ALL INDIA RADIO

— First review of this album —

Among the various prog musicians that I have met, many (if not most) have often admitted that the very first takes (also known as demos) can be as inspiring as the finished product, possibly due to creative juices swimming in synchronized adrenalin (great name for a song, wot!) as opposed to correcting the little bugs or just trying to upgrade with layers of additional sound. Perhaps that is how producers earn their keep, I guess. Which brings me to this 2023 release from All India Radio, one of my favourite recent discoveries, and not even bothering to figure out the differences with the original 'Space' recording of 2018. Why, may you ask am I such a lazy Tasmanian devil? Because both options are equally delicious slices of adventurous electronic prog, welding onto the synthesized array some dense bass lines, Nick Mason-like steady beat and some glittering guitar cascades. Yes, it may be Floydian in a cinematographic sense but the core is essentially atmospheric trippy music of the utmost order.

After an obligatory into, 'Vega (demo Version 2)' settles in securely with a bright disposition, a view towards the stars above, where jangling guitars, whooshing mellotrons and a concrete rhythm, focus in on the imagination, trying to figure out what lies beyond our understanding. Like a luminous beacon, a celestial object will grab your mind with more questions than answers. The search goes on. Is there anything out there. The early version of the tremendous 'Monsters' continues to feature the cosmic soul vocals of Leona Gray, fondly rekindling images of a Moon's darker side, her chorus scat howl is sultry and poignant, on a surrealistic pillow of cloudy cotton that induces a calm euphoria that hits the nodes with elegance and comfort. The warm mellotron winds sweep along in utter melancholic splendour, a superb piece of music. The original Space version of 'Heirs of Ineptitude' was a tectonic 13 minutes and 18 seconds, while the demo version slips in at 4 and a half! Whether one partakes in the full-blown tasting menu track or chooses just the main plate, the appetite will be satiated. Swirly-twirly synths, a metronome beat, and echoing slivers of shimmering melody takes the listener to another dimension, perhaps reminiscent of Exit-era Tangerine Dream. A perfect segue into another platform for Leona Gray to prove her mettle, 'Holding' has a celestial echoing theme, were that one word just lingers on in deep lucidity, bathing in synthetic luxuriance with the shuffling drums offering the main propulsion. Clanging guitar shards only add more sparkle to the existing lament, a perfect companion piece to the earlier 'Monsters'. A bit of a musical Greek mythology theme in the title 'Eurydice in Scarlet', does not take away from the futuristic, sound effect-laden scope of luscious keys and reverberating guitars that dance in unison, and together with the supple rhythm section, all seeking to revive the dead with some enthralling music. 'Anja's Eternal Light' comes in as a two-piece sandwich in which the filling is the tremendous 'Sonda IV', loaded with voice effects, tranquil heartbeat details, soaring electronics with mood as its only momentum. Now the center piece is about a Brazilian built orbital rocket called Sonda or Probe, so it should come as no surprise that the spatial theme is ultra chill, like a torrid sun-drenched day on Ipanema, where sand, sea and 'sausade' combine to enchant the body and the soul. Anja then returns for a final bite, a tropical twangy guitar and a lizard-like beat from Michael Evans Barker that suggests an extremely relaxing atmosphere. A revisit to the first version of 'Vega', a tad longer and perhaps a bit slower but just as entrancing. Brooding yet not really menacing, just a bit unsettling, as the soporific sounds permeate both the inner and outer world of your mind. The droning winds blow serenely on this, the brightest star in the Lyra constellation and that effect is perfectly translated here into sound. Speaking of which, nothing like an album outtake to keep things honest and interesting with 'Sounds Like Air' coming across as a soundtrack for some adventure in arid climes that could be featured in a sensual Bond moment somewhere in the desert, led by a rolling bass guitar from Mark Wendt.

Whether you choose the 2018 model or this new version, rest assured that the road travelled will be a secure, road hugging journey into new sonic horizons. You should still buckle up though, you never know what might be waiting around the bend.

4.5 cosmic samples

This was my initial introduction to Martin Kennedy's ALL INDIA RADIO, a discovery that happened, as per my norm, by pure, unadulterated research, according to the famous method made into an anthem by the Fixx: "One Step Leads to Another". As I daily scour my allied sources (Lazland, Prog Archives and Prog Critique) I landed on the latter's review of Kilbey/Kennedy of 2022 album :The Strange Life of Persephone Nimbus". Obviously, I knew full well the name of Steve Kilbey, having a slew of The Church releases as well his solo ventures such as Hex, and I always admired his craft as well as his amazing voice. Martin Kennedy was hitherto unknown to me. So, I focused in on this All India Radio project and realized that this artist has been putting out quite a few albums, and I pressed the BUY button on Bandcamp to get this Eternal album and see what the fuss was about! A few hours later, I purchased 6 more of his works , completely ecstatic of what I was hearing. Now, I named my site PROG ROGUE because of a visceral dislike of labelling that goes against my values of tossing everything absurdly into a convenient common pot, though branding is quite important in order to create artistic consistency. Martin Kennedy's music has been "labelled" with a myriad of tags that may or may not have any merit as progressive music for me has always been the distinction between songs by a vocalist and a backing band that needs not to overpower the artist (often pop) and the opposite, where each instrumentalist is up front and center with their talent and push the common envelope which may or may not include the voice and lyrics. All India Radio has been stamped with everything from Math Rock/Post Rock to electronic, ambient, trip-hop, down tempo space dream pop, as well as pretty much any other sticky tag remaining in the tool kit. I say its just gorgeous music. Period. My first and captivating foray was 'Eternal' from 2019, and it hit me square between the ears with a powerful surge of happiness. A heady mixture of cinematographic Pink Floyd/ Tangerine Dream / Kraftwerk coalescing into a contemporary sheen is how I describe the silky-smooth intro "The Hidden One", loaded up with shimmering wafts of electronic glitter, slide guitar excursions and a steady electronic gait, with a vocoder greeting. Pretty much from that opening move, I was surrendering to this incredible music as my musical three letters are nor ELP, UFO, ABC, GTR, or XTC, but rather the odd sounding concept of PAM , which stands for Passion, Atmosphere and Melody. All three are present in abundance on each track, with a savvy bass guitar groove setting the stage, helping forge the majestic melody, such as on "Moviestar ", or the twangy guitar sparkle on "the Edge of Infinity", which has a sci-fi in Kansas feel, perhaps ideal for a cameo on the vivid "Tales from the Loop" movie series. The perfect progression between tracks demonstrate a clever continuity that is the pure hallmark of what a progressive electronic album should be. The celestial "The Shining Darkness" conjures so many pleasing images, as the gentle bass rumbles forward, piano glitter in tow, cradled by some massive mellotron waves that ebb and flow, like a sonic velvet carpet ride into the horizon. Proclaiming "Eggs, sausage, chips and beans and a tea" on the imposing "Villa of the Mysteries" shows a delicious sense of humour as well, keeping the mood well-fed and interesting, as the choir electronics raise the roof on the house.

The ambient interlude "The Language of Triangles" and its ominous synthesized storm cloud acts as a preparatory change of pace for the next set of tunes that really elevate this release to the loftiest height, as the incredible "Prismatism" evokes the image of Dark Side of the Moon's legendary logo, the bellowing saxophone rolling over the floating keyboard mat, the firm pulse and the tingling guitar phrasing , with a dash of synthesized vocalizations. Brilliance personified! Another balance intermezzo to kick off the final two whoppers (with three bonus tracks to follow) and we arrive at the masterful "End Game", which is a reprise of the second track "Moviestar" and its stellar melody, surely one of the finest heard in quite a while. The feel is somewhat reminiscent of William Orbit's earlier Strange Cargo series electronic work, highly visual for the mind, a soundtrack for some silver screen (how old fashioned of me!) extravaganza, with some amazing keyboard scintillation. The epic 10 minute+ "Immortality Part 1" slams the collective fists on the proverbial golden buzzer, as its sweepingly grandiose main theme devastates the senses, achingly gorgeous and intense, sounding upon the first listen as a long lost dormant melody in one's psyche. Voice effects relating to "the machines taking over" and a completely unexpected soaring operatic aria that has a hint of Clare Torry's legendary solo on "the Great Gig in the Sky", but when that massive melody returns for another bow, it finishes me off with abject surrender!

Early versions of "End Game" and "the Hidden One", as well as "Eye" complete the shattering of my fragile crystal vase of any doubt and that is when I went on a purchasing All India Radio album rampage. I intend to keep on dialling All India Radio , transmitters permitting.

5 Galaxies

All India Radio's Martin Kennedy returns to the signature ambient and atmospheric layered sound the project is famous for after their 2019 experimental turn for the album 'Eternal' with the 2020 release entitled 'R E A L M' and brings along Josh Royhouse to add his piano to these surreal and ethereal soundscapes. This is the 2nd time that Royhouse has collaborated with Kennedy (the 1st time was with the 2010 album 'Piano and Ambience').

This time around, the tracks have distinct names and also sound more distinct on top of that, the music is more 'organized' if you will, into specific atmospheres and ideas. The music is ambient with Kennedy creating layered drones and synth sounds to create an orchestra of lush and beautiful music, and Royhouse melds his piano into the mix, sometimes using electronic treatments to add echo and atmosphere, and other times just coming in 'naked' with a more organic sound. Kennedy also adds his guitar atmospherics, now feeling comfortable enough to do his own 'slide' style guitar notes without help from his usual guest Graham Lee. This gives him more control to make those sounds seem more implanted in the music.

Many times through this album, Kennedy seems to present a canvas of musical drones and tones over which Royhouse improvises simple and lovely melodic notes like in the track 'Thin Air'. Other times, the two are more 'joined' in the effort as in 'For the Birds'. There is no need to worry about variation in the tracks either. Yes they are quite ambient and lush, but they each have their own distinct traits. For example, 'Billow' has a darker feel to it provided by the viola/cello effects created and a slight damper on the brightness of the piano with airy effects surrounding your head.

There is always a somewhat dusty and subdued feel to All India Radio's style which creates a certain warmth to the music, no matter what the overall soundscape or song is trying to convey. If the sound is cold and lonely, as in 'On a Hill', you still feel secure and comfortable in that signature warm blanket of style. It also takes away the stark sound that is often a trait in ambient music. Even so, the music can still pierce your soul, again using 'On a Hill' as a great example of this. Then there is Martin's use of effect pedals to help bring that expansive drone like feel to the airy guitar layers, the way he does in 'Folding Space', as his sound layers back up the heart-rending and soft chords of the piano. The muffled synths take advantage of the piano chords to create their own melodic sequence later in the track.

The extra bonus tracks that are available on the digital download version are actually remixed versions of the tracks on 'Piano & Ambience', this time, however, they are separated and given specific names.

This is layered and melodic ambience at its best. The music is astoundingly beautiful and will sweep you up easily in its embrace. There is no percussion or rhythm present in any of these tracks, allowing your mind to just drift freely along as you listen. Everything is mixed to perfection with no stray notes or sounds to distract. This is the perfect album for you to lose yourself in when you are able to find a moment for yourself, or to just put on when you need something relaxing and non- abrasive.

How do you classify the sound of the electronic band "All India Radio"? Yes the music is mostly electronic, but it is also experimental, sometimes ambient, sometimes trip-hoppy, sometimes upbeat and at other times downtempo, oftentimes glitchy, and ?. Well you get the picture. Much of the project's music has been used in other media, including TV shows like CSI Miami, One Tree Hill and others.

The project is the brainchild of Martin Kennedy from Australia, who pretty much oversees all of the albums (of which there are several) which also includes many EPs and remix albums. Kennedy has also used certain members as regulars on some albums and has also utilized several guests throughout the project's discography. The project has also been around since 1999, at least formally, and the music has been compared often to Mogwai and Boards of Canada. Anyone familiar with their discography knows that the music can be quite dynamic, however, at times having a sound all of its own.

In October of 2019, the project released an album called "Eternal" which swerves away from the projectory of the project into experimental territory where lo-fi hip-hop elements are mixed with space rock and progressive rock while retaining the underlying ambient elements. The album has 11 tracks with 3 bonus tracks available in Bandcamp.

"The Hidden One" begins with a robotic voice and then a mellow, mid-tempo beat and wandering ethereal music will immediately remind the listener of the mellow yet spacey sounds of Pink Floyd. The music will put your mind at ease taking you to blissful realms, but most of the tracks are around 3 ? 4 minutes, so nothing really stagnates and things stay full of surprises throughout the album. "Moviestar" has a more direct beat and introduces a sampled children's choir with spoken word samples and what sounds like a saxophone effect. The spoken word samples become just as important to the flow of the music as the instruments themselves and the choir continually bring back the main motif to the track. "The Edge of Infinity" introduces the trip-hop effects with scratching noises provided by DJ Flipflop, piano from frequent guest Josh Roydhouse, a santoor played by Cyrus Ashrafi and drums by G. Iampa. The overall feel of the music remains moderate and laid back with the santoor giving a nice sound that might remind one of a steel guitar, but more ethereal. The scratches bring in the trip-hop sound and the guitar even tends to reflect the western, cinematic sound of Morricone.

"Immortality Part II" has a darker and heavier sound to it, but retains DJ Flipflop's contributions making for a cool combination. As with most of the music at this point, there are spoken word samples that also contribute to the more upbeat feel of this album. Even with this upbeat style, the music remains a bit hazy and psychedelic which is many times the signature sound of All India Radio. "The Shining Darkness" again uses G. Iampa on drums while the music continues to spin beautiful musical textures harking back to almost mellotron sounds, a somewhat muffled atmosphere that also keeps the brighter keys to a more dream-like feel, yet seeming cinematic at the same time. "Villa of the Mysteries" is a nice, melodic and heavily layered track that exposes several different things every time you hear it. Its just full of pleasing sounds and melodies that together swirl around in a spacey atmosphere.

"The Language of Triangles" is a short, drone-like track, heavily layered and then subdued into a dark wall of sound. "Prismatism" features drums from an artist credited as SmokeFace. A simple synth loop is accompanied by the tapping percussion, almost sounding like a metronome, then some dark guitar sounds are mixed with dark sax effects, and you get the interesting Morricone-inspired music as a result. Vocal effects bring in a spacey vibe, and this all comes together beautifully. Absolutely stunning. Another quick track called "Balance" follows with a nice, atmospheric synth drone.

"End Game" brings in a direct beat and an obvious melody but flows through some nice dynamic changes, but always carrying the signature ambience through the slight muffling of tones. The most interesting thing is the way the muffling is used to give this all the dream-like feel that seems to blanket the music, but this effect soothes the listener and makes the music very blissful. The last track is "Immortality Part I", a ten-minute spacey, yet cinematic track that features Josh Roydhouse on piano again. Fans of All India Radio know of the band's links to Pink Floyd's music, even using decommissioned art work at times. This track will bring obvious reminders of the project's inspirational artist when at the beginning, you will be reminded of Floyd's "Let There Be More Light". But it only borrows from it at the beginning and later goes off into it's own further explorations with spoken word samples and a ethereal operatic vocal that stays subdued in the mix. It later becomes more ambient for a while then a beat returns with slide guitar effects swirling around. Deep down under everything, an attentive listener will notice slight crackling and popping, giving it the desirable vinyl sound, but it is almost inaudible as the music continues to ebb and flow.

This album is an excellent introduction to the music of All India Radio in that it is easy to listen to, quite accessible and less ambient than many of their albums. However, it reaches audiences that might normally be frightened away by the ambient tag that the project has. This album is proof that the music is beautiful and wonderful and may give tentative listeners the desire to search through the band's extensive discography, and in it, they will find some of the best electronic music around. Yes, a good part of it is ambient, but it is always just as lovely as the music on this album. I highly recommend this album to those interested in something relaxing and even soothing (even with its more upbeat attitude) in times of worry and stress. It will take your mind off of your cares for a short time. However, it is an album I find enjoyable anytime as there is a lot of dynamic texture and plenty of variety and surprises to make it an album to enjoy all of the time.

For lovers of Pink Floyd, Pure Reason Revolution, Alan Parsons Project, Sigur Ros, Mogwai (later years), Tortoise, Boards of Canada and so on.