RAIN BREAK RADIO SILENCE WITH LP TWO
Andy Edwards says that, this time round, the production values are “off the scale”.
Brit proggers Rain have just released their second album, Radio Silence, through Giant Electric Pea. The band features drummer Andy Edwards (ex-IQ, Frost*) and bassist John Jowitt (also ex-IQ), along with Rob Groucutt (keys/vocals) and Mirron Webb (guitar/vocals, formerly of Hey Jester). The new album is the follow-up to the fourpiece’s well-received debut, 2020’s Singularity, and sees them develop their sound on a number of levels. As Edwards enthusiastically tells Prog, “It’s everything: it’s heavier, it’s louder, it’s more expansive. It’s just a much bigger production all round.”
Explaining how Radio Silence differs from their debut, Edwards says that, whereas the first was made during lockdown, with the band confined to their own homes and home studios, “this one has been done in full, big recording studios, so that all the production values are off the scale.
“We’re trying to celebrate what makes prog great, but also pushing the envelope and exploring other styles and other approaches, and there’s quite an avant-garde element. On the first album, we took people on a journey, with each track doing something different. This time there’s more of a shared identity to all the tracks.”
There are nine songs on the record – lead track Genaú, Hypnosis, Solid State and Fear In The Night among them – with Singularity producer Mark Westwood returning too. “Mark’s been absolutely brilliant,” says Edwards. “He’s got a great prog pedigree and really knows his stuff”.
The album also marks a move back towards old-school production, with much of the music recorded live by the band while in the same room. According to Edwards, this was made possible in part by the financial support provided by the IQ-founded label, Giant Electric Pea.
While most fans of progressive music will be familiar with both him and Jowitt, Edwards is keen for Groucutt and Webb to get a look-in too. “Last time round people only wanted to talk about me and John, but Mirron’s one of the most incredible singers I’ve ever worked with, and he’s a virtuoso guitarist.
“And what Rob brings to the project is his ability to arrange vocal harmonies. He’s like the Beatles guy in the band, keeping us on the straight and narrow and stops us wandering down the prog hellhole!”
“We’re trying to celebrate what makes prog great, and push the envelope too.”
Radio Silence is out now. More info at www.gep.co.uk.