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Kyros (band)

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Kyros
L-R: Joey Frevola, Robin Johnson, Sam Higgins, Peter Episcopo, Adam Warne
L-R: Joey Frevola, Robin Johnson, Sam Higgins, Peter Episcopo, Adam Warne
Background information
Also known asSynaesthesia (2012-2015)
OriginEngland
GenresProgressive rock, progressive metal, alternative rock, space rock
Years active2012 – present
LabelsIndependent
MembersAdam Warne
Sam Higgins
Joey Frevola
Peter Episcopo
Robin Johnson
Past membersNikolas Jon Aarland
Ollie Hannifan
WebsiteKYROS Official Website

Formerly known as Synaesthesia, Kyros (typically stylised as KYROS) is a London-based progressive rock band formed in 2012 with roots dating back to 2009.[1] Originally a solo project of multi-instrumentalist and singer Adam Warne in collaboration with guitarist Nikolas Jon Aarland, evolved into a band setting in 2013 after the debut self-titled album was recorded and released in January 2014.[2][3]

Biography

Having gone through a number of incarnations, Kyros dates back to 2009 as a solo music project under the working title of 'Chromology'[1] Adam had begun his experimentation with songwriting whilst undergoing his studies at The BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology.[4]

In 2010, Adam began writing towards what would eventually become Kyros' debut album under the then name of Synaesthesia. In 2012, he joined in collaboration with fellow Middlesex University student, Nikolas Jon Aarland who helped record guitar parts. Nikolas was involved in the recording process of the early demos but left the project in 2013 soon after his parts were re-recorded at Aubitt Studios for the GEP release of the album. This was due to his ongoing work with a number of other projects.[5] He was replaced with guitarist, Ollie Hannifan[6] who helped record a number of the remaining guitar parts for the album as well as contributions from IQ guitarist, Michael Holmes.

Under the band name of Synaesthesia, Adam signed a recording deal with Giant Electric Pea in February 2012[7] and promptly started the recording process at Aubitt Studios in Southampton for the debut album with IQ guitarist and Giant Electric Pea CEO, Michael Holmes as Record producer and Rob Aubrey as recording engineer.[8] The album was recorded through the process of multi-track recording and overdubbing as all the instruments with the exception of bass guitar and electric guitar were performed by Adam Warne. Guitar duties were taken care of by Ollie Hannifan, Nikolas Jon Aarland and minor edits and re-recordings by Michael Holmes. Bass duties were taken care of by Michael Holmes with the exception of Nikolas on the track, Technology Killed The Kids.[4]

Once the recording of the album had finished, Adam began the process of completing the band lineup for future albums and live purposes. He welcomed second guitarist, Samuel Higgins whom he had also met through university, along with drummer, Robin Johnson via an online forum[9] and bassist, Peter Episcopo via recording engineer, Rob Aubrey, into the band with Adam taking care of vocals, synths and keyboard duties from then on.

Kyros's debut album was released originally a self-titled work as the band was under the name of Synaesthesia at the time. The album was released 20 January 2014[3]

The band performed their debut concert at The Cultuurpodium Boerderij in Zoetermeer supporting IQ[10] and received positive reviews for their performance.[11][12]

Departure of Ollie Hannifan and Joey Frevola's Joining

In early April 2014, the band announced that guitarist Ollie Hannifan would be taking what was then, a temporary leave due to his commitments to stage production, Mamma Mia!. Through a post made via the band's Facebook page, an announcement was made stating the following: "In terms of what's happening when Ollie returns is not yet clear. At the moment, we're going to see what happens when he finishes the tour and we'll take it from there."[13] Following this, the band sent out a press release announcing the search of a fill-in guitarist. The press release stated that the position is required to be filled until January 2015.[14] Although the press release stated clearly that the position was temporary, applicants were told via email response that this did not mean restrictions to membership of the band and that they could contribute to the band creatively and artistically. In this sense, this meant that they could not be counted as a Touring member but rather, a full-time member for the period they were filling in for Ollie Hannifan.

On the 28th of May 2014, the band announced via their Facebook page, "After nearly five weeks of discussions and reviewing over the auditions and applications we received to replace Ollie Hannifan for the next eight months, we are very happy to announce who we chose."[15] The band announced the welcoming of guitarist, Joey Frevola into the band to temporarily replace Ollie Hannifan for the period stated. With this, Joey was chosen to become a full-time member of Kyros with the ability to contribute to writing sessions for future songs as well as replacing Ollie Hannifan for live concerts. Through the same Facebook page post, the band also announced that Joey is based in the United States and would be moving over to London to work with the band for the duration needed. With this post, Joey included a statement; ""Hello, Synaesthesia fans! I'm currently scrambling to learn all my parts and get all my things packed and ready to make the trek to London. My head is still spinning from the news and It all feels a bit surreal. I couldn't be more excited and I can't wait to get to playing and writing and doing bandy things. I'm looking forward to meeting and performing for you all and I promise to do everything in my power not to let you all down."

In January 2015, the band announced that Joey would become a permanent member since Ollie will no longer be available to return to the band. The announcement was made at their headline show in W2, Den Bosch in the Netherlands.[16]

Major Transitional Period Involving Name Change, Split from Record Label, New Management and Release of EP

In April 2015, it was announced that the band had signed a management deal with Graham Collins of AAUK MUSIC. Collins has previously worked with Simon Collins, Sound of Contact and A.C.T among others.[17]

In the Spring of 2015 the band also opened for Marillion before making their North American debut at RoSFEST[18]

On the 24th of September 2015, the band announced via Facebook, newsletter and their website that they will be changing their band name from what was then Synaesthesia to the current name of Kyros, affective from the end of the European Spock's Beard tour of 2015 on which they were a support act.[19] The band stated that this was down to a number of reasons including legal complications and the marking of a new period, as the debut album was originally a solo studio project of Adam Warne but the project had since gone on to become a fully fledged band with a creative style that was heading in a vastly different direction over the debut album.[20]

Within the same announcement, the band stated that they would no longer be working with Giant Electric Pea due to "creative differences". This led to all work for their second album transitioning onto the band, having announced that not only would they be releasing their second album independently but they will also be producing, mixing, mastering, pressing, and promoting the album independently, taking much influence from bands such as Marillion who are known to currently work independently from major record labels and source funding via crowdfunding.[21]

To help fund their new album, as part of the same announcement - the band cited that they would be independently releasing a limited edition pressing of an EP titled, 'BETA'. This is the first independent release from the band, with all the work including mixing duties and artwork undertaken by members of the band. The 'BETA' EP contains three new tracks from the band's upcoming album in their current mixes and arrangements and three demos from the recording and writing sessions of the debut album. The band are currently in the mixing process of their second album.[19]

Publicity and Reception

Kyros's debut album under the name of Synaesthesia was released to critical acclaim having received a number of shining reviews from a variety of sources.[22] The band have also since had a number of features and appearances in Classic Rock Magazine subsidiary, "Prog Magazine"[23] with articles written by respected journalists, Malcolm Dome and Rich Wilson. The track 'Epiphany' also features on the free CD for issue 43 of the publication. The band's debut album has also received positive reviews from ProgArchives,[24] Classic Rock Magazine, Dutch Progressive Rock Pages[25] and Eclipsed Magazine.[26]

Much to the band's surprise considering the debut album had not yet been released. In January 2014, issue 42 of Classic Rock Magazine presents Prog announced that Synaesthesia had come first place in their reader's poll for 'Tip for 2014'.[27]

Personnel

Current members

Collaborators

Former members

Discography

Demos
  • Chromology, 'Time, Tension & Intervention' (2011)[1]
Studio Albums
  • Synaesthesia (2014)
  • BETA (EP) (2015)
  • Cloudburst (single) (2016)
  • Vox Humana (2016)

References

  1. ^ a b c 'About' page on band's official website Retrieved 21 October 2015
  2. ^ "Synaesthesia music, discography, MP3, videos and reviews" Prog Archives Synaesthesia Page, Retrieved 11 March 2014
  3. ^ a b Giant Electric Pea - "Synaesthesia by Synaesthesia" Website news article for Synaesthesia album on Giant Electric Pea, Retrieved 11 March 2014
  4. ^ a b Adam Warne Interview with Dutch Progressive Rock Pages DPRP (Dutch Progressive Rock Pages), Retrieved 11 March 2014
  5. ^ Facebook Page announcement of Nikolas Jon Aarland's departure from the band, dated 28 May 2013 Retrieved 11 March 2014
  6. ^ Facebook Page announcement of Ollie Hannifan joining the band, dated 24 June 2013 Retrieved 11 March 2014
  7. ^ Classic Rock Magazine presents Prog website news article for Synaesthesia signing onto Giant Electric Pea Retrieved 12 March 2014
  8. ^ Synaesthesia sign with GEP and recording at Aubitt Studios with Rob Aubrey and Michael Holmes Retrieved 12 March 2014
  9. ^ Adam Warne's post on IQ's online forum announcing their search for a drummer Robin Johnson's screen-name is 'LakeFive'. Retrieved 11 March 2014
  10. ^ Last.fm Concert Page for IQ's Christmas Bash gig in Zoetermeer with Synaesthesia supporting Retrieved 11 March 2014
  11. ^ Progwereld concert review for Synaesthesia and IQ, Retrieved 12 March 2014
  12. ^ DPRP (Dutch Progressive Rock Pages) concert review for Synaesthesia and IQ written by Basil Francis Retrieved 12 March 2014
  13. ^ a b Announcement via band's Facebook page of Ollie Hannifan's temporary leave
  14. ^ Facebook announcement / Press Release of Synaesthesia's search for a temporary guitarist Retrieved 31 May 2014
  15. ^ Facebook announcement of Joey Frevola's welcoming into the band Retrieved 31 May 2014
  16. ^ Gig review explaining Adam's announcement on stage of Joey's welcoming into the band as a full time, permanent member Retrieved 21 October 2015
  17. ^ http://prog.teamrock.com/news/2015-04-21/synaesthesia-2nd-album-significant-shift
  18. ^ http://speakimge.com/simge-on-the-scene-synaethesia-make-their-us-debut-at-rosfest-2015/
  19. ^ a b Front page citing their major news update Retrieved 21 October 2015
  20. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R3M9V_1sxg YouTube video explaining reasonings behind name change
  21. ^ News article from TeamRock "Synaesthesia change name, split from label"
  22. ^ Synaesthesia's band website 'Review Cloud' page for debut album Retrieved 12 March 2014
  23. ^ Classic Rock presents Prog spread, Part one Classic Rock presents Prog spread, Part two introductory article in Classic Rock presents Prog Retrieved 12 March 2014
  24. ^ Prog Archives Reviews page for Synaesthesia Retrieved 11 March 2014
  25. ^ DPRP (Dutch Progressive Rock Pages) Album Review written by Basil Francis, Retrieved 11 March 2014
  26. ^ Photo of Eclipsed Magazine's review page. Photo taken 17 February 2014 Retrieved 11 March 2014
  27. ^ Issue 42, Page 40. Synaesthesia, first place for 'Tip for 2014' in reader's poll. Screenshot taken 8 January 2014 via iPad version of Classic Rock presents Prog. Retrieved 12 March 2014
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