Gazpacho

GAZPACHO are from Norway and were founded in the late 1990’s my members of the MARILLION fan club!
With that in mind, it would be safe to say that they were going to be influenced by that band to some extent, and the later Steve Hogarth era especially.

Between 2003 and the start of 2016 GAZPACHO have already made Nine Studio Albums (several of which have never been released in the U.K.) and released Three Live Recordings in various formats. 
In order to push the band’s music to a wider audience, their U.K. based label: K-Scope produced: 'Introducing', a Budget-Priced Two-Disc Sampler Album in 2015.

GAZPACHO’s style lies primarily within the realms of Progressive Art-Rock, but their appeal covers a far wider range of music styles that that might imply.  Gradually they have built a sizeable fan-base with lovers of everything from Electronic Music to Heavy Rock becoming avid fans of the band via their albums and ‘live’ performances.

GAZPACHO are not a very easy band to pigeonhole. They are not really a clone-band in any way – these guys very much have their own expansive sound built on a creation of subtle sonic shades, intelligent arrangements and gripping atmospheres, using thematic progression and building crescendos to dynamically create music that can only be described as thought provoking and unique.  They are however on of THE bands in the world that play music designed to take you away to another world when you are listening to their music!

As far as influences go, references have been made to quite a few names in almost every article or review written about them: PORCUPINE TREE, RADIOHEAD, MUSE, NO-MAN, PLACEBO, SNOW PATROL, PINEAPPLE THIEF / LUNATIC SOUL and of course (Steve Hogarth period) MARILLION, and we can substantiate virtually all of these claims.

The current line-up is: Jan-Henrik Ohme (vocals), Jon-Arne Vilbo (guitars), Thomas Andersen (keyboards), Mikael Kromer (violin / mandolin / guitar), Kristian Torp (bass) and Robert R. Johansen (drums / percussion).

Jan-Henrik Ohme is a wonderfully talented vocalist who has a fantastic, pure voice and an immaculate sense of timing that is so easy on the ear. There is not even a hint of any other accent other than English (which is amazing really) and he has an appealing soft tone to his voice – You have to think somewhere along the lines of Steven Wilson at his most melancholic – Morten Harkett (AHA) - Steve Hogarth for delivery and phrasing, Tim Bowness and a bit of Thom Yorke (RADIOHEAD).

The guitars and keyboards create an atmosphere of restrained power and play equally important parts in the band’s overall sound. Like PORCUPINE TREE, the keyboards are used to create subtle melodic leads and atmospheric backdrops as opposed to running off into strident, self-indulgent solo work, and to a certain extent the same could be said for the guitars, which are often understated and dream-like.  The band feature a fair bit of Mellotron in their sound - which I know will please many - but they also use other instruments like violin to help create this brand of magical ethereal rock music that uses its restrained power to soothingly wash over the senses as opposed to cracking open your skull with almighty power.

Here are a couple of independent quotes that sum this band up so perfectly…

“If you are a fan of music that transports you to another place, you will find nothing better. The master of this art is PINK FLOYD, and GAZPACHO have done it without doing anything FLOYD has already done.”

“Although the band’s sound could be best described as brooding, moody and often melancholic, it’s not without its colourful textures. True those colours come in restrained greys and blues rather than vivid reds or yellows, but it does demonstrate that they are much more than a band of introspective shoe gazers.“

In our opinion, GAZPACHO are still a massively underrated band, and we will continue to promote their incredible music as long are they keep on making it … let’s hope that’s forever!