A UK based Progressive Pop/Rock band with a sound rich in dynamics and wry with an impelling quirkiness. With influences ranging from Led Zeppelin to Spocks Beard to Stevie Wonder, and Leonard Cohen, they have just unleash their first album, Grafting Lines and Spreading Rumours on an unsuspecting public.
Recorded at their own Tree house Studio, the album is the result of two years worth of writing, in between rehearsing and playing shows across the whole of the country, at venues ranging from open-air festivals in Shropshire, Plymouth and even Glastonbury, to setting up in very small rooms in Nottingham and the Wilds of Somerset, via gigs in central London.
The final mixing and mastering of the album was undertaken by Karl Groom (Threshold) at Thin Ice studios, and the resultant disc is due for release in 2007 and Features 14 tracks of musical diversity that run the full gamut of styles from pop to full-bore rock.
The band began in earnest in 2003/04 when Chris Buckler and Neil Ablard met Dan Jones on a sound engineering course. This led to Dan being invited to join the guitar-less band that Chris and Neil had been playing in, along with Jim Peterson and Steve Barratt. The resultant clash of musical ideals spewed forth a frenzied writing spree, with songs running a gamut of styles emerging from the bands rehearsal room. A selection of four of these songs made it onto The Dreaming Trees first recorded output, the self-titled EP that was recorded at Lakeside Studios in Sandwell, Birmingham.
Throughout the rest of 2004 and into 2005, the band played as many shows as they could, all whilst continuing to write new music, with an amassed total of over 30 songs. They concentrated on building a good live platform, and deliberately tested themselves and their material in a variety of settings, from larger, fully electric shows through big PA stacks, to unplugged acoustic shows, sometimes stripping the songs down to only guitar and vocals. Any chance to play they took, and in any format, be it with 2, 3, 4 or all 5 of the band. This led to developing an almost improvisational style live, with sets often featuring jams that could take any twist and turn.
During 2006, the band decided to expand on their rehearsal space by constructing their own studio. After that was complete, the task of recording the album to document the last two years worth of songs began. The resultant disc features modern pop/rock songs like Nyrolex and Dreams and Shadows, with their strong melody lines and choruses, through longer, more grandiose progressive songs like the 8-minute Static, up to stomping full-force metal-tinged songs like Ashes and Corner of a Circle, with plenty of other styles sneaking in to leave subtle marks on the songs.
The finished work is undoubtedly a true reflection of the varied tastes and influences of this remarkable band. The band are now looking to move through the rest of 2007/ 2008 continuing to write more music, whilst promoting the new album through yet more performances on the road.