14 June 2011: AKIN & The Winter Tree (formerly Magus)

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – 6 June 2011 – "The way things end" is an hour plus, 15 track adventure, mixing progressive rock, metal, pop music and a bit of jazz. A string quartet from the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Danse de Lyon performs on it along with a classical flute, percussion and some other exotic instruments, such as the dilruba. The result is, as recently noted by an English reviewer, "a work of harmonious contrasts, (...) a jazzy liveliness but with a melancholy gothic underbelly; delicate subtlety and driving power; catchy and melodic but with technical musicianship; adventurous, fascinating and absorbing but oh so easy to listen to; acoustic and electronic instrumentation; simplicity and sophistication; light and dark."
THE WINTER TREE (formerly MAGUS) is a band formed by composer/multi-instrumentalist Andrew Laitres(a.k.a. Andrew Robinson) with vocalist/guitarist Mark Bond and his wife Deb Bond on keyboards. In late 2010 Andrew decided to rename the band THE WINTER TREE, after the song of the same title by one of Andrew's favorite bands, Renaissance. Andrew, along with new bandmates Deb and Mark Bond, released the self-titled CD "The Winter Tree" in mid 2011 with ProgRock Records.

The Winter Tree is a synthesis of many different musical styles and genres: rock, folk, electronic, ambient, and world music among others. These elements combine to create a fascinating and cohesive work that should satisfy the progrock enthusiast as well as a diverse listening public.
Our thanks to Shawn at ProgRock Records for making this music available for our listeners.