June 11th, 2014, New York, New York – Pontus Gunve and band recently
competed in the Brooklyn portion of the Battle of the Boroughs.
Impressively, he is one of five finalists for the Best of Brooklyn
title. Voting is underway and the winner will join the winners of the
other Battle of the Boroughs contests at the Ultimate Battle on June
27th. The winner of that ultimate battle will get bragging rights and
prizes - including a showcase appearance at the famed Apollo Theater.
Part of Gunve's performance at the Brooklyn battle can be seen
here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrui8DbwCjg. Be sure to check out
that video to see what all the fuss is about and then vote. Voting is
open until June 15th and votes can be cast via text message (BK5 to
69866) or via the Internet at
http://www.thegreenespace.org/story/vote-brooklyns-best-band/.
Pontus Gunve's music embraces the theory that music is a
multi-dimensional experience and an adventure in wordless storytelling
that fully absorbs the audience's mind, body and spirit. Flowing
through time and space, the lush sonic textures he creates evoke the
ethereal landscapes of other-worldly multi-media artists such as Jean
Michel Jarre and Boards of Canada while still clearly inspired by the
thick, dark compositional textures of legendary heavy metal bands like
Megadeth. And his energy as a guitarist celebrates numerous
influences, from the technical proficiency of Steve Vai and the raw,
exotic approach of Marty Friedman, to the minimalistic moments created
by legendary blues performers. Gunve's finely-tuned skills in the
studio as both a producer and engineer allow him to seamlessly unify
many different musical styles and a wide range of instruments into
intricately-crafted, mesmerizing recordings resonating with unexpected
surprises.
Looking to reviewers can give us more insight into that sound. At
Music Street Journal, Jason Hillenburg said of Gunve's latest disc,
"There are few musicians in the mold of Pontus Gunve. Rarely content
to rely on the traditional, but instead plundering it for his own
uses, Gunve brings a European sensibility to dense, intensely musical
instrumentals. His album, The Observer, ranks as one of the most
challenging and, ultimately, rewarding releases of the year." Scott
Kahn had this to say of the single "Cavalry of Camels" at
MusicPlayers.com: "World Music meets Prog Metal in the latest single
from Pontus Gunve. This is big orchestral stuff that rocks thanks to
the solid guitar and drums anchoring the complex rhythms. The
percussion and string section really give the music its international,
ethnic vibe... Melodic, rocking, beautifully produced... I'm not fully
sure how we'd categorize it, but we definitely enjoy listening to it."
At Mr. Music Chronicles, Larry Toering said, "There is just no
describing the sheer quality on offer here. It's something one must
hear for themselves to really dig into properly, so it comes highly
recommended… I will be not only recommending for years to come, I will
be following this artist's progress from here out."
--
Progressive Rock & Progressive Metal - E-ZINE
http://www.progressiverockbr.com
http://progrockmetal.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/carlosvaz.ferreira
