The final single from Valesa: Chapter I, the ground-breaking new album by progressive pioneers, Major Parkinson, is called Fantasia Me Now! and releases on today, September 30, 2022 on all major streaming platforms.
Inspired by the 1984 fantasy film “The Neverending Story”, the song is a bombastic pop anthem that eschews the band’s progressive sound in order to fully explore their long-latent pop sensibilities—culminating in a tour-de-force of melodic hooks and nostalgia-laden synths that explores entirely new ground for the band.
Marrying heavy philosophical questions with the playfulness of this pop anthem, Major Parkinson explores a paradox between the complexities of life and the simplicity of what we consume. This juxtaposition is highlighted throughout the song by the deep resonance of Jon Ivar Kollbotn’s enigmatic voice, and the airy, glittery counterpart of Peri Winkle (Claudia Cox).
Listen + share: Major Parkinson - Fantasia Me Now! (Radio Edit)
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Major Parkinson announces their long-awaited return with the new album Valesa – Chapter I: Velvet Prison, releasing on CD, vinyl, cassette and all streaming platforms on October 7, 2022 via Apollon Records.. The ever-evolving seven-piece has emerged from the primordial darkness of 2017’s Blackbox, into a neon haze of progressive synthpop/rock. Having chased the ever-elusive Ghost of Pop music from the early days of their eponymous debut album to the present, the band has always thrived within a melodic core – often clad under a shroud of progressive experimentation. On Valesa – Chapter I, the shackles are off, the curtain pulled back, as their compositions extrapolate with new focus and invention. Not necessarily less intricate, but definitely more pop.
The new album features 17 meticulously crafted songs that explore new sonic territories, set to the political backdrop of the 1980s as they tap into the Zeitgeist of a period in human history that proved tantamount in shaping our world. From the halls of an abandoned American high school to the wine-stained head of Gorbachev — the album evokes an all-encompassing feeling of uneasy nostalgia, like humanity collectively looking back in time with a pair of cracked, rose-tinted glasses.
“Synth anthems set in a disco of nuclear anxiety.”, says vocalist Jon Ivar Kollbotn. “In this day and age, life is passing before our eyes before we can grasp anything at all, and we become spectators in our own lives. Like confused, geriatric visitors in a wax museum. As time passes by, the past is becoming brighter and nostalgia is growing bigger.”
The instrumentation is powerful and evocative. Guitars swell with subtlety as the bass and drums provide the groundwork for an explosion of synths as keyboardist, Lars Christian Bjørknes, takes center stage to create something wholly unique. Returning female vocalist, Linn Frøkedal, joins with the band’s very own Peri Winkle to complement Jon Ivar Kolbotn’s enraptured vocals and guide us through the brightly coloured maze of Valesa – Chapter I.
Weaving between nostalgia and failed revolutions, this album is a completely unique star in the soundtrack of 2022, offering you something that has rarely been done in any field of music.
Pre-order the album right here: https://www.apollonrecords.no/shop
Friends from the US please order here: https://apollonrecords.8merch.us/