Title - ‘The Future Left Behind’
Artist - Leon Alvarado
Self-admittedly, Prog keyboardist Leon Alvarado makes the music he wants to listen to, and his interests are always evolving. From Progressive Rock to ambient and even fusion, Leon’s music takes an adventurous trip and brings us along for the ride.
Venezuela-born Alvarado’s recordings date back to the late 70’s, but it wasn’t until 2008 that Leon released his first album, Plays Genesis and Other Original Stuff. The record drew on his strongest musical influences, primarily, the many styles in Genesis’s lengthy career.
With a rich history of music brought forth behind him, and hot on the heels of his critically acclaimed third album 2014, Music from an Expanded Universe, keyboardist/composer Alvarado will now release The Future Left Behind, an album of original music featuring ex-Yes men, Billy Sherwood and Rick Wakeman, on July 30th, 2016.
According to Alvarado himself, “The idea of creating a concept album out of instrumental progressive rock music had appealed to me ever since I first heard Rick Wakeman’s ‘Journey To The Centre of The Earth’. What I found difficult was to create all the individual pieces that would unify the set of ideas into a single concept. It meant for me to come up with a story, some music and a set of visuals that together would form an inclusive experience. I started by working on music that had more of a cinematic feel than my usual, meaning that when played, it evokes certain imagery in the listener’s mind.”
1. PREFACE (1:16)
2. LAUNCH OVERTURE (6:10)
3. A VOYAGE… (0:49)
4. JOURNEY INTO SPACE (2:39)
5. WEIGHTLESS (2:24)
6. HARD CHOICES (0:50)
7. THE ONES LEFT BEHIND (6:14)
8. LIFE IN THE OUTSIDE (0:55)
9. AMONG THE STARS (6:06)
10. MUCH ADO ABOUT… (0:36)
11. IN OUR QUIET ORBIT (6:36)
12. TO BE LOVED (2:43)
13. A SILVER LINING (0:39)
14. THE STAR SEEKERS (3:28)
Here on The Future Left Behind, Alvarado immerses the listener in the world he has conceived through music, story and imagery, and allows their own imagination to fill in the details, creating a very personalized experience for each. To my mind, and listening to Alvarado himself speak on the subject, this is quite easily his most ambitious album he has created thus far. Ergo, The Future Left Behind speaks to those who like Science-fiction stories and futuristic artwork. So, if that’s you, as it is me, climb on board and enjoy the musical ride, my friends!
Leon Alvarado: Keyboards, sequencing, drums, percussion, launch control voices
Billy Sherwood: Lead and rhythm guitars on all except for “To Be Loved”
Rick Wakeman: Moog solo on “Launch Overture” and extra keyboards
Johnny Bruhns: Acoustic guitar on “To Be Loved”
Steve Thamer: Narration
www.leonplaysmusic.com