FFO: Genesis, Yes, Van der Graff Generator, Kansas, Mike Oldfield, Peter Gabriel

Epictronic Records is proud to announce that French progressive rock project Ph2 signed a deal for their album Season 5 (Remastered Version), which is due for release on December 16th, 2022 on all digital platforms worldwide.

Season 5 is Ph2's 5th album. It includes 5 tracks sung by guest artists (Clara Moati, Jean-Pierre Hadida, Frédéric Chenuet, Hippolyte Giraud-Nicolas) and 7 instrumental tracks.
The eclecticism that is Ph2's trademark can be found in Season 5. The orientation taken from the 3rd album (Empreintes) towards song formats is confirmed here, notably with Ô toi ma sœur which deals with our collective indifference to the fate of migrants. Some tracks, such as The birth, Anaëlle, or On the Run Again, are resolutely in the tradition of progressive rock. One can recognize here borrowings from Pink Floyd, Genesis, and Peter Gabriel...
Season 5 also includes long instrumental tracks, whose melodies escape all repetitive structures and unfold in an evolving manner. An invitation to travel with Elsewhere, whose rich orchestration is built around the playing of the octave mandolin. The piano has pride of place in Mets ta morphose (in the piano) as well as in Pianos, tambours, fanfares, etc., two pieces built around the dialogue between two pianos, whose initial melodic line comes from improvisation, in the spirit of the automatic writing of the surrealists. Clearly, one feels in these two pieces an inspiration coming from the classical music of the beginning of the 20th century (Ravel, Stravinsky, Prokofiev...), as in Ça pompe énormément where the symphonic orchestra dialogues with the percussions and the guitar.
The whole album is irrigated by electronic sounds that combine with conventional instruments to create an atmosphere and give the whole an original tone. In the end, Ph2, as usual, delivers an unclassifiable album, more faithful to the spirit than to the letter of progressive rock, where we find the will to surprise, even to confuse, but also to arouse images and to move the listener.

Ph2 was created in 1998 by two Philippe (hence, Ph2!): Philippe Mercier (drums, percussions) and Philippe Moati (guitars, bass, and keyboards). They met at school in the Paris area when they were 14. They were members of two bands, Equinox, and then Jouvence, with whom they recorded a single and gave many concerts. From the beginning, they played progressive rock, strongly influenced by the prog music of that time: Genesis, Yes, Van der Graff Generator, Kansas, Mike Oldfield, Peter Gabriel, and so on. As their music became more complex, they felt limited by the band configuration. They decided to exploit the rich potential of the studio work. They were reached by new influences, both from the classical music of the first half of the 20th century (Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Ravel…) and from the new generation of prog bands (Flower Kings, Kaïpa, Ritual, Karmakanics…). But their music is often unclassifiable. Faithful to the spirit of progressive rock, the two Philippe try to avoid the easy way out, explore new possibilities, and are particularly attentive to the orchestration. Their music seeks to both surprise and move. Some pieces are written according to the principle of automatic writing (the basic line results from an improvisation on which the orchestration is built).
Ph2 has recorded 5 albums: Portraits de Famille (1996), Une vie (2002), Empreintes (2011), 20 years after (2016), and Season 5 (2021). Philippe Moati wrote most of the songs, some of them following the principle of automatic writing (the baseline comes from an improvisation on which the orchestration is then built). The first and second albums are entirely instrumental. The others mix instrumental and sung tracks with contributions from guest artists.

Discography
Portraits de famille (CD, 1996)
Une vie (CD, 2002)
Empreintes (CD, 2011)
20 years after (CD, 2016)
Season 5 - Epictronic (CD, 2022-2023)

Line Up:
Philippe Moati: Keyboards, Guitars, Bass
Philippe Mercier: Drums, Percussions

1. The birth (feat. Jean-Pierre Hadida)
2. Ô toi ma sœur (feat. Clara Moati)
3. Elsewhere
4. Shine (feat. Clara Moati)
5. Anaëlle
6. Chansonnette (feat. Frédéric Chenuet)
7. Mets ta morphose (dans le piano)
8. Broken (feat. Hippolyte Giraud-Nicolas, Clara Moati)
9. Ça pompe énormément
10. On the run again
11. Pianos, tambours, fanfare, etc.
12. Goodbye Denis, goodbye Patricia
13. Shine (feat. Clara Moati) (short version)
14. The birth (instrumental)

Download the MP3 HERE (for radios)