Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate
From London, England Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate presents their 4th album called 'Out Of Mind'. The contents are inspired by memory from a variety of perspectives. A cult reputation has been developing through their award winning albums, endorsements through rock legends. They came to wider recognition when they stepped in, at the last minute, to replace an injured band on the main stage at Hard Rock Hell's Festival in Wales on November 2017, one of the world's leading indoor progressive rock events.
They performed for over 1000 people opening for Magnum, Focus and Carl Palmer. They were described by Hard Rock Hell magazine as 'unlikely stars who stole the show'. eFestivals gave them the honor of being the highlight of the festival. The band now has a busy festive schedule for 2019. They have been broadcast on over 100 radio stations, shows, podcasts and TV channels.
Out Of Mind consists of 12 tracks inspired by memory. Two of the songs (Coming Back and The Electric Ant) are inspired by Philip K Dick stories. When I Was a ship is inspired by Ann Leckie's Imperial series of novels. The last song on the album is a tribute to the victims of the Nazi massacre at Lidice, and to the people around the world who fought to ensure their memory was preserved.
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Coming Back - The protagonist finds that the 1950's small town in America in which he lives is fake. He is scared not that the truth is hidden but that the truth is coming back to him. Dreamy wonderment of electronics developing into heavy rock. 'So I walked and walked past where the houses stop. But the road still carries on. . . . . '
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When I Was A Ship - The main character had once been a warship, whose artificial mind had been distributed within the ship and within many ancillaries - prisoners who have had their minds wiped. The ship itself and all of the others were destroyed leaving just one fragment of the mind left in one body. Gentle and rolling. 'When I was a ship, was one and many. Then I was blended, now lost and empty. . . . .'
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Defiance - Defiance against the tendency to rewrite history and dehumanize the victims of hatred. Instrumental. Combining aggressive guitars with funky keyboards. The song has the feel of Edgar Winter's 'Frankenstein' but becomes more electronically mathematical.
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De Humani Corporis Frabica - Challenging established doctrines that had been accepted since Galen. The ancient anatomical investigation had been conducted on non humans and the lecturers tended not to actually look at the human bodies themselves. Slow piano and flute with added electronics embodying the song. 'De Humani Corporis Frabica, Open your eyes. See for yourself. See for yourself. Open Your eyes. . . . .'
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The Rose That Was Red In The Dark - Instrumental. Cinematic. Slow and gentle but intense.
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Maze - Instrumental. Varied electronic pulsing. Deep bass with mathematical equations. Teasing you along as you are caught up in the fractures of the labyrinth.
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Stand Up - Inspired by those who stand up against hatred and against those who rewrite history for political gain. 'You tell me this never happened. I was there I heard the voices. We're supposed to pretend to forget but refuse to disappear. A repeated lie becomes history. Search your mind to find a true memory. Memory solves the prisoner's dilemma. Forgiveness tames the world. . . . .'
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I Miss The Stars - The last conscious entity drifting towards the heath death of the universe reflects on the inevitable loss of memory as it disintegrates. Easing you into the stratosphere. 'I miss the stars. I miss the company. I forgot when they ran out. I forget the stars. I forget what they were. . . . .'
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If You Think This World Is Bad - Instrumental. Inspired by a phrase by Philip K Dick. (if you think this world is bad you should see some of the others). A great funky rock beat infused with pulses. The music draws you in closer daring you to encompass more of what you see and feel.
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Losing Myself - This is from the perspective of someone trapped in a mind degenerating due to dementia. Slow warped rock with spatial tendencies. 'I'm losing myself. I'm losing myself. Drip by drop. Where have all the words gone. . . . .'
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The Electric Ant - A man goes to hospital where he is told he is an 'electric ant' a robot human whose memories are created by the punched tape in his chest as a Turing machine. Random but cohesive electronics infused with smoothness. A drum is added and it rocks out. The tape is punched by bass. 'They said they didn't deal with my kind. I just needed a tune up, a quick job. But not to come here, as it upsets the people. It was really quite embarrassing. . . . .'
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Lidice - Named after the Czech mining village that was destroyed by the Nazis murdering 88 children and 252 adults. They wanted the village to be wiped from history. In response to the worst acts of inhumanity, we sometimes find the best of humanity. This song is dedicated to the memory of all those who have been killed because of their origins and all those who stood in solidarity. Sad and wistful. 'They wanted you to disappear. From history. From memory. Wiped away. You mustn't be forgotten. You mustn't be forgotten. . . . .'
Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate are vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Galloway and bassist/backing vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Mark Gatland, either on their own, or with Kathryn Thomas (flute). Malcolm splits his time between music and teaching neuropathology at a medical school. Their music combines elements of progressive and classic rock, acoustic, blues, metal, folk, funk, minimalism, contemporary classical and electronica. It explores scientific and philosophical themes within their lyrics. To find out more about this band go to:
Denise L. @DL7855 2018