Beginnings by Tom Penaguin

This is not a "brand new" album; all the songs featured here were written and recorded between 2012 and 2020. The old ones were poorly recorded/mixed because I was still a teenager trying to learn how things work. There is no real planned continuity in here and everything was left as is, with just a bit of mastering to even things out.
So, what's the point then?

Each of those tracks were, at their time, the best thing I could come up with; the opening tracks of albums that never were, like little seeds waiting to be watered into a full-fledged LP. These pieces were (and still are) important to me, but they are too far away for me to do something new with it, so it's a kind of "now or never" situation. The sound quality makes it sound way older than it is, so please take it as an involuntary bootleg-ish archival album of moods and experiments I went through while growing up, hence the name: Beginnings.

- Tom Penaguin

This release includes a pdf booklet with credits, photos and lots of commentary by Tom Penaguin.


"You'd swear you're listening to Hatfield and the North, Caravan of National Health—with an arsenal of Moogs, Fender Rhodes, and Yamahas bombarding you... You'll also hear Frank Zappa-esque blues rock, classic Focus irony, and early Pink Floyd psychedelia. Penaguin is also a prodigy on guitar, bass, and drums: sometimes complex, sometimes surprisingly accessible and funky." (Pieter Barth, iO Pages)

"I think in years to come, Tom Penaguin will be regarded as a colossus of intelligent music and mentioned for his guitar playing in the same breath as Allan Holdsworth. This exceptional and intriguing set of songs shows us how it all started. The ongoing journey will be one hell of a ride. "(Steve Lazenby, Lanzland)

"Fans of his debut album will not be disappointed, as won’t be listeners of 1970s prog, fusion and Canterbury. "(Pascal Thiel, Disagreement)

"Penaguin exhibits a remarkable command of guitar dynamics throughout the record; his playing moves the compositions forward, layering tension and release in ways that heighten the overall complexity without ever tipping into excess, and never disrupting the dreamlike reverie the keyboards create. But what really stands out is how well the album holds everything together." (Goran Čabrajić, New Dawn of Prog)

'Beginnings' is a fine addition to Penaguin's somewhat short debut, but not only that, it's also a successful showcase of the first, yet not at all uncertain, steps of an exceptionally talented musician. Canterbury adepts who can't get enough of this signature sound will also find it more than right." (Achim Breiling, BabyBlaue)

Music from a future too far away