Steve Anderson is guitarist and songwriter and member of the Melodic Rock band The Room, Progressive Rock band Gray Lady Down and Jazz-Rock Fusionistas Sphere³. His debut solo album “Journeyman’s Progress” comes out on February 4, 2022 and contains 11 finely composed and performed instrumental tracks, blending different genres and styles. The album opens with a short intro “Solus” where the artist offers dreamy acoustic guitar arpeggios that take us to the next track. “Coda” that begins with guitar intertwining between arpeggios and solo inserts, to which are added a background with Cinematic features and the rhythmic session. The drumming and the guitar distortion give power to the piece, which develops with a musical crescendo, increasing the intensity with the passing of the minutes. Good mixes between keyboards and guitar that offers a quality solo in the second part. A track that mixes all the nuances of the projects Steve works on, involving and intense. Follows “A Glimpse of Light” presents an intro with delicate acoustic guitar arpeggios, which are stratified with the passage of the song, in a musical crescendo to which are also added keyboard orchestrations. Full of pathos and with a melancholic atmosphere, it shows how the artist manages to blend Cinematic sounds with those of guitar with technique and quality. “Hellebore” and its dreamy keyboard background on which a delicate guitar is inserted is a short but intense passage full of pathos. “Circlet” also continues the musical discourse of the previous one with the guitar arpeggios that are gently layered. “Mr Mekano” begins with an intro made up of percussion and atmospheric sounds, and then develops with an elaborate and at times intricate theme. Here the artist offers us a mix of Cinematic and Jazz Fusion, with refined passages that enhance the technique to the different instruments, adding power with electric guitar inserts. With a change the rhythm session becomes tighter and the sounds Heavy, with a fine intertwining between organ and guitar leading to technical Prog Metal. the tempo changes are an added value of the song that best sums up all the facets of Steve’s sound. An intro with Ambient features opens “Descent” a track permeated by Cinematic landscapes, with dark and gloomy atmospheres and dilated sounds. A deep passage that dulls the tones after the previous aggressive track. “For Nancy” is another delicate track for acoustic guitar with more cheerful and dreamy tones, where the artist manages to create passionate intertwining with the 6 strings. Several guests offer their contribution in “Glass Quartet” characterized by refined sounds of various kinds of prcussions, especially glass (as per the title). An intricate and experimental track, where the sounds are unconventional and highly sought after, touching the most extreme boundaries of sound experimentation. “The First Step” hooks up to the ending of the previous one, with a keyboard background with an Ambient flavor. Here too the prevailing features are Experimental, characterized however by the stratification of the keyboards with a pompous and gloomy carpet on which atmospheric textures are inserted. The album ends with the title track “Journeyman” which is also the longest in duration, exceeding 10 minutes. The piano notes introduce us to the piece, creating a hypnotic sound, with the entry of the other instruments the track becomes a Symphonic prog. Once again Steve hits us with a successful and dynamic track, a purely Progressive passage could not be missing. The guitar drives the sound, characterized by a solid rhythm session and driving bass lines, with the keyboards giving that extra touch. The tempo changes are an added value, allowing you to move from harder sections to symphonic openings of fine workmanship, an engaging and very intense conclusion for this good album. Anyone who has listened to the bands Steve is a part of knows how much this artist is worth and with this solo debut he proves it, proposing a refined and refined album. The fusion of various styles and genres is successful offering a wide range of different sounds and tracks that sum up the artistic experience. Intense and technical but also accessible and engaging, this record is original and with personal traits, showing once again Steve’s technique both in the compositional and in the execution phase.
Tracklist
01. Solus (0:37)
02. Coda (5:30)
03. A Glimpse of Light (3:39)
04. Hellebore (1:42)
05. Circlet (1:12)
06. Mr Mekano (6:27)
07. Descent (3:07)
08. For Nancy (2:23)
09. Glass Quartet (2:46)
10. The First Step (4:45)
11. Journeyman (10:03)
Lineup
All songs written, arranged and performed by Steve Anderson with the assistance of:
Drums on “Coda” by Chris York
Drums on “Mr Mekano” by Jamie Fisher
Percussion & other objects on “Glass Quartet” unwittingly aided and abetted by William Burnett, Neil Durant & Jamie Fisher
Thank you so much!
You’re Welcome