Touchstone

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Touchstone is a rock band from the UK. The original band was formed by Rob Cottingham in 2001, after the release of his solo album 'Behind the Orchard Tree' - recorded at Linford Manor Studios in Milton Keynes (Jamiroqaui, Feeder, Skunk Ananse). Adam Hodgson joined in 2003. Other more recent band members include bassist Paul Moorghen, singer Kim Seviour and drummer Alasdair Melville.

Albums

Touchstone's first studio recording was an EP called Mad Hatters, in 2006. Its four songs included 'Misguided Fool' and 'The Mad Hatters' Song'. At the time, Kim had not joined the band, nor had Alasdair. The EP was well-received, and spurred Rob and Adam to continue writing more material for the band.

Their first full-length album was Discordant Dreams, which includes the current line-up. The album was praised as an improvement from Mad Hatters, and with tracks such as 'Blacktide', 'Shadow' and 'The Beggar's Song', it showcases the 'Touchstone sound'. The album was recorded by Ben Humphreys and mixed by John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Kino) at his studios in Reading, Berkshire, and he appears as guest guitarist on the track "Dignity".

The album led the band to win the Classic Rock Society Best New Band 2007 award, presented by John Wetton of Asia.

Touchstone's latest work is Wintercoast. Released in June 2009, it features an opening narrative from the Oscar winning actor Jeremy Irons, describing someone's life in a city and his desire to leave for a place "seen reflected in a dream", called 'Wintercoast'. The album was also considered 'a step up from their previous album'. In particular, it has more emphasis on keyboard melodies, giving a more Marillion-style feel (as can be heard at the opening of the track, 'Line in the Sand'). There is also greater emphasis on drums and guitars, which results in passages which would fit into the Heavy Metal genre.

Touchstone's music is distributed by Proper Music Distribution, and can be found in many online and music stores such as HMV.

Touchstone Live

Touchstone's first official concert was on January 17 2004 at the Moat House in Watford, and have gigged regularly, taking a short break in early 2009 to produce Wintercoast. They also regularly play at the music venue, The Horn^[1], in St. Albans.

Discordant Dreams was toured in September 2008 around the UK with It Bites on The Tall Ships Tour, with Touchstone featuring as support. The tour consisted of 12 UK dates and was a major success for both bands, the final night taking place in Brighton.

The band have recently performed at the 2009 United States Rites of Spring festival (ROSfest) which takes place annually in Glenside near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first time they had played outside of the United Kingdom, and their performance was well-received, resulting in many positive reviews, including one by the website, USA Progressive Music.^[2]

Touchstone are due to perform at the Cambridge Rock Festival in 2009 alongside Asia, Focus, Karnataka, Breathing Space and many others in support of Wintercoast.

The Touchstone Sound

Touchstone has been described as "A band who combine the prog sensibilities of Yes with the hard rocking aptitudes of Van Halen"^[3], based on the diversity of the band members' influences. For example, Rob Cottingham cites melodic bands such as Yes, Pink Floyd and Genesis as influences. Adam Hodgson, on the other hand, has 'rockier' sensibilities, having previously been in hard-rock bands. He looks towards artist such asJoe Satriani for his inspiration. However, the two of them share a mutual love of Yes, and it was similarities such as this that resulted in them working together.

The band, as a whole, does cite the progressive genre as an influence, and they are classed as 'Progressive'. But their sound is made possible by the influence of other styles. Paul Moorghen has a varied list of influences*, but listening to his playing, it can be said that anything that involves complex bass guitar inspires him.

The remaining members, Kim Seviour and Al Melville, provide styles which, when combined with the rest of the band, complete the 'Touchstone Sound'. Kim admires more modern artists such as Muse and Our Lady Peace, and has been in bands which covered song by artists like Guns and Roses and Metallica. She also cites Folk singers as an influence to her approach to singing.

It has been questioned by some fans of Touchstone about how Al Melville came to be in the band. Primarily, 'Mellers' plays in the Heavy Metal style, and has played in many small Metal and Hard Rock bands. When asked about how he joined the band, he said in 2008 on Touchstone's forum: "I must admit I was apprehensive about being in a 'prog' band.....because while I do occasionally enjoy Pink Floyd, Rush, Genesis, etc - I'm much more a fan of the MASSIVE chunky sound of Metallica, Godsmack, Machine Head, Rammstein - all my drums have always been tuned and pitched at sounding more 'metal'." Melville's main drumming influence is Mike Portnoy of Progressive Metal band Dream Theatre; this is apparent in Melville's style, which has been described as 'Powerhouse Drums'.

This blend of influences makes 'The Touchstone Sound' accessible to fans of genres from Classic Prog to Modern Metal.

*A list and description of each members' influences can be found on the band's website

Discography

Studio Albums

• Discordant Dreams (2007)
• Wintercoast (2009)

EPs

• Mad Hatters (2006)

Critical acclaim

The album Discordant Dreams was rated 7 out of 10 in the July 2008 (10th Birthday Special Edition) issue of Classic Rock by Geoff Barton^[4]. It has received praise from well-known figures such as Jeff Wayne (War Of The Worlds), Rick Wakeman of Yes and most recently from Jeremy Irons.

"Shadow", a track from the album Discordant Dreams, was featured on the "Prog Spawn" cover disk of the August 2008 issue of Classic Rock^[5].

Wintercoast has received much praise and press coverage, including another review by Geoff Barton^[6], and the track "Strange Days" played on the radio stations Total Rock, ARfm & Phoenix Radio.

References

External links

• Official Band Website
• Touchstone Official Myspace Site
• RoSFest review from USA Progressive Music