The Tangent

The Tangent

The Tangent are a progressive rock group from Leeds, United Kingdom, led by Andy Tillison. They begin in 2002 as a project built around Tillison’s compositions, initially intended as a single-album collaboration before developing into a band through live activity and continued recording. They are active from 2003 to the present and are associated with crossover prog and progressive rock.

Formation and early recordings

The group first forms around a recording session for what becomes The Music That Died Alone. The early line-up includes members of The Flower Kings — Roine Stolt, Zoltan Csörsz and Jonas Reingold — alongside David Jackson, Sam Baine and Guy Manning. Several of the musicians involved do not meet in person during that first recording, as the project works across distance using technology.

After that release receives critical attention, the group records The World That We Drive Through. Live performances then follow, and the project becomes established as a full band rather than a one-off collaboration.

Line-up changes and later activity

Roine Stolt and Zoltan Csörsz later leave and are replaced by Jaime Salazar and Krister Jonsson. David Jackson is replaced in 2004 by Theo Travis, who plays saxophone and flute. In 2006, founding member Sam Baine departs, and the band enters a difficult period internally.

For the fourth studio album, Not as Good as the Book, guitarist Jakko Jakszyk is recruited, and the album is completed in 2008. In 2008, Jaime Salazar and Jonas Reingold depart and are replaced by Beardfish, with Rikard Sjöblom on keyboards, vocals and guitar, David Zackrisson on guitar, Magnus Östgren on drums and Robert Hansen on bass. Jakko Jakszyk later leaves. For the 2009 album Down and Out in Paris and London, Jonathan Barrett joins on bass and Paul Burgess on drums, while Tillison plays the guitar parts because the band has difficulty finding a new guitarist.

Membership and style

Associated members include Jonas Reingold, Jaime Salazar, Krister Jonsson, Tony Latham, Luke Machin, Zoltan Csörsz, Roine Stolt, Sam Baine, Guy Manning, Andy Tillison and Theo Travis. The Tangent’s work sits within progressive rock and crossover prog, with a strong link to the wider UK progressive scene.