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MAGENTA.
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Dan Says Farewell and Live Hiatus
It is with great regret that we have to report that the Winters End Festival on March 13th will be Dan Fry’s last performance with the band. Also due to Dan’s departure, and other unforeseen events, we are forced to cancel two gigs in Holland that we had scheduled for May:
01/05 Zoetermeer, De Boerderij 02/05 Den Bosch, W2 This isn't a decision we took lightly, and can only apologies to our Dutch fans. We can assure you that we were really looking forward to these shows. However this has given focus to some other issues that need addressing, as Rob Reed explains: “I am acutely aware that Metamorphosis was released two years ago, and that what fans want most is another Magenta studio album.I have therefore decided that the best thing to do would be to go on hiatus as a live entity, while we concentrate on the next Magenta album, and various other projects in the pipeline, including, of course, the Real World performance and Christina’s solo album. Playing live is something we all love and it is an important part of what we do, so we will return sooner rather than later!” "Dan has been a fantastic servant to Magenta during his 4 ½ year tenure with the band. Both his playing skill and his onstage enthusiasm have, quite rightly, made him a favourite with the fans and have helped build Magenta’s considerable reputation as a live act. However, Dan now wants time to pursue his own musical projects outside of Prog and we respect that. While his departure is a huge disappointment to us all, he remains a great friend to the band and we can’t thank him enough for his remarkable contribution. He certainly will be a hard act to follow. We are currently holding auditions for Dan’s replacement so if you’d like to throw you hat into the ring (so to speak) we’d love to hear from you" In the meantime, we hope to see as many of you as possible at Winters End to give Dan the send off he deserves. Many thanks for all your continued support, and sorry for any inconvenience caused by this. We’ll see you again sooner than you think! Best wishes Magenta |
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Home Reissue
We are pleased to announce that we will re-release our third studio album Home on March 20th. For the first time the album will be available as a two disc set with the tracks re-arranged into their originally intended running order, with all the music from Home and New York Suite back together in chronological sequence. I always regretted not releasing the album as a 2 disc set, as it was originally written and recorded. At the time I was concerned that it may be too long, and so came up with the idea of releasing it as 2 discs, one containing most of the shorter pieces and the 2nd, the New York Suite, with the majority of the longer songs. These pieces worked together thematically as they all came from the middle of the story. However, I now believe that this took the heart out of the album, so when the time came to press the CD again, it was an ideal opportunity to put it all back together and present the whole album as it was intended. The album will be available from the Magenta shop on March 13th at www.magenta-web.com and will officially be re-released on March 20th.
Real World Acoustic gig
Work on the Acoustic gig recorded at Real World studios is coming on nicely. I have cut most of the video and nearly finished the audio. It looks and sounds great, and really does capture what was a special night for both the band and the audience. A release date will follow soon. Christina - Broken Lives and Bleeding Hearts We've also finished Christina's solo CD which will be called “Broken Lives and Bleeding Hearts” .The album has been a long time coming, but it will be well worth the wait. Stylistically, it's very varied and sounds very different to Magenta giving Christina a great chance to shine as a vocalist. I believe is a great collection of songs and we are both very proud of them. There are some great guests on the album too. We are currently finishing the artwork, so expect a release date very soon!
Magenta 5
Amongst all of this a new Magenta CD is brewing nicely. It's just at the demo stage at the moment, but there some great bits already. It's hard to pinpoint a style at the moment as the demos are very varied in both style and length. I would like to have a few shorter tracks in there, if only because they are easier to play live. Having said that, they always seem to grow during the demo stage, so who knows? So far I have about 8 starting points in demo form. Some are just a few minutes long, two are almost finished, with one being about 12 minutes long, and very much in the Metamorphosis style. The other is a shorter, more direct song. It may all change, of course, as I don't want to repeat myself, especially as Metamorphosis was such an intense album.
We'll be announcing some live dates very soon and we’ve also got a new Magenta Mp3 download website in the pipeline.
I also have a few more projects and ideas brewing which should make 2010 a very busy year indeed.
Rob
New special edition of 7.
Interview '09!
Live reviews + photo's; Magenta, The Reasoning, Marillion, Gazpacho,
Mostly Autumn, PBII, Pure Reason Revolution & RPWL.
Solo & Sessions
News; single released in November 2009!!!
A review of Home.
Live Pictures + review.
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More at his site.
11th of April The Rock Tempel Kerkrade.
Magenta | 
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Interview with Christina.
Interview with Mathew Cohen.
Both from July 2004 by me!
ProgAid ('05).
Magenta in Theux Sept. 2006.
More pics at the official site.
The leading writer force of Magenta seems to be Rob Reed, but first there was another colour CYAN. A band formed in 1984! The band had some small succes but splitt up around '00.
Rob wrote some new material and wanted a fresh start and formed the band Trippa with a small single success. The band had Christina on vocals and Rob played guitars and keyboards. They had appeared on TV a number of times. It was during this time that Rob decided that Christina has the perfect voice to sing lead vocals on a future Progressive Rock project. The initial ideas for MAGENTA were formed then.Rob and Christina are both professional songwriters. Rob also composes music for film and television. Christina's voice is many times compared with Stevie Nicks but with the operatic brilliance of Annie Haslam (Renaissance).
MAGENTA.
Revolutions (a double album) released in 2001 with 4 (yes four) epics (!) is the
debut album of Magenta:
- Christina Murphy / lead vocals,
- Rob Reed / vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars, tambourine,
- Tim Robinson / drums, (ex-Cyan)
- Chris Fry / lead guitar (The White Witch Pts 3/4/5 - The Warning)(also ex-Cyan),
- Martin Shellard / lead guitar (Genetesis),
- Andy Edwards / lead guitar (The White Witch Pt. 2)(also ex-Cyan),
- Tim Short / percussion.
My favorite epic is "The White Witch". A great album, maybe not really original but great
70-ies prog rock, very pleasant to listen too.
Rob wrote about it:
Imitation is the highest form of flattery. This album is the product of a life of influence by my favourite bands.
It is an attempt to recreate the magical flavors which they refuse to serve to us today.
Any similarities or coincidences with any bands past or present is entirely intentional!
"Current Prog bands were always scared and shy about admitting influences of the great
bands of the 70’s and I wanted to come clean and admit and celebrate these influences and
hopefully create something as worthwhile as these classic bands" said Rob. Clearly he has
done so. How? "To do this, all I had to do was to give priority to melody rather than
technical showmanship, something I have always tried to do with all my work although
many current Prog bands seem to forget about it."
Seven ('04):
Any similarities or coincidences with any bands past or present is entirely intentional!
- Christina / lead vocals,
- Rob Reed / keyboards, bass guitar, recorders, harpsichord, Grand piano, electric and
acoustic guitars, backing vocals,
- Tim Robinson / drums,
- Chris Fry / lead guitars,
- Martin Rosser / guitar,
- Martin Shellard / lead guitar in "Sloth",
- Christian Phillips / Cha Cha Cha,
- The Vienna Symphony Orchestra / strings.
Music by Rob Reed,
Lyrics by Steve Reed,
Excellent artwork done by Adam J.Hodgson (www.naturantasy.co.uk).
A concept album based on the seven deadly sins... The lyrics have a small depth and
that is interesting, as they should be on such a concept album.
The songs have a high Yes-Genesis feel,
sometimes catchy but not predictable: the rhythm is constantly changing, without becoming
not accesable. Opener "Gluttony" has some spoken words with the likeness of Peter Gabriels
"Fly on the Windshield": creepy.
The production is marvelous, a warm and rich sound: a real pleasure for your ears. The
strings of the Vienna Orchestra give it some extra depth without becoming smooth. Listen to
"Lust" and you'll agree with me.
Rob guitar playing does has some echo's of Steve Howe and the other fabulous Steve Hackett,
while Martin Shellard made an excellent Gilmouresque solo in "Sloth". And Christina turns the
song into a Great Gig In The Sky Part II.
Christina ... a wonderful warm and crystal voice, Joanne Hogg, Rachel Jones and Heather
Findlay got a good looking competitor for the best female voice of 2004!
They've a definite, recognizable style of their own, though there are the obvious
influences.
Excellent prog album with a 70-ies feel, very melodic, with a lot changes of the rhythm,
and full of musical virtuosity. Christina's voice is sublime.
Highly Recommended.
Tracklist:
The lyrics of "Broken" are written by Christina and the lyrics of
"Lammikainen's Lament" by Marco Bernard.
Sharon Janny den Adel, Anneke van Grinsbergen or Sharon Janssen are a few names what
came up in my mind by hearing the beautiful vocals on "Broken".
And the EP is performed by the "live" band.
Tracklist:
Broken, (lyrics by Chritina, a catchy song that grows),
Call me, (a Cyan song, lovely ballad with a nice guitar solo),
Lammikainen's Lament (2004 Celtic mix, with a uillean pipe part),
Epos,(the link to the Yes with Rick Wakeman),
Sloth (string mix).
In the meantime the band did some great live gigs and the likeness with Mostly Autumn, Karnataka, Iona and Landmarq are made different times.
Christina: Vocals,
Rob Reed: Keyboards / Vocals,
Chris Fry: Guitars / Vocals,
Martin Rosser: Guitars / Vocals,
Matthew Cohen: Bass &
Allan Mason-Jones: Drums.
Released on 01 December 2004:
Magenta - Another time, another place - DOUBLE LIVE CD!
&
Magenta -I'm Alive - 5 TRACK CD SINGLE.
The powerful live versions were taken from various gigs over the past year
and is a real stomper of a live album. Excellent sound quality, surprising and
adventurous. Almost the whole "Seven" album is played, of course the amazing
epic "The White Witch" and their single "Broken" are already classics.
Magenta proves that they really earned the Classic Rock Nomination for
"Best Female Vocalist" and "Best Live Band".
The cd starts impresses with Rob on keyboards with an Opus, almost 3 minutes absolute
kicking keyboard layers.
Then a refreshing intro of "Gluttony" and all the musicians kick in, great guitar solo's,
a rolling bass together with the drums forms an excellent rhythm section, Christina with her
wonderful amazing voice and then a step back to the old Genesis-era when Rob Reeds starts a his
vocal part. Great!
The heating says it's 20°C in our house, but I got shivers.. and I'm feeling excellent!
Highly Recommended.
Matthew wrote me about the incredible perfection of the live sound: Cheers,
Nice to hear from you again. The live album is live. The reason for the clarity, is that
All the tracks were recorded using state of the art computer recording equipment. A
portable Apple laptop and MOTU converters. Loads of shows were recorded and the best
versions of each song were used.
Most of the instruments were recorded DI ( direct from the source) straight into the
computer, bass, keyboards, guitar, vocals. They were also recorded without reverb
and then the ambience was added later. They were then remixed by Rob, using the computer
to automate the levels of all the instruments, so that everything could be heard at the
correct level. Any pops, buzzes or noise problems could also be addressed. Thus l
eaving a more pleasurable listening experience for the listener.
Anyway, take care and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Keep rocking.
Matthew and Magenta.
Look at
www.progrock.co.uk for a
special offer.
The single features 4 previously unreleased tracks
plus the promo video for 'Broken', this is a great addition to any CD collection!
These tracks will not be released anywhere else.
| Broken | |
| Gluttony: Full track - MP3 sample (64kbps - 5.5MB) | |
| Anger: Full track - MP3 sample (64kbps - 2.4MB) | Thanks to: http://www.progrock.co.uk/! |
The two new CD's are available from many distributors around the world. They
are also available for a special price (if both CD's are bought together - for a
limited period only) from 
MAGENTA: has recorded their first DVD on May 14th at The Pop Factory in Porth, S
outh Wales. THE GATHERING DVD:
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extras: Broken - promo video Interview with Rob Reed Interview with Christina Rob chatting in studio and also playing a track from Home Fans entering the DVD gig Interviews with fans following the DVD gig A ROSFest picture slideshow |
An absolute marvelous dvd and live recording! Normally bands record several gigs and mix them to one movie.
Magenta had the guts to film it in one shot without extra addings and enchanting things after wards.
The sound is perfect, just like their double live cd "Another Time Another Place". The quality of the
movie looks like a high definition pixel movie.
Nice shots of the
live set and good show with smooth projections. The film catches the live atmosphere on a very natural way.
Rob Reed is the leader of the band and he is
absolute fabulous keyboard player,
but Christina and Chris are stealing the show with wonderful vocals and great guitar playing.
Two new songs "Demons" and "Overture" are making me curious to their new studio album
"Home".
An absolute must have for who loves symfo and prog!
This band must undertake a world tour, so people get convinced that Magenta is the true collour of Prog.
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If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a production can go wrong, then a fifth way will almost certainly raise it's ugly head. This was the experience of post producing The Gathering live DVD. Let's just say that following an exciting and very enjoyable recording in front of a fantastic audience, a number of issues raised "opportunities" to be solved. However, as the Sun sets on Rob's nervous breakdown, the DVD is now well on the way to completion; it's looking and sounding fantastic by the way (if we may be so bold!) so many thanks to all of you who came along and made it what it is. We're all sure that you'll love the end result and that the little extra time will be well worth the wait. The DVD should be available for the Rotherham gig on the 29th of October; we'll keep you well informed on that one.
The Gathering DVD is now available for order at Progrock.co.uk.
They were awarded with the honour of having the Best Live Album 2004 by the Hungarian Progressive Rock Friends. We beat such luminaries as "IQ ", "Neal Morse", "Mostly Autumn" and "The Flower Kings". A real honour indeed and we thank all our fans and friends in Hungary.
Matthew Cohen left the band in June 2005, for personal reasons.
Magenta are delighted to announce that Daniel Fry will be joining the band as their new bass player.
At a recent audition, Daniel, who has played in a number of previous bands, impressed everyone with his technical ability, enthusiasm and stage presence.
You may be intrigued at seeing the name Fry - he is indeed the younger brother of Magenta guitarist Chris Fry, and is sure to add yet another dimension to the already exciting Magenta live experience. With Daniel on board, Magenta can now continue to work on their new stage show, ready for live concerts later this year. With the release of the band's first DVD and their much anticipated new CD 'Home' coming soon, these are indeed exciting times for Magenta.
NEWS;
Troy Donockley plays Ullian Pipes on the new studio album "Home", release
date apperently May 2006.
Annie Haslam will sing together with Chris on their new single!
Home update from Rob Reed!
March the 15th 2006.
Fistly thanks for being patient. Here is some news on "Home".
Below you’ll see the track listing as stands today. The cd is currently standing at 68 mins, but I have a few tracks to finish mixing yet. There are some guest appearances on the cd, including Troy Donockley on Uilleann Pipes and whistles. These contributions all sound amazing - it always makes my day when I get to play back the featured tracks for the first time. I have one long track “Joe” (13mins) to mix at the moment. Its the longest track on the Cd and has some great guest guitaring on it. I also have a couple of shorter tracks left to mix, one of which – “Morning Sunlight” - is very different in style to anything else on the album. It’s also one of my favourites. Its very acoustic, but features one of Christina's best vocal performances.
Again thanks,.....not long to go now..................
Rob Reed
There will be a single cd version and a double version with 5 extra bonustracks.
Tracklisting:
Home
1. Live The Day
2. Trust Love
3. Moving On
4. My Home Town (Far Away)
5. Brave New Land
6. The Journey
7. Towers of Hope
8. Demons
9. Morning Sunlight
10. Joe
11. A Dream
12. The Visionary
13. Reaching Out
14. Journey's End
15. Home
New York Suite
1. Arrival
2. Home from Home
3. White Lies
4. Truth
5. This life (reprise)
Note from Stephen: For those of you that have "The Gathering" (or have seen the band live over the last Year or so), "Trust Love" is the track formerly known as "Overture".
The album is a concept piece and tells the story of a woman who emigrates from Liverpool in the early 1970's to "find herself" in the USA. The CD is 68 minutes long and includes contributions from a variety of guests including Magenta regular Martin Shellard on guitar and Troy Donockley (Iona, Mostly Autumn) on Uilleann Pipes and whistles. Once again, the album has been written and produced by Rob Reed, with lyrics by Steve Reed. Musically, 'Home' represents a further development for the band, combining the Magenta sound established on 'Revolutions', 'Seven' and the two singles 'Broken' and 'I'm Alive', with one or two surprises! The album also marks Christina's finest vocal performance with the band to date.
You can hear sound clips from both CD's on the Magenta web site at www.magenta-web.com, including TWO complete tracks, 'The Visionary' from 'Home' and 'White Lies' from 'New York Suite'. By visiting www.progrock.co.uk you can also hear a third full track from 'Home' very soon!
Rob Reed - bass, guitars, backing vocals, recorder, tamborine, grand piano, mandoline, acoustic guitar,
Chrstina - lead vocals (and how!),
Chris Fry - lead guitar,
Martin Rosser - lead guitar,
Daniel Fry - bass,
Allan Mason-Jones - drums, with;
Tim Robbinson - drums,
Martin Shellard - guitar,
Lee Goodall - tenor saxes,
Hywell Maggs - guitar,
Christian Phillips - Guitar, backing vocals,
Troy Donockley - Uillian Pipes,
Mal Pope - backing vocals, &
Lorrain Ling - backing vocals.
Design by - Adam J.Hodson,
Photography -Chris Walkden.
ANNIE HASLAM CD SINGLE
We can at last announce that F2 Music will release a single by Annie Haslam
(ex-Renaissance) with Magenta called 'Night & Day'. This is an exciting
prospect for many music fans out there, and it really is as good as you
would hope!
The single (catalogue number 200604S) will be released in July 2006 and
will be available to pre-order soon on www.progrock.co.uk. Artwork for the
CD single has been created especially for this release by Annie. The full
track listing is:
1. Night & Day
2. Night & Day (Evening Mix)
3. Essence Of Love
4. Night & Day (duet with Christina)
So how did Annie Haslam meet Magenta and come to perform on this single?
This is what Annie had to say:
"In 2004 I received an inquiry about a painting through my web site. It was
a young woman from Wales called Christina. She wanted to buy one of my
paintings 'Daybreak'. When she first wrote she also told me she was a
singer in Welsh band called Magenta and proceeded to send me a CD. I was
really impressed!
We stayed in touch and when the band were invited to perform at the ROSFest
Prog Festival, USA in the Spring of 2005, it was a perfect opportunity to
meet and see the band perform 'live'. Pheonixville was not too far from
where I live in Pennsylvania and so I decided to go. I even introduced the
band on stage, which was fun! While I was watching the band it reminded me
of when one goes to a great movie and it seems like its over in half an
hour, because it is so gripping. This is how I felt about the band. I
really wasn't surprise, as the CD I had heard was impressive, but the show
was a whole different kettle of fish! I was 'floored'! The music was great,
the band were very tight. Great musicians and a great singer! There was a
great feeling of camaraderie within the band and it emanated from the
stage. This is a rare thing that I have not seen all that often.
After that show we stayed in touch and I had mentioned that I would love to
do a duet with Christina some time and before I knew it Rob had written a
new song called 'Night and Day'. Christina wrote the words and I found it
reminiscent of the Renaissance song 'Northern Lights'. It was very
comfortable for me to sing!
I recorded my vocals here in PA and with the wonder of modern technology
sent it back to Wales to be finished. I was also inspired to paint a vision
of Christina's words and so this became the cover art called 'Essence of
Love'. Now this is represented by another piece of instrumental music
written by Rob that was inspired by the painting, which is also on the
single.
Hopefully one day I will get to perform the song at a concert with Magenta,
until then I shall keep playing their music and will keep spreading the
word!
Love and Peace Annie Haslam"
Speechless single release of Magenta in early 2007.
Track Listing:
Speechless (Extended Version) /
Anger (Full 2007 Mix) /
Speechless (Video)
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Magenta : The Singles
Contains 14 tracks consisting of every song that has made up the band’s four EP/singles. 8 of these tracks have been specially re-recorded exclusively for this release,and none have been available on a full length Cd before Availability : | |
Speechless (Single Version) Anger King Of The Skies (New Version) I'm Alive (New Version)
Sunshine Saviour (New Version) Broken (New Version) Lemminkainen's Lament (New Version) Night And Day (New Version) Essence Of Love (Instrumental) Cold (2007 acoustic mix) (New Version) Bonus Tracks: Opus 3 (Instrumental) / Pride (Director's Cut) / Sloth (String Mix)
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Call Me (New Version)Make your order at www.sonicbond.com or F2Music.
Metamorphosis ('08)
The album will be released on April 21st, but will be available from March 22nd from the Magenta shop at The Magenta Shop . Watch out for a special pre-order offer to be announced soon.Regular video updates and sound clips to follow on the website over the next few weeks.
A trailer for the album can be viewed : Here
Footage from the mixing session at Rockfield can be seen at: Here
Album Information:
1.The.Ballad.Of.Samuel.Layne.[20:17]
2.Prekestolen.[03:43]
3.Metamorphosis.[23:15]
4.Blind.Faith.[6:01]
Lead Vocals: Christina
Keyboards, guitars, bass, recorder, backing vocals: Rob Reed
Drums: Tim Robinson
Lead Guitar: Chris Fry
Detuned guitar: Martin Rosser
Uilleann Pipes: Troy Donockley
Backing vocals: Stephan Rhys Williams
Live at the Point (08).
Released October 27th 2008
Mixed by Rob Reed
Live Sound Recording by Tim Lewis
Recorded at the Point, Cardiff Bay
November 23rd 2007
Personnel
Lead Vocals: Christina
Keyboards: Rob Reed
Drums: Allan Mason-Jones
Guitar: Chris Fry
Guitar: Martin Rosser
Bass: Dan Fry
Track Listing
Disc 1
1. Opus Three
2. Speechless
3. Envy
4. Hurt
5. Moving On
6. The Journey
7. Towers of Hope
8. Demons
9. Morning Sunlight
10. The Dream
11. The Visionary
12. Anger
Dics 2
1. Man the machine
2. Genetesis / The warning
3. Sloth
4. The White Witch (excerpt)
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Track Listing 1. Opus Three 2. Speechless 3. Envy 4. Hurt 5. Moving On 6. The Journey 7. Towers of Hope 8. Demons 9. Morning Sunlight 10. The Dream 11. The Visionary 12. Anger Dics 2 1. Man the machine 2. Genetesis / The warning 3. Sloth 4. The White Witch (excerpt) |
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Live at The Point 2007 DVD Now Available (April 2009)!
A stunning new live dvd at the legendary The Point in Cardiff, with sadly had to close their doors.
A must have...
Seven Special Edition
Magenta are thrilled to announce the forthcoming release of Seven – The Special Edition. Since the album was featured in “Classic Rock Present’s
Prog’s all time Prog Top 50”, there has been renewed and unprecedented demand for the CD and we are very excited to be able to offer it in a very
special 2 disc version.
The Special Edition features:
The entire album completely remixed by Rob Reed and re-mastered by the legendary Bob Katz, who did such an amazing job on Metamorphosis. Included are a complete version of Pride and an enhanced version of Greed. Some tracks have been remixed extensively, while others only have minor tweaks. The album also features new sleeve notes by Stephen Lambe.
Disc 2 - DVD. 4 hours of material including:
-A brand new 5.1 mix of the album by Rob Reed based on the brand new stereo remix.
-Extensive interviews with Rob Reed and lyricist Steve Reed, discussing each track from a musical and lyrical point of view, the artwork and guest musicians, and also reflecting on the impact of the CD 5 years on.
-Behind the mix. Rob Reed discusses and dissects the multi-tracks of the original 2004 mix.
-Rare DV camera footage of songs from Seven being rehearsed and performed live.
January 2010.
Nov 2009:
Magenta to release Yes Classic as Download only single on Novermber 15th.
Magenta are excited to announce that they will release a version of the Yes classic Wonderous Stories as a download-only single, on Tigermoth Records, on November 15th.
The song, which will come in three alternative versions, will be available to download from all normal download sites – including Amazon and Itunes worldwide. Rob Reed talks about the bands reasons for the release:
“We are often compared favourably to Yes, and many of our fans have been asking us to have a go at a Yes piece for a while. We have been playing Wonderous Stories as part of our set during our recent run of acoustic gigs, and it was great fun to do and really well received, so we thought we’d take it into the studio and give it the full-band Magenta treatment. We think that we’ve brought something new to the song while maintaining total respect for the original, and we really hope people enjoy it.”
Wonderous Stories, from the Going For the One album, was Yes’ biggest UK hit, reaching number 7 in September 1977.
The three versions of the song will be:
2.Wonderous Stories : Instrumental Mix
3.Wonderous Stories : Acoustic Mix
Sept 2009:
Magenta to record live acoustic album at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studio on November 21st!
Magenta are thrilled to announce that they will be performing a special acoustic concert at Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England on Saturday 21st November. Real World Studios, in association with Real World Records Ltd, was founded by Genesis legend Peter Gabriel in 1989.
The concert will be recorded for a future CD, and possible DVD, release.
June 2009;
The band have just got back from a triumphant night at the Classic Rock Society Awards at the Montgomery Hall, Wath, presented by Genesis legend Steve Hackett. After a wonderful special performance of Metamorphosis earlier in the evening, the band went on to win 5 awards:
Best Female singer - Christina
Best guitarist - Chris
Best album artwork for Metamorphosis
Best CRS gig
The band was also well featured in a number of categories:
Best bassist: Dan 3rd (winner John Jowitt of IQ)
Best album: Metamorphosis 2nd (winner Pure by Pendragon)
Best track: Metamorphosis 2nd (winner This is England by It Bites)
Magenta are delighted to announce Kieran Bailey as their new drummer.
Kieran is only 20 and, like the rest of the band, is from South Wales. He has recently completed a diploma at the Drum School in London. Already a skilled and versatile musician, the band have been hugely impressed by his technical proficiency and enthusiasm behind the kit.
Rob Reed says: "People are going to be surprised by the transformation that Kieran has brought to the band. We think that alongside Dan Fry on bass guitar, we finally have the rhythm section we've been looking for, and are now eager to get out and play live again."
Studio
Magenta recently followed in the footsteps of such rock legends as Rush, Queen and Hawkwind, by working at the legendary Rockfield studios in Monmouth, UK.
The band decided to finish off their soon to be released fourth album at the studios over the holiday period, assisted by renowned producer and engineer Tim Lewis.
On hearing the latest demos, the band's label Tigermoth Records decided that the album warranted the level of production for which Rockfield has been renowned for many years.
"Some of the greatest music of the last 40 years has been recorded at Rockfield" says Rob Reed. "We were working in the same studio that Rush recorded 'A Farewell to Kings', and that Queen made 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. It was an amazing experience. It was also a real treat to work with Tim Lewis, as his contribution has been immeasurable and because of this, the new album has seen the band make a huge advancement both musically and technically".
Magenta's new album will be released early this year. Further details will follow very soon.
Consequently, the band would also like to announce the following live dates:
11 Apr 2009 The Rock Temple, Kerkrade, Netherlands Kerkrade, with RPWL & PBII
29 May 2009 Parc Hall, Cymparc, Nr Treorchy Cardiff, Wales
30 May 2009 The Peel, Kingston Kingston, London and South East
31 May 2009 Mr Kyps, Pool Poole, South
12 Sep 2009 FMPM Festival, Montreal Montreal, Quebec
NEWS Dec 2007;
Martin Rosser leaves Magenta too!
Martin Rosser and Allan Mason-Jones, formally of Magenta, would like to thank everyone in the band for 5 years of fun and some great gigs to match. A special thank you needs to go to all those fans that follow Magenta with such conviction, your kind words and unlimited support over the years was much appreciated. It is without doubt that Magenta will continue to grow and produce some fine music in the years to come.
Martin and Allan will now be concentrating on their “C-Sides” project which also includes Dan Fry from Magenta. For C-Sides Dan is not only back on guitar he also takes on the role of lead vocals. The new CD ‘Devitrification’ is now close to completion and has a strong rock influence which is both dark and melodic. Over the next few months a C-Sides website will be up and running with news and some free downloads from the new album.
Dan Fry will remain very committed to Magenta, besides his work for C-Sides. Magenta are are currently putting the finishing touches to their fourth album, which is slated for release early 2008.
In other news, the band will be playing the FMPM Festival in Canada in September 2008, which also features Riverside and Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso.
NEWS Nov 2007;
Drummer Allan Mason-Jones has left Magenta:
Allan Mason-Jones Magenta would like to announce that Allan Mason-Jones, having completed his current live commitments, has left the band. We would like to thank Allan for his contribution to Magenta over the last 4 years and wish him every success in his future musical endeavours. We are currently rehearsing with a new drummer (about whom we will make an announcement in due course) and are looking forward to a new phase in the band's career.
On November 23rd we recorded our performance at ‘The Point’ in Cardiff for a 2008 DVD release. We are also putting
the finishing touches to our fourth studio album which we are all very excited about. Expect an early 2008 release for
‘Magenta IV’ and full details of the album will be announced shortly, alongside a series of tour dates in the spring to
accompany its release.
2008 looks like being Magenta's most busy and exciting year yet, so we would like to thank everyone, in advance, for their continued support.
Sessions & Solo:
C-SIDES.
A project of Allan Mason Jones, Martin Rosser & Chris Fry.
The new CD ‘Devitrification’ is now close to completion and has a strong rock influence which is both dark and melodic. Over the next few months a C-Sides website will be up and running with news and some free downloads from the new album.
Ezra - Shapes (keyboards) &
Songs from Pennsylvania (producing, '04).
Fireworks ('98):
Recorded at a farmhouse in the lovely South of England this album is created by all the players. And
again a real 70-ies prog album in the style of Genesis and Yes, with some violins, sax and flute...
Rob Reed (keyboards & slide guitar),
Doug Sinclair (bass, played in the Steve Hackett live band),
Andy Edwards (lead voice & guitar, also in Ezra) &
Colin Edwards (keyboards and in Ezra too),
Tim Robinson (drums & percussion and also in Cyan/ the creeping Vine). With:
Lee Goodall plays flute and sax, Tim Short plays percussion, Billy Thompson plays violin, Sara Greenwood plays cello and Vori Bolemsav plays oboe. Darren Williams has produced the album.
The Othello Syndrome - The Shadow Of Dreams ('99).
Martin Rosser: Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Vocal Emulations 0member of Magenta and guests on McCarthy's CD 'Through The Fire')
Ian Bailey: Sax
Tim Robinson: Drums
Rob Reed: Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Erasmus ('02) see Matthew Cohen.
Chimpan A ('06).
A new project with:
Prob Thompson,Steve Balsamo,
Sam Brown,
Aitch Mc Robbie (Jools Holland, David Gilmour, Deep Purple),
Christina Booth,
Margo Buchanon (Seal, Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, Joni Mitchell),
Sian Cothie (Phantom of the Opera),
Tony Dallas - spoken word,
Nigel Hopkins, - strings,
Ruchard Bluey Cornhill - decks,
Andrew Griffiths - trumpet.
Trippa.
For anyone who is unaware, Trippa was a pre-Magenta project between 1995 and 2000 featuring Christina Booth (vocals) and Rob Reed (keyboards, guitar, bass). An abundance of Trippa material was recorded during that period and much of which has been gathered together for the 17 tracks that make up the new album. Demonstrating the song-orientated side of Rob and Christina's writing abilities, it will be essential listening for all Magenta fans, plus anyone interested in inventive and dynamic music.
Produced by Rob except "Speecless/Falling produced with Bird & Bush.
With:
Rhiannon Stundon - backing vocals.
Where Are You E.p., with only four tracks.
MATTHEW COHEN.
Erasmus are a recording project formed in 2001 by bassist Matthew Cohen, Rob Reed
was also involved and produced their album "Voyage" in 2002.
Jayde / lead guitar, vocals
Matthew Cohen / bass
Robert Reed / keyboards
Charlie Steel / drums
Christina Murphy / ENIGMA-like chanting on the opening track
Matthew Cohen / bass
Robert Reed / keyboards
Charlie Steel / drums
Christina Murphy / ENIGMA-like chanting on the opening track
Again an album with heavely 70-ies Prog. Screaming guitars, Matthew is giving his
bass some
best fingerthreaths and a lot of organs. Mathew likes Rush, indeed he does. Unespected
changes of melodies and turns, some very good sounding interesting chords, but heavy.
Rob Reed is involved so it al gets some Reed-treatement. Matthew joined with Magenta after
this release, and he's more as 26 hours a day commited to this colourful band,
so this chapter wil be closed. Yayde is working on a solo album.
Fans from Rush, Arena, IQ, Paralel of 90 Degrees and Dream Theater will like this release. And of course it is a
must have for the Magenta affinicado's.
NEWS october 2005:
Hey Nick,
So great to hear from you sir. ..... I am very busy with my new band, The Reasoning.
We are currently recording demo songs for the album and things are coming on very nicely.
I also have the original Magenta drummer, Rhys, on board with me too, so that is cool.
We are doing a more rock thing but with prog influences/ We will be more like Coheed and
Cambria, Amplifier and Pure Reason Revolution.
Matthew.
A new band, which is working hard on their debut album.
CHRISTINA MURPHY-BOOTH.
Cyan (remastered and others).
Trippa (a side project with Rob Reed and a real pre-Magenta, the single is a must have for Magenta fans!).
Erasmus (a project of Matthew Cohen).
Christina will be a special guest, with friends on the Summerendsfestival (Sept 2007).
Galahad ('07).
Trippa ('07) with Rob Reed, see above.
She is working with Clive Nolan on a new Project!
Parzivals Eye ('09), a solo project of Chris Postl (RPWL).
CHRISTINA (MAGENTA) Solo CD PRE-ORDER.
Tigermoth Records is delighted to announce the release of the long-awaited debut solo album by Magenta front woman Christina - “Broken Lives and Bleeding Hearts” on June 1st A limited edition pre-order is NOW available from the Magenta shop. www.magentashopfront.com/page6.htm . The first 100 CDs ordered will also be signed by Christina.
Christina has co-written all 10 tracks with long-time collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Rob Reed (Magenta, Trippa, ChimpanA) who also mixed and produced the album. Other guests on the album include John Mitchell (Arena, It Bites, Frost), Steve Balsamo (The Storys, ChimpanA), Troy Donockley (Barbara Dickson, the Bad Shepherds) and Chris Fry (Magenta), with a wonderful remix of “Deep Ocean” by Jem Godfrey (Frost).
Says Christina of the album:
“ Although it’s not Prog, it’s pretty varied and I hope that Magenta fans will find plenty to like. It’s certainly been a labour of love, and I really believe it’s the finest set of songs I’ve ever written.”
Varied it certainly is, from the acoustic, gospel-tinged opener “Free” to the progressive pop of “Immortality”, and the dramatic balladry of “Tales of Tales of Broken Hearts”, not to mention the bluesy swagger of “Do or die” or the smooth, jazzy “Deep Ocean”. These are songs that are immediate yet full of depth, beautifully performed by the Cardiff-based singer songwriter.
Christina also talks about the heartfelt subject matter of the album: “All of the songs look at the up and downs of human relationships. Inevitably, there’s a lot of heartbreak involved, but I’ve also tried to show how resilient the human heart can be, so there’s an upbeat message too. “
She laughs. “So I guess, it’s a bit of a concept album!”
A five minute sampler of the album can be heard at the Christina Myspace page: www.myspace.com/christinaboothmusic and a website will also be available shortly at www.christinabooth.net (it currently points at the Myspace site) as well as a facebook page at www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Christina-Booth/92505481597
The opening song “Free” can be downloaded at http://christinabooth.bandcamp.com and a video for the song is now available on the Myspace page or on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XybyzbMCpak
Watch out for news of a launch gig, coming very soon.
CHRIS FRY.
Chris plays with some friends classical music.
and they're working on an album too ;-)
PROGAID.
They all are involved at ProgAID
('05).
A project with almost 50 proggy musicians from The Flower Kings, till Glass Hammer, Mostly Autumn Arjen Lucassen and and and and...
The song was written by Rob.
Thank you all for your faith and support.
Nick.
The full live schedule so far for 2009 now looks like this:
28th March – The Borderline, London www.ticketmaster.co.uk/venue/254010
29th March – The Robin, Bilston www.therobin.co.uk
10th April - Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands (IO Pages Festival with RPWL and PBII) www.cultuurpodiumboerderij.nl
11th April - The Rock Temple, Kerkrade, Netherlands www.therocktemple.nl (with RPWL and PBII)
29th May – The Point, Cardiff www.thepointcardiffbay.com
30th May – The Peel, Kingston www.myspace.com/houseofprogression
31st May – Mr Kyps, Poole www.mrkyps.net
12/13th September – FMPM Festival, Montreal www.fmpm.net
MAGENTA is
Mostly Autumn, PBII, Pure Reason Revolution & RPWL.
MySpace.
Live @ the Point; YouTube.
Picture by Henri Strik
@ www.backgroundmagazine.nl/ + a live review.
Home again.
Please be so free and sign my guestbookor leave a message @ MySpace.
Shine On!