The Flower Kings are gearing up to release their latest album, Waiting For Miracles, through InsideOut Music on November 8. However mainman Roine Stolt has taken time out of his busy schedule to tell Prog Magazine about his favourite up and coming new prog musicians.
That Joe Payne
Yes, I admit I didn't know of Joe until I bumped into him after a show on my tour with Steve Hackett. He told me he just left The Enid & he seemed like a nice guy. Next day in trying to cure my ignorance I checked a few YouTube clips with Joe and was totally blown away. How is it even possible that I did not know of this guy?! He is one of the most talented singers around. The passion and stage presence is stunning! I hope and predict there is a great future for Joe - he writes songs and play great piano too.
iamthemorning
I admit I'm fairly new to this band, but the beautiful blend of grand piano and female voice is captivating. If you are looking for a quick Yes or ELP fix, look elsewhere. This band has a very gentle and dreamy sound, yet with a fair amount of intricate playing. I will dig deeper into this and I encourage one and all to do the same.
District 97
This is a band I discovered 10 years ago, they are insanely talented and in my view a top shelf modern prog band. Leslie Hunt is of course the central focus with her fantastic voice-acrobatics and great stage presence. The band is insanely tight and these guys are worthy of a much, much bigger audience. This is prog rock with emphasis on odd times and breakneck crazy-cool riffs!
Jennie Abrahamson
I see a forest of question marks coming up. Who is she? Well, to get a prog connection, Jenny is one of the two Swedish female singers that got a chance to open up on Peter Gabriel’s latest tours. She also sang with Peter in his set. I saw them in London & Peter even quietly got onstage to present his 'support act' at the huge O2 arena. I guess this shows his absolute respect for Jenny (& Linnea.) So if good enough for Gabriel & me, then you have got to check her out. One of the finest female voices I've heard in decades!
Cory Henry
OK, we're not exactly in absolute prog-wonderland here. However this is a player so natural and so gifted that I've rarely seen anything like him in decades. He is a hammond organ player & singer, but any synth or instrument sounds heavenly in his hands. It's not about chops, it's not about fast runs - it's about the insanely good phrasing, the groove and the bottomless well of cool phrases and runs - it's about SOUL! Like the rest of my list, this is pure music, far removed from the fabricated image or business bullshit. When Cory plays, my spirit dances. Mostly familiar as member of Snarky Puppy.
