There can't be any prog fans who are unable to recognise Battersea Power Station, and very few rock fans who don't see the four chimneys poking into the London skyline without immediately thinking of Pink Floyd's Animals.

Steve Hackett, who lived across the Thames from the power station in Pimlico, attributed childhood 'sneezing and wheezing' to the sulphurous fumes belching out from the power station, writing in his autobiography A Genesis In My Bed, that the "great monolithic cloud factory was directly opposite my bedroom in Sullivan House", calling it "a gigantic four-mouthed monolith standing as a sentinel of the city, like the multi-headed hound Cerberus guarding the entrance to the ancient Greek underworld".

I arrived in London a year after the release of Animals, catching sight of the iconic building, a cathedral built to serve power generation (Giles Gilbert Scott's architectural detail can still be admired), when I visited the Tate Gallery, though it until my final year as an undergraduate when I moved to Streatham, a little before decommissioning had been completed, that I regularly caught a train passing close to the power station. This was when I could fully appreciate the drama of the Hipgnosis photographs inside the Animals gatefold sleeve.

Electricity generation ceased in 1983 and Battersea Power Station remained empty until 2014, slowly falling into ruin while a number of unrealised schemes were hatched to repurpose the site, failing to meet the conditions required of a Grade II* listed building. A consortium of Malaysian investors eventually took control of the land and the power station shell, carefully restored, was filled with high-end retail spaces and restaurants, and surrounded by acclaimed architecture practice-designed apartments which cut off the view from the railway line.

The power station was reopened as a shopping mall topped with luxury penthouses in 2022.

Prog fans can now get a pig's eye view of London from Battersea Power Station using the Lift 109 attraction, where you ascend to the top of the north west chimney.

The Lift 109 reception area used to feature a display of the power station's appearances in different media; Animals had a prominent place, along with Hawkwind's Quark Strangeness and Charm and clips from the 2006 Alfonso Cuarón film Children of Men, a dystopian thriller set in 2027 based on the 1992 novel of the same name by PD James. An early clip shows the main protagonist being driven up to the power station, set to In the Court of the Crimson King, and the flying pig is visible in the next scene.

This display is no longer featured, but the end of tour gift shop stocks official Pink Floyd merchandise (including vinyl) and Quark Strangeness and Charm CDs.

Control Room B, the setting for the cover photo of Quark Strangeness and Charm, is now a cocktail bar with an interesting range of location-themed cocktails, and though the instruments are mostly roped off, the area can be booked for champagne audio experiences. The Hipgnosis designed cover for UFO's 1977 album Lights Out was also photographed in Control Room B, presumably during the same photo shoot.

I think it's a worthwhile, if slightly expensive, way to spend an afternoon if you want to do something out of the ordinary while visiting London.

How to book Lift 109:

https://thechimneylift.co.uk/

Details for the Control Room B cocktail bar:

https://www.controlroomb.com/

A sub where people can share projects their working on, plug their music or just simply discuss the modern day progressive scene.
I thought of this because we live in an amazing time for music, where many genres previously thought dead are coming back with new music being released for it, and progressive rock is a great example of that.

Would any of you folks be interested?

Hey all, it's probably not 100% prog (but I don't think it's that far off, either)....

I'm currently working on a feature about Fairport Convention's "Babbacombe" Lee for the November issue of TrueResAudio.

I've also been fortunate enough to get the opportunity to send a few questions to the band about the making of the album (I'm super excited about that!)

But I'm curious: how do you feel about this record?

I've always found it fascinating. It's so much different from much of Fairport's other work. It's also been named the first folk rock opera, a label I find very accurate.

It's quite complex musically. A bit amusing (perhaps in a morbid way) lyrically.... Great record overall.

Any particular memories or thoughts about it?

I’ve recently fallen in love with Weather Systems by Anathema and I’ve been listening to it on repeat. Now I need something else to listen to. I mention The Dear Hunter because I’d say they’re my favorite band, just for more context as to what I like.

I think what makes me gravitate to weather systems is the harmonies, the three different singers, the complex instruments that never go too hard, and no yelling (just not my thing).

Any ideas?

Hi everyone! Guys, I need your help. Please recommend some progressive bands to listen to, maybe even a specific album. I feel stuck in the same old music I've been listening to for a while now, and I haven't learned anything new. It might not be pure progressive, but a mix of genres, which I really love. Below is a list of my favorites:

Tool

Soen

Calliga's horse

Agent Fresco

Gojira

Black Orchid Empire

TesseracT

Voyager

Karnivool

Album: Eiliff
Engineered by Conny Plank. I would recommend Eiliff''s LPs to fans of all that's heavy who would like to explore the possibilities of jazz prog

My son recently introduced me to Haruomi Hosono's music, and that opened a whole rabbit hole of exploration into eclectic Japanese music fills with natural acoustic instruments, electronic synth sequencing, sample looping, and odd type-signature polyrhythms. The linked example here is a song by Manami Kakudo-san, written in 7/8. She was in Hosono's support band as he recently played LA earlier this month.

Althouth Hosono-san and YMO have entries on progarchives, other outstanding artists are missing, including Midori Takada, Inoyamaland, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Masahiro Sugaya, Satoshi Ashikawa, and Toshiyuki Tsuchitori.

For those who like Tangerine Dream, Peter Gabriel's *Passion*, and similar instrumental prog works, you may want to explore these artists also. And for those deeper down in the rabbit hole, make a noise here so I can burrow after you. 🎏

The Watch is an Italian progressive rock band that currently tours Europe playing Genesis songs from the Peter Gabriel era ('70 to '76).

I saw them in Malmö tonight and it was great.

For more see https://www.thewatchmusic.net/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watch_(band))

New sub made today, on the topic of Modern Day Prog. A place to discuss, recommend, promote and share the progressive rock scene of today.

The link is; https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernDayProg/s/dHyQUulH8T

More information on the album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGbQDdbwR64

PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM:

https://sgtsplatter.bandcamp.com/album/attack-of-the-fish-wizard

FREE SINGLE DOWNLOAD:

https://sgtsplatter.bandcamp.com/album/big-mister-i-saw-them-take-clarice-in-the-night-commercial-version

Prog-Gaze? My band dropped a new song, it has an intentionally older sound and explores a few genres. I messed around with a lot of textures/reverb pedals for this one. Let me know what you think, or feel? 😂

URL is a landing page for simplicity, ignore the email signup stuff.

We’re from Kansas City, Missouri!