Zen Orchestra – Zen Orchestra
The story behind Neo-prog influenced band Zen Orchestra and their self-titled debut album is as interesting and remarkable as the impressive longform music you will find within.
Formed in the mid-90s by keys player Steve Smith and singer Mark Barrett (founder members of early 90s prog band Walking On Ice), Zen Orchestra garnered interest from a number of labels, but an acceptable deal never materialised.
Flash forward to 2012 and Steve Smith & Mark Barrett decide to pull Zen Orchestra out of hiatus, based on the impressive quality of some instrumental demos by Smith, that Barrett worked up and added voice to.
However unforeseen circumstances across the next decade, including personal and technical issues, followed by the tragic and sudden loss of longtime friend and band bassist Stewart Milner in March 2023, almost scuppered their return.
But, with perseverance, and Italian bassist Alberto Rigoni stepping in to complete the album (joining Smith, Barrett, original Zen drummer Steve Rix and guitarist James Stephenson), the band’s debut album has now seen the light of long-awaited day.
And lovers of Neo-prog/ creative longform rock should be delighted it has.
Heavyweight opener 'Minds' (one of two tracks featuring the late Stewart Milner, the other being 'Circles') utilises a clever use of dissonance and pulsating, rhythmic energy to create musical tension and conflict (which is fitting, given the lyric looks to how others may view us, which itself nods to mental health).
The results are seven-and-a-half minutes of shape-shifting contemporary rock meeting hard-edged Neo-prog head on with a touch of prog-metal. A musically invigorating and highly-charged start.
'Faces,' the longest song on the album at just under ten minutes, doesn’t overstay its welcome, primarily through a great use of dynamics and extremely effective light (softer instrumental sections and a mid-song vocal moment) and shade (heavier verses and chorus in the early going).
The powerful finale section is also worthy of mention.
The band’s Neo-prog influences are very much to the fore on 'Faces,' to the extent you could be forgiven for thinking IQ and Marillion had popped into the studio and written this together (Mark Barrett also has vocal similarities to IQ front man Peter Nicholls, with a touch of Marillion’s Steve Hogarth).
IQ related, slow build number 'Time' might well be the one of the best songs that band never did.
Atmospheric and ever-lifting to a purposeful, fade-out finish, 'Time' also features some great harmony lead lines from James Stephenson (albeit a tad too low in the mix).
'Billionaires' opens with Mark Barrett taking the keyboard lead before the song settles into a slower, atmospheric vocal section. The number then picks up the pace on a driving beat from Steve Rix, leading to a keyboard heavy (including a solo) conclusion.
The melodic, upbeat prog of 'Circles' is a time capsule set to music ("Those lazy days we spent in funfairs, the stolen moments in the park; we used to save up all our bus fares, and then we’d walk home in the dark").
An instrumental section featuring joyously expressive lead lines from James Stephenson is a welcome inclusion, as is the fact the whole song carries the vibe of Francis Dunnery era It Bites (never a bad thing).
Formed in the mid-90s by keys player Steve Smith and singer Mark Barrett (founder members of early 90s prog band Walking On Ice), Zen Orchestra garnered interest from a number of labels, but an acceptable deal never materialised.
Flash forward to 2012 and Steve Smith & Mark Barrett decide to pull Zen Orchestra out of hiatus, based on the impressive quality of some instrumental demos by Smith, that Barrett worked up and added voice to.
However unforeseen circumstances across the next decade, including personal and technical issues, followed by the tragic and sudden loss of longtime friend and band bassist Stewart Milner in March 2023, almost scuppered their return.
But, with perseverance, and Italian bassist Alberto Rigoni stepping in to complete the album (joining Smith, Barrett, original Zen drummer Steve Rix and guitarist James Stephenson), the band’s debut album has now seen the light of long-awaited day.
And lovers of Neo-prog/ creative longform rock should be delighted it has.
Heavyweight opener 'Minds' (one of two tracks featuring the late Stewart Milner, the other being 'Circles') utilises a clever use of dissonance and pulsating, rhythmic energy to create musical tension and conflict (which is fitting, given the lyric looks to how others may view us, which itself nods to mental health).
The results are seven-and-a-half minutes of shape-shifting contemporary rock meeting hard-edged Neo-prog head on with a touch of prog-metal. A musically invigorating and highly-charged start.
'Faces,' the longest song on the album at just under ten minutes, doesn’t overstay its welcome, primarily through a great use of dynamics and extremely effective light (softer instrumental sections and a mid-song vocal moment) and shade (heavier verses and chorus in the early going).
The powerful finale section is also worthy of mention.
The band’s Neo-prog influences are very much to the fore on 'Faces,' to the extent you could be forgiven for thinking IQ and Marillion had popped into the studio and written this together (Mark Barrett also has vocal similarities to IQ front man Peter Nicholls, with a touch of Marillion’s Steve Hogarth).
IQ related, slow build number 'Time' might well be the one of the best songs that band never did.
Atmospheric and ever-lifting to a purposeful, fade-out finish, 'Time' also features some great harmony lead lines from James Stephenson (albeit a tad too low in the mix).
'Billionaires' opens with Mark Barrett taking the keyboard lead before the song settles into a slower, atmospheric vocal section. The number then picks up the pace on a driving beat from Steve Rix, leading to a keyboard heavy (including a solo) conclusion.
The melodic, upbeat prog of 'Circles' is a time capsule set to music ("Those lazy days we spent in funfairs, the stolen moments in the park; we used to save up all our bus fares, and then we’d walk home in the dark").
An instrumental section featuring joyously expressive lead lines from James Stephenson is a welcome inclusion, as is the fact the whole song carries the vibe of Francis Dunnery era It Bites (never a bad thing).
'Heartless' opens in darkly atmospheric tones, which seems to reflect a lyric that contemplates the end of a relationship, loneliness and depression (special mention for Mark Barrett, who vocally plays the tortured soul extremely well - "Can anybody get me out of here? I never want to spend my time alone").
This is another track that carries echoes of IQ and Marillion, although a double-time section with a short, Emerson-esque organ solo (followed by synth solo) makes for a dynamic switch-up.
The song then drops the tempo, but not its forceful nature, for the soaring, classic Neo-prog conclusion.
'Coda,' a short and shimmering guitar & keyboard led instrumental track (with a soupçon of ELP towards the conclusion), closes out the album (you can’t help but think this number nods to where it all started with Steve Smith’s instrumental demos back in 2012).
Zen Orchestra might be a little too on the Neo-prog nose in places, and there’s an argument that the 'sounds like' parts are more homage than major influence, but the album is, as the band say themselves, a love letter to, and exploration of, the music they grew up with.
From that perspective they have absolutely nailed the Zen of Neo-prog, fully orchestrated and contemporised for the 21st century.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Album (CD, Digital, and Digital with Bonus Tracks) and Merch: https://www.zenorchestra.com/shop
This is another track that carries echoes of IQ and Marillion, although a double-time section with a short, Emerson-esque organ solo (followed by synth solo) makes for a dynamic switch-up.
The song then drops the tempo, but not its forceful nature, for the soaring, classic Neo-prog conclusion.
'Coda,' a short and shimmering guitar & keyboard led instrumental track (with a soupçon of ELP towards the conclusion), closes out the album (you can’t help but think this number nods to where it all started with Steve Smith’s instrumental demos back in 2012).
Zen Orchestra might be a little too on the Neo-prog nose in places, and there’s an argument that the 'sounds like' parts are more homage than major influence, but the album is, as the band say themselves, a love letter to, and exploration of, the music they grew up with.
From that perspective they have absolutely nailed the Zen of Neo-prog, fully orchestrated and contemporised for the 21st century.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Album (CD, Digital, and Digital with Bonus Tracks) and Merch: https://www.zenorchestra.com/shop