Panic Room

Panic Room are a UK progressive rock group formed in 2005 and based in Swansea, South Wales. The line-up includes Anne-Marie Helder on lead vocals and multiple instruments, Jonathan Edwards on keyboards and guitar, Paul Davies on guitar, Yatim Halimi on bass and backing vocals, and Gavin Griffiths on drums and percussion. The group draws members from Wales, England and Singapore.

Formation and line-up

The band begins as a recording project assembled by Jonathan Edwards, using material he had written for a new project. He brings in Anne-Marie Helder, Paul Davies and Gavin Griffiths, all of whom already know one another from their previous band, Karnataka. Panic Room’s first work takes nearly two years to record, with sessions spread across that period at Vimana Studios in South Wales, engineered by Peter Charlton, who also contributes guitar. Helder suggests bassist Alun Vaughan, who records the bass parts on the first album and also tours with the band before leaving in 2010. Yatim Halimi joins as bassist the same year.

Albums and releases

The band’s debut album, Visionary Position, appears in 2008. After its release and the reaction from listeners and the music press, Panic Room begins touring as a live band and develops new material while on the road. The second album, Satellite, follows in 2010 and is recorded at Sonic One Studios in Llangennech, South Wales, with studio boss and chief engineer Tim Hamill. The band records the album “as live”, playing the tracks through together to capture the energy of their performances. A single-disc edition is released through the band’s own label, Firefly Music, and distributed by Voiceprint, alongside a special edition double-disc package including the Little Satellite EP.

Altitude EP and touring

For the 2011 tour, Panic Room issues a limited-edition five-track multimedia CD, Altitude. It includes the band’s reworking of Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s “Bitches Crystal”, originally recorded for the cover CD of Classic Rock Presents Prog, and an animated film by Cole Jefferies made for the title track of Satellite. The release comes in two sleeve designs and is sold at live shows and through the band’s website. During this period, the band plays an extensive run of UK dates.

S K I N and label work

At the beginning of 2012, Panic Room signs a five-year deal with Esoteric Antenna, an imprint of Cherry Red Records, becoming the first time the band works with a record label after releasing its earlier albums independently. The third studio album, S K I N, is recorded in January 2012 using the same live-in-the-studio approach as Satellite. Helder and Edwards write bespoke string quartet arrangements for the record and bring in the Larkin String Quartet. The album is released through Esoteric Antenna and includes the opening track “Song For Tomorrow”, which is nominated for Anthem of the Year at the 2012 Progressive Music Awards.

Awards and related activity

Anne-Marie Helder is voted Best Female Vocalist by readers of Classic Rock Presents Prog in early 2011 and wins the same award again the following year. Outside Panic Room, Helder tours as a solo artist in the UK and Europe and records guest vocals for John Wetton, Geoff Downes, Dave Kilminster and The SKYS. She and Gavin Griffiths also tour with Mostly Autumn and record and tour with Chris Johnson’s band Halo Blind, formerly Parade. Jonathan Edwards records keyboards for Mermaid Kiss, Paul Davies contributes guest lead guitar for Mermaid Kiss, and Halimi has previously toured internationally with Toto, Robert Palmer and Mick Hucknall.