Running Soundtrack: The Tangent A Spark in the Aether: The Music that Died Alone Volume Two
Today’s run showed me the value of running at LEAST twice a week. Last week was busy, making it was very easy to put off running. As a result, I have not run in almost 2 weeks. My last run was on Tuesday the 14th. The lack running was not a problem on the first mile, which was run at a pace of 10:24 min/mile. I started to feel it on the second mile, but I made it through that mile at 10:51 min/mile. I think it was at about the 2 and a third mile mark, that I started to struggle, and actually thought about shortening the planned 4 mile run!! But I finished third mile in a somewhat slower 11:13 min/mile,  still not bad. I continued to struggle through the last mile and ended that mile with an 11:51 min/mile pace!! The final overall pace for the run was 11:07, which really isn’t that bad, but  I just missed my goal, which was to run the four miles at under an 11 minute per mile pace.
My goal is to get two more runs in this week, ideally, I would like to run on Wednesday and Friday, because the weekend will be  busy. I will be working Saturday 3 to 11 and then I will have to get up at the crack of dawn on Sunday to take my daughter Elizabeth to the Broad Street run which starts at 8 am!! Seems like we will have to park at the stadium complex and then take the Broad Street line to the starting line!! Then I guess I will have to take the line back to the complex  so I can see her pass by near the finish line or  I take the line as close to the finish as possible!! Wish us luck!!
 The Tangent A Spark in the Aether: The Music that Died Alone Volume
The soundtrack for the run was the latest album from the Progressive Rock band The Tangent A Spark in the Aether: The Music that Died Alone Volume Two. THE TANGENT is a multinational eclectic prog rock band, originally formed as a side project for Andy Tillison, Guy Manning and Sam Baine of PARALLEL OR 90 DEGREES [Po90] as well as half of THE FLOWER KINGS including Jonas Reingold, Zoltan Csorsz and guitar virtuoso and former KAIPA member Roine Stolt and others. The band was only supposed to make only one album when it was formed in 2003
A Spark in the Aether is their eighth album! Through the years the line-up of musicians has changed. In fact the band has never made an album using the same personnel as the previous album. In addition, the same lineup has (to date) never been used twice! But on A Spark in the Aether some regular members do appear. From Inside Music:
Flower Kings bass legend Jonas Reingold; the ever-faithful and gifted Theo Travis, familiar to many from his work with the Steven Wilson band, Gong and Robert Fripp, with his arsenal of wind textures from saxophones to flutes; and the return to the fold of the amazingly talented Luke Machin, a guitar hero for a new generation who can even wow the old generations (and who also fronts his own band, Maschine). And of course there’s band leader Andy Tillison (keyboards and vocals), the only member of the band to have played on all the records.
This team is joined by Morgan Ã…gren, Swedish drumming phenomenon who can even count Frank Zappa among his previous jobs (others include, but not limited to, Kaipa, Devin Townsend, and his own acclaimed Mats/Morgan Band). Morgan introduces to The Tangent a real live energy full of inspiration and eccentricity.
The band, who were only supposed to make one single album in 2003, are now back with their eighth! A Spark In the Aether is a joyous and uplifting romp that sees the band concentrating on their forté: delivering driving, melodic, thoughtful and inspired songs with a large grin on their faces as they do it.
“Using protest, sadness and negative images in music is a part of an artist’s job” says Andy Tillison, “and it’s something we have often done. But every so often I think we need to turn to the music itself and remember why it is we get so much from it. On this album I just wanted us to play – have fun, make music and mischief that can be enjoyed just for the sake of it”
So, twelve years further down the line, after albums about dystopian societies, midlife crises, alienation, homelessness and communications – the Tangent return to the very beginning and once again celebrate The Music. You are invited to join in. Read More
Andy Tiillison says this about the album:
“This is an album that seeks to return to the core of what The Tangent means to me… after our big orchestral opus that we delivered in “Le Sacre Du Travail” we’re, to an extent, reining in the instrumentation to the 5 piece electric Prog Rock band and focussing a little more on that all-important second word of the genre name ‘Rock’. At least (grins with less than average teeth) for the first half!“ Read More
This is the second time that I have listened to this album and while I really liked the album over the first 2.5 miles, I hardly paid attention to it over the last 1.5 miles! During the first part of my run, I noticed that this may be an album that is really better, when you listen to it with headphones on!! I do think that I will be in my rotation for a good long while!! Check it out!!
Links for Further Explorations of the Music of The Tangent
Website
Inside Out Music
ProgAArchives
Amazon
Here is the title track “A Spark in the Aether”