Over the last 30-odd years, Amplifier have established themselves as Manchester’s foremost space rock quartet. Only they’re no longer based in Manchester nor a quartet. Change has been afoot in the Amplifier camp, as singer and guitarist Sel Balamir and drummer Matt Brobin have left the north-west and headed for the south coast, settling near Brighton. This may help explain the briny flavour of Balamir’s 2021 solo album, the ocean-themed Swell.
“I’ve been moving to the sea for the past 20, 30 years. I was just stuck in the wrong place,” says Balamir.
Like his gradual drift down to the seaside, Balamir hasn’t rushed to put out new Amplifier music. Trippin’ With Dr Faustus arrived in 2017 and while the next full album, Gargantuan, has been announced, there’s still no release date. Fortunately, in the meantime, the band have released the six-track mini-album – or megaEP, perhaps? – Hologram.
“We’ve been working on Gargantuan for a while, but as the name suggests it is quite expansive,” says Balamir. “All the time I’m working on it, I’m aware that people are waiting for something new to listen to, so I decided to take a bit of a detour. Generally, when we put an album out there are songs that don’t fit on the album but that have come up along the way, so Hologram is in that tradition.”
In the gap between Amplifier albums, Balamir released two solo records, Orphans and the aforementioned Swell, and the band haven’t exactly been in hibernation. “We’ve put out loads of little things on
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JAKKO M JAKSZYK
King Crimson's vocalist and guitarist shares anecdotes from his revealing new autobiography, discusses his lost career as a footballer and reveals what he said when he met the former king of pop.
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Fourth Dimension
The stock of melodic Northumberland-based proggers Stuckfish has been rising since they formed six years ago. Their fourth studio album, Stuckfish IV, represents an important watershed in the band's musical evolution. Co-founders Adrian Fisher and Phil Stuckey tell Prog about the diverse influences that have helped to shape it.
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We've Not Been Expecting You
The unpredictable Frost* are back with Life In The Wires, a bold double concept album that revisits the mood of Milliontown. Bandleader Jem Godfrey tells Prog why he rolled out the solos on a record he describes as the most fun since their dazzling debut.
FAR HORIZONS AND PANORAMIC AMBITIONS
Dutch five-piece Lesoir have been steadily gathering momentum over the last 15 years, and they hope to build on that with their latest release, Push Back The Horizon. Vocalist/ instrumentalist Maartje Meessen and guitarist Ingo Dassen discuss the creation of their sixth album, working with Muse's production team, and their dream of bringing their intricate music to new audiences.
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Tony Banks reflects on his role as a 21st-century classical composer.
There Can Be Only One!
Never meet your heroes, or so the saying goes, but Opeth have had a blast working with Ian Anderson on their latest, The Last Will And Testament. Bandleader Mikael Åkerfeldt and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson discuss the band's proggiest album to date, the return of the growl and why blood isn't always thicker than water.
