13th August (From.uz, 2008)

From.uz (or simply Fromuz) state their origins in their very name, as they actually come "from Uz(bekistan)". That said, they already have a rather rich discography and they're an excellent symphonic rock band. This track comes from the "Overlook" album and you'll probably recognise in it some Yes, King Crimson and even Jethro Tull hints (mostly Yes, that's to say), but with a heavier and surprisingly eclectic approach. The symphonic plot is patent and very well exploited, with lushing keyboard / guitar interplays and very, very pleasant tempo changes.

Is it me or there are some familiar flying islands here?

It's an instrumental track, but you'll find some beautiful and rather original vocal harmonies as an additional instrument. I like the way they mix vintage prog and state-of-the-art electronic devices. This song is highly dynamic and now and then adventurous or jazzy. There are many sides to prog, as we all know, and "13th August" features a well done mix of some of them, without any self-conceit and with an overwhelming passion.

Dances on Gobelins (X Religion, 2003)

I enjoyed this track very much, as I like weird, pseudo-gothic things, especially when a good deal of irony is involved. If you ask me, this could be a perfect soundtrack for a Tim Burton's film: there's that same kind of childhood's magic and the right amount of fantasy too. This is a band from Uzbekistan - yeah, Uzbekistan, not Greater London - and before this "Dances on Gobelins" they had released some harder kind of prog with a different name.

I think this is a good example of electronic-oriented prog.

 

X Religion like electronic devices: Albert 'Al-Bird' Khalmurzayev plays up-to-date keyboards and here you'll also find an excellent bass work (via Digitech) by Vitaly 'Progressor' Menshikov. The third member is Valery 'Ptero' Vorobjov, whose electronic drumming tops the band's electro-pie in such a coherent way that I'll forgive them the lack of a "true" drum set. And also their nicknames. Furthermore, I must admit that in this instrumental track electronics go on well with a clearly classical inspiration and the final effect is a very pleasant one.