Gaz Cloud
Music has always been my whole life – from the age of 5 and my love for Simon and Garfunkel, through discovering Prince and my awakening sexuality at 11, the intellectual stimulation of ambient aged 12, the illicit thrill of acid house at 13, the delight of London’s glam indie scene in my early 20s, right through to this week’s latest promo, club gig or vinyl trawl. Discovering new music is a passion I’m keen to share with others, be it through writing, broadcasting or DJing.
I’m one half of Cloud & Owl, an organic electronic duo who create music that mixes earthy beats and airy soundscapes. Alongside our passion for producing music, we’re also DJs and broadcasters, equally at home rocking a dancefloor with esoteric techno as we are introducing audiences to alternative sounds via online radio. I love to collaborate, and can often be found playing violin and/or bass guitar with other acts, from the industrial psychedelia of Patricide to a host of guitar bands. I joined Echoes and Dust to write about the music I love, with a focus on electronica and progressive rock music.
Articles by Gaz Cloud
Here are 10 unmissable highlights from Devon’s intimate psychedelic festival that’s very special indeed.
Be Prog! My Friend pulls together 10 top sets, with big names Pain of Salvation, A Perfect Circle, Sons of Apollo and Steve Hackett all delivering.
Outlands Network brought together US composer Matana Roberts and UK sound artist Kelly-Jayne Jones for a new, collaborative project, birthed during a residency in Bristol. We caught the London date of the ensuing tour, with support ably provided by a trio featuring DJ and producer Coby Sey.
Plini is Australia’s premier guitarist/composer and also extremely affable. Gaz Cloud caught up with him ahead of his appearance at Be Prog! My Friend to discuss touring with Tesseract, his relationship with practice, the development of his signature sound and more in a revealing interview.
Be Prog! My Friend’s Saturday night bill welcomes Plini, Gazpacho, Sons of Apollo, Steve Hackett and Burst to Barcelona. Read about and listen to all five acts here.
Ahead of this year’s Be Prog! My Friend festival in Barcelona, read about and listen to Persefone, Baroness, Pain of Salvation, A Perfect Circle and Oranssi Pazuzu, the five bands appearing on the Friday night.
The snapshots captured on Norwegian art prog band Gazpacho’s ‘Soyuz’ set out to depict moments that pass and cannot be “saved for later”. Be that as it may, there’s lots to savour here on a record that at its core deals with human frailty.
Hawklords blend youth with experience from the 70s and 90s line-ups of Hawkwind. We caught up with the band’s two elder statesmen, guitarist/vocalist Jerry Richards and keyboardist/vocalist Harvey Bainbridge, to discuss their rich history, a brand new album, and the future plans of this psychedelic ensemble.
The neo-psychedelic pop act Once and Future Band end their UK tour in Totnes.
Paul Draper’s Attack Of The Grey Lantern tour wasn’t without controversy, but ended with a storming gig at Brixton Electric.
Godsticks are blend aggressive rock riffs with progressive intent on their latest LP, Faced With Rage. We caught up with Darran Charles (vocals, guitar), Dan Nelson (bass and backing vocals) and Tom Price (drums) after a successful gig at HRH Prog to talk Pineapple Thief, Chris Cornell, influences, metal, and the joys of being signed to a high-profile label.
A suitably epic review of the UK’s biggest residential Prog gathering: Krankschaft, Hawklords and Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy are just three of the highlights in a weekend full of musical delights. Dive in…
For many years we’ve been getting a little bit of shit from the black metal scene saying, “You guys have wimpy vocals.” And we say, “OK, fuck off, listen to something else.” Then we go to the prog scene, and they’re like, “What’s up with the screaming? Sounds like the guy’s swallowing a toothbrush!” We’re like, “Are you actually aware that the word ‘progressive’ has to do with change, and moving forward?!”
Mikko von Hertzen talks about the band’s excellent new album, War Is Over, their changes of approach and harnessing creative differences to be the best band they can be.
The sense of a special event is enhanced with ‘Moon Above, Sun Below’ . . . The Pale Communion track is one of the band’s most complex, and until this week, had never been performed live . . . the drum ‘n’ bass ‘n’ organ break is thrilling, and as the band crash in, one of Opeth’s most transcendent studio moments is electrifyingly recreated.
Focus, TFATD, Carl Palmer. . . Here’s our rundown of the bands appearing on the Saturday at HRH Prog VI in Pwllheli.
Here’s a rundown of the array of talent playing HRH Prog VI this Friday: Uriah Heep, The Von Hertzen Brothers, Caravan, Hawklords, Heather Findlay, Edgar Broughton and more!
There’s less than a week to go until HRH Prog VI lands in Hafan y Mor, a beautiful yet remote holiday camp in North Wales. Here’s a preview of the bands set to deliver on the opening evening: Mostly Autumn, Krankschaft and IO Earth.
Thumpermonkey, The Fierce and The Dead and Ham Legion are three unique bands that all find surprisingly fertile soil in that apparently rocky middle ground where progressive rock and angular punk meet. Just whatever you do, don’t call this intersection pronk.
An exposition that aims to set Edgar Froese’s ideas about quantum physics to record, this is thoroughly modern, utterly magnificent Electronische Musik.
A soldier and a conqueror, Andy Powell’s been fighting to be free for nearly half a century with acclaimed blues, rock and progressive act Wishbone Ash. Hear what Andy has to say for himself.
