Скачать или смотреть The ProgBlog April 2025 playlist

The first purchase of the month was the first LP of Al Di Meola's SPLENDIDO HOTEL, a charity shop sticker on the front warning that only one of the discs was present. Somehow a local south London charity had ended up with a donor's jazz fusion, jazz funk and lounge jazz collection, minus one LP!
Finding the self-titled solitary Mainhorse album in Ben's Collectors Records in Guildford was one of those incredible moments that seasoned vinyl addicts will know well. I supplemented that major purchase with THE BEST OF EMERSON LAKE & PALMER, an album I'd owned on CD many years ago, along with Mike Oldfield's live EXPOSED, both at prices commensurate with their release dates.
The Plank LP LIVE! and CD FUTURE OF THE SEA were Bandcamp purchases made after seeing a post on the r/ProgressiveRock subreddit, pointing to a YouTube video of the band performing live in the studio. They play knotty instrumental math rock (think King Crimson's DISCIPLINE) mixed with prog and psych, with impressive results. Both the live album, at just less than 31 minutes and FUTURE OF THE SEA which lasts 36 minutes are rather short but I don't find this a problem because the quality of the material shines through.
PHANTOM LIMB has only just been released and my copy came from Germany, one of the suggestions from the band's website. It's my third Hooffoot LP and I'm happy to report the Swedes' knotty prog-jazz goes on from strength to strength.

The first download was from Aurora Falls. MAZE is their second album which follows the same twin-guitar instrumental post-rock blueprint set out on 2023's ARTIFICIAL EMPATHY. There's not much prog but they are good at what they do.
The next download is miraculous. Ukraine has been under a bloody, unprovoked attack from Russia for more than three years but Kyiv-based Obiymy Doschu will release their upbeat new album VIDRADA (which loosely translates as 'joy') at the end of May, seven years in the making.
Mixed by Bruce Soord and exactingly produced, the tunes are highly melodic and accessible and I particularly like that it's sung in Ukrainian.
I'd previously checked out the history of Psychic Equalizer in 2021, from Hugo Selles' ambient solo experiments to the modern prog of the REVEALED II EP. April's third download PROLOGUE TO INSURRECTION is a continuation of that story, due for release in early May, consisting of four short-medium length tracks and a 22 minute epic. It's a further step down the prog metal road but the strong melodies, top-notch production, great playing, stunning vocals and the variation within the long-form LUCIANA that put it in a class above their closest prog metal contemporaries.

As usual, the rest of the playlist is an assortment of music chosen from the ProgBlog collection, covering a wide range of sub-genres.
I hope you find something to your taste.