The first thing I did was to press 1, and I was utterly disappointed that the very title of this album is a big ugly lie. However, I didn’t press the keypad 1 so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. This one-man project originates from Athens (no, not Greece’s Athens), in Georgia (no, not the country), USA, and plays us some really cool progressive rock music, with an emphasis on pianos and keyboards, which is a rarity these days.

The project is really reminiscent of David Maxim Micic’s material, it’s melodic, progressive, and heavy with arrangements of all sorts, but mostly strings and piano, over a drums and bass duo that stays there for practically all the album. There is very few guitar on the album, but it often comes from guest collaborators, such as Theo Young, whose album we’ve reviewed quite positively, and StarSystems, whom I have yet to become acquainted with.

Press 1 For Music is one of those feel-good albums that Sithu Aye seems to master, but replace the guitar with the piano and you’ve got it! It’s a really good album, although quite short on the “progressive” side of things. There is very few experimentations or novelty in what they do, because I’m pretty sure Supertramp has already covered everything piano-rock. Nevertheless, it’s a fun listen, and it’s available for PWYW on bandcamp!