Kingfisher Sky

Hallway Of Dreams

A sublime and a superbly crafted piece of music from start to finish. Trust me and read on. This is pure quality.

The band started life in 2001, when drummer Ivar de Graaf parted ways with Within Temptation, just as they made their breakthrough with the Mother Earth album. Together with classically trained vocalist Judith Rijnveld, Ivar started writing new music ‘without being bound to a specific genre or musical style’. Former Orphanage bassist Eric Hoogendoorn, guitarists Daan Janzing and Edo van der Kolk and keyboardist George van Olffen were recruited to make Kingfisher Sky a full band. Three months in the studio last summer saw the album recorded in several studios, under the inspired guidance of producers Jochem Jacobs (Textures) and Bouke Visser. The resulting album has been well worth all the time and trouble.

With diverse influences such as Clannad, Lacuna Coil, White Willow, Tori Amos, Leaves Eyes, Jethro Tull, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel and Porcupine Tree, this album is impossible to categorise. One moment dreamy and atmospheric, then heavy and pounding the next. Hallway Of Dreams is a unique, forward thinking and superbly executed album that encompasses progressive rock, pop, metal, folk and atmospheric moods. One moment sophisticated pop/rock, the next aggressive alt-metally guitars. One refrain the haunting piano and voice of Tori Amos, the next a folky violin and tin whistle.

I know I’m throwing the glowing adjectives around a bit, but to say that Rijnveld’s performance is perfect is actually an understatement. Just sit back and listen to her voice across these eleven songs. The subtle variation of tone, style and emphasis is superbly executed, thus giving each song its own identity. Equally worthy of note is drummer and bandleader DeGraaf who cleverly underscores each piece with an array of different beats and rhythms. He really is the musical driving force behind each song.

It is an over–used phrase, but there really are no standout tracks on this record – they are all of an equally high standard. The simply-contructed opener, The Craving encompasses White Willow, Lacuna Coil and Tori Amos across a simple refain and heavy guitar. The voice and acoustic guitar of November sees the band in singer/songwriter mode. The Celtic theme to Her White Dress shines with some delicate harmonies, whilst the African drum rhythms gives Persephone a very Kate Bush feel. The heavy guitars and forceful vocals to be found in Brody brings to mind a more polished Ebony Ark. However this is no musical hotch-potch. Each element is carefully placed to enhance the central melody and mood of the song. Throughout, the crystal clear production allows every element to have enough space to be heard.

There is an increasingly muddled musical jungle out there, and I think all reviewers thrive on uncovering little unexpected gems like this. It is the sort of album that I’d never have come across without the contacts I’ve made through DPRP. It’s certainly not the sort of album I would pick up and look at in a record shop. Thankfully Hallway Of Dreams did find its way onto my CD player – and has not spent a day away from it since.

Dear reader, if the above has pricked your interest, then if you take no other risk with a new band this year, take the plunge and try something new in the shape of Kingfisher Sky. An utterly absorbing musical delight. Album of the year so far.

(Strangely this album doesn’t appear to have a label in Europe. Retail links are available from the band’s website. I got my copy from the ever–reliable Lasers' Edge, which has licensed the album for North America.)

Tracklist: The Craving (3:42), Hallway Of Dreams (4.17), Balance of Power (4.22), November (4:20), Big Fish (3:29), Through My Eyes (5:08), Seven Feet (4:13), Persephone (3:23), Her White Dress(4:09), Brody (4:37), Sempre Fedele

Klassisk musikk

 Mozart

En musikksjanger som bygger på vestlig kunstnerisk utforming med nedskrevne og videreførte tradisjoner. Tilknyttes gjerne den gresk-romerske kultur. Betegnelsen begrenses noen ganger til å gjelde musikk komponert i perioden fra barokken til wienerklassisismen.

Forbindes ofte med musikk fremført av et symfoniorkester eller musikk laget for ett eller flere av dets instrumenter. Siden musikken er ferdig nedskrevet av komponisten benyttes det sjeldent improvisasjon.

Sjangeren karakteriseres ellers av og deles gjerne inn i overlappende kunsthistoriske stilepoker (vanligvis inndelt i epoker fra middelalderen og fremover i tid):

Oldtiden (frem til ca. 500 e.Kr.)

Antikken (ca. 500 f.Kr.-500 e.Kr.)

Middelalderen (ca. 500-1450)

Renessansen (ca. 1450-1600)

Barokken (ca. 1600-1760)

Rokokko (ca. 1725-1775)

Wienerklassisismen (ca. 1730-1820)

Romantikken (ca. 1820-1915)

Impresjonismen (ca. 1890-1915)

Ekspresjonismen (ca. 1900-1930)

Nyere klassisk musikk (etter 1900) har stort sett utviklet seg mer parallelt. Samme stilart har i tillegg gjerne forskjellige betegnelser. Her finner du derfor en liste ordnet i alfabetisk rekkefølge:

Aleatorisk musikk

Atonalisme

Avantgarde

Barbarisme

Eklektisme

Elektronisk musikk

Futurismen

Klangflatemusikk

Konkret musikk

Mikrotonal musikk

Minimalisme

Modernisme

Neoklassisismen

Postmodernisme

Primitivisme

Samtidsmusikk

Serialisme

Tilfeldighetsmusikk

Kontrapunkt

Melodi bestående av to eller flere selvstendige og samtidige melodilinjer, som harmonerer både vertikalt (samklang) og lineært (melodiføring).

Kanon

Den strengeste form for kontrapunkt. En flerstemmig sats der eksakt samme melodi imiteres (gjentas) tidsforskjøvet parallelt med hovedmelodien. Imitasjonen kan være på samme eller forskjellig tonetrinn. F.eks. brukes ofte sangene, "Fader Jakob" og "Ro, ro, ro din båt" som kanonlek.

Kaos Moon

The Circle Of Madness

I've been putting off reviewing this album for weeks now and for the life of me I have no idea why. I elected to do the album, I liked it from the very outset and each time I've put the CD on to start reviewing it I've not managed a single word. This isn't a criticism of the music, far from it, as for each time I've played The Circle Of Madness, I've just sat back and enjoyed the music. In the end, and so I can remove this CD from my "pipeline", I have reviewed it in total silence.

The Circle Of Madness is the second release from Kaos Moon, with a gap of some ten years since their debut After The Storm. Having not heard their first album a little investigation was needed - the consensus suggests that band have changed direction slightly, which is not too surprising as the only original band member remaining is Bernard Ouellette (vocals, keyboards and drums). Ouellette has assembled what appears to be a tighter band altogether, with Norman Lachapelle (bass), Sylvain Provost (guitar) and Magella Cormier supplying additional (drums & percussion). With this nucleus in place a number of other musicians swell the ranks adding sitar, violin, cello and soprano saxophone to some of the tracks along with supplementary percussion, keyboards and guitar. The overall sound is therefore varied without ever becoming cluttered.

The album opens fairly gently with Bernard Ouellette's voice accompanied with some sparse keyboards, percussion and spiced up by Jean-François Bélanger sitar playing. From here the track follows a fairly standard verse chorus format, latterly featuring a brief but melodic solo by Benoit Chaput, before the tempo is picked up with some lovely fluid bass playing from Norman Lachapelle. This with the keyboards and guitar give a Camel-like flavour to the fade out. Next track is the delightful ballad Say to Me, again Ouellettes vocals are splendid this time complemented by classical guitar. Once again the track builds with numerous turns and twists, with the vocal arrangements becoming more detailed and intermingling with the more complex arrangement.

Crawl is a grooving track (yes, prog can groove) - Lachapelle's bass is wonderful, as it is throughout the album, pulsing the song along, which is then countered by the soft Hammond organ, sustained guitar and expressive vocals. This is followed by another ballad-like track, the soft and dreamy The Waves, with Robin Boulianne adding violin interludes as well as taking the solo passage. Again the track has numerous pick-ups and tempo shifts thus making the overall arrangement interesting and elevating it above a "standard" ballad.

One thing which becomes more apparent about The Circle Of Madness is that although most of the material is relaxed, the arrangements are far from being bland or uninspired and after a couple of run throughs these intricacies become more obvious. An excellent example can be found The Wall of Silence, where the jaunty feel of the track initially camouflages the busy backing. The inclusion of the violin, punctuated rhythms and instrumentation in this track, and the following piece, did conjure thoughts of earlier Kansas.

Presidency opens with narration from, well I'll let you guess from who, and for me is a little tacky. If I was to offer any criticisms on the material it would be with the lyrics, which at times didn't fully support the material, and some of the repeated chorus lines were a tad weak and a little predictable. But for someone like myself who tends to let the "deeper" intricacies of the singing drift by, this did not present a major problem. It certainly did not detract from the strong melodies or Bernard Ouellette's splendid voice and delivery. No better displayed than here in Presidency, which is so infectious it has lived with me for weeks. The album concludes with the title track - lyrically much more attuned to the music which percolates along and forms a fitting conclusion to the proceedings.

Many albums I review take a little time to get into - not so with this one. All the tracks are instantly catchy, the arrangements show an imaginative interpretation of what are well written songs, although it took till the second listening, remarkably sung with a distinct and pleasant voice. Ouellette's relatively high voice reminded me at times of Jon Anderson but with the added raspier lower end did give greater variation to the melody lines. So by the second run through of the album I had warmed to the vocals - the fact that all the material is written by Bernard does benefit the songs as his voice flows with the music rather than merely fitting in with it.

So who might this album appeal to - well, given that I have awarded it a DPRP recommended - ALL presumably ! But that will never be the case, however I would say that if I had got my finger out earlier, The Circle Of Madness would definitely have ended up in my top 10 albums for 2004. I can't particularly single out any track that was inferior or let the album down, so consistently strong was all the material. So if you enjoy well crafted melodic progressive rock songs, played with style and flair whilst encompassing just enough technical and instrumental passages to make the songs interesting, but without destroying the overall concept - then do yourself a favour and buy this album. Or at least have a listen to the track samples on the Unicorn site.

Tracklist: Eternal Light Avenue (5:04), Say to Me (7:05), Crawl (3:43), The Waves (5:19), The Wall of Silence (6:50), SOAB (4:28), Presidency (5:10), The Circle of Madness (3:18)

Karma Depth

Resilience

I realize that categorizing, classifying, and labelling are natural human activities: when we try to understand something new, we consciously or unconsciously sort it, classify it, put it into a context. I find myself doing so all the time as I review CDs, both for myself and to help readers understand just what kind of thing I’m talking about. But when I get a CD for review by a group described as “Belgium’s newest emo-prog band,” well, all sorts of questions spring to mind – the most obvious of which is “How many ‘emo-prog’ bands really are there in Belgium so that Karma Depth has to be set apart as the ‘newest’?” But that’s all promotion, of course, and whether the band’s responsible for it or not, we oughtn’t hold such a description against it.

And I’m glad I didn’t, because this is a very good album. I’ll admit that I can hear what’s supposed to be the “emo” in the band’s sound, and what there is of it – the sensitive (I guess you’d call them) vocals, for example, in a few places – I don’t much like. But the band’s sound is far more progressive than it is emo, and it’s that sound I’d like to concentrate on here. The four musicians (bassist/singer Hans Berten, keyboardist Dieter Cailliau, drummer Hans Mahieu, and guitarist Lorenzo Petralia) might well have found the current emo fad congenial, but from the sounds of the album, their hearts are in old-school progressive rock. I suppose the nearest I can come to describing the most interesting elements of their songs is to compare them to post-Hackett-pre-We Can’t Dance-era Genesis and mid-to-late-eighties Rush, but that’s only a rough analogy, giving you an idea more of the band’s ambitions than, strictly speaking, of their sound.

But some of the sounds are there, too. Petralia often essays a Lifeson-like guitar tone, and the tight Berten-Mahieu rhythm section handles tempo changes fluidly. Try to keep from thinking of Duke and the locked-in charge of Rutherford and Collins as you listen, for example, to See How I Glow (and Cailliau’s Banksian synths hardly undermine the comparison, I’ll add). But in other places – even in that same song – jazzy piano and bass breaks set this band apart from its influences. And the album-ending acoustic-guitar track, Nuweiba, might briefly call to mind Foxtrot’s lovely Horizons, but only for a moment, as Petralia’s Spanish, even remotely flamenco, soloing soars above his dextrous finger picked arpeggios.

I ought to devote a paragraph to the album’s concept piece, Heal. It’s much, much stronger musically than it is lyrically, though it may be that the fact that the lyrics consist almost entirely of New-Age-y clichés can be blamed on the band’s perhaps imperfect English. I don’t know. In any case, the seven parts of the song essentially reiterate and confirm the assertion of the first part, that “Where there’s hope there is life / And that love resolves your inner strife” – good news for all of us, I guess. The suite is, so far as I can tell, intended to take us, lyrically as well as musically, from a state of uncertainty and pain to a state of, well, healing – The Healing is the title of the suite’s second-last song. And if the lyrics are pretty lame, the music is anything but. The first few songs alternate between peaceful piano and aggressive guitar riffing, with the occasional synthesizer solo; by the time we get to the last two parts, The Healing and The Learning, the music is (predictably but also satisfyingly) triumphant and even anthemic. The playing of all the musicians throughout the suite (as it is throughout the album) is simply superb, thankfully drawing the listener’s attention away from the lyrics, which are nonetheless sincerely delivered by Berten.

Berten’s voice, incidentally, is a wonderful instrument in itself – full, powerful, capable of the delicacy needed for the emo moments on the album (which occur, mercifully to my ears at least, mostly in the first few songs) and also of the soaring needed in those anthemic moments I just mentioned. The timber of his voice is not miles away from that of Michael Sadler, and it’s more than distantly related, too, to that of Neal Morse; but I make those comparisons only to give you a rough idea. The vocals are perfectly matched to the music in most of the compositions, and one can’t ask more than that from a vocalist.

I think that anyone who likes either earlier or later progressive rock will like this album. Ignore, as I mostly did, the emo elements: they don’t significantly damage the album, and it might well be that the band will not only drop but perhaps actively avoid the emo label next time around, since what they are is a solid, talented, progressive-rock band – period. This is a more than creditable debut album, and I recommend it with only those few and minor reservations I’ve noted.

Tracklist: Ask Yourself (10:35), Hope (5:53), The Price (12:19), The Ring (15:58), See How I Glow (12:19), Heal: [I] The Twilight, [II] Enter Reality, [III] The Dilemma, [IV] The Choice, [V] The Awakening, [VI] The Healing, [VII] The Learning (22:06), Nuweiba (2:47)

Konsertrekorder

Minst mennesker på en konserter skriver seg fra Melbourne i Australia i august 1980. På scenen var den rumenske folkesanger Joan Melu i to timer med konsert med tilhørende ekstranummer. Det spesielle var at tilskuerantallet var uslåelige 0 tilskuere.

"Litt" mer vellykket var tilskuermengden angår var Jean Michel konsert i Moskva  i 1997 i anledning Moskva`s 850 års jubileum. Denne utendørskonserten samlet pene 3 500 000 tilskuere, og antakeligvis var det litt mer sus over klappingen her enn Melu`s konsert i Melbourne 17 år tidligere.

Krautrock

Krautrock refers to the legions of German bands of the early '70s that expanded the sonic possibilities of art and progressive rock. Instead of following in the direction of their British and American counterparts, who were moving toward jazz and classical-based compositions and concept albums, the German bands became more mechanical and electronic. Working with early synthesizers and splicing together seemingly unconnected reels of tape, bands like Faust, Can, and Neu created a droning, pulsating sound that owed more to the avant garde than to rock & roll. Although the bands didn't make much of an impact while they were active in the '70s, their music anticipated much post-punk of the early '80s, particularly industrial rock. Kraut rock also came into vogue in the '90s, when groups like Stereolab and Tortoise began incorporating the hypnotic rhythms and electronic experiments of the German art-rock bands into their own, vaguely avant-garde indie rock

Krautrock can also be considered as 70's "acid" rock from Germany. A majority of bands experiment long instrumental improvisations with an important use of psychedelic effects, weird electronic sounds.

Krautrock 20 key studio albums

Interview and review with Kamelot

Kamelot is ready to continue their ascension to the pinnacle of metal royalty!

This is the kind of tacky statement that labels use in their promotion sheets. Sometimes we should take these statements with a lot of scepticism but in case of Kamelot I’m inclined to agree with the label. The band that was founded in Florida back in 1992 keep on making records that seem to be getting better every time. Ever since in 1997 the excellent Norwegian singer Roy Khan (ex-Conception) joined the band things are going upwards with increasing success. Their music is described by guitarist Thomas Youngblood as a mixture of power, gothic and progressive metal. All of these elements are present on their new album Ghost Opera which is their eightieth studio album. DPRP could catch up with singer Khan to reflect on this new release and some other novelties.

Ghost Opera seems to be a darker and more experimental album yet very straight forward. Was it deliberate to go for this kind of sound?

Well the thing that was deliberate is that this time around it’s no concept album. The last five years we have been busy working with the concept of Faust by Goethe for the albums Epica and The Black Halo. This time the approach was refreshing as we did the song writing without having to go by a predefined lyrical context. But the way the music and the atmosphere of the album turned out wasn’t really deliberate. Ghost Opera has a somewhat darker feel but I think it’s more of a live vibe. It is just the way it turned out to be.

I think your albums keep getting better and better. Did you feel any pressure to top the great The Black Halo?

No, there is not really any pressure. Of course it’s great when an album turns out very well but whenever we start with the whole procedure of a new album we try to look forward and not look back. We just give our best each time without comparing it to our other efforts.

Can you tell me some more about the way Kamelot’s music is created? Who is responsible for the lyrics?

Usually the music comes first. It was different with the last two albums as I mentioned but Ghost Opera started out with the musical ideas. We focused on the more essential parts of the songs. We also stayed in the format of short songs this time. All songs are under the five minutes and more straight to the point. I’m the main person in Kamelot to come up with the lyrics. And I can count on the help of Thomas (Youngblood) who as Native American speaker can assist me if there are some English language problems in the lyrics.

Where do you get your inspiration from when writing the lyrics?

When we are making the demo’s I sometimes come up with all kinds of phrases. Just little things that sound interesting to me. Usually that evolves in some lyrical lines that work as a foundation or framework for the song. Then the other words have to match with these lines to create the lyrics.

This time around it is no concept album. But is there a theme of some sort that connects the songs?

Not really a theme but the whole vibe of the album is a bit melancholic. The lyrics have some sad topics. These are some of the heaviest lyrics I have ever written. So there is a whole of a darker mood on the album. It also shows through in the way the orchestration is done in some of the songs. For example how the deep trombones give a darker vibe. And there are certainly progressive elements. But some are more subtle on this album.

What does Blücher mean?

I get asked a lot for that! haha Blücher was the name of a German ship that was involved in the invasion of Norway at the beginning of the Second World War. The ship’s purpose was to invade the Norwegian city Oslo. At the starting of the war it was the newest ship of the German navy but the ship got destroyed on its first journey. It was shot down in 1939 by two torpedoes and sadly most of the crew died.

Love You To Death is a very captivating song with interesting lyrics. What is it about?

It is based on a Japanese legend about the sad tragedy involving a young couple in love. The girl dies at the age of 15 due to an unfortunate disease. But she comes back to life in some strange way to guide her love through his suffering.

Who is the lady singing on Love You To Death?

Amanda Somerville! She also sung on the track Abandoned from The Black Halo. She is an excellent singer. Amanda is also known for her participation on Aina: Days of Rising Doom.

Is there any female singer you would love to duet with sometime?

Right now, not really no.

You are planning to shoot ten videos for Ghost Opera. Very ambitious! What is the reason behind this?

Ah, like you said it is in a planning stage. I can’t say too much about it now. Of course the costs are enormous so we have to work things out with the record company. But we only want to really do this if we can do it right so we have to see.

Kamelot is a band with a very strong image if you think about the videos and the artwork of the albums. How important is image for Kamelot?

The image is very important. But we spend not too much time on it. It’s just that it comes with being in a band like ours. In some way the whole image thing becomes a part of us. It gets part of our personalities. It is almost like playing a role. But more importantly is that we love what we do and that is the image we portray.

You did a photo shoot for Nocturnal Model's Yearly Calendar! How did this come about? Did you like the experience?

Well some friends of mine contacted us if we would be interested to participate in a photo shoot. They do this every year with different bands. So it was no big deal. It was like a normal day of work really…haha Just posing for a couple of hours.

You have a very distinct, dramatically way of singing. I think almost theatrical. What are your main influences for singing?

A lot of different influences and people really but I have to mention Geoff Tate (Queensryche) and Morten Harket (Aha). And Elvis Presley! I mean subconsciously I got influenced by his way of singing. My father and especially my mother were big fans of his so it’s kind of in my upbringing. It was a big part of my life so I’m sure he has influenced me. When it comes to the song writing I’m influenced by the great names for example The Beatles and Pink Floyd. And I would name TNT as an influence. This is a fellow Norwegian band.

Do you do anything special to keep your voice in shape?

Not really. I just try to live healthy. Not too much smoking and drinking. And I’m warming up my voice every time I have to sing. Warm up for the studio recordings and warm up for the concerts. But there is not something extraordinary that I do.

Rock opera’s in which various musicians / singers contribute are very popular nowadays (like Ayreon, Avantasia or Genius). Have you ever been asked to participate? Would you consider participating?

Yeah, I have been asked. But the thing is I’m not interested if I don’t have complete freedom, artistically, with my contributions. I don’t really do this as I don’t feel the need. I can say what I have to say creatively with Kamelot. And also I’m very busy with this band. There have been some offers and at one point I had some dealings with someone who was involved with Ayreon. But this didn’t result in any firm offer.

Well I thank you for the interview and I wish you all the best of luck in the future.

ONE COLD WINTER'S NIGHT TOUR 2007
with Special Guests Leaves' Eyes

16 Jun 2007 - Fields of Rock Festival Biddinghuizen, NL
18 Jun 2007 - Club Tochka Moscow, RU
23 Jun 2007 - Monsters of Rock Festival Zaragoza, ES
07 Jul 2007 - Evolution Festival Firenze, IT
14 Jul 2007 - Kvinesdal Rock Festival Kvinesdal, NO

GHOST OPERA NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2007
with Special Guests Leaves' Eyes

17 Aug 2007 - Jaxx West Springfield, Virginia
18 Aug 2007 - The Chance Theatre NY, New York
19 Aug 2007 - B. B. King New York, New York
22 Aug 2007 - Le Medley Montreal, Quebec
23 Aug 2007 - L'Imperial Quebec City, Quebec
24 Aug 2007 - The Opera House Toronto, Ontario
25 Aug 2007 - Peabody's Cleveland, Ohio
27 Aug 2007 - The Pearl Room Mokena, Illinois
28 Aug 2007 - Station 4 St. Paul, Minnesota
30 Aug 2007 - Bluebird Theater Denver, Colorado
01 Sep 2007 - Galaxy Theatre Santa Ana, California
02 Sep 2007 - Key Club Los Angeles, California
04 Sep 2007 - The Clubhouse Tempe, Arizona
05 Sep 2007 - Launchpad Albuquerque, New Mexico
07 Sep 2007 - White Rabbit San Antonio, Texas
08 Sep 2007 - Ridglea Theater Ft Worth, Texas
09 Sep 2007 - Meridian Houston, Texas
28 Sep 2007 - Mean Fiddler London, UK
29 Sep 2007 - Podium Hardenberg, NL
30 Sep 2007 - Waerdse Tempel Heerhugowaard, NL
02 Oct 2007 - Transbordeur Lyon, FR
03 Oct 2007 - Rock School Barbey Bordeaux, FR

GHOST OPERA JAPANESE TOUR 2007
with Special Guests Firewind

10 Oct 2007 - Shibuya O-East Tokyo, JP
11 Oct 2007 - Shinsaibashi Club Quattro Osaka, JP
12 Oct 2007 - The Bottom Line Nagoya, JP
14 Oct 2007 - Yokohama Blitz Yokohama, JP
 

Linker:

http://www.kamelot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/kamelot

http://www.ghostopera.com/

Review “ Black Halo”: