New progressive rock trio UMÆ have streamed their debut single, Turn Back Time, which you can hear below. It features contributions from John Wesley and Haken bassist Conner Green.
The song is taken from the band's forthcoming debut concept album Lost In The View which will be released towards the end of the year. The band feature guitarist and vocalist Anthony Cliplef, guitarist Guojon Sveinsson and drummer Samy-George Salib. On Turn Back Time they are joined by Icelandic singer Hulda Kristin Kolbrunardottir. Steven Wilson keyboard player Adam Holzman also appears on the new record.
“Turn Back Time was written in a batch of songs I’d been compiling, hoping for a future album back in 2009/2010," Cliplef told Prog. "I was listening heavily to Transatlantic’s The Whirlwind and loved the powerful, anthemic themes and the prominent influences of older bands like Yes, Rush, and Genesis, which, to me were heavily present in their music. When the opportunity arose to go to Iceland and write and demo music with Guðjón, I proposed this track. The themes from this song ended up becoming the glue that binds this album together, both musically and lyrically, manifesting itself in different ways at various points in the album.
“When we started tracking for the album, it was amazing to hear what I had envisioned come to life. Samy was very faithful to the drums I originally programmed, while shaping it into something that sounded like an actual drummer would play. The same goes for the bass; I was very pleased with the bass track Conner sent back to us. He transformed and brought the basslines to life. Magnús laid down rich and lively keys, adding a full, lush texture to the song. John Wesley tracked vocals on several songs of ours, but this was the one that sold me. He has the perfect character to his voice for what the song is trying to say in order to set the mood for the album. Adding Hulda's wonderful vocals on top really brought out what the music and lyrics called for on various points on the album, including this track.”
UMÆ will be touring later in the year.
