The Tangent on DeBaser: reviews, bio and key albums

The Tangent

Musical Group

Forfans of classic 1970s prog, canterbury/jazz-prog listeners, long-suite devotees, and hammond/moog aficionados.
6 Reviews 0 Definitions 3 Charts

The Profile

The Tangent is a British progressive rock band led by keyboardist/composer Andy Tillison. Emerging in the early 2000s with members from The Flower Kings and collaborators like David Jackson, the group blends classic symphonic prog with Canterbury and jazz flavors, releasing a steady run of albums from The Music That Died Alone (2003) onward.

Founder/leader: Andy Tillison (keyboards, vocals). Early collaborators include Roine Stolt, Jonas Reingold, Guy Manning, David Jackson, Sam Baine, and Theo Travis. Hallmarks: long suites, Hammond/Moog/Mellotron, sax/flute, and 1970s prog influences (Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, VDGG).

DeBaser’s reviewers paint The Tangent as a proudly retro yet lively prog outfit led by Andy Tillison. Expect long suites, Canterbury/jazz colors, and analog keys alongside winds and guitar. A Place in the Queue and The Music That Died Alone get strong praise; the live-in-studio Going Off On Two showcases chops without studio tricks. Overall sentiment: warmly positive toward their classicist approach.

Notable Quotes

❝ Tangent can be serenely considered the new heralds of progressive rock, understood in its purest and most traditional sense, a moral slap to those who believed the genre was now definitively deceased.