Ysma is an instrumental progressive rock band from Münster, Germany. Founded by guitarist Daniel Kluger and former bass player Torge Dellert (studying psychology together) in 2009, Fabian Schroer (guitar) and Jens Milo (drums) went on to join the band. The quintet combines atmospheric elements and progressive rock/metal influences, always focussing on the ambience of a song as well as unconventional rhythms and parts out of the ordinary. Coming from different musical backgrounds, each member brings in his personal note to create the band’s characteristic sound which might be best described as a blend of different styles and genres: the aggressive, forward-going tone of progressive rock and -metal meets more quiet, ambience- focussed moments with a lot of room for each note.
Ysma’s style of instrumental songwriting therefore incorporates frequent dynamic changes both within and between songs as a means of coming to rest, of “breathing“ in a musical manner. Inspiration and influence for this approach derives from listening to bands like Opeth, Tool and Porcupine Tree as well as early, classic prog bands like King Crimson and Rush. Being an instrumental band, Ysma attach great importance to telling the ideas and stories behind their songs. Given the song title and listening to the music open-mindedly, the listener is left plenty of room for free imagination, interpretation and association.
Having played several gigs throughout 2011 and 2012, Ysma soon gained reputation as an energetic live band. As the next logical step, the band released their first record entitled “Vagrant“ on April 21st, 2013. The 12-track album was recorded, mixed and produced by the band members themselves over a period of four months. “Vagrant“ was particularly well received as a debut, covering the band’s diverse spectrum from purely acoustic tracks to heavier pieces with a prog metal edge.
In October 2013, the band had their unplugged concert premiere in their hometown of Münster. Recordings of that concert went on to form „Carrots and Candles“, a 7 track acoustic live EP, which was released in December, 2013.
Other memorable live experiences include opening the stage for Norwegian prog metal band Leprous in November of 2013 and the band’s appearance at Krach am Bach festival in August, 2014 (alongside Monkey3, Blood Red Shoes, Kamchatka and more).
The joining of Arne Timm on keyboards in late 2013 added another component to the bands sonic variety. In April 2014, founding member and bass player Torge Dellert left Ysma due to logistic reasons. Shortly thereafter, the band presented Alex Schenk as the new bass player. Due to personal reasons, the bass position became vacant again and was finally filled by Attila Kornel in July 2015.
In the fall of 2014, Ysma present their sophomore studio record „Fourth Wall“. Once again recorded, mixed and mastered by the band themselves, „Fourth Wall“ shows the facets of Ysma’s sound and songwriting more clearly than ever: somewhere between jazzy arrangements, acoustic interludes and the edged quality of modern progressive metal, the band delivers thought-provoking instrumentals with a character of their own.