Voyager Project (band)
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Staffordshire, England |
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| Genre(s) | Symphonic metal | |
| Years active | 1998–Present | |
| Website | http://www.voyagerproject.co.uk | |
| Members | ||
| Ann-Marie Leighton Martin Cliffe Pete Cooke Ed Cooke Rob Ogden Eva Cliffe Edwin Li |
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Voyager Project is a symphonic metal band from Staffordshire in the UK, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Martin Cliffe and bassist and lyricist Ed Cooke. Their style is influenced heavily by power metal and progressive metal bands, and to a lesser extent by a wide range of bands and musical genres. Primary influences come from bands such as Dream Theater, Nightwish, Within Temptation, Epica and Sonata Arctica.
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[edit] Current Line-Up
- Ann-Marie Leighton - Female Lead Vocals (2006-)
- Martin Cliffe - Vocals, Lead and Rhythm Guitars, Keyboards (1998-)
- Pete Cooke - Lead, Rhythm and Classical Guitars (2004-)
- Ed Cooke - Fretted and Fretless Bass Guitars (2003-)
- Rob Ogden - Keyboards and Background Vocals (1998-2005, 2006-)
- Eva Cliffe - Percussion and Background Vocals (2002-)
- Edwin Li - Drums and Percussion (2003, 2006-)
[edit] Biography
Voyager Project is a band that has been a long time in the making, and really originated even before Martin vacated the bassist role of Lancashire funk-rock band Some Have Wings in July 1999. Martin and Rob had been trying to put a band together since about 1998 (the name had existed in Martin's imagination for several years before that!) but finding like-minded musicians proved difficult. The first visible (and very short-lived) incarnation of the band appeared in summer 1999, and featured Martin on bass and vocals, Rob on keyboards, Some Have Wings alumni John Wilkinson on guitar, and John's work colleague Dan on drums. Only one show was performed with this incarnation of the band.
It wasn't until 2003 that the band reappeared in the public eye, this time to appear on Martin's solo album Time To Choose (no longer available) and a pair of accompanying video shoots. By this time Martin had switched back to guitar and vocals, and bassist Ed (from Martin's "other" band The Timber Merchants) and Martin's brother-in-law Edwin guesting on drums completed the lineup.
Various demo recording sessions in the 3 years following this produced no further releases, although the addition of Ed's guitarist brother Pete into the lineup in late 2004 helped strengthen the lineup. Personal reasons caused Rob to depart the band in Summer 2005, although he remained in contact with the other members and he rejoined the band in December 2006. 2006 was a difficult year for the band and in particular for some of the individual members, but it ended strongly with some very productive rehearsals and (at last) a stable lineup, and the band moves forward into 2007 with renewed energy and enthusiasm. The rehearsals also saw the successful audition of female vocalist Ann-Marie, who introduces a new dimension to the band with her wide vocal range and powerful delivery.
[edit] Religious Background
Unlike many bands of the genre, Voyager Project are not shy about admitting their religious associations. In particular, Martin, Ed and Eva are all quite involved in the Methodist Church of Great Britain in different local roles. However, the band do not wish to be pigeon-holed as a Christian band, because they say that their faith has to do with the way they live their lives, and not just to do with the music they make. Spiritual content is subtle if present in their music.
[edit] Equipment Used
While the band do not have any endorsements with musical instrument companies, they use Ibanez guitars, Shure microphones, Yamaha basses and drums, E-MU synthesizers and Sabian cymbals. Additionally, Martin uses Laney amplification, DiMarzio pickups and straps and D'Addario strings exclusively, along with Morley, BOSS and Digitech effects pedals. Ed uses Warwick amplification and AKG wireless systems.
[edit] Future Plans
In spite of time constraints due to other commitments (no-one in the band is a full-time musician as of December 2006), the band has plans to start playing live regularly in summer 2007. Additionally, the band plan to begin work on demo's for their upcoming debut CD in the coming months.
