“I sang before I spoke,” singer-songwriter Jo Beth Young begins. “Anyone in my family will tell you I preferred singing to speaking. It has been a passion for as long as I can remember.”
Young’s love for her craft is one of the main drivers behind her music. For her, creating and performing isn’t simply about becoming a musician, but accepting that intrinsic part of herself.
“I can’t imagine not being a musician,” she muses. “If I didn’t make records, I’d still be a musician, even if I went and sang to the seals!”
Music is a powerful artform that’s been used throughout the centuries for healing purposes.
“It is one of the biggest healing arts in the world,” she says. “It intrinsically makes us who we are, whether we think we are musical or not.”
In her own life, music has been a refuge and a form of release. Recalling her early years at school, Young reflects on how her experience of physical bullying led her to join the church choir.
“It was the one place I was safe,” she states, “where it felt like I had a place in the world.”
Young’s music teacher encouraged her to explore her musical interests. Later, at secondary school, it was her guitar teacher who prompted her to develop her singing talent following a performance.
“I became a backing singer as a joke just to get out of classes at school,” Young laughs, “but when the lead singer fainted with fear, I ended up taking over. My guitar teacher told me I should focus on singing.”
Two decades later, in 2018, her first album, An Abandoned Orchid House, recorded as Talitha Rise, was released to international acclaim.
“I’d been playing my own music live since I was 17 and I was 40 when Abandoned… happened,” says Young. “That’s a lot of years to be wondering if you really are a musician or not. When the vinyl arrived, it was a lifechanging moment.”
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Esta historia es de la edición Issue 153 de Prog.
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The Bottom Line
The experimental Aussies have turned heads with their dual bass player set-up, but chief songwriter Matt Fack says The Omnific are no mere gimmick. Having honed their craft to its sharpest point with' second album The Law Of Augmenting Returns, he sits down with Prog to discuss their desire to redefine what bass guitars can do.
UNFADING MEMORIES
Experimental Norwegian jazz-rock trio Elephant9 return with eight new tracks that make up the exploratory Mythical River. The band's co-founders, bassist Nikolai Hængsle and keyboard player Ståle Storløkken, reveal the appeal of long coffee breaks, collabs with Led Zep bassist John Paul Jones, and why three really is the magic number.
Life, Death And The Decemberists
Death, Billy Joel and angelic visitations are just three of the ingredients that shaped The Decemberists' latest album As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again. Vocalist Colin Meloy talks to Prog about creativity as a form of hallucination, sneaking progressive music into the record collections of unsuspecting listeners, and why you have to earn the long songs.
Spellbinding
Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Jo Beth Young is back with a third album, which she describes as art-pop or experimental folk. Prog catches up with Young to learn more about the inspiration and process behind the thought-provoking Broken Spells.
COME BACK STRONGER
Tears For Fears, an A-grade solo from Steve Rothery and, erm, whalesong have all made their mark on the current release from Dave Foster Band. The guitarist and vocalist Dinet Poortman discuss their more relaxed approach to Maybe They'll Come Back For Us, and Foster opens up about his recent departure from Big Big Train.
A Family Affair
Norwegian chamber proggers Meer are back with their hotlyanticipated third album, Wheels Within Wheels. Prog catches up with co-vocalist Johanne Kippersund Nesdal and guitarist Eivind Strømstad to discuss the writing process, running their own festival and the challenges of being part of an octet.
Goodbye Blue Sky
When Pure Reason Revolution made an unexpected but very welcome return with 2020's Eupnea, all eyes were on them to see what they'd do next. However, internal changes, personal grief and a case of writer's block made the future seem less certain. New album Coming Up To Consciousness allays those fears with a selection of powerful new material and a modified line-up. Frontman Jon Courtney chats to Prog about finding inspiration during dark times, working with Guy Pratt and his renewed vigour for the band he founded at university.
PYRAMANIA
Egypt's pyramids have long captivated our imagination, with some even believing the magnificent structures harness magical or healing powers. In 1978, masters of the concept album The Alan Parsons Project explored themes of pyramid power and ancient magic on their third studio album, Pyramid. Prog and Parsons step back in time to uncover the story behind the group's Grammynominated and recently reissued record.
Still Life
\"I like to mix things that don't belong together and see what happens,\" says Eivør Pálsdóttir. The singer-songwriter talks to Prog about channelling the folk traditions of her Faroese home, the power of solitude, and the inspiring magic of the natural world into her transformative new album ENN.
Prog, Pop and Progress
By stripping back their instrumentation, Norway's art-rock sensations Leprous have found a different beast lurking below. Heavier and catchier than ever, they hope it can help them reach new frontiers. Prog catches up with vocalist Einar Solberg and guitarist Tor Oddmund Suhrke to uncover the story behind their new album, Melodies Of Atonement.
