Synaesthesia (English band)

Synaesthesia 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

The first incarnation of Synaesthesia dates back to 2009 as a solo music project under the working title of 'Chromology'.^[4] Adam had begun his experimentation with the progressive style of songwriting whilst undergoing his studies at The BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology.^[5]

In 2010, Adam began writing towards what would eventually become Synaesthesia's debut album. 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.^[6] He was replaced with guitarist, Ollie Hannifan^[7] who helped record a number of the remaining guitar parts for the album as well as contributions from IQ guitarist, Michael Holmes.

Hand-drawn logo by Freyja Dean

Debut album hand drawn and coloured album artwork by Freyja Dean. Formatting by Michael Holmes.

Adam signed a recording deal with Giant Electric Pea in February 2012^[8] 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.^[9] 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'.^[5]

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^[10] 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.

Synaesthesia's self titled debut album was released 20 January 2014^[3]

The band performed their debut concert at The Cultuurpodium Boerderij in Zoetermeer supporting label mates, IQ^[11] and received positive reviews for their performance.^[12][13]

Cover Art for Debut Album

The cover art for Synaesthesia's self-titled debut was hand drawn and painted by Freyja Dean. Daughter of renowned artist, Roger Dean who is often known for his cover art contributions to well-known Progressive rock albums in the 1970s as well as the original Virgin Records logo artwork. In a number of interviews including one with the Dutch Progressive Rock Pages, Adam is quoted saying "I’m looking forward to working with her more in the future."^[5] Leading to what could possibly become a band/cover artist partnership for future projects.

Departure of Ollie Hannifan and Joey Frevola's Joining

In early April of 2014, the band announced that guitarist Ollie Hannifan would be taking 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. We want to stress that this does NOT mean that Ollie is leaving the band, neither does it mean that we're kicking him out."^[14] 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 of 2015^[15] although more recently, the band has been looking into extending the period until February of 2015 as Ollie Hannifan's commitments with Mamma Mia! could be extended until such time. 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 writing of the next album. 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."^[16] 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 Synaesthesia 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."

Publicity and Reception

Synaesthesia's debut album was released to critical acclaim having received a number of shining reviews from a variety of sources.^[17] The band have also since had a number of features and appearances in Classic Rock Magazine subsidiary, "Prog Magazine" ^[18] 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,^[19] Classic Rock Magazine, Dutch Progressive Rock Pages^[20] and Eclipsed Magazine.^[21]

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'.^[22]

Personnel

Current members

• Adam Warne - Vocals, Keyboards, Synthesizer (drum kit on debut album) (2012–present)
• Samuel Higgins - Guitars and backing vocals (2013–present)
• Joey Frevola - Guitars (2014–present)
• Peter Episcopo - Bass guitar and backing vocals (2013–present)
• Robin Johnson - Drums and Percussion (2013–present)

Collaborators

• Michael Holmes - Producer, Guitars (2013–present)

Former members

• Nikolas Jon Aarland - Guitars (2012–2013)
• Ollie Hannifan - Guitars (2013-2014) ^[14]

Discography

Demos

• Chromology, 'Time, Tension & Intervention' (2011)^[4]

Studio albums

• Synaesthesia (2014)

References

External links

• Synaesthesia's Official Website
• Facebook Page
• Giant Electric Pea (Record Label) Website
• Interview with Adam Warne on Prog Sphere
• Interview with Adam Warne on Dutch Progressive Rock Pages