Scott's Spotlight #28-- Sproingg
Originally posted to Facebook on April 10, 2025
Link to post:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15hJc2Po4f/
Welcome to Scott’s Spotlight (#scottsspotlight) issue #28. For more information about this series, please click here:
This week, I’ll be putting the spotlight on the German-based trio Sproingg. The band has 2 German members and one American transplant in drummer Erik Feder. Erik reached out to me a few weeks ago about reviewing their albums, but I felt like the spotlight would be the best way to introduce them, and their quirky brand of prog. Here are the members:
Prudi Bruschgo (Electric Guitar, Electric Baritone Guitar, Lead Vocals)
Erik Feder (Drums, Percussion, Vocals)
Johannes Korn (Chapman Sticks, Electric Violin, Fretless Electric Guitar, Vocals)
As I often do when writing spotlight features, I have the band’s entire catalog on shuffle, and it definitely takes an avant-garde/experimental approach. That said, for the most part, it is not atonal or random noise. It has a definite structure and is generally based around a key, mode, or scale, and has a definite rhythm, often in odd times or changing meters. The music is frequently based on polyrhythms.
In the band’s biographical info that Erik sent me, it shows that Erik is a very well studied percussionist who studied with (among others):
Jay Dittamo (Highly-respected drum and percussion instructor and session/touring musician with a resume’ longer than “Tales From Topographic Oceans”)
Kenwood Dennard (Jaco Pastorius, Brecker Brothers, Dizzy Gillespie)
Percussionist Steve Machamer (Broadway production of “A Chorus Line”)
Prudi also is a seasoned musician whose background includes his time with Avant-garde-punk band Moorpaul, which was based in Berlin in the 1990s. They are known for having toured Russia in 1995 and again in 1997, with the first trek involving performing at festivals in protest of the war in Chechnya.
Johannes is a classically trained violinist who played in classical ensembles initially, then decided to electrify his violin to play punk rock. Eventually, he discovered the Chapman Stick, which I am sure that anyone taking the time to read this is well aware of that instrument (Some of the most notable Stick players include the legendary Tony Levin and Nick Beggs).
Unfortunately, I have not found any mention of how these three diverse musicians initially came together in the small German town of Freiberg, which is southwest of Dresden. According to AI search results, they came together via Paul Ciminero who hosted a radio show based out of Kent State University in Ohio, called “Fresh Air” (not to be confused with the NPR talk show hosted by Terry Gross). The show focused on the playing of “creative music.” That is all I can find. No details on how Paul Ciminero brought them together. Perhaps Erik will be kind enough to clarify when he reads this.
What I can tell you, though, is that their first album was released independently in 2017 and is well-reviewed and respected. The eponymous album is an all instrumental affair. A quick look at the song titles will tell you that while they take their music seriously, they also have a sense of humor. Some examples include: “Sugarwax Nailface” “Homunkulous Funkulous” and “The Aliens Have Landed, and I’m One of Them”. The production on this initial album is a bit more raw and unpolished than it seems to be on the ensuing releases. But if you like adventurous instrumental prog you will likely enjoy this!
Sproingg followed-up the debut in 2020 with their sophomore release “Clam”. Like its predecessor, it contains 8 instrumental works. I am currently listening to the track “Progg is a Five-Letter Word”, and I quite enjoy it. It would be nearly impossible for me to improve upon the description on their Bandcamp page, so I won't even try; I’ll just copy and paste it here:
The long awaited 2nd Sproingg CD, titled “Clam”, is a triumphant return to all things Sproinggalicious whilst at the same time a natural progression into new, uncharted territory.
Lasting one hour and consisting of 8 songs, the CD includes a pair of unrelated, non-identical Siamese twins separated 11 days, 16 hours, 47 minutes and 19 seconds before birth entitled “Stuffer vapes and drapes his cape on a gaping ape” and “Stuffer gapes and drapes his cape on a vaping ape (including Destiny’s Abortion)”, a polyrhythmic romp through the jungle entitled “(Impure thoughts) Pure cushion”, the fiercely unrelentless prog-fusion track “And her name was ‘Jojo, the dog-faced boy’, Part 1” and the “title” song with the catchy, easy-to-remember name of “In a recent survey, four out of five clinically depressed, middle-aged suburbanites strongly preferred new and improved Jizzo brand cream cheese to a mortally wounded clam”, among others.
Be one of the first on your street, in your prison block or padded cell to own “Clam”!
So there you go. And yes, those are indeed some of the song titles.
The third, and currently most recent, Sproingg album dropped in 2023. Titled
Hirnkäse, which I am told means “Brain Cheese.” But wait, there is something new afoot in Sproinggberg! Vocals! But do you think a band like Sproingg would have just plain standard lyrics in English, German or any other ordinary human language? No, of course not! The vocals on this album are in: “Bruschmarian- the quasi mythical, nearly forgotten tongues of the people of Bruschmaristan.” We are very glad for the explanation. For a taste of this beautiful language, go to YouTube for (as far as I can tell) Sproingg’s first official music video for the brilliant “And Her Name Was 'Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy', Part 2” (linked below). In all seriousness, it may be a made up language, but Prudi Bruschgo does a simply fantastic job in delivering the very difficult, albeit absurd, lead vocal line. Also of note is the … shall we say … “interesting” album art credited to artist L.Riempp.
My overall impression of Sproingg’s musical output is quite positive. They are closer to the Avant-garde side of the prog spectrum than I would normally prefer, I am truly enjoying their music. Of course the most obvious comparison is to “Discipline” era King Crimson, but they also remind me of the short-lived but brilliant supergroup Oysterhead. Anyone who enjoys their prog a little on the weird and wild side should definitely check out Sproingg!
[Full disclosure, Erik sent me download codes to download the albums for free, but as always, I make it clear that I will give my true opinion on the music. I was not compensated in any other way.]
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Prog on!
Links for Listening:
Sproingg does not like to use streaming services, so you won’t find them on one. I will post a link to the video referenced above, and you can also find some additional live videos of the band on the YT page. However, the best place to get Sproingg’s music is on Bandcamp, and I will link to that page as well.
“And Her Name Was 'Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy', Part 2” (Official Video)
Link to their YouTube channel:
Link to their Bandcamp page:
(It defaults to the latest release, but the other two albums are linked as well).
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