What is the Best Female Fronted Prog Band?
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
Forum Description: Make or seek recommendations and discuss specific prog albums
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=58558
Printed Date: April 28 2024 at 15:44
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Topic: What is the Best Female Fronted Prog Band?
Posted By: LandofLein
Subject: What is the Best Female Fronted Prog Band?
Date Posted: June 05 2009 at 17:11
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I was listening to Lizard last night and I noticed that didn't have any prog music with a female vocalist and I would like to change that. What is a good "full fledged" prog band with a female vocalist?
Only requirements:
no metal
no kate bush (nothing against her, it just seems like that would be a common suggestion)
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Replies:
Posted By: NotAProghead
Date Posted: June 05 2009 at 18:28
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My favs are: Mostly Autumn Quidam (Poland) Bacamarte (Brazil) And the only live DVD of Los Jaivas from Chile when they had female lead singer: http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=19240 - http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=19240 ------------- Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour) |
Posted By: Plankowner
Date Posted: June 05 2009 at 18:35
| Pure Reason Revolution "The Dark Third" |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: June 05 2009 at 18:38
| I suppose the obvious recommendations would be Renaissance and Curved Air. However, there are many more, and in practically every subgenre (besides metal, which you ruled out). If you are into Prog Folk, try Pentangle, whose singer Jacqui McShee is one of my favourite female vocalists ever. If you are into a raunchier kind of female vocals, there are a few great examples, such as Babe Ruth, Fusion Orchestra, Fantasy (all Seventies bands). Just have a look at their entry pages here on our database! |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: June 05 2009 at 18:44
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There are so many, many in my collection. Art Bears (is it full-fledged prog, maybe not), U Totem, After Dinner, Eskaton, Koenjihayakkei, Dionne-Bregent, Kotebel are all worth checking out. Maybe get Henry Cow's In Praise of Learning, or Non Credo, but depends on your tastes and what you mean by "full fledged" prog. Do you count bands such as Magma, Comus, Spirogyra, News from Babel, NOn Credo etc. that have male and female vocals? I might recommend John Greaves et al's Kew Rhone then. EDIT: I don't much care for Emily Hay's vocals anymore (much prefer her on flute and piccolo), but this is a great album to check out, anyway. ../album.asp?id=5228"> 
 4.13 | 13 ratings ../album.asp?id=5228 - U Totem 1990 ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: June 05 2009 at 18:50
I don't know if it falls firmly into the category of female fronted, they seem more of a collective effort. Then I'd have to throw in The Reasoning. Curved Air and Renaissance come first to mind if were talking female fronted band rather than totally a female's vehicle. Then I'd have to go with Kate Bush. It's Friday and my brain's not fully on so I know I'm overlooking one or two that I am familiar with. In the not accepted as prog around here and may or not fit "female fronted" category: Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Laurie Anderson, Yes (just kidding). |
Plankowner wrote:Posted By: ClemofNazareth
Date Posted: June 05 2009 at 19:54
Don't know about the best - try listening to some of these and decide for yourself 
Prog Folk (I have a certain bias):
Pererin (Nest Llwelyn)
Espers (Meg Baird)
Faun Fables (Dawn McCarthy) - more like a pagan goddess I suppose
Smell of Incense (Bumble B)
You and I (Fanni Völgyessy Szomor)
Karnataka (Rachel Jones)
Carol of Harvest (Beate Krause)
Midwinter (Jill Child) Katalena (Vesna Zornik)Mellow Candle (Clodagh Simonds and Alison Williams)
a couple others:
The Gathering (Anneke Van Giersbergen) - you said no metal but as long as you avoid their first couple albums you'll be okay
It's a Beautiful Day (Linda LaFlamme)
------------- "Peace is the only battle worth waging." Albert Camus |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: June 05 2009 at 20:48
I must say you have hit on a whole bunch of material I've never heard.  Where should I start?------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: ClemofNazareth
Date Posted: June 06 2009 at 00:13
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Carol of Harvest s/t and Smell of Incense 'Through the Gates of Deeper Slumber'. I don't know anyone who has heard either of those albums and not been blown away ------------- "Peace is the only battle worth waging." Albert Camus |
Posted By: LandofLein
Date Posted: June 06 2009 at 01:44
Wow. I just found out that Jon Anderson sang on Lizard. I listened to it again and I have no clue how I made that mistake. I really should have read the album page a bit more carefully
 Funny how it works, If I hadn't made that mistake, then I never would have posted this topic. If I hadn't posted the topic, then I wouldn't have found out about some pretty amazing bands.
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Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: June 06 2009 at 02:36
You do, he sounds like a she!
 @ topic, since they haven't been mentioned - or if they have, I missed!  - I would like to add Steeleye Span (singer Maddy Prior) and Magenta(Christina Booth). Also, while she's not accepted as prog here, Joanna Newsom's second album Ys is another one. I have heard bad things about the first one, which I haven't heard, so go for Ys. Best female fronted prog band though remains, imho, Renaissance.  |
Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: June 06 2009 at 03:05
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1. Quidam 2. Karnataka 3. Mostly Autumn 4. The Reasoning ------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: mark-prog74
Date Posted: June 06 2009 at 10:03
Kate Bush  Well, The Reasoning have to be right up there - I was going to say Rush but I'm afraid of the backlash Though i do prefer Geddy in the lower register with songs like Manhattan Project- which is excellent------------- 'I Know What I Like' and it's good music, well written and delivered with passion!! |
Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: June 06 2009 at 10:26
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The Mars Volta.
------------- https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays |
Posted By: limeyrob
Date Posted: June 06 2009 at 14:25
| Try Magenta and if you like folk - Blackmores Night |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: June 06 2009 at 14:32
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Three choices. Mostly Autumn are essential, plus The Reasoning and Magenta, As an aside, you would love Kate Bush, plus I have a huge soft spot for Christine McVie Fleetwood Mac stuff. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: rosenbach
Date Posted: June 07 2009 at 00:35
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Some prog bands with great female singers (apart from Renaissance) are Rebekka's first album (Germany), Earth & Fire (Holland), Opus Avantra & Donella del Monaco and Saint Just from Italy. Not prog but were bands really leaded by women are Dead can Dance, Cocteau Twins,Love spirals downwards, Ordo Equitum Solis. But my favourite female singers are those in the folk scene, Pentangle (Jacqui MacShee), Sandy Denny, Trees (Silvia Humphries), Ougenweide, Pererin, La Bamboche, Malicorne, Mellow Candle, Garmarna, Hedningarna. |
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: June 07 2009 at 03:52
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White Willow are a must. Sensitive to Light Thieves Kitchen Breathing Space And I second the recmmendation of The Gathering, everything from their fifth album How to Measure a Planet? onwards. ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005  |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 07 2009 at 04:37
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Frumpy. Inga Rumpf has a really "black" voice. But most people prefer ethereal female vocals, and hers are anything but ethereal, so I guess I am pretty alone with my conviction. -------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: June 07 2009 at 06:16
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Secret Green - Hillary Palmer has one of the most refreshing voices in modern English Prog- invoking thoughts of Maddy Prior, Annie Haslam and Sally Oldfield, a trained singer and one time chorister at St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow her singing style combines classic English folk, choral and classical.
------------- What? |
Posted By: ClemofNazareth
Date Posted: June 07 2009 at 10:33
You have been holding out sir; these guys are great! Like the Enid with even more of a folk twist. I'll be ordering this album shortly; unfortunately first I need to straighten out the issue of someone running around Dublin Ireland purchasing video games and swords with my credit card number. ------------- "Peace is the only battle worth waging." Albert Camus |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: June 07 2009 at 10:57
^ I thought I had been shouting about this band too much - obviously my work here is not done. 
In my opinion this album is the greatest Prog release in 30 years. I seriously, madly deeply love this album to pieces, then I'll happily glue the pieces back together and love it some more. ------------- What? |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 07 2009 at 11:09
While I will continue to shout about The Red Masque, which in my opinion is the best band prog currently has. ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: manofmystery
Date Posted: June 07 2009 at 17:03
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im partial to Curved Air -------------  Time always wins. |
Posted By: crimson87
Date Posted: June 07 2009 at 17:11
| Ars Nova??? |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: June 07 2009 at 18:44
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Mostly Autumn is the only prog band I like with a frontlady that isnt metal-ish. Sorry to disobey the requirements, but I gotta mention Aghora though.
------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: Bufo
Date Posted: June 08 2009 at 01:38
| Good heavens, I haven't heard many of those, though I thought Renaissance sounded very very good. |
Posted By: el dingo
Date Posted: June 09 2009 at 17:06
Raff beat me to it with Fusion Orchestra - my all-time fave female vocals and heavy prog at it best IMO.
Got to agree with Babe Ruth and Annie Haslam too.
I'll risk the wrath of Raff by saying I've never liked Sonja Kristina's vocals tho - a bit OTT for me  ------------- It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough. |
Posted By: inrainbows
Date Posted: June 09 2009 at 18:10
Agree ! Incredible albums, and voices  ------------- 
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Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: June 09 2009 at 18:49
No wrath at all ! I don't like her vocals too much myself, but I thought it was necessary to mention Curved Air, since they were one of the few female-fronted bands of the original prog movement. |
Posted By: Garion81
Date Posted: June 09 2009 at 19:02
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IZZ- two male and two female leads -------------  "What are you going to do when that damn thing rusts?" |
Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: June 09 2009 at 22:44
Me neither, never saw the fuss at all. I have had contrasting experiences with Curved Air and Renaissance, though I have only heard one album of Curved Air, Phantasmagoria. The music in Phantas..is very interesting often but her vocals don't do it for me except for Melinda. Renaissance on the other hand often make boring songs which Annie somehow makes more than listenable for me.
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