Trace was a Dutch

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

trio founded by Rick van der Linden in 1974 after leaving

Ekseption Ekseption was a Dutch rock band active from 1967 to 1989, playing mostly-instrumental progressive rock and Classical crossover, classical rock. The central character in the changing roster, and the only band member present on every album, was con ...

. The band was formed in 1974 and released its debut album, "Trace," in 1974. The band's music was characterized by complex arrangements and intricate instrumental work, and their compositions often featured a mix of rock, jazz, and classical influences. Trace released a total of three albums during their career. Trace was fairly popular in Europe, and they gained a loyal following among fans of progressive rock. However, they never achieved widespread commercial success and disbanded in the late 1970s, merging back into Ekseption. Despite this, the band's music has continued to be appreciated by fans of progressive rock.

History

In 1973, after releasing their album entitled ''Trinity,'' the other members of Ekseption asked Rick van der Linden to leave the band. At this time Ekseption were quite famous which led

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, their record-company, to give van der Linden the opportunity to find a new band. In January 1974 van der Linden started rehearsals with Peter de Leeuwe, who had previously played drums with Ekseption. The pair split up again soon after, since van der Linden considered de Leeuwe to be lacking in skill. De Leeuwe was replaced in February by

Pierre van der Linden Pierre van der Linden (born 19 February 1946) is a Dutch drummer, songwriter and member of the band, Focus. Early life Pierre van der Linden was born in Amsterdam in 1946. His father was Dutch actor Ab van der Linden, who was known in the Ne ...

(a second-cousin of Rick), who had left

Focus Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...

in October 1973. To complete the trio, Rick asked Jaap van Eik, a self-taught musician considered to be one of the best Dutch bass players, to join the band. Originally named Ace (in the tradition of

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

and

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...

to highlight their supergroup status), they had to change the name to Trace when they discovered a British band had already trademarked the name. In May 1974 the trio recorded their first single, a prog rock version of

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

's ''Tabu,'' backed by an original theme, ''Progress,'' which saw release in July 1974. On 9 September 1974 the group released its eponymous, first album. Their second album ''Birds'' was released in 1975, and featured future

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

drummer

Ian Mosley Ian F. Mosley (born 16 June 1953) is an English drummer. He is best known for his long-time membership of the neo-prog band Marillion, which he joined for their second album, ''Fugazi'', released in 1984. He had previously been an in-demand ses ...

. A third album, ''The White Ladies'', was released in 1976 with Rick van der Linden being supported by all of the former members of Ekseption except trumpeter Rein van den Broek. In 1978 van den Broek rejoined the group, which became Ekseption once again.

Discography

''Trace'' (1974)

Personnel: * Rick van der Linden – keyboards * Jaap van Eik – guitars * Pierre van der Linden – drums

''Birds'' (1975)

Personnel: * Rick van der Linden – keyboards * Jaap van Eik – guitars, vocals * Ian Mosley – drums * Darryl Way – violins * Coen Hoedeman – assorted monkeys All tracks written & arranged by Rick van der Linden except as noted

''The White Ladies'' (1976)

Personnel: * Rick van der Linden – keyboards * Cor Dekker – bass guitar * Peter de Leeuwe – drums, guitars * Dick Remelink – saxes, flute * Hans Jacobse – keyboards * Hetty Smit – vocals * Harry Schäfer – narrator * The Benny Behr Strings conducted by Job Maarse

References

Dutch progressive rock groups Dutch musical trios {{Netherlands-band-stub