A Part & Yet Apart

Sheffield-based 80s proggers Haze have returned with a new studio album, The Water's Edge - their third since their 2013 comeback record, The Last Battle. Prog catches up with threequarters of the band to discuss Haze's DIY ethos, the curse of prog and playing to Cumbrian sheep farmers.

- Nick Shilton

Originally formed by brothers Paul and Chris McMahon in Sheffield way back in 1978, Haze have been a fixture of the music scene in a career spanning six decades, albeit with the occasional interregnum. While their longevity is impressive, it is by no means unique within the progressive world in 2024.

But, to cut to the chase, do the ever-eclectic Haze regard themselves as a prog band or not? Lead vocalist/guitarist Paul McMahon confronts the question head on without demur.

“It’s the closest [description]. We’re certainly not a heavy metal band. We’re more of a rock band that’s strayed into prog quite often. I would argue that Peter Gabriel hasn’t done anything prog for a long time, but because of what he used to do, everyone knows that he does what he does and he’s Peter Gabriel.

“Some of what we do is unashamedly and directly prog,” he continues, warming to his theme. “But not everything is. It’s important for us to have that spread and variety, just for us to be interested in what we’re doing.”

Paul muses that some prog fans may never listen to anything else, but that there are probably quite a few listeners who also enjoy other musical genres.

“What we’re doing never quite spills into pop music because it’s too long and the ideas are developed deeper. It’s more or less generic rock music with a strong ‘magpie’ element. We may drop in something that’s vaguely metal or folk or from ambient – anything that interests us.”

Indeed, Paul reveals that The Knife, a nowdefunct Swedish electro band, served as the inspiration for a song on their new album, The Water’s Edge, which was written by his wife, Haze’s fiddle and flute player, Catrin Ashton.