Cosmograf was born in 2008 when Robin Armstrong produced his first home demo album, ‘Freed from the Anguish’ followed by the release of ‘End of Ecclesia’ in 2009. The next release ‘When Age Has Done Its Duty’ captured the attention of the progressive rock community, and the press alike, leading to a Limelight nomination in the PROG magazine awards. Since then a further 5 albums have been produced to date by Robin, to much critical acclaim and press attention including ‘The Man Left In Space’ which really put Robin on the map as a writer of immersive concept albums exploring the human condition.
The Cosmograf sound is rooted in 70’s classic rock with many contemporary influences from rock, progressive rock, electronica and metal. There is always a particular emphasis on concepts and atmospheric, cinematic production leading to comparisons with artists such as Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Radiohead and Steven Wilson.
Since then some 7 albums have been produced to date, with much critical acclaim and press attention.
You might know Rikard Sjöblom as the mutli-instrumentalist madman behind the microphone of the now-legendary Beardfish, who sang about everything from personal loss to dreams of sneaking into the backstreets of some sleazy '70s disco club. Wielding his keyboard like an 88-key progressive rock machine gun and a shoulder-slung guitar much in the same manner, Sjo¨blom truly was the face of the band. Beardfish came to an end in 2016, leaving room for new solo endeavours for Sjöblom.
With the same array of musical appendages, Sjöblom has carried on as a solo artist under the moniker “Gungfly” once more with his 2016 album “The Unbendable Sleep”, followed by 2017's release “On Her Journey To The Sun” and 2018's "Friendship" on InsideOutMusic. Just like “The Unbendable Sleep” and “On Her Journey To The Sun”, "Friendship" features Sjöblom's incredible vocal range, intensely personal lyrics, signature sense of complex-yet-catchy keyboard melodies, and guitar work that spans the spectrum of folksy to downright face melting.
Sjöblom comments:
“Gungfly was born out of necessity; songs came to life whenever there was downtime with Beardfish or if a song didn't quite fit within Beardfish’s (otherwise quite broad and eclectic) frame of styles. I basically started recording songs, mainly pop-oriented material, but being the type of songwriter and musician I am some prog slipped through under the radar as well. With the break-up of Beardfish all of the prog-related material I write needed to go somewhere and Gungfly was ready and able for this step!
