Keyboardist and composer Rob Reed, known for his work with Magenta, Kompendium and Sanctuary solo albums, has once again joined forced with Peter Jones, along with Luke Machin and Dan Nelson for a new Cyan album, titled Pictures From The Other Side. The second album from the resurrected project is due out on November 17.
The new album contains six songs, including the epic 17-minute track "Nosferatu". The CD is accompanied by a DVD with a full 5.1 surround mix of the album and a live acoustic performance of songs from the previous album, For King And County.
Watch the video for the album’s opening track, “Broken Man”, below.
Cyan was originally formed by Robert Reed (Magenta) when in school, back in 1983. After recording some demos at a local studio, the band went their separate ways. Years later, those demos led to the release of ‘For King And Country’ on the Dutch SI music label. It was the first of three Cyan albums released in the 1990s before the project was shelved and Rob went on to form Magenta.20 years later Rob Reed, along with a killer line-up, decided to brush off the cobwebs and successfully release a completely re-worked version of the ‘For King And Country’ album. Cyan has since performed at the 2023 Night Of The Prog festival in Germany, and at the 2022 Summers End and Fusion festivals in the UK.
Rob Reed: “I remember that the first Cyan album For King And Country was written when I was still in school with a band I formed with some school friends. After I left school, we went our separate ways and it was several years later that I was approached by the record company. After the success of the first album, they wanted a follow-up so I wrote new material for what became Pictures From The Other Side. It was more song-based, but included a couple of long epics. Obviously, I was influenced by the classic prog of Genesis and YES when writing this originally, but I was also listening to a lot of other bands of the time like It Bites, Simple Minds and Marillion. It’s been great to finally hear this material played by this line-up, it’s a completely different album. Re-written, re-recorded and re-arranged. Hopefully, I’ve brought to the album, everything I’ve learned in my career."
Pete Jones: "It's a joy to be involved in the ongoing resurrection of the Cyan canon and the vision Rob has for these new interpretations. As a vocalist, there's so much to work with on the new album, with epics like 'Broken Man', which really let me dig deep into my inner Genesis prog vocals. The title track has some great hooks, as does the rest of the album. Tracks like the dark but beautiful 'Solitary Angel', and the vampire world of 'Nosferatu', really call for some vocal gymnastics where I can stretch myself and really go for it. Then there's 'Follow The Flow', which is just gorgeous. As with all Rob's stuff, it's the feeling and emotions which are key to the whole thing. I hope I've managed to do my bit with the vocals. We’ve now got a few gigs under our belt, including the recent fabulous time we all had at Night Of The Prog in Loreley. That was a real highlight of the year for me. The live band is sounding really great, with Luke, Dan, Jiffy and the man himself Rob Reed all at the top of their game. As well as doing the vocals, I play sax and whistles, and rhythm guitar which Rob asked me to do in a moment of madness. Ha-ha. All being well, we've got some rather special shows in the pipeline for next year. So I'm looking forward to the album coming out, and taking it to the stage!"
Pre-order Pictures From The Other Side here.
CD tracklisting:
"Broken Man"
"Pictures From The Other Side"
"Solitary Angel"
"Follow The Flow"
"Tomorrow’s Here Today"
"Nosferatu "
DVD consists of:
- Full album in Dolby Digital and dts 5.1 surround
- Promo videos
+ The Quiet Room session (live acoustic performance)
"I Defy The Sun"
"Don’t Turn Away"
"Call Me"
"Man Amongst Men/The Sorceror"
"Snowbound"
"For King And Country"
"Broken Man" video:
