improvisation | MetaQuorum

0 HERE IT IS AT LAST!

Here at last, our second album Witchcraft Jazz is now out!

We all put a lot of work into it, and we’re all very excited about it being out there now, starting its own independent life in the big wild world.

As well core musicians Dmitry Ermakov and Koos van der Velde, the line-up for this album includes: bass player Victor Mikheyev (who also co-wrote three tracks with Dmitry Ermakov: The Bartender, Swagger and Seven Dwarfs Rock); his son George Mikheyev on cello; Andrew Guerin on trumpet; Carol Ermakova – vocals.

WITCHCRAFT JAZZ was recorded in several studios and venues in the UK, Russia and Bulgaria, produced and mixed by Dmitry Ermakov and Koos van der Velde, and mastered by Christopher Longwood at SugarHill Recording Studios, TX, USA.

In terms of style, this album flows organically from MetaQuorum’s previous compositions, further developing the concept of Meld music, a fusion of Prog,Funk, Jazz, Rock, Swing, Electronica and more. Compositions such as the title track Witchcraft Jazz, Parallax, Limping Mathematician and Autumn Groove further explore the technique of Structural Fusion. The coda – Goldfinch Charm – is an exquisite blend of Electronica with Jazz Fusion and Blues, while the opening track – Crimson Dreams – includes a lyric poem written and read by Dmitry Ermakov.

The new album has got a warm welcome so far, both here in UK and abroad. NARC Magazine ran a feature on our Meld music today:

You can read it here: http://narcmagazine.com/interview-metaquorum/

And Jazz.ru published a press release in English and an in-depth review (Russian only, sorry folks): http://jazzquad.ru/index.pl?act=PRODUCT&id=4876

Tomorrow WITCHCRAFT JAZZ has its very own radio launch with Denis Champagne at Prog Core Radio

Tune in at 22:00 GMT to hear all 12 tracks @ http://progcoreradio.com/

If you have other plans for Friday night, head straight over to our Bandcamp page where you can listen, and download the album, or buy a CD @ https://metaquorum.bandcamp.com/album/witchcraft-jazz

For those of you who get your music through Spotify, please follow ur Artist Page where you’ll find our whole catalogue, including Witchcraft Jazz, of course:

https://goo.gl/GEBggE

Drop us a line and tell us what you think.

Have a great weekend!

0 Interview with MetaQuorum on Progarchy

Interview with METAQUORUM

A UK based progressive rock project by Dmitri Ermakov and Koos van der Velde recently put out two new songs: “Jonathan Livingston” and “Migration.” The band that grabs inspiration from plenty of different genres talked with Progarchy about their creative chemistry.

0 VINTAGE IS BACK!

Koos shared his treasure trove of vintage microphones – great collection, including a Tesla AMK 102 and an Astatic Model K-2.

Here’s Dmitry checking out a Krundaal Dynamic Cardioid Microphone Mod. 607. We used it for the low frequencies in a recent session to record percussion for a new track.

For the top side of the drum we used a Samson Q4. Quite a cheap mic, but stuck into a convenient hole in a chair back, it did the job. In fact, the whole set-up was pretty makeshift, as you can see! Improvisation? We love it! 😉

Koos playing his vegan Djembe – custom built by his Dad! @ Market Place Studio, North Pennines, UK.

1 MetaQuorum are back in town!

Koos and Dmitry are finally back on the same side of the Channel, happily reunited with their gear in the Low Bishopley home studio 🙂 Watch this page for the coming videos of the latest jam.

. October 15_1 October 15_3 October 15_2

0 JAMMING :)

Although we have a quite tough recording/mixing/mastering schedule, we also find time for some live play here and there – here’s Koos trying out the Steven Slate Drums VST plug-in, metal style!

And another video of a sound check before a recording session.

0 SUMMER IS HERE!

Summer’s made a late entry here in the North Pennines and ‘rain stopped play’ at the home studio for a while, too, as we tussled with technical trouble. Back on track now, though – treated ourselves to an upgrade, so MetaQuorum are now the proud owners of Cubase 8 Pro! The interface had been totally reworked, plus there’s lots of cool sounds to explore, so we’re looking forward to experimenting with them.

0 News Flash: MQ is #4 in Jazz on Reverbnation!

MetaQuorum is #4 in UK Jazz Charts on Reverbnation!
https://www.reverbnation.com/main/charts?artist_id=4266566&genre=Jazz&genre_geo=National

1 Jamming in Newcastle

Last Tuesday (10 March 2015) we paid a visit to the monthly open jam session held at The Jazz Café, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. There was a great turnout of local musicians, including several saxes and some off-the-wall vocalists. Dmitry joined regulars Andy Champion (double bass), Wes Stephenson (drums) and Zoe Gilby (vocals) to accompany Fiona Finden (lyrics/recital) for a jam with a decidedly funk flavour, and the evening rounded off with a mash up as everyone took to the stage.

Looking forward to next month’s session!

0 Happy New Year 2015 from MetaQuorum!

New Year improvisation in the home studio… Dmitry is checking out sounds from Radical Piano by Reason – great stuff! These will come handy when work on the new EP starts later in January.