02 April 2008

ProgDay Announces Ain Soph for 2008

ProgDay is pleased to announce the very first American appearance of AIN SOPH, the renowned band from Japan! AIN SOPH was formed in 1970 at the beginning of the progressive rock music scene in Japan. Their first official release, "A Story Of Mysterious Forest," came out in 1980 and has since become considered a classic of Japanese progressive rock.

Ultimately AIN SOPH became Japan's premiere contribution to Canterbury music, with tunes that mix the symphonic elements of CAMEL with the jazzy musical flights of SOFT MACHINE and HATFIELD AND THE NORTH, all filtered through a Japanese point of view. RICHARD SINCLAIR, who played with AIN SOPH in 2004, has called them "one of the very best Canterbury music bands in the world."

Join us and help celebrate their first show in the US, and only their second show outside of Japan. We're sure AIN SOPH will deliver a performance to be remembered.

ProgDay 2008 is the 14th edition of the world's longest running progressive rock festival. Performances will take place on Labor Day weekend, Saturday, August 30, and Sunday, August 31. For more information please visit our website at www.progday.com.

2 comments:

firefly said...

Canterbury scene - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“In the very best Canterbury music...the musically silly and the musically serious
are juxtaposed in an amusing and endearing way.”
Bill, is this a fair definition of Ain Soph's music, I never heard of the genre' before now?
Wonder if Kitaro likes 'em!
Gary

Bill K. said...

Not being familiar with Ain Soph particularly, I can't say for sure. But I would say that the idea that the best Canterbury juxtaposes the silly and serious is a fair one indeed.

And there is a very thriving Japanese progressive music scene, ranging from bands like Ain Soph (Canterbury), Kenso and KBB (fusion), Providence and Vermiliong Sands (symphonic), Ruins/Koenjikyakkei (avant/Zeuhl) and so on...Japanese music is a very diverse collection of groups and styles...far from just Kitaro (who, by the way, is a smoking electric guitarist, even though that is in his past somewhat these days...).