“Aetas Suite” (Throwback Prog Rock)

[jcub]

”Aetas Suite” is a track from many years ago that started a multi-national, cross-Atlantic collaboration with John Beasley and Ron Wahle along with my bandmate from even further back, Tom Kraus. The piece is very “piano” centric but evolved into something more with the help and contributions of the other players. The song is about aging and I have moved a few categories to the right in the cover art over the years!



Jeremy Cubert - Piano, Chapman Stick bass guitar, Organ and solo synths
John Beagley - vocals, synths, programming
Tom Kraus - Nylon and steel string acoustic guitars
Ronald Wahle - Drums and electric guitars

Written by FORMATIV. Mixed and produced by John Beagley.

[seismic1]

Is that you on the right with the stick?

I think the vocals bear more than a passing resemblance to Jon Anderson. In fact the song seems to feature many elements reminiscent of late '70s or early '80s Yes, so your "Throwback Prog Rock" label seems to be justified and accurate. There are quite a few changes during the course of the song which work seamlessly, and conjure the glory years of Prog. Great instrumentation, and the mix/production is very good, especially considering the fairly dense instrumentation and arrangement.

Good work

[jcub]

Is that you on the right with the stick?

I think the vocals bear more than a passing resemblance to Jon Anderson. In fact the song seems to feature many elements reminiscent of late '70s or early '80s Yes, so your "Throwback Prog Rock" label seems to be justified and accurate. There are quite a few changes during the course of the song which work seamlessly, and conjure the glory years of Prog. Great instrumentation, and the mix/production is very good, especially considering the fairly dense instrumentation and arrangement.

Good work

Thanks! Yes, my Chapman Sticks may end up turning into walking sticks one day. Thanks! Yes is definitely a big influence. Both the singer (John Beagley) on this track and I have worked separately with Jon Anderson (for me it is the track Just One Man on his Survival and Other Stories album). A more recent project “Iconic Sky” features singer/keyboardist Robin Schell who sings in a similar style - he at one point was going to sing for Supertramp. Jon Anderson is still going strong at 80+ so there may be some hope for the rest of us too!

[aaron aardvark]

jcub,
Piano sounds great! I agree, that the vocals sound similar to Jon Anderson (good). Instrumentally, sounds similar to Yes (good). I know a Todd Kraus; I assume he still works at Fender's Custom Shop. He makes replicas of David Gilmour's (one ended up in a Pink Floyd Museum) and Eric Clapton's strats; very expensive. The song and recording sounds excellent! Lead synth sounds Wakeman-esque. I will soon be posting a new thread; perhaps you can check it out.

[zerocrossing]

Sounds great! Good song, and the Yes influence comes though, but it still stands as a good prog rock song. I wish Yes was still doing music like this. My only criticism, which is minor, is that in some parts, I could use more kick in the mix or a sub bass to ground it a bit. It's fine after 5:30, but before that it could use a little more beef.

[jcub]

jcub,
Piano sounds great! I agree, that the vocals sound similar to Jon Anderson (good). Instrumentally, sounds similar to Yes (good). I know a Todd Kraus; I assume he still works at Fender's Custom Shop. He makes replicas of David Gilmour's (one ended up in a Pink Floyd Museum) and Eric Clapton's strats; very expensive. The song and recording sounds excellent! Lead synth sounds Wakeman-esque. I will soon be posting a new thread; perhaps you can check it out.

Thanks! My friend is Tom Kraus (sorry for the typo) a great guitarist and friend who lives in my general area and who I played in a band with for years. I recorded the piano using Propellerhead Reason and their Reason Pianos library.

[jcub]

Sounds great! Good song, and the Yes influence comes though, but it still stands as a good prog rock song. I wish Yes was still doing music like this. My only criticism, which is minor, is that in some parts, I could use more kick in the mix or a sub bass to ground it a bit. It's fine after 5:30, but before that it could use a little more beef.

Thanks! I appreciate the kind works. John Beagley did all the production and really elevated the piece over the original demo. This was done years ago and he (like the rest of us hopefully) has evolved his production style and music. If you are interested, check him out on Bandcamp. He has a lot of great projects.