El Castillo

by Phog

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paliojen_black One of my favorite albums in recent memory, this project by Phog is beautiful, exciting, uplifting and just all around terrific progressive rock. The arrangements flow perfectly from one to the next and the music achieves the right balance of bombast and delicacy. The music in solidly linked to the beautiful cover art as well and somehow this image and music form a complete package, worthy of your listening time and imagination. Favorite track: Prison Stones.

Sven B. Schreiber (sbs) "Phog" is one of the not-so-well-known prog bands, deserving much more attention. Well, "band" might be a misnomer, because it's basically PHilippe OGgier from France, who writes and performs all music alone. It's prog of the most pleasant kind, without any attempts of including pseudo-proggy stuff like annoying mega-solos or pointless soundscapes. It's just the music in its purest form, with good melodies and stunning arrangements - and it can be found on all preceding albums as well. Favorite track: Tour de Garde.

Alrihkh A charming instrumental prog rock album great for one’s imagination station. This album would be a great soundtrack for a fantasy game; much of it sounds like next-level dungeon synth. When I say ‘next-level’, I mean elaborately so. When someone can express their vision so strongly through music—as Philippe does here—that it enspells you, that person is a magician. Voilà, Phog! All elements of sound are exceptionally complementary to each other. A powerful spell, indeed! 9+/10. Favorite track: El Castillo.

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Full Digital Discography

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Forêt Noire, El Castillo, This World..., Evidence, and Communication. , and , .

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	1.	Camino 10:29
	2.	Inter Canem et Lupum 07:19
	3.	Tour de Garde 07:23
	4.	Prison Stones 04:37
	5.	El Castillo 18:03

about

"El Castillo" was inspired by a painting that used to hang in the house where I grew up, it existed at a distant time, even if it is now in ruins. When I added a blue background to it for fun, it went into a creative dimension outside of time. I like the idea that the music here is very visual, impossible to dissociate from its illustration.

Garden Shed from Japan :
A 2021 album by multi-instrumentalists with strong influences from Camel and Genesis. The high grade and subtlety of the ensemble is astonishing. The music is a symphonic rock with a guitar, keyboards, and rhythm section, which one would not expect from a four-piece band, and the sound is rich in color and fantasy, with rich synths and strings, carefully calculated guitars, and wind instruments such as recorders and flutes. It would not be an exaggeration to say that their richly colored fantasy sound with synths, strings, guitars and wind instruments such as recorders and flutes comes close to that of ANTONY KALUGIN. The originality in the songwriting gives the instrumentals a rich and detailed variety. There is a nobility unique to France, and the poetic sentiment is infinitely beautiful. Digipak CDR with 3 sides. FRANCE

First review from César Inca from "Autopoietica" :

autopoietican.blogspot.com/2021/11/el-palaciego-ensueno-progresivo-de-phog.html?fbclid=IwAR2mXqkHEwIbWx_MNRfaK0_AmhHHSTh7xGxBnr5Jd29ZjhOqfjGFOdWHz6o

Here an extract from the review :

The aptly titled 'The Castle' is the longest piece in the repertoire - it lasts 18 minutes - and also brings it to a close. The first few minutes serve to create a dense and mysterious atmosphere that openly flirts with the gloomy without really delving into it, a prelude that does not allow us to guess the kind of stately agility that is to mark the first central body, which rather exudes a gentle and warm luminosity, almost as if it were a lost score by THE ENID that was remodelled by GENESIS. Once things have calmed down a bit, a quiet space opens up for alternating flourishes of flute and acoustic guitar to emerge. This bridge serves to retake and reshape the airs of mysterious ceremoniousness that also marked the first part of the opening theme. Thus, the sound scheme becomes dense again, of course, always within the guidelines of prog-symphonic refinement that make up the essence of PHOG. The diverse motifs that follow one after the other explore various instances of sumptuousness, going from the most calm and subtle to the most explicit; it is in this last moment that a martial beat is installed from which a splendid epilogue will be propelled, which is very much in line with the aforementioned THE ENID. All this is what was gestated in the barracks of master Philippe Ogier in "El Castillo", an album that we endorse from this blog as PHOG's greatest musical work to date. Definitely, this is one of the most beautiful albums that have been made under the immortal delineations of symphonic prog in this year 2021, so we highly recommend its inclusion in any phono library dedicated to the genre.

credits

released October 22, 2021

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about

Phog France

Phog is a project that mixes a lot of influences,
but finally the result is mostly Prog, sometimes a little jazz or more symphonic,
well better than words, you have to listen to the notes...

discography

Forêt Noire

Oct 2022
El Castillo

Oct 2021
This World...

Jul 2020
Evidence

Jul 2019
Communication

Jun 2018

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