Jem Godfrey

Honourable mention: Big Big Train – Folklore (2016)

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Oh my, where to start? Well, I have to admit, I never heard of the band Big Big Train before, until I listened to Stacy Doller’s Prog Britannia show (which used to be on Progrock.com, and now on Progzilla Radio). I really liked the songs that I heard, so I started to do some research. I thought it was a pretty new band, but I found out that the band exists for quite a while! I also just started to work for Background Magazine back in the early summer of 2015. I got my first batch of albums, and it included the Wassail EP of Big Big Train. I was very impressed by that EP, especially because of the title track Wassail (you can read the review of that EP here). Continue reading

Personal Playlist by Iris (6 June 2016)

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So much (new) music out there, and I wish I had the time to review them all! Well, see this playlist as some sort of mini album review list! Here are some albums I’m recently listening to… Continue reading

Iris interviews: Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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Written interview with Jem Godfrey (if you prefer to listen to the interview instead of reading it, click here).

Jem Godfrey established the band Frost* in 2004. The band released two studio albums, several live albums and is about to release their third studio album named Falling Satellites, which will be released in May 2016. There are eight years between Frost*’s second studio album Experiments In Mass Appeal (2008) and Falling Satellites. In the meantime Frost* had some line-up changes, but their latest line-up already consists for six years. I interviewed Jem Godfrey via Skype on 28 April, 2016. We talked about Falling Satellites, the story behind this album, Jem’s influences, and how Steven Wilson ‘stole’ drummer Craig Blundell for his tour. Continue reading

Must Have Album: Frost* – Falling Satellites (2016)

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Finally, Frost* is back after eight years… And what a comeback it is!!! Wow! This album immediately grabbed my full attention the first time I listened to it! I can hardly contain myself when listening to this album, I can’t sit still when I’m listening to it behind my desk. What can you expect? For the people who never heard Frost* before; think about Spock’s Beard with balls! The music is energetic, fast and contains so much power! It’s also a real mixture of different music styles, from dance to metal. Is this ‘prog’? I don’t care if this is prog, this is some splendid music! The band consists of wonderful, talented musicians; Jem Godfrey on keyboards and Chapman Railboard (never heard of that instrument before, but I’m sure it has something to do with Chapman Stick), John Mitchell (It Bites, Arena) on guitar, Nathan King (Level 42) on bass guitar and Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson) on drums & percussion. Jem and John are good lead vocalists who provide most of the lead vocals on the album. Continue reading