Usually it’s the other way around, but Waking Sleeper Band actually came out with their debut album before they really became a band. The album The Waking Sleeper was recorded in the Primary Room in Genoa, released in June of 2012 under Maia Records, and only later that year was the Waking Sleeper Band actually born. The project is immense, including guitar, bass, and percussion, piano, synthesizer and Hammond, chorus’ and even sax, adding to the three dimensionality of the mix. The name Waking Sleeper Band is linked to the key concept of the debut album itself: a reawakening of the sleeper in all of us. The album is loosely inspired by the 80’s cult film Dune whose concepts of space and time, according to the artists, are now rendered irrelevant by new technology and understanding. The vocals are all in clean English, so the deeper themes of the album are instantly accessible to an English speaking audience. But aside from the philosophical aspect, the first thing you get right out of the gates in the intro song is a throwback to YES. Then, there’s the undeniable influence of the 80’s in their choice of synths and effects, their way of taking us back to the ambience of the film Dune, but the rhythmic and harmonic changes from start to finish are prog to the max. So it’s really no surprise that they count among their influences post 80’s prog, Yes, Asia, Toto, Peter Gabriel and Marillion. The Waking Sleeper Band just put on a class act show of the tunes off the album at The Claque in Genoa for Emergenza Festival Italia. Check back in to see if they made it to the semi-finals.

MC