John Holden
John Holden returns with his most ambitious work to date, unveiling the new album Thresholds.
Independent progressive musician and producer, John Holden releases his seventh studio album, Thresholds; a richly textured, concept driven work that explores the pivotal moments where inner and outer worlds shift. Drawing on the tradition of prog while pushing into cinematic territory. “Prog has always been about exploration,” John says. “Thresholds continues the evolution in my music”.
At the heart of the album sits ‘Mohawk River’, a slow building, emotionally resonant song now accompanied by a striking new video for the final section of the 14-minute track. The song blends delicate melodic phrasing with widescreen instrumental development, capturing the reflective, exploratory spirit that has long defined John’s work. “‘It is one of those pieces that arrived almost fully formed,” Holden says. “It carries a sense of tension existing between two worlds; the pull of someone trying to live in the present but also bound to an unreachable past.”
Musically, Thresholds balances power with spacious, atmospheric detail. The production emphasises clarity and movement, allowing the album’s crescendos to land with impact, while preserving the dynamics that define progressive music. Holden has enlisted a veritable who's who of modern progressive vocalists including; Peter Jones, Sally Minnear, That Joe Payne and Sertari of Karnataka. “This album is built around life’s crossings; emotional, spiritual, and sometimes physical,” John explains. “Rather than telling a single, linear story, the album works like a series of moments, each one showing a different facet of transformation. Some changes are voluntary and unfold softly, others break like a faultline. Yet each one marks a shift to the inner landscape, a subtle redrawing of who we are.”
Thresholds is available on CD, including a 20 page booklet and will be released on 2 October. Pre-order your copy now!
