Stereophonic hits all the right notes

Popcorn at the ready as Marillion’s Steve Rothery and Tangerine Dream’s Thorsten Quaeschning deliver cinematic soundscapes and musical moving pictures on widescreen debut album.

What began as a vague idea for two musicians from very different parts of the prog world to jam together has turned into an exciting electro-instrumental project. Bioscope combines the talents of Marillion’s Steve Rothery and Tangerine Dream’s Thorsten Quaeschning. The pair talk to Prog about the mutual respect they have for each other, and how they turned that into their long-gestating debut album Gentō .

In 1974, Mike Oldfield defied the critics and hit the top of the UK charts with Hergest Ridge, the ambitious follow-up to his unexpectedly successful debut Tubular Bells . To coincide with the release of the 50th-anniversary edition, the musician, his siblings and collaborators recount the story of an album created by an overwhelmed 21-year-old taking refuge near the Welsh borders.

Theatre: The Railway Children Oxenhope Station, West Yorkshire ...

Born in the titular Kent city in the late 60s, the Canterbury scene spawned some of prog’s most creative and quirky acts. From The Wilde Flowers and Soft Machine to Caravan and Gong, each had a distinctive sound and, in many cases, image that captured the hearts and minds of their followers. But the scene’s impact didn’t end in the 70s. Phil Howitt, Facelift editor and Hugh Hopper’s biographer, explores the new breed of progressive acts inspired by it, both consciously and unwittingly, and unearths the secrets of the ‘Canterbury chord’.

John Lennon called them “sons of The Beatles”. Axl Rose said there was nothing like them. But how did a trio of Brummies create the progressive orchestral pop rock band who eventually became a global phenomenon following 1975’s breakthrough album Face The Music ?