Neo-Prog
Sweden
The Swedish band Carptree are lifelong friends (Niclas Flinck and keyboardist Carl Westholm) who in 1997 decided 'to combine good, and sometimes catchy, melodies with more dramatic and progressive arrangements.' In 2001 they released their self-titled debut to some mixed reviews. Some felt that they were a talented band, but others felt they relied too heavily on programmed synths. Their follow-up of Superhero in 2003, however, was a bit more accessible and appealed to fans of Genesis and Fish-era Marillion alike, while flirting with spacier textures in the form of Porcupine Tree.
In 2005, Carptree took on a much darker tone with Man Made Machine. It still had that neo touch, but dabbled on what some have described as art rock. As with Superhero, No Future Orchestra (Ulf Edelönn, Stefan Fandén, Jejo Perkovic, Cia Backman, Jonas Waldefeldt) are brought in and lends a true feeling of a band.
2007 proved to be a pivotal year with the release of Insekt, with (again) the help of the No Future Orchestra. Additionally, Carptree played their first ever gig together as a band at ROSFest 2007, which surely opened them up to an even bigger audience.
Eric Walker
ALBUMS:
2003 - SUPERHERO
Musicians
- Niclas Flinck / vocals
- Carl Westholm / keyboards
Guests - the No Future Orchestra:
- Ulf Edelönn / guitars, bass
- Öivin Tronstad / background vocals
- Jan Hellman / drums
- Jejo Percovic / drums
- Stefan Fandén / bass
- Kjell Bjarnhage / snaredrum
- Franziska Edvinsson / narrator
1. Superhero (6:34)
2. Fathers House (6:29)
3. Calm Sea Of Their Pupils (5:42)
4. There Like Another (4:04)
5. Host vs. Graft (5:26)
6. Watching The Clock (4:30)
7. Into The Never To Speak Of (6:41)
8. Flesh (5:30)
9. Malfunction (6:20)
10. Lie Down (4:13)
11. Sleep (5:44)
Total Time: 61:13
Look!!
2005 - MAN MADE MACHINE
Musicians
- Niclas Flinck / lead vocals
- Carl Westholm / piano, synthesizer, vocoder, theremin, choir arrangement
Guest musicians:
- Ulf Edelönn / all electric and acoustic guitars, bass (6,8,10)
- Jejo Perkovic / drums
- Stefan Fanden / bass (1,2,4,5), baritone guitar (8)
- Jan Hellman / bass (7), electric upright bass (3)
- Jonas Waldefeldt / tambourine and percussion (1,2,4,7), background vocals (1,4)
- Öivin Tronstad / background vocals (2,8,10)
- Cia Backman / background vocals (1,2,4,5,7)
- The Trollhättans Chamber Choir 3
1. Titans clash aggressively to keep an even score (5:29)
2. Sunshine waters (5:48)
3. The weakening sound (6:21)
4. Tilting the scales (6:50)
5. The man you just became (5:15)
6. Man Made Machine (6:18)
7. Burn to something new (5:58)
8. In the centre of an empty space (5:31)
9. The recipe (2:31)
10. This is home (8:17)
Total Time: 58:18
Look!!
