{"id":12050,"date":"2023-08-03T12:25:59","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T11:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.progradar.org\/?p=12050"},"modified":"2026-08-21T16:08:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T15:08:27","slug":"progressive-fusion-ensemble-unitopia-announce-new-studio-album-seven-chambers-pre-orders-start-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/2023\/08\/03\/progressive-fusion-ensemble-unitopia-announce-new-studio-album-seven-chambers-pre-orders-start-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Progressive fusion ensemble Unitopia announce new studio album Seven Chambers – Pre-Orders start today!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Founded by vocalist\/songwriter Mark Truey? Trueack <\/strong>(United Progressive Fraternity<\/strong>) and multi-instrumentalist Sean Timms<\/strong> (Southern Empire<\/strong>,Damanek<\/strong>, UPF<\/strong>) in 1996, Australian progressive fusion Unitopia<\/strong> have always been among the most renowned and distinctive bands of their ilk and era. Now the band is pleased to announce the new studio album Seven Chambers<\/em>, due out on August 25th, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unitopia has undoubtedly reached new creative, emotional, and intellectual heights with their latest opus, Seven Chambers<\/em> (their first original collection on independent label Progrock.com<\/a> s Essentials). Comprised of seven tracks and lasting just over eighty minutes, it\u2019s an incredible journey that finds Unitopia<\/strong>returning at the peak of their artistic and technical prowess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pre-orders for the digital and physical editions are now available via the following outlets:
Progrock.com<\/a>‘s Essentials (https:\/\/essentials.progrock.com<\/a>)
Burning Shed (https:\/\/burningshed.com\/tag\/Unitopia<\/a>)
Just for Kicks Music (https:\/\/justforkicks.de\/en\/<\/a>)
White Knight Records (https:\/\/www.whiteknightshop2.co.uk\/<\/a>)
Unitopia<\/strong> s Bandcamp page (https:\/\/unitopia.bandcamp.com\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, multiple color variations are available for the physical versions, as well as a special vinyl edition that features a die-cut cover revealing a portion of the sleeve behind it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracklist:
1. Broken Heart? (8:30)
?2. Something Invisible? (6:39)
?3. Bittersweet? (7:20)
?4. Mania? (12:29)
?5. The Stroke of Midnight? (9:38)
?6. Helen? (19:14)
?7. The Uncertain? (18:33)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the follow-up to 2010\u2019s Artificial <\/em>and 2012\u2019s Covered Mirror Vol. 1 \u2013 Smooth as Silk<\/em> (a superb assortment of classic\/prog rock reinterpretations), Seven Chambers<\/em> is Unitopia<\/strong> s first new outing in over a decade. During the interim, each member kept busy with various other projects, and according to Progrock.com<\/a>‘s Essentials? Mark Monforti<\/strong>, the method of getting the group going again was endearingly fortuitous:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, Steve Hackett<\/strong> was exploring studios and players for a show in Australia, and he contacted Timms<\/strong> about using the studio that he and Truey <\/strong>still owned. That got Sean<\/strong> and Truey<\/strong> talking about possibly working on new music together. Then, I reached out to them about doing some shows. They went exceedingly well, which sort of solidified the fact that Unitopia<\/strong> needed to come back. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Timms<\/strong> and Trueack<\/strong> reunited, the duo decided to expand Unitopia<\/strong> by bringing in fellow UPF<\/strong> maestro Steve<\/strong> Unruh<\/strong>, guitarist Dr. John Greenwood<\/strong>, drummer Chester Thompson<\/strong> (Frank Zappa<\/strong>, Weather Report<\/strong>, Genesis<\/strong>) and bassist Alphonso Johnson<\/strong> (Weather Report<\/strong>, Santana<\/strong>, David Gilmour<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven Chambers<\/em> is a globe-spanning effort that began in 2021, with virtually every member working in their own studio in either America or Australia. Although things got off to a strong start, a few unexpected hiccups somewhat impeded the band\u2019s headway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progress was severely interrupted by Sean<\/strong> s other commitments, such as moving into a renovated house and being in-demand with other projects and festivals. Then, Truey<\/strong> and Chester<\/strong> faced personal hardships. At more than one stage, it looked like the record might never happen. Luckily, the delays led to a few solo projects blossoming, and suddenly, our schedules began clearing in early 2023 and we began moving at a real pace again,? <\/em>Steve<\/strong> Unruh<\/strong>explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, Seven Chambers<\/em> is truly a testament to Unitopia<\/strong> s chemistry and commitment, not only because it sees them triumphing over those setbacks but because it ended up being roughly twice as long as the original 40-minute plan (without a moment of filler!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band already have a few dates lined up which you can see here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 Tour Dates:
3 Sept. \u2013 2Days Prog + 1, Veruno Novara, Italy
5 Sept. \u2013 Konzertfabrik Z7, Pratteln, Switzerland
9 Sept. \u2013 Neuberinhaus, Reichenbach im Vogtland, Germany
13 Sept. \u2013 Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany
14 Sept. \u2013 Poppodium Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
15 Sept. \u2013 Chez Paulette Pub Rock, Pagney derri\u2019re Barine, France
8 Oct. \u2013 ProgStock, Rutherford, New Jersey, USA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unitopia:
Mark Truey? Trueack \u2013 vocals, songwriting
Sean Timms \u2013 songwriting, keyboards, backing vocals, various stringed instruments
Steve Unruh \u2013 songwriting, backing vocals, violin, flute, rhythm guitars, mandolin
John Greenwood \u2013 songwriting, backing vocals, lead electric guitar, nylon-strung guitar, 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars, mandolin, programmed orchestration
Chester Thompson \u2013 drums
Alphonso Johnson \u2013 bass
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Founded by vocalist\/songwriter Mark Truey? Trueack (United Progressive Fraternity) and multi-instrumentalist Sean Timms (Southern Empire,Damanek, UPF) in 1996, Australian progressive fusion Unitopia have always been among the most renowned and distinctive bands of their ilk and era. Now the band is pleased to announce the new studio album Seven Chambers, due out on August 25th, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,7],"tags":[5337,5336,5327,2239,2238,5334,5335,2613],"class_list":["post-12050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-album-releases","category-news","tag-alphonso-johnson","tag-chester-thompson","tag-john-greenwood","tag-mark-trueack","tag-sean-timms","tag-seven-chambers","tag-steve-unruh","tag-unitopia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phnn7q-38m","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/progradar.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screenshot-2023-08-03-at-12.19.53.png?fit=794%2C658&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12050"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17924,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12050\/revisions\/17924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}