Rovo and System 7 – Phoenix Rising

‘Phoenix Rising’ is a new album created by two groups working together.  You have Japanese prog rock band Rovo, and Steve Hillage’s dance music project, System 7.  While Prog rock is known for experimentation, a union with an electronic dance music project still seems like a strange mix.  The two bands did a tour together in Japan in 2011 before deciding to record the album.

It’s albums like this one that make reviewing so enjoyable.  It’s far too easy to fall into the habit of listening to the same few bands or genres of music, but when you break out of that cycle and listen to something different, that’s when you sometimes discover some amazing new music.  For me, this album is one that by description alone I probably wouldn’t have chosen to listen to – I’m not a massive Prog fan although some Prog is fantastic, and the mix of Prog and electronic dance music sounded quite bizarre, plus the fact it’s instrumental also put me off.  Having listened to it though, I’m really glad I did – the meeting of these two different types of music could have been horrendous but instead, in this case it’s created something special.  It just goes to show that you should be as open minded as possible when it comes to listening to different types of music – you never know what you might find.

The album contains some Rovo tracks and some System 7 tracks along with some other tracks, and the two very different bands work together perfectly.  The electronics and synthesisers of System 7 sit alongside the drummers, electric violin and guitars of Rovo, and work so well together that very quickly you stop thinking about whether the rock instruments or electronic ones are the focus at any point, and instead just relax and let the music wash over you.

This really is a superb album – the live prog rock sections blend seamlessly with the electronic sections and the results are very special – the music is beatiful, hypnotic and has that psychedelic feel that you associate with bands like Hawkwind.  The music isn’t dance, it isn’t rock – I don’t know what you’d call it really other than something truly impressive and something that you really need to hear to judge.  Unusually for an instrumental album, I’ve found this to be one that I can listen to again and again without getting bored or thinking it needs vocals (I actually think vocals would spoil it).

Check out the official video for opening track ‘Hinotori’ below and listen for yourself.

‘Phoenix Rising’ will be released on 23rd September

Track listing:

1. Hinotori
2. Love for the phoenix
3. Meeting of the spirits
4. Cisco
5. Unbroken
6. Sino dub
7. Unseen onsen