After eighteen months of meticulous crafting, Across The Sea are set to unveil their much-anticipated second album The Wayfarer Triptych, scheduled for release on 1st October. A nine-track concept piece, the album narrates an original story penned by the band themselves, marrying fantasy and folklore, fairytale and philosophy, to present a stirring tale of drama, adventure and mystery.
An artistic endeavour near-cinematic in its scope and ambition, The Wayfarer Triptych sees the genre-defying progressive duo push every aspect of their signature sound to the extreme in order to create an immense work of astonishing musicality, vivid storytelling, dizzying virtuosity, and staggering emotional resonance.
Hailing from Worthing on the West Sussex coast in the south of England, Across The Sea sound unlike any act you’ve heard before. Evocative, otherworldly, and utterly captivating, they defy categorisation, inhabiting a place where the boundlessness of the imagination transcends genre limitations and conventions. A breathtaking synthesis of the haunting, siren-like vocals of classically trained soprano Hannah Katy Lewis and the dynamic, unorthodox and experimental guitar style of Pete Ferguson, their mesmerisingly unique sound is wildly eclectic, fiercely inventive and singularly distinctive.
Their critically-acclaimed first album Infinite Worlds was released in December 2018, featuring on HMV Brighton’s recommended list and being lauded by a diverse range of outlets as a startlingly original debut. The June 2019 stand-alone single Behind the Looking Glass gained further recognition for the duo, picking up considerable airplay in the UK and internationally.
Playing over 150 shows since their inception, the pair have earned a reputation as one of the most tirelessly active and genuinely innovative acts on the live circuit, whose immersive and theatrical performances have enchanted audiences at venues throughout the south and – as part of a successful 2019 summer tour – festivals such as Victorious, Wickham and Rhythmtree.
So, prepare to join Across The Sea on their enthralling musical odyssey The Wayfarer Triptych, as a girl, inspired by her discovery of an extraordinary and beguiling triptych painting, embarks on an epic journey through the remains of a broken world in search of hope, purpose, and a forgotten truth…
The Wayfarer Triptych will be available from Across The Sea’s online store on CD and a variety of digital formats www.acrosstheseauk.com
Across The Sea – what they say:
“Early Joni Mitchell meets Hawkwind in this Space-Rock-fuelled, Folk fusion journey. Set the controls for a far-flung flight of fantasy to a distant galaxy where Space Rock, Folk and Opera are one. Brimming with complex musical ideas and literary concepts, Across the Sea will challenge you to consider where one genre ends, and another begins.” – Alistair Goodwin, Music Producer & Events Organiser, Wickham Festival
“A unique musical act that is virtually impossible to pigeonhole genre-wise, combining amazing vocals with breath-taking guitar work.” – Ivan Roberts, Riff Taff Music Networking
“Something to get drawn into and swept away with.” – Metal Meyhem Radio
“…uncompromising, dark, ethereal beauty…the extreme juxtaposition of Hannah’s exquisitely pure vocal and Pete’s deep and intricate guitar playing is extraordinary and compelling.” – Clare and John Fowler, Dandelion Charm
“Combined they’re a 2 piece that sound like a 10 piece.” – Headlights and White Lines
“Hannah Katy Lewis’ vocal is startlingly good, ranging from Kate Bush theatricals to Middle-Eastern chanting…” – Listen With Monger
“Wow! I’ve never heard anything so intense. This is the best I’ve heard Hannah’s vocal – absolutely stunning! Brilliant guitar work by Pete too.” – Mike Five, New Music Saturday (discussing recent single ‘Nightfall in the Labyrinth’)
The Wayfarer Triptych – release information:
Track listing:
I
1. Prologue
2. Awakening
3. Nightfall in the Labyrinth
II
4. Of Mist, Mountain and Sea
5. Utopia
6. Conjure the Tempest
III
7. Serenity and Chaos
8. Light the World with Wisdom’s Flame
9. Swansong
Credits:
Vocals – Hannah Katy Lewis
Guitar – Pete Ferguson
Written, recorded & performed by Across The Sea
Recorded at Humber Studios & The Mothership, August – October 2020
‘Nightfall in the Labyrinth’ is the new single from Sussex-based progressive duo Across The Sea. Released on 6th August it’s the lead single ahead of the duo’s much-anticipated second album, a nine-track concept piece entitled The Wayfarer Triptychwhich is scheduled for release on 1st October.
Deep amongst the maze-like ruins of a fallen city, a girl is pursued through the night as she flees in a desperate bid for survival. And far in the distance, a great wall of mist rises from the darkness, standing between her and the hope of salvation. What lies beyond? Will she reach the other side? Or will she remain imprisoned in this labyrinth forever?
The fastest track the duo have ever committed to tape, ‘Nightfall in the Labyrinth’ showcases Across The Sea at their most ferociously intense yet strikingly melodic, twisting and turning through a barrage of frenetic guitar riffs, towering vocal hooks and complex rhythmic shifts, as the track spirals towards its soaring and dynamic finale.
Hailing from Worthing on the West Sussex coast in the south of England, Across The Sea sound unlike any act you’ve heard before. Evocative, otherworldly, and utterly captivating, they defy categorisation, inhabiting a place where the boundlessness of the imagination transcends genre limitations and conventions. A breathtaking synthesis of the haunting, siren-like vocals of classically trained soprano Hannah Katy Lewis and the dynamic, unorthodox and experimental guitar style of Pete Ferguson, their mesmerisingly unique sound is wildly eclectic, fiercely inventive and singularly distinctive.
Their critically-acclaimed first album Infinite Worlds was released in December 2018, featuring on HMV Brighton’s recommended list and being lauded by a diverse range of outlets as a startlingly original debut. The June 2019 stand-alone single Behind the Looking Glass gained further recognition for the duo, picking up considerable airplay in the UK and internationally.
Playing over 150 shows since their inception, the pair have earned a reputation as one of the most tirelessly active and genuinely innovative acts on the live circuit, whose immersive and theatrical performances have enchanted audiences at venues throughout the south and – as part of a successful 2019 summer tour – festivals such as Victorious, Wickham and Rhythmtree.
‘Nightfall in the Labyrinth’ will be available from Across The Sea’s online store in a variety of digital formats www.acrosstheseauk.com
Across The Sea – what they say:
“Early Joni Mitchell meets Hawkwind in this Space-Rock-fuelled, Folk fusion journey. Set the controls for a far-flung flight of fantasy to a distant galaxy where Space Rock, Folk and Opera are one. Brimming with complex musical ideas and literary concepts, Across the Sea will challenge you to consider where one genre ends, and another begins.” – Alistair Goodwin, Music Producer & Events Organiser, Wickham Festival
“A unique musical act that is virtually impossible to pigeonhole genre-wise, combining amazing vocals with breath-taking guitar work.” – Ivan Roberts, Riff Taff Music Networking
“Something to get drawn into and swept away with.” – Metal Meyhem Radio
“We love Across the Sea – uncompromising, dark, ethereal beauty. One of the most interesting acoustic artists around. Can’t wait to hear what they’ll do next.”John Fowler of prog duo Dandelion Charm
“Across the Sea are a rare find. The extreme juxtaposition of Hannah’s exquisitely pure vocal and Pete’s deep and intricate guitar playing is extraordinary and compelling.”Clare Fowler, Dandelion Charm
“Combined they’re a 2 piece that sound like a 10 piece.” – Headlights and White Lines
“Hannah Katy Lewis’ vocal is startlingly good, ranging from Kate Bush theatricals to Middle-Eastern chanting…” – Listen With Monger
Nightfall in the Labyrinth – credits:
Vocals – Hannah Katy Lewis
Guitar – Pete Ferguson
Written, recorded & performed by Across The Sea
Recorded at Humber Studios & The Mothership, August – October 2020
Alan Hewitt has played keyboards with the Moody Blues since 2010 as well as fronting his own band Alan Hewitt & One Nation. In this interview we talk about growing up in a small US town where all the upcoming local bands seemed to be obsessed with English prog, about eventually getting the call from the Moody Blues and about catching Covid while performing an online gig to a virtual audience. We also discuss his latest single and forthcoming album.
DJ: It’s so nice to speak to you, Alan, and thanks so much for your time doing this. First, I’d just like to find out a little bit about how you got into music professionally in the first place?
AH: Ok, Darren, great to be here… Well, I started out like a lot of kids do, you know, twelve years old and I started on drums and we put a band together. I grew musically as time went on. Those were fun years. My brother actually played bongos in my band and we would play gigs together.
DJ: A percussion duo, you and your brother then!
AH: Yeah! Actually my brother was a real kind of nurturing guy along the way. You know you need someone to kind of help support you along the way. My parents were great, too. So then, had a band – fourteen-fifteen years old – which was a really cool band. It was three of us, kind of like an Emerson Lake & Palmer thing. And we did Tchaikovsky, and we would turn them into rock tunes. And we opened up for a lot of known acts and so that was kind of my start to getting into the little bit bigger realm of things. From that point on I went to Berklee College of Music and that’s where things started blossoming as I started getting some foundation under me. And it moved from there…
DJ: So the prog classically-influenced thing came at quite an early age then?
AH: It was interesting because the town I grew up in (Petoskey, Michigan) was really small. It would be like Cobham, something like that over there. And we had several bands and pretty much all of the bands were into progressive rock. I mean like Gentle Giant, Blodwyn Pig, Genesis, Yes, and of course, Emerson, Lake & Palmer – all of them! Yeah, it’s kind of strange actually. I wanted to go as far out as I could possibly go. Some of the guys I was with that was far enough. I wanted to go even further so that’s why I kind of moved on.
DJ: And eventually at some point the call came to begin touring with the Moody Blues. How did that gig come about?
AH: Well there was quite a gap in there because I had film and TV and then I did some other things. And then along the lines I was in a management group which had Earth, Wind & Fire, Warrant, Moody Blues and the Beach Boys and some others. So that was how it originally all came together. I had met Justin (Hayward) about twenty years prior to me being in the band and we got along great. I had a sail-boat, we’d go out sailing – just kind of hanging. Did a little music but not much. And then, like you said, later on I got a call asking me if I’d be interested in going out. They didn’t tell me it was the Moody Blues though. I said, “It depends who it is but I’m interested.” And after I had a little meeting with Robert Norman who was our agent, he approved it to the next level and then I had an audition – along with some other guys, too. And then I got the gig and that’s kind of how it came down.
DJ: Wonderful. Although you weren’t a nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame presumably you were there as part of the live performance?
AH: Yeah, we got to play!
DJ: That must be something!
AH: It was cool. It was really cool. It was a long night for the guys because we were last on – and, of course, they have to sit out there at the table with everybody. But it was really cool. I spent a lot of time in the green room with Ann Wilson and some of the other people that were in there – and it was a gas.
DJ: Because she inducted the band didn’t she?
AH: She did. And it’s interesting because I had met her. I had a band in Chicago back in the mid-80s and they worked at a studio called Pierced Arrow. Remember that song ‘Another Paradise’ with the guy from Loverboy? They were recording that… and I happened to be working a lot at that studio, too, and the guy who co-produced and mixed all of our records was doing that record. And I met her then, so we talked about that and she goes, “Wow, that’s a long time ago.”
DJ: Must have been a fantastic occasion for the band?
AH: Oh yeah. Have you had any of the other guys on? Have you had Justin or John here with you?
DJ: No, I did see Justin – he performed a solo gig down here in 2019 at De La Warr Pavilion. I’m down on the south coast.
AH: Nice. I did his first solo tour with him and it was really nice. Him and John – he’s totally acoustic and plays all his work. And John’s is more of a rock show so it’s an interesting contrast.
DJ: When live performances get going again in the UK, I’d definitely like to see more of them.
AH: That would be nice.
DJ: You’ve obviously continued with a parallel solo career while being in the Moody Blues – and your film and TV work, too. Do you still continue with the film and TV compositions?
AH: I do yeah – I like to stay as creative as possible, so the Alan Hewitt & One Nation project is kind of an extension of the music that I really enjoy – whatever comes out basically because I need that conduit. It’s always coming in and so I have to bring it out. So we’re working on that album and that will be done shortly. We’re moving along pretty good. We’re on about half way through – and some of the new songs are pretty cool, too. And, yeah, the film and TV thing is a continual thing. I do – probably twenty-five shows I have music in on any given day…
DJ: So any shows that British viewers would be familiar with?
AH: I do have some British shows but you’re putting me in the hot chair – what are some of them? I have some stuff on the BBC… I know I have some documentaries. One’s about the redwoods – the trees over here. I think there’s a farm animal show and there was one about turtles, too! There’s three of those – those are documentaries. Of course, I did Bridget Jones – Edge of Reason. I know that’s not real British, but they play British – and there’s one Brit in it right!
DJ: We know that – we’ll go with that! What initially prompted you to put Alan Hewitt & One Nation together then? Tell us a little bit about that.
AH: Well it started, I just had a bunch of different revelations and it’s something I always wanted to do, and I was at a point – we took a break with the Moodies. I think it was at least five months. So it was a time where I could go ahead and start moving along with things. And it started with Jamie Glazier from Chick Corea and Jean-Luc Ponty. And J.V. Collier and Sonny Emory from Earth, Wind & Fire. And then Duffy King who’s my friend from northern Michigan, who was in one of those bands I told you about – and has won tons of awards in Detroit for his music and guitar playing. He was a Gibson clinic guy, too. So that was the foundation of that first band. And then I took a break from it because I got busy with touring with the Moodies and John (Lodge). And then we started it up again because now Duffy King’s still in it and then Billy Ashbaugh from the Moodies – the drummer from the Moodies who joined a few years ago to play along with Graham (Edge). And then David C. Johnson from the Neville Brothers. So then three of us live in Florida. So that made it a lot easier to do things. And then Duffy flies in when we need to do events or anything. We did a virtual ProgStock concert, but we had to go to a studio to do it, over in Fort Myers, and we all got Covid there.
DJ: Oh dear me.
AH: See what we do for the fans!
DJ: So you’re doing an online concert – looking after your audience and everything – but you still get Covid.
AH: Yeah. That was back in October and everybody’s good now. There was a few complications with a few of us but we’re all good on that now. So it kind of evolved into what it is and this way we’re going to be able to tour a lot easier. A smaller group and we have a new agent who is Jim Lenz from TKO. And the guys just all love what we’re doing. It’s just a really good, nice hang because we all get along great so it’s nice.
DJ: When is the album due? Is there a date?
AH: We’re looking for Summer, but it could be Fall. It just depends. A lot of it depends on this situation. It was starting to look good over here and now we’re getting a little bit of an upsurge again but – I’m hopeful.
DJ: I’ve heard the latest single ‘We’re One Nation’ which I love, and I love the sentiment behind that. Do you want to say a little about that and how you were inspired to write that?
AH: Of course, just like you and everybody else we’ve been paying attention to things and I just got to the point where instead of yelling at the TV I wrote it down. And that’s kind of where that came from. It’s not an angry thing but the concept is that if we all just kind of work together we’d be much better off – instead of splintering off into these little groups. So that’s the bottom line.
DJ: And the timing was perfect I think.
AH: Yeah. It definitely was. We had a single before that called ‘One Step Closer’. That’s a little bit more… it’s one step closer to the edge is basically what it was. ‘We’re One Nation’ is a little bit more positive
DJ: I absolutely love it.
AH: That’s good. I’m glad you like it.
DJ: Is there anything else you want to tell us? Any final thoughts you want to leave us with?
AH: Oh well, just we hope everybody can go out and see shows pretty soon and we’re looking forward to doing it, also. And thanks Darren for doing the podcast. Appreciate it.
DJ: It’s really good to chat. Thanks so much and good luck with everything. I hope you can get out performing soon.
AH: I do, too, and if we come near you we’ll see you?
Steve Tyler is a renowned hurdy gurdy player and from early music to traditional folk to industrial electronica he is at home playing within a variety of genres. He currently performs as a duo with Katy Marchant, as well as in the medieval-inspired trad folk band Woodwose (again with Marchant) and as part of the cross-cultural outfit Meridianum Ensemble.
The Enduring and the Ephemeral, however, is Tyler’s first album comprised fully of his own original material. The unique, utterly mesmerising sound of the hurdy gurdy takes centre-stage in this album of rich, layered, experimental prog-folk subtitled ‘Hurdy gurdy based multitrack music for the end of time’.
“The intention was merely to render in sonic form some patterns from the imagination, rather than following any particular theme or genre. However, as many of the pieces arose from contemplation of the passage of time and the juxtaposition of different chronological perspectives, a theme of sorts has arisen.”
Tyler’s main creative drive is his interest in patterns and rhythms and the resulting interweaving of different components into a sonic structure. Tyler’s infectiously hypnotic hurdy gurdy playing is thus textured by his use of numerous other instruments, namely cittern, reed organ, psaltery, guitar, bass guitar, hammered dulcimer, gothic harp and percussion. However, the album also features guest musicians: Katy Marchant who plays, variously, bagpipes, recorder, shawm and vocal on several tracks) and Jane Harbour, from the Bristol-based band Spiro, whose vocal and violin-playing can be heard on the final track ‘Lullaby’.
A lovely touch, particularly for ELO fans, is the inclusion of the late Mike Edwards – the cellist from the original line-up of Electric Light Orchestra who was tragically killed in 2010. Tyler had previously worked with Edwards and an unaccompanied improvisational sample of his was located and, by chance, fitted perfectly into the dark, haunting piece on the album entitled ‘Tethys’.
A rich, fascinating and uniquely other-worldly album, Tyler creates some utterly compelling sonic textures and fans of experimental music, prog and folk will all find much to draw them in here.
Karrakan are a progressive rock outfit who come from a small town called Ostrołęka in the North-East of Poland. The band recorded their first EP in 2016, more a basic hard rock approach that incorporate blues scales and heavy metal riffs. However, the addition of a saxophone into the mix even back then signalled a likely future direction into more proggy territory.
Their second release EP #2, released in 2019 continued down such a path with more complex compositions and more evident prog approach.
Karrakan are now onto their third release, the imaginatively-titled EP #3 – no-one can accuse these guys of lacking consistency when it comes to nomenclature!
“EP #3 contains ‘only’ 3 songs,” say the band, “but they are loaded with variety of musical assets. Thick distorted guitars, odd rhythmic divisions, vocal harmonies, acoustic interludes and… saxophone, which works surprisingly well with all the heavy sound.”
Incorporating blues, jazz, classical and metal influences the band are developing something of a unique approach: tastefully-executed guitar solos and that infamous saxophone interplay with some much harder-edged riffing and there’s also sprinklings of more gentle, folky acoustic guitar here and there, too.
The first track ‘The Shape of Infinity’ incorporates growled pseudo death metal vocals which I’m not convinced entirely work, while the final track ‘Allocation of Beauty’ has a far more conventional melodic rock-style vocal which is considerably better suited to the nature of the material in my view. The middle track ‘Panto Dance’ meanwhile is entirely instrumental and the most obviously proggy composition on the three-track EP.
Karrakan are:
Piotr Sierzputowski – guitar/vocals
Jan Sierzputowski – saxophone
Domink Górski – drums
Kamil Badeja – bass
As well as promoting this current EP the band are also busy writing material for their debut full-length album. It will be interesting to watch how Karrakan develop and I wish the guys luck.
Strolling along the seafront earlier this summer I spot a poster advertising a Moody Blues tribute band at Hastings’ White Rock Theatre and a few paces along I spot another poster advertising Justin Hayward doing a solo gig at Bexhill’s De La Warr Pavilion. Hmm a difficult one – £22.50 for a tribute or £39.50 for the lead singer of the real thing. Unsurprisingly, I forked out the extra seventeen quid and plumped for the latter.
It’s a stripped-down but not quite acoustic set from My Hayward tonight. With the man himself on vocals and guitar he’s accompanied by young guitar virtuoso, Mike Dawes, keyboard player, Julie Raggins, and flautist, Karmen Gould. Hayward’s voice is a deeper register than the one we know on the classic recordings but it’s still in very, very good shape and still instantly recognisable.
At one point in the proceedings he talks about being haunted by a ghost – the ghost of Justin Hayward, young singer of the Moody Blues between 1967-1973 – as he contends that every media interview he does, after a few pleasantries about what he’s up to these days, immediately moves on to extensive questioning about what exactly was going through his mind in great detail at very precise moments during those heyday years. A cardboard cut-out of the young ‘ghost’ in question is brought on stage to emphasise the point. Though Hayward confesses he struggles to recall much of the period, it doesn’t stop him from giving us a few choice anecdotes. And of course, it doesn’t stop him from delivering some gorgeous versions of many of those classic songs. This ‘All The Way Tour’ promised an extensive look-back at Hayward’s back catalogue and, indeed, delivers.
‘Tuesday Afternoon’, ‘Voices In The Sky’ and, of course, ‘Nights in White Satin’ among many others from the Moody Blues catalogue, ‘Who Are You Now?’ from his recording work with John Lodge, not to mention ‘Forever Autumn’ from Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds. Even in more stripped-back mode without a full electric rock band behind them the songs are still lush and beautiful and highlight what a fearsomely talented song-writer Hayward is.
Coming back on stage for an encore he picks up his red electric for a wondrous rendition of ‘Blue Guitar’. It’s back to the acoustic for ‘The Story In Your Eyes’ and ‘I know You’re Out There Somewhere’ and Hayward and his band-mates leave the stage to rapturous applause.
Set-list:
Who Are You Now?
Dawning Is the Day
Tuesday Afternoon
Voices in the Sky
The Actor
Are You Sitting Comfortably?
Haunted
The Western Sky
Forever Autumn
Never Comes the Day
Your Wildest Dreams
Question
Nights in White Satin
Blue Guitar
The Story in Your Eyes
I Know You’re Out There Somewhere
This review was also published by Get Ready To Rockhere
As a kid in the 70s I do recall frequent radio plays of the Strawbs novelty hit ‘Part Of The Union’ in what was that fractious decade for industrial relations. And as an adult and Sandy Denny fanatic, the latter’s brilliant pop-folk album with the Strawbs is frequently in my CD player. However, those two brief snapshots in time can hardly be said to represent the prog-leaning rock outfit that has been the mainstay of much of the band’s output these past forty-odd years. For the most part though it has, until tonight, lain largely off my radar.
Strawbs are still going strong, still gigging and touring. And tonight we are here at Chelsea’s Under The Bridge venue to witness the formal launch of the band’s first new album of all original material in eight years: The Ferryman’s Curse.
The two sets the band perform tonight are a mixture of songs from the new album and those from earlier in their career. As I am unfamiliar with any of the material tonight there appears to be no letting up in the quality of the songs in my view, the new material standing up well against what were clearly crowd favourites from past decades.
Dave Cousins’ vocal delivery is something of an acquired taste I find (and, to be honest I prefer it when long-time band-mate, Dave Lambert, takes the lead vocals for a handful of songs). That does not, however, mean that there is not some stunning musicianship in this band and some extremely well-crafted songs which definitely ensure tonight’s show is an enjoyable one. Lambert delivers some fine lead guitar throughout and the keyboards are equally stunning. Multi-instrumentalist, Dave Bainbridge, surrenders his keyboard to Cousins at one point and joins Lambert in some exquisite twin-lead soloing.
The band work extremely well together on stage, perhaps a sign of how long most of them have worked with on another. Although, there have been numerous personnel changes over the years it’s not simply a case of one original member with a load of random new boys, as is the reality with a number of vintage rock acts these days. Guitarist Dave Lambert, bass player Chas Cronk and drummer Tony Fernandez have been playing with Cousins on and off since the 1970s – and it shows. This is a band in the genuine sense of the word.
An enjoyable gig from a band I finally can now say I know a little bit more about, besides that novelty hit and their brief flirtation with Sandy Denny. Thank you Strawbs.
Darren's music blog 