While The War Began

Tracklist

I Spy is a Dutch prog rock band with roots in the eighties. They enjoyed several hits in the Netherlands, their biggest being 'The International Feel', by the way: still worth checking out! They never quit, it took a while to record new material but they're back on the prog rock scene. From september 21, 2023 you will be able to hear the twenty beautifully crafted songs of double LP/CD 'While The War Began', their 'magnum opus'. Inspired by prog-rock royalty, the likes of Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull, I Spy found an original voice.

Sides 1 and 2, 'Unforgotten' and 'Fearless', touch on emotional subjects, lyrical and almost spiritual, with birth, life, love and death as building blocks. Sides 3 and 4, 'War' and 'Odyssey', have a grand and worldly character, with elements of the epic tales of Homer. All-in-all a narrative bundle of compositions that have been fused into a rhapsody with hints of opera. Exciting, energetic, surprising, melodic and experimental.
Since the early days, I Spy consisted of Peter Duinkerken, Harry Poelman, Erik Westerhof and Aernout Steegstra. In the new millennium they were joined by drummer Joost van Soest, a relative youngster among these seasoned veterans of prog.

The album features many guest musicians among whom famous Dutch trumpetist Eric Vloeimans, well known singer/actor Inez Timmer, a string/horns section, a choir and - last but not least - the unique overwhelming sound of the (Schnitger) Martini Church Organ of Groningen (NL). As an appetizer the band released the single 'Superstitious' - a little bit more 'poppy' than the the other songs on the album but it is powerful and catchy and it features Eric Vloeimans blowing his lungs out. Grammy winning mastering engineer Darcy Proper (Donald Fagan) took care of the final sound of the whole album.