Clouda

[rogerg]

Well, I still like Frost*! 

[owen]

He could always change to middle aged grumpy bastard angst.  Although I can't remember much of the teenage angst in Frost* anyway. Of course these days I'm lucky to remember what day it is....

[gr8gonzo]

"They sound like Frost*," said no one ever.

Nothing compares. The unique blend of Jem's pop sensibilities with lush composition and musicianship have made Frost* one of the most significant musical discoveries of my lifetime. It'd be a shame if he stopped because he no longer recognized the value of it. Still relevant? Absolutely.

[rogerg]

Agreed.

[Mikey]

"They sound like Frost*," said no one ever.

Nothing compares. The unique blend of Jem's pop sensibilities with lush composition and musicianship have made Frost* one of the most significant musical discoveries of my lifetime. It'd be a shame if he stopped because he no longer recognized the value of it. Still relevant? Absolutely.

More than agreed.

[JakeWorrell]

Still relevant? Absolutely.

The world needs Frost* to make sure the world of prog doesn't rest on its laurels.

And I also didn't notice the teenage angst.

Anyway, Clouda! Woo!

[Mikey]

If only I could meet that version of me now I'd slap myself up good and proper

If you need a volunteer? Just pop round 

[DueyC]

"They sound like Frost*," said no one ever.

Nothing compares. The unique blend of Jem's pop sensibilities with lush composition and musicianship have made Frost* one of the most significant musical discoveries of my lifetime. It'd be a shame if he stopped because he no longer recognized the value of it. Still relevant? Absolutely.

Word.

[D S]

Still relevant? Absolutely.

The world needs Frost* to make sure the world of prog doesn't rest on its laurels.

And I also didn't notice the teenage angst.

Anyway, Clouda! Woo!

Wot Jake said! 

[tigermoth]

"Never mind that. Did you know that Lights Out was an electronic game released by Tiger Toys in 1995?"
They also produced 2-xl for a time. Anyone have one of those? Lol. Really liking lights out now. It grabbed me in the first listen, but then I went back after a couple of weeks and heard a lot more depth to it. Really great.

[JakeWorrell]

I used to have a 'lights out', it was a great game

[Trapezium Artist]

This requires that I resurface for a moment.

I could not agree more with what gr8gonzo said and everyone else who followed.

Mr Godfrey: you need a good slapping from us. FFS man, Frost* was, is, and always will be an absolute revelation. There is no substitute.

I mean, I'm very pleased that you mentioned North Atlantic Oscillation as an example of a brilliant band with outstanding music; I'm a huge fan. [Edit: ooh, ohh, new album out in October; must buy]

But age is totally irrelevant; I'm just as much a fan of CHVRCHES (younger still) and Snowbird (I can assure you, Simon Raymonde is no spring chicken), for example, and Mahler's dead, for crying out loud. So stop it with the middle-aged angst already.

Frost* forever.

(Yes, I know I'm coming across as a fanboi, but not without very substantial reason. I don't assign my loyalties lightly.)

Edit again: re-reading this, I must admit that it sounds a little OTT, but really, it's meant in the best possible way. Of course, Jem doesn't really deserve a slapping  , but rather he needs a giant hug, to tell him quite how much he and all of his music mean to us here. Please don't doubt the relevance of Frost*, Jem: we're all here, hoping for more, very much convinced that it is music for today, for now.

Perhaps I should stop now ... 

[tigermoth]

Have I missed something here? Has Jem said something disparaging about Frost? The only thing I've seen is yet another change of mind about Six Minutes in Sep, to make it a double album. Another change of mind, but in away I think this is a biproduct of modern communication. In decades gone by, we probably wouldn't hear of a new album from a band until about 3 months before it came out because we didn't have facebook and the facility to broadcast to the world our every thought to be taken as gospel. But I'm agreeing with everyone here. Frost, or more specifically Million town, what really got me excited about getting in to modern prog. It was also one of the major influences on my decision to write a prog album. It was a new standard, and it bridged the gap between geeky prog and cool. The great writing and production with all that pop influence and Jem's excedllent vox, together with kick ass hard to play, proper rock hard prog, it's a real winner of a concept. If any of that makes grammatical sense i'll eat my hat, which will mean having to go and buy a hat! Why do I make these rash promises?
Anyway, where was I? Well if Jem has been disillusioned with Frost, I can understand it from his point of view. It's easy to under estimate your own work, and for someone who is clearly so talented in so many areas of music it could be easy to start wondering if it were time to move away from one particular area. I just hope he's not contemplating doing an album for Shayne Ward or something radicle like that. But I really think Million town is something pretty epic, and I don't use that word lightly, not in a serious context anyway. That's not to dis EIMA, but  Million town is the one for me. But, however long it takes for Six Minutes to arrive, in whatever form it ends up in, I have a feeling we will be in for something very special.

[BrendanGee]

Edit again: re-reading this, I must admit that it sounds a little OTT, but really, it's meant in the best possible way. Of course, Jem doesn't really deserve a slapping  , but rather he needs a giant hug, to tell him quite how much he and all of his music mean to us here. Please don't doubt the relevance of Frost*, Jem: we're all here, hoping for more, very much convinced that it is music for today, for now.

Nothing wrong with a little tough love sometimes, Trapezium Artist 

[gr8gonzo]

Here's what he posted, tigermoth:

Hello again.
So that's summer out the way, hope you had a superb one. Things have been good here. I decided to take a complete break from making my own music over the last 3 months and very quickly realised that it was a looong overdue decision. Up to that point, I'd effectively been running 2 careers side by side for 10 uninterrupted years and although I didn't really appreciate it, I was completely fried. I needed some time to regroup creatively and rediscover the joys of being a musician again. Frost's mad roller coaster of a decade had also really taken it's toll I have to say. However much of the stress was of my own making I now realise and if I could have my time again, I would have stuck to my original plan of giving out 1,000 copies of Milliontown at various high profile gigs in anonymous cardboard sleeves and then vanishing into the ether forever leaving everyone wondering what the hell had just happened. It would have been glorious, however my know-nothing-poxy 32 year old ego got in the way. If only I could meet that version of me now I'd slap myself up good and proper. Ah well, one lives and learns...
For the record, Frost isn't dead, but I do struggle to see how it's still relevant. I hear lots of great new music from young bands like Stark and North Atlantic Oscillation and so forth and wince a bit at what we've done in the same timeframe. Fair play to bands like Dream Theater who can throw shapes with total conviction and rawk until the cows come home, but personally speaking I feel uncomfortable peddling teen angst amidst an extended furry of  32nd notes whilst also having a mortgage. I'm not sure teen angst and a mortgage can co-exist.
Anyway, with Autumn now kicking in I feel totally rejuvenated and ready to get back to the coalface. My mission for the next 3 months is to get Clouda done and dusted at long last. So much for it being a February challenge eh?! I also need to get my website up and running. This is just a holding blog really although the text will form a part of the site proper.
There will be more to come in the run up to Christmas in the form of videos and audio and an actual album all sorts. For now though, it's just good to be back and loving it all once more.
Till then then.

He gives credit to Dream Theater for cranking out album after album, and I've been a DT fan since before Mr. The Cheese joined, but let's be honest - they've been essentially putting out the same album over and over, which isn't the same thing as being prolific, is it? *cough*Neal Morse*cough*

The music Jem creates, whether it's Frost*, Creatures of Distinction, Clouda, the occasional cover song, his cameo appearances on other albums, hell - I even like the Peter Gabriel version of Snowman, it all taps into something within me that few bands will ever do. There's a profound awe that comes with expensive chords. Throw in a bassoon, a CR-78 and a left-handedist stylophone and who even comes close to matching what he brings to the table?