Dreaming Madmen "Ashes of a Diary"

Hello again fellow progheads and thank you for making the return trip to The Closet Concert Arena!  The world may be in lock down, but the prog garden continues to bring forth new, intriguing, and exceptional music from a plethora of artists.  This week the search for all things prog traveled from Austin, TX to Lebanon and back again, checking out the intricate sounds of Dreaming Madmen and their debut album, "Ashes of a Diary."

"Ashes of a Diary" was released in September; a concept album dealing with raw human emotion.  Anyone who has read my blog knows this journey is right in my wheelhouse.  Before dropping laser to disc I get a sense that the canvas will be filled with all the colors of the emotional rainbow.  I think it's headphones time...

Starting right in with the opening cut, "Page One." The delicate rise of emotion fills my head space with a deliberate slowness.  The guitar methodically creeps into the corners of your mind and all at once a darkness as tangible as cobwebs in the attic wraps itself around your consciousness.  There are strong top notes of Pink Floyd running rampant throughout while aromatics of Dream Theater float on top like Angostura Bitters on a glass of scotch; not for the faint of heart...

Trepidation mixed with nervous giddiness fills the spirit as I wander down the album and discover "Enigma."  The band is  toying with me again...a dark solitude gets interrupted by strong guitar work lifted up by heavy drum work.  Dreaming Madmen hammer you with pulled punches; the keyboards ride a wave through the entire piece to cushion the blows.  True to the song's title, this song is an enigma...floating in between worlds that are combative and protective.  You feel a pull from both sides of the emotional spectrum as you fall into the abyss...

Liner Notes...Lebanese American brothers Mathew and Christopher Aboujaoude  are originally from Deir El Harf, Lebanon, but also call Austin, TX home.  Dreaming Madmen is comprised mainly of said brothers; Mathew handles guitars, keyboards, synthesizers while Christopher has bass and keyboard solos on select cuts nailed down, and the duo shares vocal duties.  Filling out the band on their debut release is Ian Geyer on drums and percussion, Rohan Sharma playing lead synthesizers on select cuts, and Caelin Tralongo laying down the vocals for the song, "Your Possesor."

You can learn more about Dreaming Madmen at their website DreamingMadmen and Facebook.
To dig a bit deeper, tag them on Twitter@DreamingMadmen.  And of course you can purchase the band's music at bandcamp and applemusic.

My final song for review this week is "Your Possessor."  Sounds come slowly from the darkness, rising gently as they caress your mind.  Delicate vocals are entwined with guitar that penetrates your spirit while drums give the song a driving force that cuts through that emotional curtain between heart and head.

Dreaming Madmen bring human frailty to the forefront with this album without condemning the main character of the story.  The lens through which a man's life is viewed is a kaleidoscope of human emotion...sadness for what might have been; regret for moments both lived and lost; love, anger, fear, and perhaps the most human emotion of all--jealousy.  Mathew and Christopher take the listener on a roller coaster that runs the gambit of emotion ultimately ending where it began...the heart of a humble man.

Listen to the clip below, "Behind My Wall" and you will get a sense of how deep Dreaming Madmen are able to go.  The music fills the canvas with such an array of mood and emotion you will find yourself challenged to keep up.  There are top notes of Porcupine Tree and Nad Sylvan running through the veins of this song...and just when you think the journey is through, you find yourself once more falling into that intoxicating abyss...


                     

There you go my fellow progheads, another amazing debut for the Closet Concert Arena.  Dreaming Madmen venture inside your mind in order to find the path to your soul.  The music is deep and rich; mesmerizing you could say.  Plunging into the spirit of a life lived--who doesn't wrestle with the "what ifs" life manages to throw at you?

The search for all things prog continues to roam the prog garden, hoping to find more music like this...captivating, emotional, and overflowing with the sorrow and joy that makes us all human.  So the journey continues...until next time...

Mika Luoto "Seventh Wonder"

Hello once again fellow progheads!  So much happening in the prog garden as 2020 continues to unfold, and I will continue bringing it to you from the Concert Closet one artist at a time.  This week the search for all things prog packed some extra hand sanitizer and surgical masks for an extended flight to Finland to check in with Mika Luoto,  a friend I have not followed up with in way too long...

Mika released his latest album, "Seventh Wonder," in October.  Mika has been playing music almost as long as he has been breathing and his catalog is fairly extensive.  Did I mention he also plays every instrument and every note you hear?  This time around the turntable Mika seems to be in a funky jazz groove, so let's settle into a comfortable leather chair and apply the headphones...

The album opens with "Tottoroo" and flows into "Buck is Duck" as smooth as a single malt over ice.  In fact this entire album is as smooth as a snort of Johnny Walker Blue; Mika absolutely found his praxis and fills the headphones with Finnish prog bliss.

Moving further down the track list I discover a tune called "Country Rock Guitar Stuff."  This time  Mika plays as if he's a Roy Clark/Mark Knopfler hybrid; the sultry sounds of a country bar channeled through the AOR styles of an after hours nightclub jam session.

Liner Notes...for those who missed my first review of Mika Luoto way back in 2016, Mika hails from Oulainen, Finland.  He picked up a guitar when he was a teenager and never looked back.  His music catalog runs deep; 14 releases deep to be exact.  He also records music as his alter ego under the name Musarra...a little bit darker and a heavier edged prog metal.  Mika has performed live in large halls, small clubs, and a lot of venues in between.  Today he seems to enjoy doing his own thing while hanging out in his own section of the prog garden.


Mika plays every note and every instrument you hear--he truly is a one man band.  Not the only one I follow, but they seem be a dying breed.  I for one, am glad they still exist; check out Mika's music and you will be too.  You will find "Seventh Wonder" and his other 13 releases at
Mika Luoto Bandcamp.  Mika can also be found on Facebook and Twitter @mikaluoto1.

One last song to peel back the curtain on; "What's in That Bag."  This cut is bit harder than others on the album, although the funk, blended with a few top notes of Dreadnaught,  is alive and well.  Mika might have channeled a bit of Musarra on this cut...nothing wrong with that.

OK; time for the ear candy..."Autumn Vibes."  I chose this song because Mika is deep into that late night jazz mood I spoke about earlier.  I pick up top notes of Les Dudek and Al DiMeola running through my auditory canals; Mika Luoto paints a vivid picture with that guitar.  I get aromatics of Gaillion and the Pat Metheny Group cursing through this album as well; enjoy...


                        

So fellow progheads, another entry for the prog garden sprouting up in the jazz section.  Mika Luoto has been traversing the prog garden for quite some time.  While I listen to much of his catalog, I am impressed with his drive and ambition; his determination to bring a new sound to every album he releases.  The search for all things prog has found a "sleeper" in the midst; hopefully that will change with this release.

Now of course it's time to continue the journey and take the search for all things prog on to new adventures...until next time...