ROBERT DAVIDSON'S ICONIC PICTURE OF FRANK ZAPPA

Andrew Greenaway posted some excellent news on https://www.zappanews.co.uk/.
Kickstarter coming soon to help Wild Dog Film finish this documentary about Robert Davidson and his iconic photo of Frank Zappa

https://www.wilddogworld.com/zappa-and-me-the-image-that-created-an-icon/

K² - BOOK OF THE DEAD

• K²: Book Of The Dead
      (2004, cd, --, progrock records)

American progressive rock band K² got founded by Ken Jaquesss in 2001 in Los Angeles.
The band released two albums and two DVDs.

Their first album, "Book Of The Dead", featured Allan Holdsworth on the guitar !

Prog rock with an Allan Holdsworth lead guitar fusion injection...

I stumbled upon the below YouTube video by accident and ordered the CD right away.
Awesome.

DIVINE HAND ORCHESTRA - ARIA 51 (PICTURE DISC)

• Divine Hand Orchestra: Aria 51
      (2024, lp picture disc, USA, private release / label51recordings)

Led by Mano Divina Giannone on Theremins and on Tesla Coils, the eleven-piece Divine Hand Orchestra also features Dave Hartl on accordion and organ (who released an album with Frank Zappa tunes in 2019).

“Aria 51” was the ensemble’s fist release.

Subtitled “Songs From The 20th Century Voiced With Singing Electricity” the album offered classical pieces as well as pop songs.
The first piece on the album was FZ’s ‘Peaches En Regalia’.

Made available as a digital / download release on Bandcamp, the album also got issued on CD, on 5 color confetti vinyl LP, and (as I only recently learned) even on picture disc LP.

Here's a promising concert fragment. It's from a while ago already, but as the ensemble is preparing a Zappa tribute album at this very moment, this might be one of the pieces...

 

UNIT WAIL - PETROCHEMICALS CORP.

• Unit Wail: Petrochemicals Corp.
      (2026, cd, France, soleil mutant 65)

 After 7 years, French rock band Unit Wail is back with a new album.
"Petrochemical Corp." is a conceptual album with song titles focusing heavily on the ecological, social, and physical impacts of the petroleum industry.

"Petrochemicals Corp." still maintains strong Zeuhl ties, but the band expands their sound into much heavier and darker musical territory. While their early albums were firmly rooted in Magma-inspired Zeuhl and avant-prog, this fifth release heavily incorporates dystopian atmospheres.

Recommended listening !

-- info: Danny Mathys

PILI COÏT ET LES EXOCRINES

For their latest project, Pili Coït uses King Solomon's "Song Of Songs" as an inspiration.
The duo got expanded and the sound got more complex.

Experimental and fascinating.

AYRON

In September 2025, Tilburg, the Netherlands, was transformed into Ayreon City as six spectacular shows took over the 013 venue. All 15,000 tickets were snapped up within minutes, with fans travelling from an astonishing 71 countries to witness the latest Ayreon live experience.

For one unforgettable week, Tilburg lived and breathed Ayreon. On stage, the setlist spanned three decades of Ayreon history—from beloved fan favourites to songs never performed live before —and featured highlights from Arjen Lucassen’s many side projects, woven seamlessly into the experience.

Ayreon’s 30th-anniversary celebration in Tilburg was a unique moment—etched forever into the hearts and minds of those who experienced it live. Now, the wider world will finally have the chance to step into the Ayreon Universe and experience the magic from the comfort of your own home.

The event marked 30 years since the release of Ayreon’s debut album, The Final Experiment (1995). This massive, state-of-the-art production involved over 100 cast and crew members, featuring a one-of-a-kind stage design, stunning visuals, and spectacular special effects that elevated the show beyond a concert into a true theatrical happening.

PANZERBALLETT TOUR 2026

And they'll even play in Belgium !!

JOE LOVANO - PARAMOUNT QUARTET

• Joe Lovano: Paramount Quartet
      (2026, cd, --, ecm)

The Joe Lovano Paramount Quartet featured Joe Lovano (sax), Julian Lage (guitar), Asante Santi Debriano (bass) and Will Calhoun (drums).

Released on ECM Records, the album showcases Joe Lovano's warm saxophone melodies with Julian Lage’s crystalline guitar work.
Add Asante Santi Debriano’s bass lines and Will Calhoun’s polyrhythmic fills and you get seven beautiful pieces of music.

Contemporary jazz.

-- info: Danny Mathys

ZAPPA '66 Vol. 1

The latest Frank Zappa album, "Zappa '66 Vol. 1" has also been released in Japan.
Even available in Europe.
And as it happens, so is the recent "Whisky A Go Go" set.

PURBAYAN CHATTERJEE & MARK LETTIERI - FEATHERED CREATURES

• Purbayan Chatterjee & Mark Lettieri: Feathered Creatures
      (2026, download / streaming, --, digital music platforms)

Over the nine expansive tracks on "Feathered Creatures", celebrated sitar maestro Purbayan Chatterjee and genre-bending jazz guitarist Mark Lettieri chart a path through myriad subgenres of music – IDM’s skittering breakbeat tension, progressive rock’s epic, flowing sweep, and the entrancing lushness of Indian classical music – making for a true sonic journey that’s remarkable in its effortlessness. Chatterjee and Lettieri make boldness sound easy on "Feathered Creatures", and as a result their work sounds like two interlocking pieces of one brilliant puzzle.

The bones of "Feathered Creatures" were already being excavated by Chatterjee, as he’d been hard at work on some of the music featured on the record before meeting Lettieri near the end of 2023. The pair first came in contact as jazz fusion collective Snarky Puppy’s tour schedule rolled through India, which resulted in Chatterjee sitting in for a performance or two. “He played a couple songs with us and I was totally blown away by his skill,” Lettieri recalls. “I’d never really heard sitar played like an electric guitar. I immediately cornered him in the green room and was like, ‘You got to show me how you do that.’”

I've only heard a couple of tracks YouTube, but this sounds excellent.