Kino

British neo-prog group Kino got together in 2004, comprising a collection of players from other bands then popular on the U.K. progressive rock scene. Guitarist/vocalist John Mitchell (Arena, the Urbane), bassist Pete Trewavas (Marillion), keyboardist John Beck (It Bites), and drummer Chris Maitland (Porcupine Tree) formed the band in 2004. Their debut album, Picture, was released the following year and combined the modern pop/rock sound of the Urbane with the more progressive tendencies of the other members' bands. Maitland had left the band even before the recording was finished, to play in the Queen musical We Will Rock You, and the band folded shortly after touring the release, as the members returned to their day jobs. A posthumous compilation, Cutting Room Floor, came out at the end of 2005. However, the band decided to re-form in 2017 when Mitchell, having recorded two albums with his solo project Lonely Robot, approached his label InsideOut with the idea of making a third. They told him it was too soon, but suggested he get Kino back together. He reconnected with Trewavas and Beck (the latter returned just as a guest artist) and got his frequent collaborator Craig Blundell to fill the drummer's stool. The result was the album Radio Voltaire, which came out in 2018. Freed from expectations, the band produced something akin to their previous album but with a number of fresh twists. ~ John D. Buchanan