Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography

MAHOGANY FROG

Eclectic Prog • Canada


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Mahogany Frog picture
Mahogany Frog biography
Formed in 1998 in Winnipeg, Canada

MAHOGANY FROG was founded when self-described high school noise-makers Graham Epp and Jesse Warkentin met flamboyant bass-player Nathan Loewen. A joint interest in loud, psychedelic and experimental music lead them together, and with various drummers participating they became a busy live act. In 1999 they managed to land a regular drummer as well, in the shape of Jean-Paul Perron. In addition to his skills with his main instrument, his expertise in the use of samplers and loops added an additional electronic edge to the music the band was playing.

At this time the band also started collaborating with other artists, and put on shows where ethnic food, visual art and performance art became integrated with the music in a total setting; and these event proved to be highly popular. In short, the band started growing a regular fan base.

Mahogany Frog started appearing with more and more notable Canadian acts at this time, even doing the odd stints as headliners, and in between their various live performances they found the time to create an albnum as well, Mahogany Frog Plays the Blues, which was issued in 2001.

At this time the made some line-up changes as well. Come 2002 and Shaun Mason (bass), Jordan Perry (keyboards, synths) and Mike Spindloe (sax) was added to the line-up, while forming member Loewen left. This expanded line-up recorded one album, The Living Sounds, eventually issued in 2003.

In 2003 Mahogany Frog also deciuded to change locations, moving from Saskatoon to Winnipeg. Bassist Mason stayed behind though, and was shortly after replaced by Scott Ellenberger (bass, trumpet). This revamped line-up hit the studio in the summer of 2003, and created their most complex excursion so far, VS Mabus, issued in early 2004. On this album the band really started expanding their use of keyboards and synths; and to some extent reinvented their sound with this production.

The band's fourth production, the 2005 disc On Blue, continued evolving this reinvented musical expression; now in shorter, more compact musical excursions.

By the time the band release their fifth album Do5 in 2008, their complex and eclectic approach to music reaches new heights; widely regarded as the most eclectic production in a discography already consisting of material largely impossible to pin down in any given genre of music.

Mohagony Frog is still a highly popular live act as well; touring wit...
read more

MAHOGANY FROG Videos (YouTube and more)


Showing only random 3 | Show all MAHOGANY FROG videos (1) | Search and add more videos to MAHOGANY FROG

Buy MAHOGANY FROG Music


MAHOGANY FROG discography


Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

MAHOGANY FROG top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

5.00 | 1 ratings
Plays the Blues
2001
3.90 | 13 ratings
The Living Sounds
2003
3.95 | 16 ratings
VS Mabus
2004
3.40 | 16 ratings
On Blue
2005
3.92 | 29 ratings
DO5
2008
4.08 | 106 ratings
Senna
2012
3.13 | 15 ratings
In the Electric Universe
2020
3.10 | 10 ratings
Faust
2022

MAHOGANY FROG Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

MAHOGANY FROG Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

MAHOGANY FROG Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

MAHOGANY FROG Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

MAHOGANY FROG Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 In the Electric Universe by MAHOGANY FROG album cover Studio Album, 2020
3.13 | 15 ratings

BUY
In the Electric Universe
Mahogany Frog Eclectic Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

3 stars This is studio album number seven from Canada's own MAHOGANY FROG and I feel fortunate to own six of those. I don't have the debut but of the six that follow "In The Electric Universe" is my least favourite. And while that may seem ironic given the band spent more time creating this album than any other, sometimes we can over-think things. This is the most difficult one for me mainly because the melody has been given the back seat. MAHOGANY FROG are so good at creating these memorable melodies which contrast well with the experimental stuff plus they cross many styles like it was nothing. I love this band but they lost me with this one. Probably their most uniform album but even in this I feel ripped off.

Why? Well the track listing on the back cover of this Moonjune release I bought has it like this... Theme From P.D., Psychic Police Force, Floral Flotilla, Cube, Octavio, Sundog. So six tracks but linking 2&3 along with 4&5 on the back cover. On the actual cd this is how it goes... Theme From P.D., Cube, Sundog, Psychic Police Force, Floral Flotilla , Octavio. So one of the linked tracks is broken but other than the opener it's all messed up. So I'm disappointed and actually had a good laugh because right from the time I got this cd I felt the cover art was upside down, it looks so much better and more natural the other way around. Maybe...

 Senna by MAHOGANY FROG album cover Studio Album, 2012
4.08 | 106 ratings

BUY
Senna
Mahogany Frog Eclectic Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

5 stars I've been working my way through this western Canadian band's discography and it's been a joy to be honest. I'm still blown away at this band's setup as a four piece with all four being multi-instrumentalists they have tons of options when recording and playing. And it's so cool that two of the guys play the exact same thing in guitars, micromoog, farfisa organ, arp string ensemble, korg MS2000 and electric and acoustic pianos with the drummer adding electronics and the bass player organ. Nice! So this is my fifth review of this magical band and I have to rank "Senna" right at the top with "Vs Mabus". Two very different albums as "Vs Mabus" is nowhere as intense and powerful as "Senna" gets. Seems appropriate with the album being named after the great Brazilian Formula 1 driver. Notice the engine on the cover. Senna is considered one of the best drivers this world has seen battling Prost, Fullerton, Schumacher and others before his tragic death.

I have to mention the song titles, I mean this is an instrumental album but "Flossing With Budha" is one Guldbamsen would love and these guys sure have a sense of humour like many Canadians. Hey we've blessed the world with a ton of comedians. The previous album "Do5" is where they seemed to amp it up in a big way and that continues here but I feel this record is more uniform and melodic. Yes this is a band who crosses sub-genres in a way like I haven't heard before but man memorable melodies all over the place along with experimental, in your face power. Yes I would call this a keyboard album.

I'll just touch on the eight tracks briefly that are worth over 43 minutes because this is a very consistent record. We get started with "Houndstooth Part 1" with "Part 2" to follow. Cool hearing the fowl and water sounds to end "Part 2". The closest dog I've had to a Hound is a Doberman. He howled more than he barked. Such a nice intro before we get to that main melody. Again so much going on here and very melodic with plenty of organ. The second track is more powerful with the guitar having more to say. So uplifting before a minute. The pulsating sounds before 1 1/2 minutes sounds amazing then back to guitar led power.

"Expo '67" is something I remember as a kid as being a thing. Held in Quebec in 1967 is about all I knew at the time but it seemed to get referenced a lot in the media long after that. Powerful with distortion yet melodic. Best part is just before 2 minutes to the end. Exciting stuff. "Flossing With Budha" opens with the birds chirping as organ joins in. This is so good. Makes me smile as the drums join in then those disco synths briefly. At least it's not like the new MAJOR PARKINSON with disco raising it's ugly head throughout. A high energy piece. "Message From Uncle Stan: Grey Shirt" is the longest at 8 1/2 minutes. Distant sounds pulse quickly along with experimental noises. This is the Krautrock piece. Lots of atmosphere and it's quite powerful. Love that guitar after 4 minutes.

"Message From Uncle Stan: Green House" opens with depth, distortion and power. It's a green house. We do get a calm for over a minute but this is incredible to really listen to. I mean check it out just before a minute. "Saffron Myst" is brighter and slower with lots going on. A cool tune with beats, bass and keyboards. I like the sound starting just before 1 1/2 minutes the best(the farfisa!). "Aqua Love Ice Cream Delivery Service" ends it at almost 8 minutes. Sampled Beluga whales start it that turn into synths with the same tone which is pretty creative. It turns fairly heavy after a minute as drums rumble in and a full sound. Powerful! Check it out before 4 1/2 minutes. All distortion and noise. That lasts for about a minute then we get a calm with distant sounds.

My two favourite albums from this band are like ying and yang I suppose. What an incredibly talented band, so glad I discovered them.

 In the Electric Universe by MAHOGANY FROG album cover Studio Album, 2020
3.13 | 15 ratings

BUY
In the Electric Universe
Mahogany Frog Eclectic Prog

Review by kev rowland
Special Collaborator Honorary Reviewer

3 stars 'In The Electric Universe' is the seventh studio album - and third on MoonJune Records - by Canadian instrumental electro-psychedelic outfit Mahogany Frog. I was a big fan of their 2012 album, 'Senna', but this was apparently taking them in new sonic areas, so what would it be like? We have the same line-up as the last album, with Graham Epp (guitar, keyboards, electronics, trumpet), Jesse Warkentin (guitar, keyboards, electronics), and Andy Rudolph (drums, keyboards, electronics) and Scott Ellenberger (bass, keyboards, electronics, trumpet), which means we should expect some sort of continuity and stability. Instead there is a lack of cohesiveness and the impression that in some places this has been overthought and over-layered and others where it has been quite rushed.

Apparently the recording process for this album took from 2013 to 2019, so they commenced not long after the release of 'Senna', and one wonders how much of this material is actually from those early days, as we have lost the filthiness and moved very strongly into Krautrock, yet often without a sense of direction within the music itself. Even the press release says "unorthodox sounds and complex arrangements can challenge the ear", yet there are also times where undoubtedly they have the approach spot on. Consequently, the album becomes much better if one just dips in and plays just one song, returning to the album later as opposed to playing it all at once as then it can just get too much.

I am sure that those more firmly into Krautrock than I will find much on here to enjoy, but I definitely preferred their previous album.

 DO5 by MAHOGANY FROG album cover Studio Album, 2008
3.92 | 29 ratings

BUY
DO5
Mahogany Frog Eclectic Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars This is album number five from Canada's best kept secret MAHOGANY FROG called "Do5". Still a four piece this 2008 release if anything is more powerful and heavy than what has gone before. I mean this is loud with layers of sound and feedback galore. They do contrast it with less in your face stuff but the heaviness is what stood out for me compared to the previous three albums I own. It helps that two of the members play pretty much the same instruments in guitar, trumpet, arp strings, korg, electric piano, farfisa organ, micromoog and more. Then the drummer adds synths and the bass player organ and percussion. They can actually play this amazing music in real time. The keyboards dominate this record. Love the picture in the liner notes of the farfisa and micromoog. This was recorded between October 2006 and May 2007. All of the music was apparently run through a collection of vintage tube amplifiers giving off this interesting in your face sound.

A top three would include the longest track "T-Tigers & Toasters" and post the album cover please. A sample of a conversation to start along with electronics then spacey synths take over. A beat before 1 1/2 minutes and sparse piano. An interesting soundscape that warms up at 2 1/2 minutes. How good does this sound. They start to amp it up after 4 minutes and this does turn powerful with heavy drums. It settles right down after 5 1/2 minutes but quickly they turn up the heat again and this is driving and hard music right here. So good! The final minute is a wall of sound.

I liked "Demon Jiggling Spoon" right from the first spin. Electronics swirl and pulse before what sounds like sequencers, maybe micromoog that create an electronic beat along with drums. A calm with guitar and atmosphere but not for long. Distorted keys before 3 minutes then drums come in booming. It kicks back in for the final minute. "Lady Xoc & Shield Jaguar" is my final top three and is the second longest at 9 minutes. Gentle guitar melodies to start and they begin to echo as drums and bass join in, synths too. Distorted organ as this plays out then some power at 2 1/2 minutes before it settles back again. The tempo shifts here often then an urgent rhythm after 4 minutes with organ over top. It settles with guitar before 7 minutes like earlier then some distorted organ again before 8 minutes and late.

I don't detect any Post Rock stuff here but some canterbury still because of the distorted organ. "Loveset" the closer features these cello-like sounds to open and close the song that are pretty cool. "Medicine Missle" is dark and experimental with some huge bass and guitar that lights it up later on. "I Am Not Your Sugar" is a drum show and powerful. "Your'e Meshugah!" opens with some great sounding organ, kind of nasty as active drums join in. Another solid album and this one is 4 stars in my books. Careful with that toaster Eugene.

 On Blue by MAHOGANY FROG album cover Studio Album, 2005
3.40 | 16 ratings

BUY
On Blue
Mahogany Frog Eclectic Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

3 stars "Mahogany Frog On Blue" was mostly recorded and mixed in December 04 and March 05 at Czaar Studios and MCM Studios. The biggest change is the length of the album(31 minutes) with this being about half of what the previous two were. All four musicians are multi instrumentalists with a lot of instruments that cross over making them quite flexible in a live setting and in the studio. There's three songs that would be worthy to be included on the previous two albums but this record just doesn't click with me as a whole.

The opener and closer are both 30 something second pieces. "Baroque" is a top three and the first half while good just doesn't compare to when they amp everything up to the end. "Zulumatic" is also a top three opening with drums as the organ joins in. Bass as some canterbury/psychedelic sounds take over and the bass is really upfront. The keys echo and the drumming is active. A high energy tune. The other top three is "... And Soon The Aces Will Ensue" and it's spacey to start before deep sounds in darkness arrive a minute in. The guitar is crying out after 2 1/2 minutes. This is really cool sounding. Headphone music that turns experimental. I just feel 3.5 stars is just right as the other three tracks bring this down a tad.

 VS Mabus by MAHOGANY FROG album cover Studio Album, 2004
3.95 | 16 ratings

BUY
VS Mabus
Mahogany Frog Eclectic Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

5 stars 4.5 stars. I wasn't expecting this. After thoroughly enjoying "The Living Sounds Of Mahogany Frog" from 2003 we see the band dropping back to a four piece from that expanded six piece album. They also moved from Saskatchewan to Winnipeg but they have kept that same "sound" intact. That "sound" involves a lot of variety including Jazz, Psychedelic, Electronic, Canterbury and more. It all works to perfection here. I just find that I have no issues with this one and they've hit new highs.

"Mahogany Frog VS Mabus" begins with "Spooky" and an experimental start before we get this achingly beautiful melody that will come and go. This is a 12 minute track and again just blown away at the compositions here. Some nice heavy sections on this one too along with nature sounds and other samples. Lots of trippy passages with those sounds that echo. Canterbury is the word for the next track "St.Helga Of Argyle" with that farfisa and this is surprisingly short at less than 3 1/2 minutes but a favourite of many who own this record. Just a feel good tune all the way.

"The Third Machine" is pretty cool as it trips along with sounds that echo and farfisa. Trumpet at 2 1/2 minutes and it will lead in a melancholic manner soon after. Some nasty sounding keyboards around 5 minutes in. So good! I just can't get enough of this section with the trumpet and more over top. Amazing! Canterbury organ 6 minutes in only adds to this as the guitar solos too. Check out that sinister bass line in atmosphere after 9 minutes. Some inventive guitar expressions too. It turns heavy then more distorted organ.

"Paul's Overalls Hold Mould" is the longest track at 17 1/2 minutes. This is pretty much free jazz to start with avant piano as the drums and bass become quite active. This is legit! Blew me away the first time I heard it. It's just surprising for a band to be so into all these different styles of music. It does change and electric piano joins the heavy sound with jazzy drums. Some experimental guitar 4 minutes in. Just incredible as that bass keeps everything in line. Electric piano and guitar over the bass and drums a minute later. More avant material again before 6 minutes. Great stuff until a change after 12 minutes. Man this is jazzy and I need more adjectives. As far as the electric piano goes you need to hear this track. It's building until just before 14 minutes as atmosphere pulses loudly. Drum solo after 16 minutes then it turns jazzy again late.

"Boat Alone(We're Not Sailing In This...)" ends it all and it begins with electronics galore. A symphonic flavour after a minute with some nasty electronics. Organ and pulsating sounds too. A light jazzy sound takes over before 3 minutes that will be repeated on this song throughout. Man that little "toot toot" makes me laugh every time then they just trip along in this style. Keyboards echo. Guitar and some feedback after 9 minutes as it turns experimental with layers of sound. So inventive then more organ and more repeated themes to the end.

I decided to bump this up to 5 stars because I just can't see how it can get any better than this. Such a consistent record without any throw away sections plus they hit these incredible and surprising highs throughout. I love this album!

 The Living Sounds by MAHOGANY FROG album cover Studio Album, 2003
3.90 | 13 ratings

BUY
The Living Sounds
Mahogany Frog Eclectic Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars And so starts my education on Canada's best kept prog secret MAHOGANY FROG. I have six of their studio albums beginning with "The Living Sounds Of Mahogany Frog" from 2003 which was self released and recorded live in studio on September 10, 2002. These guys are like the DJAM KARET of the north. I just remember the few ratings for that American band and the lack of appreciation in the mid 00's when I got on this site, but that did eventually change after many years. Very few ratings for MAHOGANY FROG's albums except for 2012's "Senna" which is ten times more than the rest. Not sure why but it is the one album of theirs that is highly rated so that may be all it is. These guys are originally from Saskatchewan but moved to Manitoba just after this release. I still can't believe Canada has a prog band out in the praires. What? We've had some very good musicians come from out there like Neil Young and BTO but prog seems to be Quebec's thing.

This album would feature their largest lineup as we get six musicians on here while they will go with four and sometimes with guests the rest of the way which includes their new album "Faust" from 2022. Still kicking with three of the four members on that new album playing on here some 20 years earlier. These guys know how to layer sounds and they love the distorted bass and guitars while electronics adds another layer. We get tenor sax and trumpet on here too while the variety of keyboards includes electric piano, farfisa organ and synths. This album is the musical interpretation of a civilization that has existed for a thousand years then implodes. A history of war and peace and good and bad the band try to convey that instrumentally. No titles to guide us in this unfortunately as the tracks are just numbered. Maybe they want us to really use our imaginations(gasp).

Man we get two tracks over 22 minutes in length which forms the core while the opener and closer are more in the 10 minute range. The closer is actually a few seconds long but I'm not counting that one. "One" opens with water sounds that will continue for almost 6 minutes and other samples arrive like animal noises and birds but they all end 6 minutes in. Love that psychedelic guitar and bass line. Sax and trumpet join in around the 3 minute mark and the horns get dissonant. "Two" is 24 1/2 minutes long. It kicks in right away with all these sounds hitting us but I love when it settles after 2 minutes with that guitar that echoes with bass and spacey synths. Sax and drums join in as well. Themes are repeated until a change before 6 minutes as they amp it up but then it settles again as it trips along with sax too. A change after 16 minutes and it ends with dissonant horns and chaos as it kicks back in hard with sirens and war sounds.

"Three Part A" is 22 1/2 minutes long and is uptempo right out of the gate. Impressive! It calms right down before 2 minutes and it's dark. Outbursts come and go and there's this underlying intensity. Post Rock is the word then it builds after 5 minutes. So powerful after 5 1/2 minutes, oh my! It brightens and lightens after 7 minutes then we get that farfisa bringing Canterbury to mind. Sax and jazzy sound follows as it trips along. Electric piano as well but the farfisa and sax end it. "Three Part B" ends it besides the few seconds on that closer called "Four". Acoustic guitar, beats and bass before the focus changes to the drums and organ before 2 minutes. The tempo picks up then it kicks in hard with guitar before 3 1/2 minutes. Drums lead the way before 7 minutes then it explodes after 7 1/2 minutes before settling back as contrasts continue.

This might be too proggy for it's own good. Post Rock, Psychedelic, Jazz, Canterbury, Experimental and more. It really is a journey through time, through history.

 Senna by MAHOGANY FROG album cover Studio Album, 2012
4.08 | 106 ratings

BUY
Senna
Mahogany Frog Eclectic Prog

Review by DamoXt7942
Forum & Site Admin Group Avant/Cross/Neo/Post Teams

4 stars Fantastic melodic hardcore psychedelic music ... not come across such an activated, delightful Krautrock for a long while.

This "Senna" (reminds me of something like a purgative) has been released in 2012 as the sixth full-length production that has had definitely an adventurous electro-.psych movement full of artistic development. "Houndstooth" suite sounds very promising for us filled with a spirit of adventure. It's a kind of music pleasure without any depressive texture. Makes us possess an obvious hope for another psychedelia / fantasia.

Exactly sounds like another world would has been pulled into their essential mindscape. In the latter part of the album even the minor key of a suite "Message From Uncle Stan" sounds fantastic and positive. Their basal activity should always be vital and dark side of the moon might be vaporized from our earsight soon. The last noise itself "Aqua Love Ice Cream Delivery Service" is completely a funky joke, and at the same time, a comfort.

With full of pleasure, they have finely kicked and broken one of the rock categories away in pieces. Their intentional rigidity might be in the same vein of rock-breaking vanguards like U2 or RADIOHEAD. Surely interesting but there be pros and cons I'm afraid. Of course I love it.

 On Blue by MAHOGANY FROG album cover Studio Album, 2005
3.40 | 16 ratings

BUY
On Blue
Mahogany Frog Eclectic Prog

Review by apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars For their next album Mahogany Frog decided to reduce the length of their recording tracks so this one could get a vinyl pressing.Some tracks in here were recorded in a non-professional level at the time of their writing, others would get a proper recording in the studio.Moreover they had already established their own Mafrogany Hog label (a slight joke with an anagram of their name) and the album was released in 2005.

While the tracks are reasonably shorter to cover the appropriate time allowed by a vinyl issue, the style of the Canadians is still grounded in old-style Prog/Fusion with a special note to the Canterbury school.Especially NATIONAL HEALTH had to have a huger impact to the sound of the band, which is filled with old Canterbury jams, featuring lots of organ, vibraphone and piano interactions, but the modern flavors are always present, as this time the band appears to experiment with the sound of piano, synthesizers and electronics.Moreover the slow tempo parts even have a slight Post Rock touch with ANTIQUE SEEKING NUNS being a good comparison at this point, more particularly the guitars appear to be distorted and more ethereal.The overall style is fairly keyboard-driven with quirky moves and plenty of interesting breaks, characterized by looser performances but also jazzy instrumental battles, while the more experimental stuff has a slight cinematic mood due to the use of loops and distortions.It was hard though for the quartet to escape their vintage influences and the Canterbury tastes appear always in the horizon.

Another very strong effort by Mahogany Frog, albeit a bit more abstract and abnormal than their previous album.Jazzy, keyboard-based, instrumental Prog, which tries nicely to combine recent technologies with nostalgic inspirations.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

 Senna by MAHOGANY FROG album cover Studio Album, 2012
4.08 | 106 ratings

BUY
Senna
Mahogany Frog Eclectic Prog

Review by Warthur
Prog Reviewer

5 stars This little stunner of an album finds Mahogany Frog reeling deliriously between modern-age electronic dance-influenced krautrock explosions, space rock anchored to earth by way of jazz fusion, symphonic postrock mini-epics and other bizarre genre mashups, producing a melange which seeks out the common ground between tripped-out underground artists of the 1970s and today's cutting edge. Soft Machine comparisons are tempting due to the band's association with MoonJune records, but if I had to relate this to any phase of the Soft's career I'd link it to the second album - the point where the Softs had a perfect balance between what was then the cutting edge of psych and their jazz fusion innovations, and Senna is a similarly modern-sounding album.
Thanks to windhawk for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.