Unitopia
| Unitopia | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Adelaide, Australia |
| Genres | Progressive rock |
| Years active | 1996 – 2014 |
| Labels | Unicorn Digital, Inside Out |
| Website | http://www.unitopiamusic.com |
| Members | Mark Trueack Sean Timms Matt Williams Tim Irrgang David Hopgood Craig Kelly Daniel Burgess |
| Past members | Monty Ruggiero Shireen Khemlani Mike Stewart Jamies Jones Shaun Duncan Peter Raidel Ian Ritchie |
Unitopia was an Australian music group using progressive rock as a framework, but also including elements of world, classical, jazz, hard rock, and groove.
Unitopia began when a mutual friend introduced Trueack and Timms after realizing the two had similar musical tastes. In late 1996, the duo began work on a track which was to become "Take Good Care" and a songwriting partnership developed that led to the band's debut album More Than a Dream, which included contributions from conductor/arranger Timothy Sexton and the Adelaide Art Orchestra, Pat Schirippa, Constantine Delo, Bradley Polain and Ian 'Polly' Politis.
The album was independently launched in October 2005 to a sell out audience at The Cavern Club, Adelaide. Further live work followed in Australia, including supporting Daryl Braithwaite and playing the Norwood Food and Wine Festival. In March 2006, Canadian label Unicorn Records re-released More Than a Dream internationally.
Wishing a consistent team both live and in the studio, Trueack and Timms recruited Adelaide instrumentalists Matt Williams (guitar/vocals), Monty Ruggiero (drums), Shireen Khemlani (bass) and Tim Irrgang (percussion) to complete the Unitopia line-up. Trueack and Timms then started writing in earnest new material for their next album, The Garden. In February 2008, Unitopia signed a worldwide publishing deal with Shock Music Publishing. In July 2008, the track "Lives Go Round" from More Than a Dream was included on the CPR Volume 3 compilation CD. In August 2008, Unitopia signed a 3 album deal with InsideOut Music.
On 18 November 2008, InsideOut Music released Unitopia's second CD, The Garden, internationally, a double CD with 15 tracks and over 100 minutes of music. According to Review Busters "This double disc release is defiantly one for the ages. Unitopia offers a unique blend of progressive rock with some symphonic parts that are incredible. If you never heard of this band then you will want to pick up everything they have to offer, The Garden is a non stop ride into a progressive sound that is easy on the ears, yet at the same time it offers everything you would have ever wanted from a progressive release."
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Wikipedia