Australian electro prog sensation VOYAGER has announced an online concert! The show, which was filmed in the band's hometown of Perth (AUS), will be streaming via the Veeps Platform on October 11, 2020 at 7:00 A.M. EDT and will exist until November 1. The set can be viewed at THIS LOCATION. Tickets are available now!
The show, dubbed âVoyager Biosecurity (Human Biosecurity Emergency) (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic Potential) (Overseas Travel Ban Emergency Requirements)Determination (Cth) Online Show 2020," has been named after the legislation that was passed in Australia that is preventing the band from touring. It will take place at the "Department of Prog, Synths and Riffs."
The absence of live shows in 2020 has affected music fans all around the world. VOYAGER is here to inject some of the live music spirit back into your lives.
Moreover, Guitarist Scott Kay teaches fans how to play a riff from the band's song "Colours" in the latest installment of Guitar World's "Sick Riffs" series! In addition to the play-through, Kay also includes the tablature. Watch and learn at THIS LOCATION.
The song is taken from the band's 2019 release, 'Colours in the Sun,' which can be downloaded and streamed HERE.
'Colours in the Sun' was recently the winner of The Independent Music Award in the Rock/Hard Rock Album category. The record was released in November of 2019 and landed a coveted #1 placement on the Australian Independent Albums chart! 'Colours in the Sun' also debuted at #7 on Independent Label Albums as well as #27 on Official iTunes Australia.
Moreover, the band has reissued 2017's 'Ghost Mile' as a digipak version, which contains three bonus tracks which were recorded during the VOYAGER show at ProgPower in 2017. It can be ordered HERE.
ICYMI: Earlier this year, VOYAGER's music video for "Runaway" was exclusively premiered via 'Eurovision - Australia Decides!' Following an application via the Song Portal, the band finally received recognition for submitting a track and were paid tribute on the live television broadcast that aired on Saturday, February 8 on the Gold Coast. The video is now available worldwide and can be seen at THIS LOCATION.
Since their 1999 formation, whatever genre norms, boundaries and regulations thrust upon Perth, Australiaâs Voyager have been smashed. They embrace, if not brandish pop; employ a keytar on stage, and, bring forward a positive, if not uplifting feeling to their music, running head-first into the endless parade of heavy bands who see the world in a different light. Itâs perhaps why the title of their seventh full-length and first for Season of Mist, Colours in the Sun, is apropos: Voyager simply prefers to see the bright side of things.
âObservations of the malaises of the modern world and the baffling obsession with purity and difference all make me think,â says frontman and founding member Danny Estrin. âWeâve never had it better and weâve never had it more colorful. To me thatâs progress, itâs adaptation, itâs evolution and itâs astounding.â
The follow-up to 2017âs Ghost Mile, Colours in the Sun finds Voyager enmeshed in rich, melodic, song-first tapestries, led by Estrinâs smooth, capable clean vocal delivery. Estrin is self-aware of his vocals, calling them âunique and â80s.â But whatever tag Estrin affixes to his voice, they are the propellent throughout Colours in the Sun, serving up a steady diet of soaring, emotive choruses, where melody is paramount and along the way, even getting some help from another distinctive belter, Leprousâs Einar Solberg on âEntropy.â
âEinar and I became good friends on our tours through Europe and Australia,â notes Estrin. âI couldnât help but ask him to guest on the album. He is a fantastic musician and vocalist. I sent him a reference track which he swiftly ignored and laid his own tracks down. The result is stunning!â
The kaleidoscope of sounds that comprise the albumâs ten cuts is the result of Voyagerâs far-reaching influences, many of which go beyond the traditional realms of metal and rock. Estrin calls it âcatchy at the top, proggy at the bottom, as if Dream Theater and Depeche Mode had a baby.â Itâs almost as if the term âprogressiveâ is too limiting for Voyager, particularly when the guitar tandem of Simone Dow and Scott Kay merge for complex rhythms while doing battle against Estrinâs vaudeville-like keyboards (!) on âReconnected.â
The âproggy at the bottomâ notice is served by way of the rhythm section of bassist Alex Canion and drummer Ashley Doodkorte, who stretch their musical tentacles across busy, active cuts such as âSaccharine Dreamâ and the syncopated âWater Over the Bridge.â âI think we found our âvoiceâ on V (2014) and have been building on that ever since,â says Estrin. âThe synthwave prog sound is really something that has naturally developed and has been refined even more on the new album. Every record is progress â thatâs what progressive music is all about!â
According to Estrin, the Colours in the Sun album title encompasses a âvibrant multitude of people coming together under the hot Australian sun to create a beautiful and colorful soundscape.â Itâs capped off by artwork courtesy of Doodkorte, who made the piece out of photographs near his house in Perth. A closer inspection reveals there are seven suns on the cover, one for each Voyager album, topped off by an updated version of the bandâs logo comprised of five strokes, one for each member. No doubt a fitting visual summation of a band whose progress can be the described in the most literal and figurative of terms.
âItâs been a slow steady growth over the years,â concludes Estrin. âOther bands come and go after a year of fame. I really feel like weâve built up an incredible fanbase, especially over the last decade, and the deal with Season of Mist seemed the logical step to take it to the next level together.â
Style: Electro Progressive Metal
Line-up
Danny Estrin - Vocals
Simone Dow - Guitars
Alex Canion - Bass
Scott Kay - Guitars
Ash Doodkorte - Drums
Recording studio:
Sumo Studios - Drums
Templeman Audio - Guitars and Bass
Producer / sound engineer:
Aidan Barton - Vocal Producer
Mixing studio and engineer:
Matthew Templeman
Fraser Cringle (assistant engineer)
Mastering studio and engineer:
Simon Struthers
Guest musicians:
Einar Solberg from LEPROUS on âEntropyâ.
Cover artwork artist:
Ashley Doodkorte
Bio:
David E. Gehlke
Shop: https://smarturl.it/Voyagerinthesun
Download/stream: https://som.lnk.to/Voyagerinthesun
Available formats:
CD Digipak
LP in various colours
For more on VOYAGER, visit the band's official FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, WEBSITE, and BANDCAMP.