Who is the band? What is their history? What motivates them?
“In 1994 I decided that I’ll be a professional musician and gathered some friends and created Karfagen.” “Although it was a school band we played mainly our own music and in 1997 I entered architectural university, (I’m an architect by profession) but I continued to walk the musical road.”.
“And in 1998 I recorded my first "album" in a studio; looking back it was very raw and unprofessional.” “I was only 17 and what I knew about mixing and mastering was nothing.” “Hey, but I never gave up!”.
“Until 2001 lots of the vocals were written in Russian, later in 2001 I completed my first fully electronic album “The Water "(new age, ambient, art - rock).” “From 2003 until 2006 I composed and recorded lots of new age and enigmatic stuff.” “It was a commercial step but this gave me an opportunity to be a self employed musician working on my music the whole day”.” It was the time of learning and it opened new horizons for me.” (Source: Antony Kalugin‘s Sunchild Page, 2010).
Review:
1. Postcards from the past (pt1) (1:40) – Soft keys and vocals to open the album. “Take a look at my life.” “Let me see yours too.” “Together we can share postcards from the past.” “Together as one…to reach the sea.” Wonderful orchestration with flute, strings and keys.
2. The invisible line (pt1) (6:22) – Power drums and synths break the silence along with bass and electric guitar. “Can you call the tune?” “Can you tell the time?” “Can you walk between The invisible line?” Beautiful supporting female vocals with woodwinds, synths, and drums building an anthem sound. Very original. “Let me take you on a journey.” “Across that very special line.” “Let me introduce you to the changing of water into wine.” The instrumental section that follows is full of highlights and a good sampling of what will follow on this journey of sound. The synth sounds and effects are wonderful.
3. Raindrops (6:29) – This one opens with those raindrops and thunder. “Rain drops, gentle touch of the wind.” “I can feel you close to me.” “Under the veil of the dawn.” “Rain drops, water paintings in the sky.” “Fade the memories of the past; fade the glory of the night.” The flute, soft drums, electric guitar and synths warm and then escalate their thunder as the song progresses. “You will always be the light for me.” “You will always be the light...” The sax soloing and keys are wonderful throughout the song. Piano, keys, drums, bass, and those raindrops all around remind me of some of Satellite’s early work. One of the better songs on the album. A romantic, soft, but with moments of power, song that lifts this early part of the album well.
4. Amalgama (5:08) – A synthesizer slide comes in as the last song drifts perfectly in this one. That synthesizer and organ are real highlights of this album, along with the bold electric guitar which makes its entry with drums. An instrumental song which truly showcases the talents of the many artists on this work. Power guitar riffs make their entrances throughout as you are surrounded with the sounds of synths, flutes, and organs. Definitely one of the best songs on the album. The song fades out beautifully to those raindrops.
5. A moment in time (5:13) – This song transitions from the last with Antony’s vocals, “To wish upon a star, may be a wish too far, so be careful for what you seek.” A great use of piano and synths with electric guitar filling in the spaces. The use of the sax to create highlight moments is wonderful. The spacey synths that surround create a dream world effect which is wonderful to close your eyes and just appreciate.
6. Time & the tide (11:20) – One of the big epic songs on the album. This one opens with the Ukrainian Bandura, which sounds allot like a sitar, creating a wonderful dreamlike effect to open this one. Strings, woodwinds, and orchestration soon follow to create a song of epic proportions. A wonderful, morning opening complete with rooster, bassoon, soft vocals and drums with the electric and bass guitars along for the ride. Great supporting vocals as the sax makes its entrance to deliver hook flights of fantasy. Grinding guitars as the vocals unfold, “Time passes us by, oh so quickly.” “Love falls from the sky if only.” “One day in time our castle may fall, live for a moment.” There are wonderful moments of solo guitar and sax within this track that would be a standout on any album.
7. Fading light (3:31) – Acoustic guitar. “Where will you go?” “And who will you meet?” “How you will see?” “When the light is fading.” The flute, acoustic, bass, drums and keys surround the song and envelope it in warmth. The vocals emit a warm feeling of caring, “Your faith will see you through.” “To the place so rare, that faith will take you to a place without despair.” “I hope that one day too, I will meet you there.”
8. Recollections (1:33) – A short acoustic guitar interlude with soft flowing stream effects and penny flute in the background. Shakers and the acoustic take you through this quiet song of reflection.
9. Line in the sand (14:36) – The big epic on the album. It opens with piano similar to my favorite, Supper’s Ready, heightening my interest and making this an early candidate for the best song on the album. Then that roaring guitar and piano along with organ, drums and bass. The piano and sound effects drift through as the vocals begin, “We walked the shore hand in hand. “ And drew a line deep in the sand.” “As we stood each side and smiled together.” “Our line would stay and define forever!” Drums and keys to support a duet of male and female vocals. Just wonderful. The keys, bass, drums, and guitar build a melody as the vocals bring back the storyline, “As ships that sometimes pass in the night, I remained on board.” “It was love at first sight.” “Feelings!” The drum, bass and lead guitar interlude after is very good. The song drifts into a very cool instrumental section with all of the instruments and players adding their power to the piece. The song closes with that wonderful piano and the vocals, “Our special feelings.” “Our own desires.” “On the empty shore.” “With hearts on fire!”
10. Postcards from the past (pt2) (5:20) – The piano builds a very strong reminder of the first segment of this song as the album is coming to a close. “Like a fine wine.” “Memories last the time.” “Together we can share.” “Postcards from the past.” The synths are more pronounced on this segment of the song. The drumming more urgent and the guitar more powerful at time. The song closes out with beautiful piano and synths.
11. The invisible line (pt2) (8:21) – That wonderful piano is back. “The sands of time have run and run, but still I feel you close to me.” “Thru sun, wind and rain, we have laughed.”
“Two young souls - but one old tree...” The lyrics are wonderfully romantic. “I’ll remember all these days, forever.” “And I’ll remember your blue eyes.” “Speak to me,
and I’ll remember your first smile, forever.”
Rating: 9/10 – One of the better classic prog albums I have heard this year. This album is full of beautiful music and a story which will keep you interested and involved. The lyrics, vocals and musicianship are superb. The added sax is definitely a highlight along with the use of traditional Ukrainian Bandura. It’s always impressive when musicians share the treasures of their culture with the audience. There are many reminders of both early and mid 70s Genesis all over the keys and sounds on this one. That made it an instant favorite for me. But this is all original, making it even more special.
Reviewed by Prof on June 23rd, 2010
