Prog-Sphere forums

So, it has been a while since I wrote anything in this thread. My last post was in 2019, and quite a lot has happened in the world of music since then. Therefore, perhaps it is time to ask the old question once again: what is Prog in the 2020s?

Well, if someone had told me twenty or thirty years ago that one day Progressive music would be available to almost anyone, anywhere, without the permission of a record company, I probably would have found it difficult to believe. Yet this is exactly where we are now. The Internet, streaming platforms, Bandcamp, YouTube and home-recording technology have completely changed the situation. Today, a young musician can compose, record, produce and release a progressive album without ever entering a traditional recording studio or signing a contract with a record label.

And the result? An absolutely enormous amount of Prog!

Our beloved genre has become more fragmented than ever, but perhaps this fragmentation is actually one of its greatest strengths. There is no longer any single centre of Progressive music. Prog is coming from almost everywhere. We have traditional progressive rock, sympho-rock, progressive metal, Canterbury, jazz-rock, experimental rock, neo-prog, post-progressive, prog-folk, chamber progressive, progressive electronic, and countless hybrids that are difficult to put into any category at all.

And this is perhaps the most interesting thing about Prog in the 2020s: the genre has become a kind of musical crossroads. A contemporary Prog band can take something from King Crimson, something from Yes, something from Genesis, something from Jazz, Metal, Electronic music, Folk, World music, Post-Rock or even modern pop – and turn all those ingredients into something that did not exist before.

Progressive metal is especially interesting in this respect. What started with bands such as Dream Theater bringing the virtuosity and compositional ambitions of Prog into the Metal world has developed into an enormous musical universe of its own. Today, there are bands whose music would have been almost impossible to imagine in the early 1970s: extremely heavy, technically astonishing, rhythmically complex, yet unmistakably Progressive.

At the same time, I don't think that the classic Progressive Rock tradition has disappeared at all. On the contrary, there are still contemporary musicians who deliberately work within the Symphonic, Canterbury, Jazz-Rock or classic Prog traditions. The difference is that today they are not necessarily trying to imitate the Seventies. They can use the vocabulary of the classic genres while speaking with their own musical language.

And perhaps this is the real answer to the question “What's Prog?” in the 2020s.

Prog is no longer one particular sound.

It is an attitude towards music.

It is the willingness to go beyond the standard song format, to experiment with structure, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation and atmosphere; to combine things that supposedly don't belong together; and, most importantly, to make music without worrying too much about whether it will fit comfortably into a three-minute radio format.

In the late Sixties and Seventies, Progressive musicians challenged the limitations of the pop and rock establishment. In the late Sixties and Seventies, progressive musicians challenged pop conventions, before facing terminal material fatigue in the late 1980s, only to be resurrected by Dream Theater and heavy metal and later revitalized by internet distribution in the 2000s and 2010s.
And now, in the 2020s, Prog has perhaps become more alive, diverse and difficult to define than at any previous time.

Some people will undoubtedly complain that there is too much mediocre music around nowadays. They are probably right – there is a lot of mediocre music. But there is also an astonishing amount of magnificent music, and finding it has never been easier.

So, is Prog alive in the 2020s?

Absolutely.

Perhaps it has never been more alive.

And now, instead of simply talking about the diversity of contemporary Prog, here are three examples from the 2020s that illustrate what I mean.

First, we have England – because, well, Britain gave Prog to the world in the first place. 😎


Legs On Wheels Arnold the Slime King, live @ Sacred Trinity Church, Salford, 2024








Next, let's travel to Serbia; progressive music certainly hasn't been an Anglo-American monopoly for a long time. BTW, the singer here is the same one you saw with the Serbian Progressive Metal band Lavina at Eurovision 2026, as he sings lead vocals in both bands.

Monah Iza ogledala live @ BUNT Festival, Belgrade, 2024








And finally, Greece, with Naxatras and their magnificent take on space-rock.

Naxatras The Great Attractor live @ Fuzz Club, Athens, 2022







Three countries, three very different approaches, and yet all three belong comfortably under the wonderfully elastic umbrella of Prog.

Speaking of the vast landscape of European progressive and experimental music, it would be unfair to discuss the 2020s without shining a massive spotlight on the current, mind-bending progressive independent labels. For example, Brussels' label Ugoki! (a name meaning "movement" in Japanese, serving as an homage to the legendary Impulse! label) has built a sanctuary where traditional boundaries are completely dismantled.
A perfect example of this sonic curation is their 2026 reissue of the album Platform One by the Belgian avant-prog-jazz-rock heavyweights, The Wrong Object. For this project, the band teamed up with the legendary trumpeter Harry Beckett, born in Barbados but a mainstay on the British progressive jazz scene since the early 1960s, and trombonist Annie Whitehead. Recorded live in studio, Platform One is a powerful record, bursting with progressive fusion energy akin to that of Nucleus, The Keith Tippett Group, Soft Machine, and other British jazz-rock/fusion outfits from the 1970s. Having that in mind, it's quite interesting that the album marks an exploration of Zappa's heritage. You can hear their superb take on Zappa's Big Swifty in the player here.


Big Swifty (Frank Zappa cover) by The Wrong Object









Moving over to the Baltic, we uncover a young force: Jersika Records from Riga, Latvia. Founded in 2017, this label has single-handedly revitalised the Baltic avant-garde and progressive jazz landscape. What makes Jersika so fascinating to any genuine prog-head is their uncompromising ethos. All of their releases are recorded completely analogue – captured live, directly to a Studer reel-to-reel tape recorder without a single digital overdub and cut straight to lacquer.
A spectacular example of this raw, living sound is the superb Hammond organ-driven jazz-rock album Organic City (2022) by the Atis Andersons Organ Trio. Their brilliant instrumental titled Ishinomaki, features a remarkably rocked-out pulse packed with a high energy.


Ishinomaki by Atis Andersons Organ Trio









Shifting our gaze to Austria, we encounter another outstanding hub for sonic subversion: Boomslang Records. Based in the small village of Bezau, this independent label has quietly earned a formidable reputation amongst avant-garde circles for releasing incredibly dense, dark, and complex contemporary improvisational music.
A spectacular testament to their uncompromising vision is the brand-new debut album The Moon is not there when nobody looks by the avant-prog outfit WOBBLE8. This fascinating record explores a territory of electrified darkness and heavy, unstable structures. One of the highlights here is an instrumental titled #3 - Zardoz (Disinformation). Driven by a crazy interplay between synthesisers and screeching wind instruments, it feels like a thoroughly modern, disorienting descent into avant-prog madness.


#3 - Zardoz (Disinformation) by WOBBLE8









Moving further into the vibrant undercurrents of the 2020s, another exceptional imprint mapping out the future of avant-prog and progressive jazz is Ayler Records. Originally founded in Sweden back in 2000, the label found a brilliant new lease of life after relocating to France in 2009. Since then, it has become an essential haven for some of the most daring musicians from across the continent, consistently releasing top-tier works that push the envelope of modern experimental, avant-garde and progressive music.
A staggering testament to their contemporary curation is the music of Parisian flautist, composer, and vocalist Sylvaine Hélary. Her epic, almost 16-minute long song Where it begins – taken from her masterpiece album Glowing Life from 2020 – presents the artist's avant-garde take on the Canterbury scene aesthetic. It offers a cinematic expansion of the avant-prog architecture, flawlessly blurring the lines between structured composition and adventurous exploration.


Where it begins by Sylvaine Hélary









To continue this curation of the European underground music labels, we must head to the heart of Prague to explore the phenomenal work of Polí5. Since its inception this fiercely independent Czech label has been the ultimate sanctuary for the most radical avant-garde, experimental jazz and non-conformist music from Central Europe.
A masterful testament to their daring catalogue is the brilliant album Magic Drum by the progressive psychedelia outfit Sun+Dead. Delivered primarily as a core duo of a guitarist/vocalist and a percussionist, the record expands into a massive sonic landscape thanks to a bunch of additional guest musicians – most notably the prominent synthesiser wizard Chris Koltay. The highlight is the 14-minute epic How To Make It Big In Macedonia (featuring Chris Koltay), which you can experience in the Bandcamp player here. It delivers a magnificent blend of progressive psychedelic drift and sharp avant-garde touches, proving that Polí5 remains at the absolute cutting edge of the continental underground.


How To Make It Big In Macedonia by Sun+Dead








As for Italy, as a land of progressive and avant-garde music, we run into a non-conformist underground thing. That's HySM?, a label from Taranto, in Apulia. Since 2008, this uncompromising avant-garde label has curated a chaotic, brilliant sanctuary for avant-rock, free jazz, and heterodox sound experiments.
A quintessential monument to their unpredictable catalogue is the magnificent album Il Giorno Della Scommessa (2020) by the experimental multi-instrumental duo Atomik Gorilla. The record is a masterclass in crooked, heavy funk-tinged avant-prog, drenched in raw bass grooves and analogue synthesiser loops. The ultimate crowning achievement of the release is an over 17-minute track, Tutti Noi Siamo Esseri Tenebrosi + Bèlo Lugosi. It functions as a shape-shifting epic that transitions from claustrophobic electronics featuring diabolic voices and animal sounds to explosive, fully unleashed, jazzy psychedelia not far from krautrock.


Tutti Noi Siamo Esseri Tenebrosi + Bèlo Lugosi by Atomik Gorilla








To round up this trip to London, England we have to check out the trailblazing powerhouse Jazz Re:Freshed. Operating as a legendary non-profit organisation and imprint since 2003, this label has been absolutely pivotal in reshaping the modern British jazz landscape.
A monumental example of their ability to capture progressive-minded fusion is the 2023 album Oumuamua by the stellar London quartet Golden Mean. Featuring a powerhouse line-up with musicians from Yussef Kamaal and Nubiyan Twist, the band deliberately incorporates trippy beats, vintage retro synths, and proggy choruses into their intricate jazz framework. The ultimate highlight is the soaring, space-age title track, which you can spin in the player below. It is a dreamy journey that beautifully bridges 1970s jazz-rock/fusion traditions with a fiercely modern, boundary-defying attitude.


Oumuamua by Golden Mean

What's Post-Progressive?

A newbie will often see the term 'post-progressive' these days. Post-progressive isn't a revival. It's an attempt to keep the progressive spirit alive without falling back on old aesthetics.  The movement looks forward, absorbing developments that happened after the classic era. Genre boundaries? They're flexible now, not fixed. So, the "post" doesn't signal an end. It signals a progression beyond the traditional vocabulary. Sure, you still get extended compositions and virtuoso displays. But this contemporary wave also pulls from alternative rock, post-rock, and post-punk. There's ambient texture here. Electronic beats. Art rock. Jazz-rock. You can still hear it. The early 70s progressive psychedelic style, à la Pink Floyd's outburst for the final scene of Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point, lingers occasionally. Even sympho-rock can be detected. However, at its core, post-progressive represents an attempt to preserve the progressive impulse without becoming a mere revival of the 70s prog aesthetics.

To give you an idea of how this translates to modern music, here are five excellent examples (not in any particular order) that carry the post-progressive philosophy:



Ghost Toast Chasing Time (from Shade Without Color, 2022)

This instrumental outfit from Debrecen, Hungary, proves post-progressive has moved past mere retro imitation. The track leans into heavy, cinematic cello textures and dark electronic sampling, building a post-rock atmosphere that prioritises mood over flashy individual soloing.







Thus Live Humans Postmodern Deconstruction (from Art Déco, 2025)

Ambitious. That's the only word for it. The track by the French band doesn't just blend genres; it forces a collision between the structural complexity of progressive rock and the jagged edges of experimental rock. Then it drops in gritty, atmospheric post-metal textures. The result is dense. Heavy and complex.







WarxTron Shattered Satellites (from Shattered Satellites, 2024)

A fascinating track by the band from Argentina. Expectations are reshaped through the acoustic guitar intro and the use of a vintage Mellotron. This song, however, isn't a 1970s sympho-rock pastiche. The track weaves the instrument's haunting, organic textures into rich sci-fi soundscapes. Dynamic rhythm shifts and heavy space-ambient moods follow. The result is a modern take on progressive psychedelia that feels entirely fresh.







The Weever Sands Moonfish (Opah) (from Moonfish. Songs of Love and Water, 2024)

A twenty-eight-minute behemoth. The German group doesn't just play post-progressive music here; they redefine the long-form structure. Forget aggressiveness and Weltschmerz. The focus is elsewhere: a gentle, oceanic soundscape. Delicate folk acoustic fabrics are woven into minimalist structures and ambient textures. It's a Mike Oldfield-inspired exploration of inner peace. Peaceful, yes, but complex.







And There Stand Empires Albatross by Lamplight (from Ceremonial Syndrome, 2018)

A beautiful reminder from the US outfit that jazz within the post-progressive music isn't just a relic but is still a vital catalyst. Forget guitar shredding here. Vibraphone textures and dreamy keys drive a spacious instrumental instead. The result is a cool, smoky jazz-rock feel woven into modern post-prog geometry. Jazz-rock? Repurposed for today's sonic landscape.

How's the Pulse of Progressive Electronic These Days? — The Analog Defiance (And why the "No Soul" Crowd is Clueless)

If I see one more thread whimpering about how modern electronic music is just "soulless computer noise" or "lazy bedroom trackpads," I might actually lose my mind.
It is the ultimate lazy critique from people who stopped truly accepting new music in 2004. They hide behind this elitist wall, completely blind to the fact that the 2020s are currently witnessing a massive, fiercely independent analog defiance.

Progressive electronic isn't getting lazy. It's getting lawless.

Underground artists are digging deep. They're pulling from modular synthesis, Eurorack gear, and vintage hardware. The result? Sprawling sonic landscapes. Deeply unpredictable ones. There's grit here. Real human organic warmth. Compare that to the sterile rock albums dominating the mainstream? No contest. It's complex. Hypnotic. Uncompromising. It takes genuine skill to tame these machines and force them into structures that stretch over eons, rather than just loops for a cheap radio format.

If your mind is open and you actually want to hear the machines breathe, the proof is right here. To show the cynics exactly how much soul is left in the wires, here is a chronological journey through five instrumental masterclasses defining the genre of progressive electronic music in the 2020s:


Ott That Morning We Went Up the Hill (from Heads, released in May 2022, England, UK)

This track is a magnificent slice of progressive and outstanding electronic music. Starting with a witty field-recording of a rooster crowing in the morning as its intro, the composition quickly expands into a sublime cosmic journey. The track features the legendary cosmic pair themselves – Steve Hillage delivering his signature space-rock ethereality and Miquette Giraudy anchoring that otherworldliness on drums and synths. It is an absolute masterclass in texturing, proving that contemporary electronic music can be as organic and deeply alive as any traditional arrangement.








Jim Kirkwood Exilic Visions (from The Apocalypse of a Soul, released in July 2024, England, UK)

A sprawling, 28-minute haunting Berlin School epic that completely commands your attention. Kirkwood's background is fascinating – he stepped back from fronting a metal band in the late 1980s to explore solo instrumental territories, and that dramatic instinct shines through here. The track masterfully merges a grand sympho-rock idiom and gothic rock sensibilities with classic Berlin School electronic music. It is a complex and deeply atmospheric journey that will not leave any true lover of progressive electronics cold.








Heritix Dakini (from Temple of the Moon Goddess, released in December 2024, England, UK)

This is an absolute epic in modern progressive electronic music, lifted from a 9-track concept album dedicated to nine moon goddesses. Instead of drowning in endless repetition, Dakini builds an incredibly rich sonic narrative, featuring a female singing layered over dense synthesiser foundations, eventually culminating in a soaring electric guitar solo. It is a masterclass in how complex electronic arrangements can still possess a dramatic soul.








Rick Whitehurst and Krystal Pavlović Like Wow, Black Widow (from Spider, released in April 2026, USA)

A collaboration between an eclectic artist like Rick Whitehurst (aka Bakullama) and a young multidisciplinary artist with fresh ideas like Krystal Pavlović was bound to produce something truly valuable. This track delivers a fantastical, brooding sci-fi atmosphere that feels like the ultimate treat for anyone who loves sinking into a sofa and watching grim, dystopian cinema while utterly baked. It is beautifully strange, cinematic progressive electronic music at its absolute finest – proving that synths today can sound remarkably warm, dangerous, and deeply organic.







Fallgruber Forkvaklingar (from Paa det jævne, released in June 2026, Norway)

A phenomenal debut release from a Norwegian progressive electronic duo whose musical ideas actually trace back to cassette-tape improvisations in the 1990s. Forkvaklingar successfully avoids the typical "electronica" tropes by trading danceable beats for thoroughly composed, maximalist, and wonderfully whimsical structures. It is a highly complex piece of progressive electronic art, that completely laughs in the face of anyone claiming modern electronics lack depth or human grit.









So, the next time someone tries to tell you that progressive electronic music has run out of ideas, send them this list. The 2020s aren't a crisis; they are a renaissance. We just need to stop listening to the gatekeepers and start listening to the music.

Keep it prog.

When Tradition Splits Wide Open – An Introduction to Avant-Folk

While we often associate progressive music with sprawling synthesisers, complex time signatures, and sci-fi concept albums, there is an entire world of progressive experimentation happening on the acoustic spectrum of folk music, fused with distinct influences of the avant-garde music. If you fancy a dip into something deeply atmospheric, rhythmically unfettered, and fiercely independent, you need to check out the avant-folk subgenre.
At its core, avant-folk takes the raw, storytelling essence of traditional acoustic music and completely deconstructs it using avant-garde methods. Instead of sticking to standard verse-chorus patterns, artists utilise non-standard tunings, ambient drones, field recordings, and improvisational structures. It is pastoral music stripped of its comfort, replaced instead by a haunting, uncanny brilliance as a product of experimentation by avant-garde-infused artists.
Here are five fantastic songs from the past half-century where traditional folk music is completely upended by undeniable avant-garde influences:


Nico Frozen Warnings (from The Marble Index, 1968)

Relentless, discordant harmonium drones and microtonal viola arrangements courtesy of John Cale. Her deep, gothic vocals float over a shifting wall of heavy drone that completely avoids standard folk chord progressions, creating a bleak, modernist masterpiece that feels entirely alienated from its time.








Comus Diana (from First Utterance, 1971)

Musique concrète pacing, frantic time changes, and primal, theatrical vocal delivery. Instead of the polite, gentle acoustic music of the era, Comus used acoustic guitars, oboe, and hand drums to create a manic, genuinely unsettling pagan nightmare built on fragmented structures.








Begnagrad Pijana (Drinking One) (from Begnagrad, 1982)

Rapid-fire, dizzying Balkan time signatures, manic clarinet runs, and unhinged accordion counterlines. Related to Europe's Rock in Opposition (RIO) movement, this Slovenian band smashes Alpine and Eastern European folk dances into a brilliant, chaotic, carnivalesque avant-garde grinder.








Gastr del Sol Bauchredner (from Camoufleur, 1998)

Deconstructed, jagged acoustic phrasing, sudden cut-and-paste tape editing, and unpredictable bursts of mathematical chamber brass. David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke take quiet acoustic picking and subvert it with concrete studio wizardry, redefining traditional folk through a highly cerebral lens.








Jack O'the Clock Errol at Twenty-Three (from Repetitions of the Old City II, 2018)

Complex, contrapuntal chamber arrangements, shifting time signatures, and unexpected bassoon and hammer dulcimer duels. The track constantly shifts shape like a folk-laden Gentle Giant, cramming academic woodwind textures directly into a rustic, melancholic ballad.

When Elegance Splits Wide Open – An Introduction to Chamber Progressive

While we often associate prog with mysterious acoustic guitar intros & interludes, soaring guitar soloing, crazy synthesisers swirls, enigmatic 'tron waves, heavy riff powerhouses, there is an entire world of progressive experimentation happening on a more intimate, almost entirely acoustic spectrum. If you fancy a dip into something deeply atmospheric, rhythmically demanding, and fiercely independent, you need to check out the chamber progressive genre.
At its core, chamber progressive takes the instrumentation and formal discipline of classical chamber music and completely infuses it with the experimental edge of prog. Instead of sticking to "standard" prog-rock formats or merely playing classical arrangements on synthesisers, artists utilise instruments like cellos, violins, oboes, and clarinets to craft complex, intricate, and often rhythmically unhinged counterpoint. It is rock music stripped of its traditional bombast, replaced instead by a haunting, cerebral brilliance that has quietly thrived on the margins of progressive music for over half a century.
Here are seven chamber progressive tracks, each by every decade of prog, by various artists of different artistic styles, yet in all of them the chamber textures are completely upended by progressive music idiom:


The Moody Blues The Night (including Nights in White Satin) (from The Days of Future Passed, 1967)

Hailing from the United Kingdom, this legendary outfit laid down the absolute blueprints for the genre in the Swinging Sixties. By intertwining the rich, cinematic textures of the London Festival Orchestra with their own melancholic rock sensibilities, they created something entirely unprecedented. The composition acts as a grand finale, framing a passionate vocal melody inside an expansive orchestral suite where sweeping woodwinds, cascading cellos, and a dreamy atmosphere break the then standard pop-rock format wide open to enter the progressive music meta-genre already in 1967.






Electric Light Orchestra Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre) (from Electric Light Orchestra, 1971)

The early days of this famous British band were progressive as hell and a far cry from their later pop-rock success. In this instrumental gem, classical cello and violin motifs are suddenly disrupted by jagged tempo shifts, unpredictable bursts of distorted rock energy, with an unsettling, experimental midsection, demonstrating the beautiful infancy of rock-classical hybridisation.








Univers Zero The Funeral Plain (from Heatwave, 1986)

From Belgium, the true masters of the darker side of this genre deliver a masterclass in tension. Built around a creeping, ominous bassline and dense, dissonant woodwind arrangements, the track slowly unravels like a modernist classical piece wrapped in a gothic nightmare. The composition uses microtonal layers, sinister oboe lines, and irregular, minimalist percussion to create an overwhelming sense of dread, entirely avoiding the comfort of standard rock rhythms.








After Crying A Gadarai Megszállott (from Megalázottak És Megszomorítottak, 1992)

This remarkable Hungarian outfit takes a highly intellectual and emotional approach to the genre. The track blends solemn, academic piano work with weeping cello lines and soaring, symphonic trumpet flourishes. The composition brilliantly balances heartbreaking, neoclassical romanticism with sudden, aggressive progressive rock time changes, creating a sprawling piece that feels both ancient and entirely contemporary.






Rational Diet Stop, Kolpakoff! (from Rational Diet, 2007)

Representing the modern Eastern European wave of chamber progressive music from Belarus, this ensemble delivers a highly frantic and challenging sound. The track is a dizzying puzzle of interlocking violin, cello, and bassoon lines that mimic the mechanical urgency of 20th-century avant-garde classical music. There are spoken vocals, which are supposed to be a text by the Russian avant-garde poets Daniil Charms and Alexei Kruchemykh, and they contribute to the general eccentricity of this particular work. With zero reliance on standard rock tropes, the composition thrives on sharp tonal contrasts, sudden silences, and a continuous, breathless momentum.







iamthemorning i.b.too (from ~ (aka tilde), 2012)

Originally from Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, now based in England, this duo offers an enchanting, dreamy take on the genre. The track is driven by virtuoso, rolling classical piano lines and ethereal, melancholic vocals that mask a complex rhythmic structure. The orchestration beautifully weaves acoustic guitar, strings, and subtle percussion together, proving that chamber prog can be incredibly elegant, accessible, and emotionally devastating all at once.








Dr ToppleOppleOv and the Theatre of Radical Thought The Tide at the Bottom of the Garden Wall (from The Tide at the Bottom of the Garden Wall, 2021)

A contemporary gem from the UK, this project pushes the boundaries of modern theatrical progressive music. The composition relies on eccentric, contrapuntal woodwind dialogues and shifting, eccentric time signatures that constantly keep the listener off-balance. It feels like a whimsical yet highly academic piece of theatre music, utilising traditional chamber textures to build an unpredictable, episodic musical journey.