Since 2023 the progressive rock scene is enriched by Dominic Sanderson, a new talented musician from England. Sanderson brought back the progressive rock from the seventies. He draws inspiration from English bands like King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Marillion. He mixes it with contemporary musical influences. In February 2023 he released the album Impermanence and recently Blazing Revelations (2025, see review). We from Background Magazine think that it is time to introduce this still rather unknown artist to the world community of progressive rock lovers. When we asked him for an interview for our website, he responded enthusiastically!

Hello Dominic, would you please introduce yourself to our readers?
"I will indeed. I am a British prog rock solo artist from Wakefield, West Yorkshire who currently resides in Liverpool. I am a guitarist and singer, and I began composing and releasing music properly in 2020 with an EP called Discarded Memories.

Dominic Sanderson

I then recorded and released my debut album Impermanence in 2023, before releasing my latest album, Blazing Revelations, in February this year."

You released all your albums under your own management. Where record companies not interested in releasing your music?
"Yes, I did. At the moment, I release all my own music independently, but I would love to be on a record label at some point."

How did you get influenced by acts such as Steven Wilson, Van der Graaf Generator, King Crimson and Caravan? These acts you mentioned on your Bandcamp page.
"My musical taste is mainly influenced by my dad, who is also a massive prog fan. He loves all the bands you mention. Steven Wilson and King Crimson have always been staple influences, but I only became interested in Van der Graaf Generator and Caravan recently. The first one because of their gothic twists and turns and Peter Hammill's inspired vocal style and the latter because of the contrast between their charming, lilting Canterbury sound and the more aggressive moments in their catalogue."

However, I miss the name Genesis especially the period with Peter Gabriel. Were they also an influence?
"I love both Genesis and Peter Gabriel solo. Foxtrot is perhaps my favourite Genesis album as I believe it is the most gritty and experimental. The albums Peter Gabriel 3 and Peter Gabriel 4 are excellent albums, and I think Gabriel's solo work is in general the strongest out of all the Genesis band members. However, I think my music will always lean more towards the discordant, chaotic side of prog like for instance King Crimson. That is perhaps why there isn't a strong Genesis influence in my music."

Grace For Drowning, The Raven That Refused To Sing and Hand. Cannot. Erase. By Steven Wilson seemed to have been an inspiration for your debut album Impermanence unlike the music on Blazing Revelations. Am I right?
"Yeah, those three albums by Steven Wilson are masterpieces. They all three definitely had a bigger inspiration on the debut album than on Blazing Revelations, where the inspirations were a mix of Van der Graaf Generator, Scandinavian prog bands such as Änglagård and Canterbury bands such as National Health."

Artwork 'Impermanence'

When did you start working on your debut Impermanence?
"I worked on it throughout 2022. I was doing my MA degree in English Literature at the University of Liverpool at the time, and I had access to the SSL Recording Studio through my friends, Aaron Butterworth and Tristan Apperley, who produced the album. It took around a year to record because we had to book out the studio in small sessions. It was obviously a shared space, so it wasn't always available."

Were you surprised by the success of it?
"Yes, I was very surprised by its success, and I'm very grateful that is has enabled me to continue recording music and reach a wider audience."

Impermanence is mentioned as a concept album rooted in the traditional progressive rock sound of the seventies with a modern edge. What does this mean?
"Well, it was influenced and composed with the greats of the seventies in mind, but there are some modern touches in the writing and the production. It's a melding pot of influences from different musical periods. Whereas Blazing Revelations is out-and-out seventies influenced, which is evident in both the music and the production."

Were the musicians that collaborated on your debut part of your band at the time?
"Tristan Apperley (bass, vocals), and Jacob Hackett (drums) are currently in my band. The other musicians who featured on Impermanence were all guest musicians, most of them being other students that we all knew of. Blazing Revelations, however, feels like it was recorded by a band rather than just people who dipped in and out."

Why did you choose to have three people playing the Mellotron: yourself, Tristan Apperley and Aaron Butterworth?
"It was just whoever wanted to record the parts. Most of the Mellotron parts I had written, and since I'm not a keyboard player I recorded the ones that were easy and allowed the better piano players to play the more difficult parts."

Did the album turn as the way you expected it to be before it was recorded?
"I didn't really know what to expect when I was recording it. I was simply happy that we had accomplished it in the end. I don't think any artist feels one hundred percent satisfied about their output and I'm not an exception to this, but I remain proud of that first effort."

Why was Impermanence your first album on CD? Why didn't you put all your earlier downloads on this album as well?
"That's a good idea, I never thought about doing that. As Impermanence was my debut album, it made sense to start getting physical media. I released it digitally initially as I didn't expect it to be as popular as it turned out to be."

Your brother Matthew does most of the artwork and lyrics. How did he get involved?
"Matthew Sanderson is my dad, not my brother, although I'm sure he would take that as a compliment, ha,ha! As previously mentioned, he is a massive prog fan, and he was delighted when I asked him to contribute to the lyrics and the artwork. He used to be in a band in the nineties, and he has a big book of lyrics that he plucked stuff from for the album. He is also a design and technology teacher, and so he has a background in art, hence why he has done the front covers for both albums."

Dominic Sanderson

What does the drawing on the cover mean? Is it a man whose heart is visible surrounded by little devils? And if so, do those devils return on the cover of Blazing Revelations?
"You'll have to ask my dad. However, your interpretation sounds fantastic! I like to encourage people to form their own opinions on the meaning of lyrics and the same goes for the artwork. I'm not sure if there is anything deliberately connecting the artwork of Impermanence and Blazing Revelations. Again, you should ask my dad."

So I did, and he gave me the following answer.
Matthew Sanderson: "The figure on the front of Impermanence reflects the conflict of inner demons with external forces all moving towards this figure. Half of the figure is already 'poisoned'. The flames return in Blazing Revelations, but the little demon figures don't. Apart from there being a central character, the two covers are not linked."

What does Impermanence mean, and are all songs connected to each other?
"Impermanence just means nothing lasts forever; all things end or die eventually. This theme fits with the songs, which do fit together but without a clear narrative. Each track adds to the sense of despair and confusion perhaps associated with thoughts of mortality. But to be honest, it can be whatever you want it to be."

In my opinion, and that of other people as well, your voice resembles the voice of Peter Hammill lead singer of Van der Graaf Generator. Do you agree?
"While I'm definitely nowhere near the league that Hammill is in vocally, I have tried to try something new with my vocal delivery and Peter Hammill was an inspiration. So, yes, I agree but I'm not trying to sound like Hammill on purpose. I'm just trying to use my voice to heighten the narrative of each song. Singing in a plain, polished, clean voice would have been ineffective."

Artwork 'Blazing Revelations'

When did you start working on Blazing Revelations? Did you try to make a different sounding album compared to Impermanence?
"I started working on the album just prior to 2024 and I didn't finish recording until around September 2024. I think every artist should strive to go down a different path each time they release a new album. So, yes, I wanted something slightly different. I think this album goes further down the seventies rabbit hole than Impermanence, which had that 'modern edge'. With Blazing Revelations, I wanted to build upon the glory days of seventies prog, when it was truly progressive, which is reflected in the album's musical style and the production."

Would you please explain what you mean by the title Blazing Revelations, and is this perhaps a concept album?
"I'm not sure what it means, but again, I would love to hear your interpretation. It's not a concept album but each song showcases its own narrative. There are also no musical motifs connecting each track, so these really are four separate stories but all with similar characters who end up with similar outcomes."

Can you tell me something about the lyrics of each song?
"I'll give a one-line synopsis for each song for you, but this is just my personal take on what each song could be about. Again, I would love to hear your own interpretations. From The Weeping Cradle is about a rejection of material objects in the face of enlightenment. Faithless Folly is about a crisis of barren creativity in which the reliance on technology to create something artistically worthy is crippling. A Rite of Wrongs is about an exorcism and Lullaby For A Broken Dream is about a dream gone wrong!"

On the second studio album you collaborated with almost the same musicians. Was it difficult to keep them on board or are you just one big musical family?
"No, that wasn't difficult at all. We're all good friends and have known each other since a very long time. With the addition of Andy Frizell and Embiye Adali in the band, I feel greatly confident in the music, and the friendly atmosphere in the group. Thankfully, they all seem to like my music and I'm very grateful that they want to commit."

On Faithless Folly I hear some Pink Floyd influences and sometimes it seems like we are In The Land Of Pink And Green by Caravan with the kind of organ and piano parts played by David Sinclair. Do you agree?
"Pink Floyd were not in my mind at all when I was writing Faithless Folly, but I can see what you mean. I definitely agree with the influence of Caravan. In The Land Of Pink And Green is a fantastic album, with Nine Feet Underground being the highlight!"

A Rite Of Wrongs sounds to me like a piece of music taken from the Trespass (1970) and Nursery Cryme (1971) by Genesis or am I wrong?
"Again, Genesis were not in the equation when I was writing this track, but I can see what you mean - it's a very pastoral piece. I was more influences by acid folk bands such as Comus, Forest, Jan Dukes De Grey and Holderlin. A lot of music on the next album will go even further down this acid folk rabbit hole..."

For me, the closing track Lullaby For A Broken Dream is without a doubt my highlight on the album. Did you try to get all things together for the final moment and go out with a big bang? This track ends with an excellent climax including an amazing guitar solo!
"I'm pleased that this is your favourite track; it is also mine! This was the first track I wrote for the album, but it just so happened that it worked well as a closing track with the euphoric, dramatic ending. I'm pleased you like the guitar solo, and I think it brings things to a suitably bombastic close."

In the UK you already started performing your music live on stage. Do you have any plans to bring your music to the mainland?
"At the moment, there are no plans for this, but I would love to play in Europe in the future if this ever became feasible. For the moment, I'm aiming to get more UK gigs, more festival appearances and perhaps some support slots for more established bands."

What's next?
"I'm currently working on my third album, which is going down on the acid folk and jazz route. I'd also like to record a live album of the Blazing Revelations material as it would be nice to capture these songs in their live forms."

Thank you for answering my questions!
"You're welcome, Henri."