An Introduction to Prog Rock Prof. J. Paradiso – MIT Media Lab Session 1: Intro - Things your dad should have told you about Prog Session 2; Canterbury Session 3: Rock in Opposition Session 4: Zeuhl Session 5: Space Rock and Neopsychedelia Session 6: French & Quebecois Prog Session 7: Rock Progressivo Italiano Session 8: Germany, Berlin, and Krautrock (perhaps some Scandavania too) Session 9: Japanese Prog Lecture 4 – The Canterbury Bands …and a few fascinating detours! IAP 2018
The City of Canterbury London Up Here
An amazingly creative bunch of emerging musicians hung out at Robert Wyatt’s House & environs in the mid 60s Memories Brian & Hugh Hopper, Richard Sinclair, Kevin Ayers formed The Wilde Flowers in the early 1960s – Daevid Allen, David Sinclair, Richard Coughlin, etc. in the mix too Leading to Soft Machine, Caravan, Gong, and Kevin Ayers solo career
Enter Soft Machine! Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge (Daevid Allen, Kevin Ayers)
Jimi was their colleague, friend, and fan He gave them their sound…
We Did It Again Early Soft Machine 1968 1969 Why Are We Sleeping? As Long as he Lies Perfectly Still Hung out and toured with Jimi Hendrix Fuzzbox and pedals on organ are iconic in Canterbury Music
Very intense live band Hope for Happiness (Live @ Middle Earth Club) - 1967
Live in France - 1968
Kevin Ayers splits for his solo career 1972 1974 1969 1970 Rheinhardt And Geraldine / Colores Para Dolores (1970) The Confessions Of Doctor Dream: Irreversible Neural Damage (1974)
Becoming a (psychedelic) Jazz Band 1971 1972 1970 Last album with Robert Wyatt Third was a breakthrough in psych jazz!!
Live in Brussels 1971 6:18
Robert Wyatt splits to get back to rock with Matching Mole 1972 1972 With Phil Miller, David Sinclair, Bill MacCormick, David McRae
Matching Mole Live in France, 1972
Robert Wyatt post M atching M ole , post accident 1974 1975 Pigs (In There) - 1982 Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road (1974) Released strong records, often with political overtones, through 2010
Later Soft Machine – Enter Karl Jenkins & Alan Holdsworth 1973 1973 1975 1976 Alan Holdsworth guitar John Etheredge guitar The Soft Weed Factor (1973) Nettle Bed (1973) Still together as Soft Machine Legacy (Etheredge, Babbington, et al) Bundles (1975)
Caravan 1971 1972 1973 1975 Nine Feet Underground Memory Lain, Hugh Richard Sinclair, David Sinclair, Pye Hastings, Richard Coughlan…
Uriel Arzachel (1969) 1972 release Garden of Earthly Delights By Hillage, Stewart, etc. David Stewart, Mont Campbell, Clive Brooks, Steve Hillage
Egg Egg - 1970 The Civil Surface - 1974 The Metronomical Society The Polite Force - 1971 2007 A Visit to the Newport Hospital (1971) Show Business … David Stewart, Mont Campbell, Clive Brooks David Stewart was in ‘The Ottawa Company’ with Chris Cutler after Egg and before…
Enter Virgin records!! Richard Branson’s then Prog Label launches in 1972
Hatfield and The North 1973 1975 Son Of 'There's No Place Like Homerton’ (1973) Big John Wayne Socks Psychology on the Jaw, Chaos at the Greasy Spoon, The Yes/No Interlude (1975) Phil Miller, David Stewart, Richard Sinclair, Pip Pyle (& many friends)
National Health 1982 1978 1977 See Also Tenemos Roads (1977) Gilgamesh The Bryden 2 Step (for Amphibians) Part 1 (1978) Phil Miller, David Stewart, John Greaves, Pip Pyle (Alan Gowen, Georgie Born, etc.)
Bruford Solo Albums 1979 1978 1980 Hells Bells (1979) Bill Bruford, David Stewart, Alan Holdsworth, Jeff Berlin See also UK (Bruford, Holdsworth, Eddie Jobson, John Wetton)
David Stewart & Barbara Gaskin 1990 2009 1986 1991 2009 Henry and James (1986) Barbara was from the Northettes and Spyro Gyra (70s Canterbury)
Supersister (Netherlands) Memories Are New (1970) A Girl Named You (1971) Judy Goes on Holiday (1972) R.J. Stips and friends
The Muffins (USA) 1978 1981 1993 (1975) 1977-1980 The Adventures of Captain Boomerang (1978) Zoom Resume (1981) The Muffins Reformed several times over the next decades and issued great subsequent records! Dave Newhouse, Tom Scott, Billy Swan, Paul Sears (and many friends)
Kojiro Yamashita (Japan) 2010 1985 Untitled (Track 2) Pondes Ete
Ain Soph (Japan) Mizzle
HenryTennis (Japan) 2006 Luster Brain
MIA. (Argentina) 1976 1977 Cornonstipicum (1978) Crifana Y Tamilstenes
Schnauser (UK) Protein For Everyone - 2014 Band from Bath, Alan Strawbridge’s follow-up to The Lucky Bishops. Strong Canterbury moments, especially around the time of this album National Grid (goes Canterbury midway through)
Syd Arthur (UK) 2014 2012 2016 Singularity Garden of Time Young ‘Canterbury’ Band
Interlude – Wild new mathrocky ’prog’ bands from central France! Ni PoiL Pryapisme Chromb! Ni – Butor (see video next slide from Burg Herzberg 2015) PoiL - Trouille cosmique Pryapisme - Boudin Blanc Et Blan Boudin Chromb! - Des Francis En Quinconce Perhaps a legacy in Etron Fou Leloublan, Albert Marcoeur, Moving Gelatine Plates…
Daevid Allen & Gong Formed in France by Daevid Allen & Gilli Smythe in 1967 after he was unable to return to the UK with Soft Machine (visa issues)
Gong Live on French TV 1973
Prime Early Classic-Period Gong 1973 1973 1974 1971 Planet Gong Zero The Hero and the Witch’s Spell (Flying Teapot) Trilogy Castle in the Clouds (Angel’s Egg) Master Builder (You) Daevid Allen, Gilli Smythe, Steve Hillage, Tim Blake, Miguette Grandy, Pierre Morelin, Mike Howlett, Didier Mallerbe, Pip Pyle….
Transition of Gong to Hillage then Pierre Morelin 1975 1976 1978 1979 1979 Expresso (1976) Alan Holdsworth replacing Hillage post Shamal Great albums, but not Allen-driven psychedelia – more jazz fusion
Steve Hillage Launches Solo Career 1975 1977 1976 1978 1979 (w. Rundgren/Utopia) Sea Nature (1978) Subsequent albums got funkier Steve went on to reinvent himself in Techno/EDM as ’System 7’
Daevid Allen in NYC The Zu Festival October 1978 Organized by Giorgio Gomelsky Daevid Allen & Gilli Smythe (Gong) Chris Cutler (Henry Cow) Yochk’o Seffer & Neffish Music The Muffins Bill Laswell and Pre-Material musicians First appearance by No-Wave Bands in afternoon Glen Branca, John Zorn, etc…. …I was there…. This event launched the ‘Downtown’ scene
Daevid re-emerges as New York Gong w. Laswell & Material 1990 1979 1982 O My Photograph (NY Gong) Daevid returns to Australia after, drives cab, lives on beach, etc. but puts out interesting records
Collaborations with Here & Now, Kramer, Makoto, Robson, etc. 1999 - Brainville 2003 w. AMT 1992 - w. Kramer 1978 (punky) Alphaville Beach (Brainville) 1992
…Then reforms ‘classic’ Gong 2000 2014 2009 The Eternal Wheel Spins (2014)
RIP Daevid Allen (March 2015) & Gilli Smyth ( August 2016) Posthumous Release 2016
4/08 JAP Watch These! ‘Romantic Warriors’ DVD set by Adele Schmidt & José Zegarra Holder In MIT’s Music Library Krautrock documentary in progress – Italian prog and perhaps space rock, etc. coming…. 44
ResEnv Research Update 4/16 Joe Paradiso
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