While Silas is from Somerset in the UK, his debut solo album "The Scales of Tahuti" was recorded in Colorado USA and released December 2017. Silas has music in his veins; his father, Ed Wynne, is the founding member of Ozric Tentacles. Let us see how far from the tree this apple fell...
The album opens with a gong, so I am already relaxed...and then carried across the threshold where consciousness meets a dreamlike state. The song "Feathers of Ma'at" slowly and gently fills the headphones. Silas Neptune traverses the prog garden in pursuit of Utopia; there are equal parts Ravi Shankar and Pink Floyd painting graffiti on the inner lining of my skull. As the song progresses I am taken back to Yes and their "Close To The Edge" intro. This truly is a mesmerizing piece...
The next sounds to fill my mind are "Become Everything." Silas Neptune picks up the pace a bit here as he works those keyboards into a semi-frenzy. There is a new age vibe running the entire piece as it somehow soothes while energizing. For top notes think Robert Fripp doing his soundscapes thing with an electronic push...imagine Adrian Belew and Frank Zappa getting hold of the motherboard and tweaking the master tapes...
Liner Notes...In addition to producing a "solo" album, Silas Neptune plays keyboards in Ozric Tentacles, the band I mentioned earlier that his father started. I say "solo" because this is almost an extension of Ozric Tentacles. Performing on this album in addition to Silas are Ed Wynne, Brandi Wynne, Joie Hinton, Natan Mantismash, Roy Brosh, Balazs Szende, Dominic Gibbins, and Paul Hankin. Natan doubles are art director; the album covert art is his design.
The album is a concept of sorts as Silas takes the listener deep into the unknown, much like Hal led Dr. Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey. This time, however, man controls machine as Silas and the rest of the band journey across a mental landscape as imaginative as it is stellar and robust. The canvas comes alive with colors that explode as if Peter Maxx designed an eternally melting kaleidoscope. Learn more about Silas Neptune and purchase his music at SilasNeptunebandcamp
and Silas Neptune soundcloud. You can travel along at Facebook and Twitter @SilasNeptune . For the proghead that needs to delve deeper there is ozrics where this and other side projects of Ozric Tentacles are highlighted.
For the icing that runs down the sides of this celestial cake I chose "Gateway to Dreamtime." The percussion on this cut is a bit more pronounced, but once again "mystical" keyboard work headlines the encounter. Silas Neptune seems focused on bringing an alternate universe to the listener...a previously unknown reality--and it is a wonder to the subconscious. Life in the star gazing lane never seemed so wondrous...
To illustrate the beauty that is "The Scales of Tahuti" I chose "Aqualight." This piece moves through the headphones like summer melt-off flowing down a cliff...the warm inner peace is all you notice. Once again keyboards--the lifeblood of the entire album-- are showcased like a musical delicatessen; so may variations on a theme. Just remember why you came and let the soundscapes carry you away...
Well fellow progheads, another week is in the rear view mirror. This week was a stroll down a different path in the prog garden. Silas Neptune commands acreage that I have explored from the periphery and indulged in with various artists whilst viewing through a different lens. Silas pushes the boundaries of the prog garden as he expands on ideas and concepts brought forth by others...I sense aromatics of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Zawinul with and without Weather Report. But there is so much more here as well; the influences run the width and breadth of the entire prog garden.
I hope you enjoyed this leg of the journey. The search for all things prog takes many twists, turns, and seldom-traveled roads, all for the sake of finding that next shining star. So of course The Closet Concert Arena will travel on...until next time...
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