The Raging Process

As their smiling faces pop up on jittery Skype screens, it is immediately apparent that O.R.k. members Colin Edwin and Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari (aka ‘LEF’) are very excited about the music they have just released. An eccentric and unpredictable collaboration between Edwin (Porcupine Tree/Obake), legendary drummer Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson), guitarist Carmelo Pipitone and multi-instrumentalist and frontman Fornasari (Berserk!/Obake), they have steadily shrugged off the side-project tag and evolved into one of modern prog’s most fascinating and original bands. For once, what could have easily been just another low-key prog supergroup has turned into a harmonious creative unit, somewhat against the odds.

“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in the music,” states Edwin with a smile and a shrug. “But we set ourselves up on the first record [2015’s ] with an almost impossible task. We booked a tour before the four of us had been in a room together. doubts about the music side of things with these guys. If you’re working with good musicians and people who understand, that’s never a problem. It’s just the logistical stuff that becomes a problem. So it was quite exciting to just have two or three days’ rehearsal and then we had the first tour, which was four or five weeks. We just had to hit the ground running, but that was quite exciting to me.”