I’m very pleased to say that DJ Bazza has played ‘Ethereal Soldier Parts 1, 2 & 3’ on this week’s ChillZone.
You can check it out at Mixcloud.
Category This Fragile Peace
Paradox One: Tvashtar Paterae
Don’t forget that Paradox One – “This Fragile Peace” is now available on CD as well as for streaming and downloading on Bandcamp!
In the meantime, here’s a sequence of five images taken by NASA’s New Horizons probe on March 1st 2007, over the course of eight minutes from 23:50 UT. The images form an animation of an eruption by the Tvashtar Paterae volcanic region on the innermost of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, Io. The plume is 330 km high, though only its uppermost half is visible in this image, as its source lies over the moon’s limb on its far side.
Paradox One – This Fragile Peace – review
Paradox One – This Fragile Peace
Article by: Roger Trenwith
Starting out as long ago as the start of the century, Paradox One was initially a solo project by Scottish keyboard player and spacerocker Phil Jackson, who over the intervening years became friends with Tim Jones of Census Of Hallucinations fame – find my reviews of four of that band’s albums HERE. To cut a long story short, the idea was floated of reimagining the project from the bottom up, that is from the grooves created by the CoH rhythm section of Tim Jones melodic bass in tandem with Paddi’s drums.
Central to this spacious cosmic trip is the recognisable soaring guitar style of John Simms, now firmly in the CoH camp, but once known to those of us long enough in the tooth as the teenage prodigy behind the marvellous Vertigo “spiral” band Clear Blue Sky. Also adding a top line is Maxine Marten with her soulful voice. The whole is a wonderful amalgam of semi-improvised music that works very well, imbued with trademark CoH psychedelics, and mixed and mastered with his usual ear for clarity by Tim Jones.
Like a gently rising sun, Wheat In The Fields slowly spreads its warmth amid gentle strummed chording and Maxine Marten’s multi-tracked voices. The dawn mist clears to the accompaniment of rhythmic intent and a distant preaching voice…”mushrooms in the dark” is a phrase that drifts by on the ether as John Simms lets rip waaay down in the mix with some searing notes, bent up the fretboard. This contrast between the cosmic ur-rock and the solid grounded rhythm will be an ongoing feature of the album.
Linking the tracks is the three part Ethereal Soldier, which as its title implies is an impressionistic piece, firstly built around Maxine’s beguiling tones, the second part then mirroring her melody line with John Simms’ liquid and lonesome guitar, joined in the final part of the trilogy by Phil’s organ, slowly drifting away, evoking strangeness and charm.
Giving “power in the darkest hour” during Darkest Night is the first hearing of Phil’s soulful piano playing, adding a layer of humanity to the otherwise cosmic vibes swirling around. These are much to the fore on the dreamy Waiting At Airports, a song that makes that most tedious aspect of travelling seem like something to look forward to.
All The Way, while built on a solid rhythm has a loose jamming feel, and Phil contributes some nice jazz-soul piano and organ that puts me in mind of Brian Auger. Here, we also get to hear Phil’s bluesy vocals for the first time, lending proceedings a good earthiness. Bluesy folk guitar licks shoot through the spacerock vibe of the title track, while another disembodied voice mostly out of reach is “never denied” and “signified”.
The album ends with an upbeat spacerocker, The Unknown Unknowns drives along in a fashion not a million miles from the punk-inspired Here & Now, with more great guitar and keyboard work atop the solid rhythm section.
Anyone familiar with Census Of Hallucinations, or the aforementioned Here & Now, Gong, Hillage, etc, should give this a go. You won’t be disappointed.
Hear the title track to This Fragile Peace by Paradox One on getreadytorockradio
Hear the title track to This Fragile Peace by Paradox One on getreadytorockradio during Rock Byways on Sunday 20th September between 8 and 9pm, GMT, in the company of Airbourne, Steve Harris, Mick Ralphs, Sweet, Lindisfarne, Mike Reno & Ann Wilson, Donna Hall, Gillan & Glover with Dr John, Tony Ashton & Jon Lord, Emerson Hart, Girlschool, Alice Cooper, The Spectres (Status Quo) and Iron Maiden
Paradox One – This Fragile Peace – now on Bandcamp!
Paradox One – “This Fragile Peace” is now available for streaming and downloading on Bandcamp!
According to Peter Jolly – “Phil Jackson has been Paradox One since 2000, and with four albums under his belt he has now teamed up with the Stone Premonitions gang for his fifth release. Building the tracks from bass/drums upward has produced a rhythmic yet spacey progressive rock sound, while the lyrics explore our struggle to come to terms with the Earthly evils of modern life. Not as glum as it sounds, but a thoughtful, coherent work. ”
Paradox One – This Fragile Peace
Paradox One – This Fragile Peace
Paradox One – This Fragile Peace – video review
Just managed to have a quick listen to “Paradox One” “waiting in airports” (on-line in the library with my pound shop headphones)…Big congratulations to all involved, it sounds absoloutely great ! ! !….Totally love all of the playing / singing and instrument sounds etc (especially the hammond organ), some lovely mood changing musical shifts in there.
Max’s video is Completely Mind Blowingly Amazing !….I had a flashback to aprrox 1 year ago when I flew from The Toon to Ireland, then Ireland to Portugal, and then Portugal back to The Toon all in one weekend ( first flights since 1996 by the way, and none since ). There was a scene in the vid which took me right back to the view of Faro as we were preparing to land at the said airport….Once again very impressive stuff !
kev hodge
Paradox One – video and news
Stone Premonitions is now on Facebook and a marvellous video of the track ‘Waiting In Airports’ featuring Maxine Simms is now on You Tube. Watch below;
This song and others from ‘This Fragile Peace’ are garnering a lot of interest. Please support independent artists by buying CDs from labels like Stone Premonitions. The money you give is used to develop more new music and to keep these loss making enterprises alive- it truly is a labour of love. Kevin Heard’s ‘Timelines’ is a case in point, some of the best 80s music you will hear anywhere but few people know about and it’s nice to see Kevin working on a new space rock album ‘Cydonia’.
Paradox One – This Fragile Peace review
Peter Jolly has reviewed the new CD on his website, and you can read it over at; http://www.peterjolly.co.uk/musicb_098.htm Thanks to everyone for their positive comments on ‘This Fragile Peace’ and please considering purchasing it from Stone Premonitions.
If you do please let me know at phil@paradoxone.co.uk and I will ensure you get informed of future projects and that you are able to buy them at cost price- that means P&P plus +50p, no more than £3!
These include a reimagining of the Neurosis years (the ‘Reality Quake’, ‘Dimension of Miracles’ and ‘Alternative Reality’) and also a space rock side project as Coronal Mass Ejection. I have been supporting artists through Kickstarter projects recently but this is more of a thank you for purchasing ‘This Fragile Peace’ which features the playing of gifted ex Clear Blue Sky and Vertigo label guitarist John Simms. The more interest and messages of support there is the more impetus there is for us to get on with what we love doing- producing progressive and thought provoking music!
Radio play for Paradox One – This Fragile Peace
Radio play for Paradox One – This Fragile Peace
Getreadytorockradio will be playing a song from the new album on Sunday 10th May between 8 and 9pm on the Rock Byways show – listen here.
Heemskerk FM played a tune from Paradox One at 9pm Sunday – you can hear there shows online here –www.heemskerk.fm
Paradox One 