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What is M-Opus?
M-Opus are a 3-piece Irish Progressive Rock Band from Dublin - Ireland's keepers of the original prog rock flame.
But there's a concept.
M-Opus are also a fictional band with a long, made-up history that stretches from 1970 to today. They have a discography of albums from that time, but you haven't heard them yet. In fact, nobody has. Their first album to come to light was 1975 TRIPTYCH from 1975.
The next is ORIGINS, from 1978.
"What the...". Jonathan explains...
One afternoon in 2009, I made a decision. Having composed and written songs in all sorts of commercial styles for years, I paused and asked myself, what is it that I REALLY want to do. Forget
about the practical, the sensible, the marketplace – what sort of music would I write, for the love of writing.
70s prog rock, of course.
Great. OK, where to begin? See, I have a problem with total freedom; without a goal on the horizon, I just totter about aimlessly in creative confusion. I need an end point to direct myself. So I thought up an end point that has a lucrative route – I am writing an historic band's musical output. I am wearing 70s heels, returning to forever and composing within the framework of a band's history.
This means I've to come up with material from different eras, a discography that's cohesive, essential enough to maintain its own weight, winningly predicatable but excitingly new.
I have heard modern artists plow similar furrows – Lenny Kravitz did a faithful early 70s blues rock,
La Roux did their 80s pop, but where's the fun if you don't go all out and take the time-travelling
musicality to its Nth degree! Let's not have just one song or two that seem to arrive in the present
from another era in the past – let's have a whole catalogue!
So this project will result in a number of M-Opus albums, released in non-chronological order.
As mentioned before, the first is from 1975. The next release will be from 1978. And as James Brown
says, "It's going to be a mother".
Background Of The Band
Jonathan Casey (vocals, keyboards) started on the musical road as a member of the David Cross (ex-King Crimson) Band. They toured and recorded two acclaimed albums together. Then Jonathan and session guitarist and best buddy Colin Sullivan (guitars) found success at home as jobbing musicians in Ireland, so Jonathan settled back and found further creative exploits as a TV and Film music composer. He also composed concert music for orchestra, which has subsequently been performed many times by orchestras all around the world.
After 1000s of gigs as players, Jonathan and Colin set-up M-Opus, a platform to perform and write original music in their favourite style, symphonic rock of the 70s. Additional band members came and went, but recently M-Opus locked in with the addition of Darragh Dennis (bass) and Mark Grist (drums).
