of the voice. This minimalist part of the tune is particularly atmospheric and brilliantly resolves as it transitions to a bright dialogue between electric guitar and keys. The busy drumming is exceptional, but somehow the pounding rhythms blend seamlessly with the enchanting yet unsettling nature of the tune.
There were occasions when the candle-flickering ambience of the tune reminded me of the expressive warbling of Norma Winstone. In this respect, the minimalist style of some portions of In Breather shared some commonality with the mood-enhancing qualities of Winstone's latest recorded work I Am The Sun You Are The Moon and her outstanding collaboration with Mark Barrott.
Vocalist Sylwia Bialas excels in As The Earth Shifts. If you value bands such as, Azimuth, Turning Point and Urszula Dudziak's work with Michal Urbaniak, then Bialas captivating voice and raw emotive pull will clasp your senses in a warm embrace. The tune drifts and wafts with purpose as it journeys towards its conclusion. It features a delightful piano interlude and some cleanly struck guitar parts full of floating tones and carefully chosen phrases.
My favourite piece is probably Channel of Initiation. Parts of it reminded me of the style of many different artists including Gilgamesh and Soft Machine. Guitarist David Preston creates some delightfully distorted tones. These had me reaching for comparisons to Phil Miller.
Channel of Initiation incorporates distortion and melody to great effect. I thoroughly enjoyed the contrasting sound of the squealing guitar, bulging bass and sweeping organ. These components were just aggressive enough to create a sense of foreboding and menace.
If you were curious to learn why Asaf Sirkis is so highly regarded as a drummer, then look no further than his mesmerising contribution to this outstanding piece.
Awakening revisits some of the themes of In Breather. However, it is a much heavier piece where distortion and melody precariously sit hand in hand. All the players have an important role as the tune travels through shifts of tone and dynamic changes of emphasis. These different facets skillfully contrast. They gently flicker like a reluctant candle. Later purposefully combine to combust and ignite like dry tinder. Overall, it's just a superb fusion piece.
The title track of the album is equally impressive. The ensemble playing is simply wonderful. Its core melody is memorable. It is gentle and uplifting and beautiful and elegant. I was totally smitten by the attractive piano and guitar parts that drizzle and drench the piece. They ensure that everything about the tune is awash on a wave of quality.
Whilst The title track is certainly moving A Glimpse of Hope is even more enchanting. The combination of jangly guitar and wordless vocals is stirring and bewitching. It follows and contrasts brilliantly with the impassioned The Voice, which is full of sustained guitar tones and miscreant distortion in its reprise of elements of In Breather. The howl-wail, bleating-screaming, sound-shifts of the guitar in this piece are quite stunning.
The Journey Is You is an impressive album. I play it often and it is always an immersive and fascinating experience I adore it!