The 1st December will see Karisma Records release the final three albums from the Back Catalogue of Prog Rockers ARABS IN ASPIC, and, as a prequel, the label has released, the title track from the band’s sixth album “The Magic of Sin” as a digi single.
The single can be downloaded or streamed from a number of services at this location.
“The Magic of Sin” itself was an album that marked a turning point in the band’s career, setting the parameters, both musically and structurally, for the direction that ARABS IN ASPIC would take going forward. Like all the albums in the Back Catalogue re-releases, it has been re-mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo (WHITE WILLOW, OPIUM CARTEL, SOLSTEIN etc), and features artwork by the band’s long-time collaborator Julia Proszowska.
Following on from the 2021 re-release of the first three albums from the band’s back-catalogue, those included in this, the final trilogy of releases, are:
“Pictures in a Dream” which was originally released in 2013, and will now be available in CD, Digital and Limited Edition Blue/Yellow Marble Vinyl formats.
2015’s “Victims of your Father’s Agony” which will be available in CD, Digital and Limited Edition Blue/Yellow Marble Vinyl formats.
And, of course, the afore-mentioned “The Magic of Sin”. First released in 2017, it is a very special album for ARABS IN ASPIC, for reasons too numerous to go into. Suffice it to say that its re-release deserves a special treatment. Thus, aside from the usual CD and Digital formats, “The Magic of Sin” will also be available in the form of a limited first pressing of the LP version in orange/black marble vinyl which comes in a unique tri-fold cover revealing more of Julia Proszowska’s striking cover art. If its combined with the original “Syndenes Magi” LP, all five panels of the painting will be visible.
All three albums will also be available as a Limited Edition Box Set vinyl titled “IV – VI”
All versions of all the albums can now be pre-ordered from:
Full details and history of each of the individual releases can be found here.
With a lineup consisting of Jostein Smeby on Guitars + vocals, Stig Jørgensen on Organs + vocals, Erik Paulsen on Bass + vocals, Eskil Nyhus on Drums + cymbals and Alessandro G. Elide on Percussion + gongs, and based in Trondheim, Norway, the band’s roots can be traced back to the Golden Era of rock.
Given that they have seven full-length albums to their name (their seventh, “Madness and Magic” having been released on Karisma Records in 2020), ARABS IN ASPIC are certainly not newcomers to the prog scene. Indeed, they have been at the forefront of 70’s inspired progressive rock and proto-hard rock for fifteen years.
ARABS IN ASPIC’s unmistakable sound is mix of loud, heavy guitars and drums, 12 string acoustics, funky bass and percussion, screaming Hammond organs, soft Rhodes, Mellotrons and 70’s Synths, topped with plentiful vocal harmonies. It’s an all-encompassing sound that includes aspects of classic rock, funk, pop, prog, heavy rock, bossanova, and a capella.
ARABS IN ASPIC’s next live appearance will be on the 11th November, alongside Dark Essence Records artist LUMSK, at the Verkstedhallen & Lobbyen in Trondheim, Norway.
ARABS IN ASPIC are no newcomers to the prog scene, having been at the forefront of 70’s inspired progressive rock and proto-hard rock for fifteen years. Based in Trondheim, Norway, the band’s roots can be traced to the Golden Era of rock, with a sound that is a mix of loud, heavy guitars and drums, 12 string acoustics, funky bass and percussion, screaming Hammond organs, soft Rhodes, Mellotrons and 70’s Synths, topped with plentiful vocal harmonies.
With seven full-length albums to their name, the lineup of Jostein Smeby on Guitars + vocals, Stig Jørgensen on Organs + vocals, Erik Paulsen on Bass + vocals, Eskil Nyhus on Drums + cymbals and Alessandro G. Elide on Percussion + gongs, include, within their sound, aspects of classic rock, funk, pop, prog, heavy rock, bossanova, and a capella.
When ARABS IN ASPIC signed to Karisma Records for the release of the band’s seventh full-length album “Madness and Magic”, it was the labels intention to also release the entire ARABS IN ASPIC back-catalogue. With the first three albums having been released in 2021, Karisma is now ready to release the next three albums on the 1st December, not only as individual albums, but also as a limited edition box set which comes just in time for Prog fans wishing to give (or receive) something special for Christmas.
First up we have “Pictures in a Dream”, ARABS IN ASPIC’s fourth album, originally released in 2013 on Black Widow Records. The band’s love of experimenting with sounds and recording methods is at the forefront, along with some rather unconventional use of microphones to capture the sound in the studio itself, rather than directly from the source. For example nine microphones are used on the Hammond organ alone. The inevitable result of this was the need for a lot of tweaking, and not so much control, and very much a different kind of sound for 2013.
The re-release itself is based on all of the original recordings, but everything has been re-edited and remixed from scratch, thereby removing some of the pitfalls that came with having so many microphones in the room. Some of the vocals/lyrics have been replaced with lyrics from the archives, along with some new ideas, and a few instrumental overdubs, rendering the album even better than its predecessor.
Remastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo (WHITE WILLOW, OPIUM CARTEL, SOLSTEIN etc) “Pictures in a Dream” also sees the band changing the song sequence to make a new listening experience that creates quite a different mood.
“Pictures in a Dream” will be available in CD, Digital and Limited Edition Blue/Yellow Vinyl formats. With artwork by Julia Proszowska, and RUPHUS vocalist Rune Sundby guesting on two songs, tracklisting is as follows:
Rejected Wasteland / Pictures in a Dream (feat. Rune Sundby)
Let Us Pray
You Are Blind
Felix
Ta et steg til siden
Difference in Time
Lifeguard@sharkbay
Prevail to Fail (feat. Rune Sundby)
Hard to Find
Vi møtes sikkert igjen
Next up is the fifth album from ARABS IN ASPIC “Victim of your Father’s Agony”, which first saw the light of day in 2015, again on Black Widow Records, and which has now also been re-edited and remixed from scratch, with a change in the song sequence and instrumental overdubbing, and once again Jacob Holm-Lupo can be found at the remastering helm. It is possibly the band’s most diverse to date, due to the large numbers of songwriters on this particular release.
This new version of the album starts with a short instrumental inspired by the band’s first concert in France which took place at sunset, 300 meters from the most beautiful beaches of the Atlantic and in front of 2000 ecstatic prog nerds. “One”, is an oldie that didn’t quite fit on the previous couple of albums, but has been a staple in their live shows since 2009.
“Italian Class” started as an instrumental called “The Turk and the Italian Restaurant”. With no proper Italian vocabulary, the band cobbled together bits and pieces from the most well known Italian nursery rhymes and performed the song live at a festival, where some found it brilliant, and others were offended or embarrassed on the band’s behalf! “Sad Without You” is about the sudden realization that you’re eventually going to lose your loved ones, whilst “The Flight of the Halibut” features no less than 16 lead guitars in unison.
With artwork by Julia Proszowska, “Victim of your Father’s Agony”, will be available in CD, Digital and Limited Edition Blue/Yellow Vinyl formats, and tracklisting is as follows:
Saint-Palais-sur-Mer Part 1
One
Italian Class
God Requires Insanity
Saint-Palais-Sur-Mer Part 2
Sad Without You
Flight of the Halibut
Tv3
Victim of your Father’s Agony
And then we have what will be the sixth and final re-release, “The Magic of Sin”, which was originally titled “Syndenes magi” and was a turning point in the career of ARABS IN ASPIC. After “Pictures in a Dream” and “Victim of your Father’s Agony” the infrastructure of the “new Arabs” was set. They had lots of songs ready to go, but, after attending a spectacular KING CRIMSON gig in Oslo, the band decided that their new material wasn’t up to par, and they had to do better.
Returning to his home in Trondheim, Jostein Smeby wrote what was to become the 12-minute song “Syndenes Magi”. He called up cover artist Julia Proszowska and asked her to write down some keywords for a concept album. She delivered an excellent selection of keywords about anxiety, which inspired the composition of the rest of the album. Originally written in English, countless attempts to make the vocals blend in with the music failed and Smeby tried to write a verse in Norwegian instead, and there it was! Re-writing the rest of the lyrics in Norwegian, “Syndenes magi” was released on Apollon Records in the fall of 2017, and received a lot of international attention, despite having only Norwegian lyrics.
Regarding what has now become “The Magic of Sin”, which was once again remastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo in his Dude Ranch Studios, Jostein Smeby commented:
When it comes to the remix of the album, that is the hardest project we’ve ever done. We were really happy with the record – so if it was going to get remixed, then the result had to be even better. The band wasn’t entirely in agreement about a remix at all, but the composer had some unfinished business regarding English lyrics. I tried singing the original English lyrics again. And it sounded just as bad as last time. What do you do then? Well, you delete all the Norwegian vocals and work until it gets better. Working with the remix and remaster of «The Magic of Sin» has taken more than twice the amount of time than writing, recording and mixing the original version took.
Obviously, since “The Magic of Sin” is something of a very special album to the band, for so many reasons, its new release also merits something a bit special, so, aside from the usual CD and Digital formats, the album will also be available in the form of a limited first pressing of the LP version in orange/black vinyl which comes in a unique tri-fold cover revealing more of Julia Proszowska’s striking cover art. If its combined with the original “Syndenes Magi” LP, all five panels of the painting will be visible.
Tracklisting on “The Magic of Sin” is as follows:
The Magic of Sin
Down in Darkness Pt 2
Down in Darkness Pt 3
All three albums will also be available as a Limited Edition Box Set titled “IV – VI”
All versions of all the albums can now be pre-ordered from:
ARABS IN ASPIC’s next live appearance will be on the 11th November alongside Dark Essence Records artist LUMSK at the Verkstedhallen & Lobbyen in Trondheim
With a firmly established reputation for welcoming some of the finest Prog and Rock acts, both long-established as well as new, to its roster, Norway’s Karisma Records is also making a name for itself by taking some of the legendary, and long-unavailable recordings of its established artists and making them once again available to fans. And, declining to take the easy route, the re-releases are often either re-mixed or re-mastered (in this case by Jacob Holm-Lupo), and in formats not previously available.
Next up in its catalogue of re-releases come three albums from ARABS IN ASPIC, a band that has been in the forefront of 70’s inspired progressive rock and proto-hard rock in Norway for the past fifteen years. The three re-releases in question will be “Progeria”, “Far Out in Aradabia” and “Strange Frame of Mind”, all of which will be available in CD, Digital, Black Vinyl and Limited Edition Coloured Vinyl formats.
2003’s mini-album “Progeria”, was released as a CD only, and was the first outing for ARABS IN ASPIC, which, at this point was as a mixture of the psychedelic space rock akin to Hawkwind, and the heaviness and darkness of early Black Sabbath. At the time of “Progeria’s” release the band had released several demo and was very active in the live scene in the Trondheim area. Their rehearsal space was located in the Hells Angels club house in Trondheim, much to the consternation of the local police!
Released in 2004, again in CD only, “Far Out In Aradabia” saw ARABS IN ASPIC becoming bolder and more adventurous with their song writing sound. Having enlisted a keyboard player, the band’s musical inspirations had become broader as well, and ARABS IN ASPIC started to venture more into the realms of progressive rock. It is interesting to note that the last track on the album was a 65 minute studio jam, which was eventually edited down to 19 minutes. “Far Out In Aradabia” was also the first album on which Julia Proszowzka did the artwork, and she has worked with the band ever since.
By the time “Strange Frame of Mind” appeared as a CD in 2010, ARABS IN ASPIC had recruited Hammond virtuoso Stig Arve Jørgensen on keys and backing vocals after seeing him perform FOCUS’ “Hocus Pocus”! “Strange Frame of Mind” is very much an album that serves as a bridge between early ARABS IN ASPIC, and the band they are today.
In addition to the individual re-re releases of each of the three albums, Karisma Records will also be releasing a Limited Edition LP box set titled “I-III”. Aside from all three of the albums in an exclusive “Aspic” coloured vinyl, the box will include a slip mat and a 12 page booklet with stories and photos from the early days of ARAB IN ASPIC.
All three albums and the box set (which is limited to 300 copies) will hit the streets on the 18 June, are now available to pre-order from:
Today, only Jostein Smeby on Guitars and Vocals and Eskil Nyhus on Drums and Cymbals, remain from the original ARABS IN ASPIC lineup, which now also includes Stig Jørgensen on Organs and Vocals, Erik Paulsen on Bass and Vocals, and Alessandro G. Elide on Percussion and Gongs. Despite rather modestly saying of themselves that they “play music”, dive deeper into ARABS IN ASPIC and you will find that the music the band produces includes a multitude of aspects of classic rock, funk, pop, prog, heavy rock, bossa nova and a capella.
The title track from “Madness and Magic”, the upcoming album from Prog Rockers ARABS IN ASPIC, is the song that Karisma Records have chosen to release as a single today. Drawing their inspiration for both the title and subject matter from EDGAR BROUGHTON, the band had this to say about the track:
“Madness and Magic” is a description of how helpless one becomes when suffering from serious illness. Putting one’s life in the hands of others is frightening, especially when so heavily medicated that the boundary between reality and fiction is blurred. It gets particularly bad when it turns out the expertise is unable to relate to the human aspect of the situation. The song was written after a meeting with Doctor Death, who clearly was affected by working with people on their last journey.
Based in Trondheim, Norway, ARABS IN ASPIC is a band with a lineup that has both the skill and musical knowledge to perform a variety of styles, ranging from classic rock to funk, pop, prog, heavy rock, bossanova and a capella, all rooted in what is known as the “Golden Era” of rock.
Jostein Smeby on Guitars + vocals, Stig Jørgensen on Organs + vocals, Erik Paulsen on Bass + vocals, Eskil Nyhus on Drums + cymbals and Alessandro G. Elide on Percussion + gongs, are an ensemble who create a distinctive sound that is best described as a sweet mixture of loud, heavy guitars and drums, 12 string acoustics, funky bass and percussion, screaming Hammond organs, soft Rhodes, Mellotrons and 70’s Synths, topped with plentiful vocal harmonies.
“Madness and Magic” will be the seventh full-length album from the Prog Rockers, and recently the band let fans know more about what went into making it, and the subject matter:
“Madness and Magic” is the first Arabs in Aspic album written for two drummers, with more acoustic guitar parts than previous albums. All the music was written and arranged in our studio and carefully put together like a puzzle with 50,000 pieces, to take the listener on a journey through life’s “Madness and Magic”, both musically and lyrically.
The lyrics for “Madness and Magic” reflect on how easily both children and adults are affected in the digital age, but also how helpless we are when we have to put our lives in the hands of specialists. Many ideas came up after a brief meeting with Doctor Death. The message of “Madness and Magic” is up to the listener to decide. For you are capable of thinking for yourself, right?
With ethereal artwork by Julia Proszowska, tracklisting for the “Madness and Magic” is as follows:
1. I Vow to Thee, My Screen
2. Lullaby for Modern Kids, Part 1
3. Lullaby for Modern Kids, Part 2
4. High-Tech Parent
5. Madness and Magic
6. Heaven in Your Eye
“Madness and Magic” will be released on the 12th June and will be available in CD, black vinyl and Limited Edition Green and Yellow Splatter vinyl, and Digital formats, and is now available to pre-order at:
With the 12th June having been set as the release date for “Madness and Magic”, the seventh full-length album from Prog Rockers ARABS IN ASPIC, Karisma Records have today released the single “I Vow to Thee, My Screen”, which is the opening track from the album.
According to the band, the song “describes the fascination and fear of our addiction to being entertained. The lyrics are heavily inspired by the British patriotic hymn, “I Vow to Thee, my Country,” written by Cecil Spring-Rice in 1918”.
Based in Trondheim in Norway, ARABS IN ASPIC’s lineup of Jostein Smeby on Guitars + vocals, Stig Jørgensen on Organs + vocals, Erik Paulsen on Bass + vocals, Eskil Nyhus on Drums + cymbals and Alessandro G. Elide on Percussion + gongs, all have an uncanny ability to perform a variety of styles, which include aspects of classic rock, funk, pop, prog, heavy rock, bossanova, a capella.
The resultant sound is a distinctive mix of loud, heavy guitars and drums, 12 string acoustics, funky bass and percussion, screaming Hammond organs, soft Rhodes, Mellotrons and 70’s Synths, topped with plentiful vocal harmonies, which point to ARABS IN ASPIC’s roots in what is known as the “Golden Era” of rock.
With ethereal artwork by Julia Proszowska, tracklisting for the “Madness and Magic” is as follows:
1. I Vow to Thee, My Screen
2. Lullaby for Modern Kids, Part 1
3. Lullaby for Modern Kids, Part 2
4. High-Tech Parent
5. Madness and Magic
6. Heaven in Your Eye
Commenting on “Madness and Magic”, the band had this to say:
“Madness and Magic” is the first Arabs in Aspic album written for two drummers, with more acoustic guitar parts than previous albums. All the music was written and arranged in our studio and carefully put together like a puzzle with 50,000 pieces, to take the listener on a journey through life’s “Madness and Magic”, both musically and lyrically.
The lyrics for “Madness and Magic” reflect on how easily both children and adults are affected in the digital age, but also how helpless we are when we have to put our lives in the hands of specialists. Many ideas came up after a brief meeting with Doctor Death. The message of “Madness and Magic” is up to the listener to decide. For you are capable of thinking for yourself, right?
“Madness and Magic” will be available in CD, black vinyl and Limited Edition Green and Yellow Splatter vinyl, and Digital formats, and is now available to pre-order at:
Karisma Records have set the 12th June as the release date for “Madness and Magic” the seventh full-length album from Prog Rockers ARABS IN ASPIC, who are greatly looking forward to the fact that working with the label means that they will be able to focus solely on making and playing their music and bringing it to a wider audience, both in a studio setting and live.
“Madness and Magic” will be available in CD, Vinyl and Digital formats, and with artwork by Julia Proszowska, tracklisting for the album is as follows:
1. I Vow to Thee, My Screen
2. Lullaby for Modern Kids, Part 1
3. Lullaby for Modern Kids, Part 2
4. High-Tech Parent
5. Madness and Magic
6. Heaven in Your Eye
Commenting on the album, the band had this to say:
“Madness and Magic” is the first Arabs in Aspic album written for two drummers, with more acoustic guitar parts than previous albums. All the music was written and arranged in our studio and carefully put together like a puzzle with 50,000 pieces, to take the listener on a journey through life’s “Madness and Magic”, both musically and lyrically.
The lyrics for “Madness and Magic” reflect on how easily both children and adults are affected in the digital age, but also how helpless we are when we have to put our lives in the hands of specialists. Many ideas came up after a brief meeting with Doctor Death. The message of “Madness and Magic” is up to the listener to decide. For you are capable of thinking for yourself, right?
A video teaser for “Madness and Magic” can be seen below.
With their musical roots embedded in what is known as the “Golden Era” of rock, and hailing from Trondheim in Norway, ARABS IN ASPIC’s lineup comprises Jostein Smeby on Guitars + vocals, Stig Jørgensen on Organs + vocals, Erik Paulsen on Bass + vocals, Eskil Nyhus on Drums + cymbals and Alessandro G. Elide on Percussion + gongs. Together they form an ensemble of musicians whose playing includes aspects classic rock, funk, pop, prog, heavy rock, bossanova, a capella.
ARABS IN ASPIC will bring their distinctive sound, which can be described as “a sweet mixture of loud, heavy guitars and drums, 12 string acoustics, funky bass and percussion, screaming Hammond organs, soft Rhodes, Mellotrons and 70’s Synths, topped with plentiful vocal harmonies”, to the John Dee in Oslo on the 13 June when they celebrate the release of “Madness and Magic”, along with support THE FLYING NORSEMEN.
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