* En anglais uniquement
An art rock supergroup whose members are closely associated with prog giants
Yes,
CIRCA: debuted in 2007 with the aptly named Circa: 2007. Initially comprised of
Alan White (drums),
Tony Kaye (Hammond, keyboards),
Billy Sherwood (vocals, guitar), and guitarist
Jimmy Haun, the band issued two more albums before coalescing around a lineup consisting of
Sherwood,
Kaye, drummer Scott Connor, and bassist Rick Tierney.
CIRCA: released their fourth LP,
Valley of the Windmill, in 2016.
Sherwood's affiliation with
Yes dates back to his involvement with the late-'80s spin-off group
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, on which he and his former Lodgic bandmate, guitarist
Jimmy Haun, did some session work. In the years that followed, both he and
Haun became further involved with
Yes and its various offshoots. Following a series of
Yes-related projects in the mid-2000s,
Sherwood and
Kaye decided to form a proper band and recruited
Haun and
Yes drummer
Alan White to form
CIRCA:. They made their recording debut with Circa: 2007, supporting it with a handful of North American dates later that year. By late 2008, drummer
Jay Schellen had replaced
White, and this lineup delivered their follow-up, 2009's Circa: HQ. Another new project was formed later that year that included members of
CIRCA: fronted by
Toto singer
Bobby Kimball. Under the name
Yoso (a combination of
Yes and
Toto), they released their lone album in 2010. By the time
Yoso had disbanded in 2011,
Sherwood and
Kaye remained as the only core members of the original
CIRCA: lineup.
With new drummer Scott Connor and guitarist Johnny Bruhns,
CIRCA: returned to the studio and delivered their third album, 2011's
And So On. 2012 saw
Sherwood switching to guitar with the arrival of new bassist Ricky Tierney, and this lineup recorded the 2013 concert album Live from Here, There & Everywhere. After signing with Frontiers Records,
CIRCA: released their fourth long-player, the intricate and proggy
Valley of the Windmill in the summer of 2016. ~ Timothy Monger