John Dyson/Wavestar: Prog Electronic..yes, really!

 

Search on the site reveals nothing for John Dyson, and just two mentions for Wavestar - here on October 28 2011: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=74805&PID=4328854#4328854 and here on February 03 2012: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=74805&PID=4426090#4426090...and the single word 'Wavestar' is all you'll find in both of them! (Some A-Z thingy in 'Just For Fun' forum.)

 

John Dyson is a UK musician specialising in sweeping electronica landscapes, rhythmic and melodic synthesiser music. His music could variously be described as New Age and World music in parts.
 
A founding member of Wavestar, whose first appearance at the UK Electronica festival in 1985 was a sensation, John has now formed his own label Soddett Hall and is forging ahead as a solo artist...still hard ‘at play’ creating not only the music he loves to listen to but also the music that he loves to perform. 

 

Right, I'm afraid I stole this next bit from last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Wavestar, but at least I'm honest, and I've credited them with it, and given their link...

 

"Wavestar is a British New Age Music Synthesizer band. (Created 1984...disbanded 1989).
 
In the mid-1980s, Sheffielder John Dyson (“JD”), an analytical chemist, answered a magazine advertisement from someone who was interested in musical technology and was looking for like minded souls. John Dyson’s melodic style complemented David Ward-Hunt’s sequenced based rhythms. When the pair seemed to spend more time copying tapes for listeners than writing new material, they decided to produce a cassette tape release of their work under the name of “Wavestar”. “Mind Journey” became a considerable success within its genre; one copy finding its way into the hands of EM [new age synthesizer music] visionaries Denis and Jeanette Emsley. They asked John and Dave to play at the following year’s “UK Electronica” [Britain’s then most prestigious EM event]. Wavestar’s appearance in 1985 was exceptionally well-received by the audience at the event.
 
Subsequent concerts and a second cassette release Zenith, served to push Wavestar’s reputation further. Within three years they were headlining “UK Electronica”, and were receiving invitations to play in France and Spain. IShortly afterwards a record label realised the importance of the duo, and Wavestar signed to Jem Records, releasing “Moonwind”. The new album was to receive extensive critical acclaim. Later they signed to the Dutch, Groove Unlimited, label.
 
In the 1990s John Dyson, together with Anthony Thrasher, Paul Ward and Mark Thrasher founded Surreal to Real, a consortium of electronic musicians formed with the aim of producing, promoting and marketing their own material. In an April 1994 interview with Paul White, for Sound on Sound Magazine, John commented “We’ve always worked well together since we first met, which was around 1984. Anthony Thrasher and Stephan Whitlan were at university and were helping with the technical side of UK Electronica that year. Paul Ward was the one who put the ad in the music magazine, and about 20 or 30 of us, including Neil Thompson and Shaun D’Lear, used to get together in a pub and talk, or play electronic music. It was a brilliant ideal of Paul’s, and eventually, the numbers dwindled down to around half a dozen of us who were really serious and that formed the nucleus of the Surreal team as it stands now”.
 
In April 1998 John Dyson was awarded the “Schwingungen” International award for his complete work in Electronic music. The song “Crystal Ashes” from the CD “Out of Time” was voted best song of 1997.
 
On July 19, 1999, David Ward-Hunt died.
 
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s John produced a series of critically acclaimed concept albums and currently 2004 has his own recording studio in Scotland and his own recording label “Soddett Hall”. He has been working with Shaun Michael D’Lear and the D’Lear band in the studio and on tracks for himself.
 
On the 18th of October 2008, John performed his first concert in many years at the Doghouse in Dundee, Scotland at the 25th Anniversary of the first UK Electronica Event."

 

Even bigger bio, and a whole lot more about both John and Wavestar here: http://www.markflowers.com/music/wavestar/wavestar_history__discography/wavestar_history__discography.html (don't worry - there's far too much for me to pinch in this one, so you'll have to load the page itself, and read it all from there.  (It doesn't cover his more recent work though, eg the 2009 release 'Darklight')

 

Full up-to-date bio of John under the 'biography' tab here: http://www.johndysonmusic.com/

Buy all Wavestar and John Dyson's music here: http://www.musiczeit.com/directory.php?artist=852&title=Wavestar

 

Wavestar Discography
Mind Journey (1985)
Zenith (1985)
Moonwind (1987)
Out of Time (1997)

 

John Dyson Discography
Evolution (1989)
Aquarelle (1991)
Different Values (1994)
Beyond the Gates (1995)
Silverbird (Recorded live in the Studio October 1998)

Darklight (2009) 

 

Samples:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next vid is the the whole of the concert from which the above clip was taken:- Wavestar (John Dyson and David Ward-Hunt): Sheffield UKE '85 24.08.85 First live gig):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wavestar (John Dyson and David Ward-Hunt) live at the Gatehouse Theatre Stafford UK 1987

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Dyson and Friends: Live at Klemdag in Holland on 03 Nov '90 (whole concert):

 

 

 

Or you could just load this 23-video playlist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDcPkYiix7U&feature=BFa&list=PL5FE96385B108D852

 

John Dyson's Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/johndysonmusic

 

 

 

Edit: This next track is from Wavestar's 'Out Of Time' album, a collection of previously unreleased music that was released after the band's split-up, consisting of the basic ideas and 'lay-downs' (and some completed) tracks for what would have been their fourth album. It became a best-seller at the Klemdag 1997 Festival.(GR-004/Hall 9000). The track 'Crystal Ashes' won the prize for 'Best Track of the Year' at the 'Schwingungen' awards in Duisburg (Germany) later that year, where John also received a 'special' award for his 'complete work' in EM.

 

 

Listening as we speak.

Thanks for the suggestions David.