Generally, 'Karfagen' albums are available on spotify quite late after their release and after 'Birds of Passage' which I reviewed 1 month after its release in the beginning of 2020, the end of 2020 also saw the release of 'Principles and Theory of Spektra'. With this impressive rhythm of an album every year, 'Antony Kalugin' continues in its momentum with this time its new baby 'Land of Green and Gold'. Released at the very beginning of 2022, it takes us on a new original and captivating progressive journey with an alternation between long developments and much shorter titles.
We are welcomed by a short and bucolic 'Kingfisher and Dragonflies (Part 3)' which continues the first two chapters of old albums ('The Key to Perception' from 2009 and 'Solitary Sandpiper Journey' from 2010) and which highlights a calm atmosphere thanks to the flute and the acoustic guitar, then, the first long development of the suite 'Land Of Green' is a varied instrumental with various influences which embarks us in a first progressive saga with very beautiful passages of keyboards of Antony Kalugin' which enchants us by making succeed different sonorities and intensities. Part 2 of 'Land Of Green' brings a more jazzy and muffled side and the endearing melody lulls us and caresses us delicately, 'Alexandr Pavlov' giving us magnificent electric guitar solos, then, the comma 'Solis Festum' with a delicious accordion section makes the link with the 3rd part of 'Land Of Green' which regains vigor with the contribution of the brass and which makes it a catchy title with always this jazzy side, intense in the first part and which presents in the middle of the title a more measured section to return with a more sustained finale. New interlude, this time acoustic, 'Pastoral' is aptly named and is a classical guitar piece, then, the first chapter of 'Garden of Hope' returns to a cozy atmosphere of a jazz box and is the first title with a short Antony's vocal section on the finale. Second long development, 'Land of Gold' is certainly the most progressive title with multiple variations around the main theme which sometimes brings us back to 'Floydian' atmospheres, sometimes to jazz atmospheres or sometimes to more pastoral climates. With the 2nd part of 'Land Of Gold', it is a rather direct and sung title made up of three parts, quiet at the beginning and which gradually gains momentum to come down to a very calm atmospheric finale, then, 'Land of Jazz' bears its name well because we are once again taken into a cozy atmosphere of a jazz club with a modern-sounding saxophone which offers us different atmospheres, first of all haunting then then more intense, the outro ending the previous composition by a new nonchalant comma made of a few piano chords accompanied by the saxophone with melancholic accents.
In summary, 'Antony Kalugin' continues to offer us albums of great richness, mostly instrumental and, this time, he adds new influences because, beyond the progressive aspect, this ' Land of Green and Gold' is bathed in jazzy atmospheres which opens up other horizons for 'Karfagen' and shows even more the extent of the talent of the Ukrainian who is at ease in all styles of music... | |
