New record pressing — Gates of Kiev – Self Titled:
Gates of Kiev is a progressive rock band founded by childhood friends Tomas Mesman and Hessel Braat in the Netherlands. The band’s origins trace back to their teenage years, when a shared passion for classic and vintage music brought them together. What began as informal late night hard rock sessions in a small garage gradually evolved into the musical foundation that defines the band today. Organ player Tomas Mesman and Drummer Hessel Braat first planted the seeds of what would define their heavy sound. While performing on the Amsterdam live music circuit, the duo met Eszl De Vois, an established bass player in the underground psychedelic scene whose addition completed the band’s lineup. His passion for unconventional jazz fit the band like a glove.
Due to their admiration for Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the band adopted the name “Gates of Kiev”, taken from the iconic piece featured on the live album Pictures at an Exhibition, which is the biggest inspiration for the band’s music.
Taking further inspiration from the modern local garage and punk scene as well as the early years of 70s prog bands, Gates of Kiev’s live shows evolved into a high energy and intense performance. Loud, fast, and over the top.
The band’s songs are long and mostly instrumental. The lyrics they do have cover both very personal struggles as societal topics, delivered in a whimsical and sometimes direct way, The dynamics and atmosphere that were tried to awake within the instrumental parts are closely tied to the themes of the songs, trying to set a story without words.
In the grand tradition of 70s prog, the band’s debut features four epic tracks. The band took the opportunity to use the studio to produce a more expansive sound with overdubs and soundscapes in order to amplify the concepts.
The album was mixed and mastered by White Willow’s Jacob Holm-Lupo in Norway. Cover art comes courtesy of Italian heavy psych illustrator Mont Doom.
High quality black vinyl in a gatefold jacket
(Gotta Groove Records offers vinyl record pressing and EcoRecord manufacturing for independent labels, musicians, and artists – this post features one of the many records pressed at Gotta Groove in the past month).
