New EP - Escape Velocity
I will be releasing a five track EP later this year, hopefully in September but maybe October. The style is 3 piece progressive rock with a focus on melody and composition. The influences range from King Crimson (interlocking instrument parts and timing changes), the Mahavishnu Orchestra (structure and modal approaches) and Cynic (mixing clean and heavy parts with broad dynamics). At least, that is how I think of it. There are four band tracks and a closing piece which leans into my love of synthesis and soundscapes.
So when will it be released?
I am working with a couple of people on the album art and liner notes presently. I am hopefully to publish a single track first, and then the full EP in September or October 2026.
What has this car got to do wiith anything? It is a teaser for the album art styling.
Who is on it?
Evan Harris (Bass and Chapman Stick)
I am proud to have Evan Harris returning to bass and chapman stick on the Escape Velocity EP. Evan has a very long history with Australian music playing with Taramis, Black Majesty, Eye Fear, Vulvagun, Mechanical Organic and recording with countless other artists. I met Evan through Glen Roche (another local legend) at an Adrian Belew show in Belgrave, Victoria. It was Adrian's first time stage diving (okay, lets call it stage leaning, dropping and being caught successfully).
Evan Harris - I did mention he was from another dimension, right?
Evan worked with me on the Not in Kansas EP released in 2008 and I still have a lot of recordings ready to go with Evan's hands all over them. Hopefully, they too will see the light of day. Evan has been a musical partner sent from another dimension who seems to understand, encourage, and add positively to everything I do. Since we met, Evan is the only stringed instrument player who has been near my music apart from me.
Rob Brens (Drums and Percussion)
Rob plays drums on three of the four drum based songs. I met Rob when he was playing with Alarum (technical thrash legends) and we hit it off immediately geeking out about jazz fusion, avante guarde metal and our passion for dynamic creativity. As well as Alarum, Rob has played with… Oh dear. I just went to Rob's Bio… So many names, but the ones that stand out to me are Mirrors, Simon Hosford, King Parrot, Dreadnaught and some guy named Steve Turner.
Rob Brens - hitting so hard people in those appartment buildings are putting up for sale signs
Rob is a deep thinker about his art, be it drums or photography, and remains the most likely candidate to be my podcast partner for a podcast that will never happen. We solidified our friendship whilst enjoying the catering back stage when Black Majesty supported Edguy and Cynic (what a combination) in Adelaide, Australia. Fortunately Evan was around to keep us in line (a little, anyway), but that is another story for another time.
Zoltan Csorsz (Drums)
Zoltan is an incredible jazz, fusion and progressive rock drummer born in Hungary but working throughout Europe. I first experienced his expressive genius with The Flower Kings on their album Unfold the Future. His playing completely floored me as he seemed to combine elements of all kinds of styles into one seemless performance. When I was looking for a session drumer I wrote a list of five names and committed to contacting them all sequentially. Zoltan was number one, and he said yes immediately after hearing the Not in Kansas EP recordings.
Zoltan Csorsz - it was an absolute honour to have this gentleman record my music
Zoltan recorded 8 songs for me in 2009. One of them was for the track Recalibrate the Solar Wind Generators. I am calling the new version the 2026 version as the original (featuring another amazing talent and good friend, Greg Limberis) was released on the Not in Kansas CD. The new version has all new drum and chapman stick parts. The other seven tracks Zoltan recorded are also on the list of things to do in the future. Zoltan recorded the parts in his personal studio and they came out beautifully. Great self engineering, which is rare.
David Carr - Rangemaster Studio (drum engineering for tracks 1, 2 and 4)
Previously, David performed all mixing for the Not in Kansas CD, though the drums were recorded elsewhere. David pulled such a great sound using the externally recorded drums that he was my first pick for drum engineering for the new project. I have known David since 2006 or so and the man is a multi talented musical genius.
David Carr - at the Rangemaster studio in The Patch, Victoria
David hosted Rob Brens in his Bayswater recording studio for an afternoon and I think we were one of the last sessions before he transitioned to his leafy green Tecoma studio (which is a delightful recording space). The resulting sounds are pretty incredible and you can hear them on Escape Velocity, Release and The Deeper Ones Dreaming.
Chris Themelco - Monolith Studios (mixing, all tracks)
I chose Chris for mixing after what must have been a couple of years of facebook messaging about a possible project. I had met Chris many times at local shows and he was always generous with knowledge. I realised pretty quickly that we shared many similar (or at least complimentary) views on music production and the art of recording. Chris plays guitar and is the main song writer for his band Orpheus Omega, and has performed engineering and mixing duties for acts including Psycroptic, In Malice's Wake, Deathdealer and of course Orpheus Omega.
Chris Themelco - at Monolith Studios, Melbourne
My cunning plan was for Chris to bring a more modern but also restrained when it needed to be approach to the songs I had written. I had tried to mix them myself, and my mixes were a lot more traditional progressive rock sounding and lacking focus. Chris provided the remedy to perfection, mixing all of the Escape Velocity recordings and dealing with my challenging questions which sometimes went nowhere. I have plans for future releases and Chris will definitely be the go to guy.
Joe Carra - Crystal Mastering (all tracks)
Joe was my go to for the Not in Kansas EP and was also recommended by Chris Themelco (above, mixing). I had such a great experience with Joe the first time that I had no second thoughts heading back to Crystal Mastering for the Escape Velocity EP.
Joe Carra - at Crystal Mastering in Thorbury, Victoria
Joe is a local institution and Crystal Mastering have serviced some incredibly successful artists including Amyl and the Sniffers, King Gizard and the Lizard Wizard, Jeff Martin, Tesky Brothers, Bliss N Eso, Mildlife, Belakor, Rose Tattoo and Omnium. It does not get any better as far as his facilities go, and his attention to detail and abiliity to produce great outputs is whey he is the man.
Track list
0001 Escape Velocity
0010 Release
0011 Recalibrate the Solar Wind Generators (2026)
0100 The Deeper Ones' Dreaming
0101 Diluvian
… and yes, the track numbers are in four unity binary because this is prog rock.
Personnel
Bass and Chapman Stick: Evan Harris
Drums: Rob Brens (tracks 1, 2, 4)
Drums: Zoltan Csorsz (track 3)
Guitars and Synthesizers: Steve Turner
Drum recording engineer: David Carr
Mixing: Chris Themelco
Mastering: Joe Carra
All music composed by Steve Turner © 2026