The studio project duo Eletric Mud takes a step forward into the great unknown of the instrumental territory and realizes new ideas and compositions by Hagen Bretschneider. Multi-instrumentalist Nico Walser refined and expanded Hagen's ideas, added beautiful melodies and great guitar solos, recorded all instruments except for a few bass tracks, arranged, produced and mastered this album. Dreamy melodies and atmospheric features characterize the structure of the tracks, where acoustic and electric guitars combine with pleasant and soft layers of keyboards and orchestrations. We go from softer songs with sweet piano melodies to darker ones, almost gloomy to baroque interludes, close to the Prog sounds of the ’70s, leading through other, more orchestral and pompous moments. The electric guitar inserts are reminiscent of the Floydian sounds, taking inspiration from the effects and technique used by David Gilmour. In addition, the references and influences of the Berlin School and of German Cosmic music in general are noted, with openings and hints of electronic music by groups such as Tangerine Dream, revisited with a personal touch and style. A recommended listening for all lovers of unconventional Progressive sounds, of Krautrock music with Cosmic and electronic veins, as well as Neo-Prog, with sweet and  darker shades that mix together giving life to a smooth, atmospheric and pleasant album. Take a break with a movie for your ears. 

The Deconstruction of Light (2018)

Loads of roaring guitars, soulful solos, heavy bass, electronics and synthesizers, passages with huge widescreen panoramic atmospheres and violant guitar-driven mania. "The Deconstruction of Light" is a versatile and adventurous album full of distortion and dissonance, droning guitars and edgy synthesizers. But for every passage of the heaviness of King Crimson meets Black Sabbath, there  are athmospheric electronic soundscapes of Tangerine Dream meets Pink Floyd. Add some Camel and maybe some Deep Purple. The big riff is an important part of each song, concise and heavy, but there's still plenty of room for dreamy passages, for delicate moments of sheer beauty that create a kind of cinematic feeling. None of the songs stay in one genre or concept for long, moving from rock to ambient, from edgy to contemplative. “The Deconstruction of Light” is an impressive experience that takes you  to many different points on the prog rock spectrum. You stroll through the domes of streetlights, alternately disappearing and reappearing in the darkness, as if you were walking down a lonely, deserted alley on a rainy night. Sounds & Visions: Sound conceptualist Hagen Bretschneider on bass & producer and multi-instrumentalist Nico Walser on guitars, keyboards, percussion, noises and sound alchemy.

Expect the unexpected. Gentle glockenspiel, passionate strings, electric guitar solos bursting out of nowhere, a powerful organ, beautiful acoustic guitar work and a whole range of organic and electronic prog-rock instruments create magical soundscapes with the character of film music. The monumental album "Quiet Days on Earth" received an enormous response in the music press and in the prog community. Driven by this success, the former duo Hagen and Nico have now become a sextet. The multi-instrumentalists (but mainly keyboardists) Timo 'Timoog' Aspelmeier and David Marlow were not only brought on board, but together they composed about 75% of the music and also contributed drums, organ, synthesizer, piano and orchestral programming. Also new is Judith Retzik on strings (violin, viola and cello), while Nico contributes the rest of the instrumentation - Hagen is not to be heard with his usual bass this time and mainly takes care of the musical conception and visual design (plus video editing). Andrea Weiβ contributes digital art and photography. Especially recommended for late-night listening with good headphones and a glass of your favorite drink in hand.

Wrong Planet (2016)

Hagen Bretschneider (idea, sound concept, bass) and Lennart Hüper (rhythm guitar) have always focussed on instrumental compositions. They have concentrated on their own material, producing their first album "Dead Cat on a Railroad Track" in 2013. This work was a production using only guitars, bass and drum machine. Following their success they decided to develop their music together resulting in "Lunatic Asylum" released in 2015. Hagen and Lennart were joined by Nico Walser, who produced Lunatic Asylum as well as playing lead guitar and synthesizers. This collaboration blossomed further on their third album "Wrong Planet" featuring  producer and guest musician Nico Walser again. The compositions on the first album were largely rooted in blues rock, however on Wrong Planet their music can sound like Sabbath or Zeppelin from the 70s but they combine these licks with dynamic patches from the drum machine of the 80s. The Hannover duo's style is steeped  in ambiant music interspersed with melodic guitar riffs. These arrangements are sometimes inspired by the Icelandic band Sigur Ros, especially by their use of a violin bow played on the guitar, and the guitar solos would not sound out of place on a Camel or Pink Floyd album.  

"Post-progressive" is rock music which distinguishes itself from the persistent style of 1970s prog, seeking a return to the genre's original principles. The "post" is meant to acknowledge the development of other forms of avant-garde and popular music since the mid 1970s; it does not reference "postmodernism". Purveyors explicitly embrace new computer technologies and sounds. Some post-progressive bands still draw upon selective aspects of vintage prog, even as they actively seek to distance themselves from the style.

In the opinion of King Crimson's Robert Fripp, progressive music was an attitude, not a style. He believed that genuinely "progressive" music pushes stylistic and conceptual boundaries outwards through the appropriation of procedures from classical music or jazz, and that once "progressive rock" ceased to cover new ground – becoming a set of conventions to be repeated and imitated – the genre's premise had ceased to be "progressive". According to Paul Hegarty and Martin Halliwell, post-progressive did not directly derive from psychedelia, folk, and jazz as prog rock did, instead citing "explicit reference points of post-progressive music" lying within ambient, folk rock, forms of jazz, krautrock, the minimalism of New York art rock, and electronic music.

Academic Kevin Holm-Hudson argues that "progressive rock is a style far more diverse than what is heard from its mainstream groups and what is implied by unsympathetic critics ... one may wonder where progressive rock 'ends' and becomes psychedelia, free jazz, experimental art music, or heavy metal. He categorizes post-progressive as a subgenre of progressive rock, whereas post-rock is a subgenre of alternative rock. Nosound's Giancarlo Erra believes that "post-prog"— deployed by the label Kscope—denotes a mixture of progressive rock and post-rock. Hegarty and Halliwell note: "Post-progressive identifies progressive rock that stems from sources other than progressive rock. 

“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.” ― Frank Zappa 

Post-Rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by use of rock instruments primarily to explore textures and timbre rather than traditional song structure, chords or riffs. Post-rock artists typically unify rock instrumentation with electronics and are often instrumental. Elements may be borrowed from genres such as ambient music, krautrock, psychedelia, prog rock, space rock and minimalist classical. Post-rock groups generally make greater use of soundscapes.

The goal, in our view, is to find a fresh variation, a surprising genre mix, an interesting sound and  a strong emotional impression. And to honor our heroes. We are standing on the shoulders of giants!