green man 2007

Jo Bartlett and Danny Hagan of 'It's Jo and Danny' having reunited with their erstwhile collaborators Rudy Carroll - having emerged in 2006 from a 10 year retreat in the high Himalaya - and Mathew Priest drummer of Dodgy have been acclaimed as producing the most exciting prog/psychedelic rock in the UK. Their debut album 'Travels into several remote nations of the world' is released in November 2008

Beginning in Edinburgh in 1999, Arctic Circle, now based in Bristol, were formed by Matthew Cheney, a singer/songwriter steeped in psychedelic folk and early 90s electronic sounds. With a fluctuating line-up, a sideline in social politics and establishing The Forest Cafe in Edinburgh, Cheney turned down label offers and set about managing the band himself, bringing in visual and collaborative art components. The songs remained acute observations about urban planning, social dynamics, instrumentals about natural Arctic phenomena and communication in relationships.

Multi front-men, Multi-coloured A couple of rooms above a little pub in Borough are the MMO HQ. Something of an east-end Big Pink, The Gladstone is where the Moon Music Orchestra has gone from loose-knit collective to folk-rock force. Feet firmly on the ground, the band run the pub and practice above it. The walls upstairs are lined with banjos, guitars and mandolins while a well-worn tape-machine resides on the coffee-table, ready to roll.

Magic and wonder, mystery and madness. These are the tools of Soft Hearted Scientists' trade. Nathan, Dylan and Paul bonded over a love of music and the mystical landscape of their homeland, Wales, setting sail for a land of musical delight. All three pledge allegiance to a rigorous manifesto, which outlines their aim to create nothing but the most spectacular, heartfelt sounds – like the sound of stars flying from the end of a wand.