The European Perspective

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The Amazing Wilf was born in the sixties, which probably explains quite a lot.

Having been brought up a folkie (these days they bring in social services in cases like that) he discovered heavy and progressive rock in his early teens, and resolutely ploughed that furrow during the punk years, playing guitar in bands such as Bison, APB, Mihalis, and the acoustic rock group, Dusk. On arriving at Nottingham University in 1982 Wilf fell in with the 'prog' crowd, and after dropping out of his studies went on the road as a guitar, sound and lighting tech for Twice Bitten, and later Haze, stalwarts of the British prog scene through the eighties. Fed up with being permanently broke, and left with the legacy of a bad back (phew, rock'n'roll!), he gave it up in 1986 to go into the world of gainful employment and respectability.

Wilf lives in London, England, with his wife and son - who also occasionally co-presents the show - and does a day-job which involves managing people who fiddle with computers.�

Hosted by David "Wilf" Elliott

Broadcast Live every Sunday
from 4:00AM to 7:00AM Pacific Time

The Amazing Wilf, cynic, mystic and occasional fool, takes you on a wonderful journey through the heady world of British and European progressive music. From the days of the sixties and seventies, when this stuff actually sold, through the New Wave Of British Progressive Rock in the mid-1980s, and bang up-to-date with the new blood. This music has never been more diverse or interesting, but in the competitive world of downloads and global marketing it's difficult for today's progressive acts to get the exposure they deserve and need to thrive. Wilf, therefore, concentrates on getting music by the small bands 'out there', while having a damn good time and a few laughs on the way.

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The European Perpective #83 - The Big Red Spark

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29-08-2010 (350.67 MB)

Duration: 306:25 m - Filetype: mp3 - Bitrate: 160 KBPS - Frequency: 44100 HZ

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This week's episode of The European Perspective is a sort of 'listening party' for the release of the new album by English proggers Tinyfish, entitled the Big Red Spark. Three years in the making this partly conceptual record cuts completely new ground for the band, and also for the genre in general, incorporating the Tinyfish brand of modern progressive rock with Robert Ramsay's innovative use of narrative elements in both song lyrics and spoken word, and is most certainly one of the key releases of the year.

I've been lucky enough to have the collaboration of all of the members of the band, and particularly Simon Godfrey and Robert Ramsay, who effectively co-present this show with me. First there's a review of the Tinyfish catalogue to date, with the tracks selected by the members of the band's internet forum, The Fishtank. Then we examine some of the influences though a compilation of songs selected by each band member as being either influential on them as musicians, or on the Big Red Spark album itself. Finally we present the new album in its entirety, with insights from Rob and Simon on its production and content. There's also a couple of surprises along the way!

The Big Red Spark is released on 13th September and can be pre-ordered here directly from the band's website. The full playlist for this weeks show can be viewed here, and a complete playlist here.