Brazilian American Composer Miguel Kertsman Unveils His New Progressive Rock Record!

Brazilian American Composer Miguel Kertsman has announced his latest album, the progressive rock odyssey, “Paradoxes”, a concept album due for release on October 3rd,2025! Kertsman, who Rolling Stone have called his work as “indescribable and defies categorization”, has graced stages and screens for decades, with his work used everywhere from video games to the Olympics. He has collaborated with everyone from opera singer Angelika Kirchschlager to guitarist John Williams to Head Automatica collaborator Dan the Automator.

The tracklisting for “Paradoxes” is:
1. Enclosed Pathways
2. Postlude, Letting Go
3. Still Currents
4. Red Blue Sky
5. Jubilant Anxiety
6. Fanfare In Quietude
7. Liquid Fire
8. Atemporal Ocean
9. Postlude, Waterverse
10. Then Is Now
11. Postlude, Nostalgic Future
12. i-Clock
13. Postlude, De-clocking

As a multi-hyphenate, Kertsman has composed, produced, engineered, arranged, conducted and played keyboards across a diversity of genres such as contemporary classical, jazz, rock, and world music, but “Paradoxes” is a special affair, a personal foray into the progressive rock styles which inspired him in his youth. “I have always been fascinated by paradoxes — whether as curiosities found in science, astrophysics or math, or in everyday human behavior,” says Kertsman, “Growing up, I was surrounded by classical music and Jazz, and the incredibly rich musical life of Brazil. Moving to New York later introduced me to even more musical languages. But as a child, it was the Progressive Rock bands of the time that truly captivated me.”

An album of synthesizer-driven prog rock familiar to fans of Yes, Patrick Moraz, and Pink Floyd might seem like an unintuitive move for a composer whose work has been recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, but Kertsman doesn’t necessarily see it that way. “The music of progressive rock paralleled the classical music I knew: it embraced longer forms, told stories across multiple movements and songs, balanced instrumental passages with lyrics, and fearlessly pushed boundaries.”

“Paradoxes” is a concept album whose parts are all played live-in-the-space on original vintage instruments, along with drums, bass, guitars, and vocals, captured through only a few microphones. Fans of vintage synths will be delighted to hear the classic, warm tones of Minimoogs, Mellotron, and Prophet 10 performed with a creativity reminiscent of Rick Wakeman and Richard Wright.

“Red Blue Sky” (featuring the evocative vocals of Drew Sarich) and “i-Clock” include gentle satire of political polarization in the context of an attitude of empathy, an attitude which extends to “Liquid Fire,” an ode of anxiety and contemplation on Spaceship Earth. “Interestingly, and not by design, the album’s story also revolves around humankind, and our home, the Earth — as described in “Atemporal Ocean” (accompanying vocals: Saiphe) “These are also the themes underlining my very first album ‘Música, Mito, e Mistério’ back in ’82, which was also a ‘classical prog rock’ record in Brazil,” reflects Kertsman. Kertsman’s “Paradoxes” are worth taking time to disentangle this fall, for those who like their synthesizers warm, their playing virtuosic, and their rock prog.