Review – Karda Estra – The Seas And The Stars

Seas & Stars cover

I wonder where you stand on soundtracks, you know, the incidental music written specifically for movies and TV shows? Can it really stand separate from the film or TV show it was intended to accompany? And what about music that is not intentionally written for film or TV, music with a cinematic scope that feels like it could be used as a soundtrack?

I love cinematic, atmospheric music but some soundtracks really are just dull and boring if taken away from their natural habitat. What seemed a good idea at the time may look extremely different in the light of day and in retrospect. However, there are some superb albums that invoke thoughts and images as if they were taken from the silver screen.

These albums really tend to be full of thoughtful and intelligent music, tracks that are good for the mind as well as the soul. A few that come to mind are ‘Ra’ by Tony Patterson, ‘Atlantean Symphony’ by Dreamfire, ‘Fragile’ by Acke Hallgren and ‘The Dream Of The Whale’ by Enrico Pinna, releases that take the listener to another place or time and envelop you int heir narrative.

Another band that have been slightly under my radar is Karda Estra, noted for their spacey, sci-fi soundtrack nature and ability to deliver expansive concepts and theories. The band (the brainchild of Richard Wileman) have released eleven full length albums up to press and 2015 sees them release an E.P. ‘The Seas And The Stars’.

The band’s own description of the new release:

‘The Seas And The Stars’ chronicles the collision between the Andromeda galaxy and our own Milky Way, the eventual end of everything, a celestial intervention and a return to where everything began – viewed from an impossible, empty shoreline.

Sounds very deep and meaningful doesn’t it? Well, let’s have a listen and find out.

Seas & Stars band photo

The first thing to note is that the E.P. has a running length of just twenty minutes, short and sweet? let’s see……

Tidal is a short opening track, a very enigmatic, mysterious and even creepy instrumental that succeeds in getting under your skin and  grating on your psyche in a deliciously dark manner, it certainly left my skin crawling in a not entirely unpleasant way.

The suspense and cinematic atmosphere continues with Andromeda Approaches! Once again there is a slightly uneasy feeling to the music, this time, however, the introduction of some otherworldly, ethereal feminine vocals adds a flimsy coating of humanity to the otherwise alien feeling that the music generates. This really could be a soundtrack straight from an Art House picture or a seventies deeply convoluted sci-fi film, it really does grab you and reel you in, leaving you powerless to refuse and mildly bemused afterwards.

The intro to Lighthouse sheds some of the enigma and abstruseness of the previous tracks yet is still very cinematic in nature, but not for long. As it continues it loses the modicum of playfulness that was present to become increasingly enigmatic, like some sort of Victorian tale playing out in front of you. I can’t get The Woman In Black out of my mind, the music would suit that Gothic horror tale down to tee. Sepia tinged characters flit across your mind, leaving an indelible image burned into your mind. The sinister feel lifts in places, as if a dark shroud has been removed from your thoughts yet darkness is maybe only hidden round the corner.

Onto another short track, The Big Freeze is as foreboding as they come. Claustrophobic to a distraction, it holds you in its shadowy grasp and seems to invade your very being with an alien artistry. Clashing sounds bounce across your mind, leaving a mark wherever they land. This track is really quite intimidating in a strangely likeable way and you lament its passing while simultaneously giving thanks.

A really intricate, deep, dark song full of apprehension and portent, The Sleepers of Gliese is full of a cold and calculating intelligence that feels not of this world. The ‘chamber music’ style of delivery that the band use gives them lots of scope to express their music in many different ways and the sinuous nature of the woodwind instruments give this song a definite out of this world aura. The exquisite, filmy female vocals add a gossamer thin veneer of benevolence to the track but there is no getting away from the brooding heart of the music. I wouldn’t listen to this in a darkened room, it leaves the hairs on the back of your neck standing up as the darkness in the shadows waits to unveil itself.

Twenty minutes flashes past in an instant as the final track Return To The Singularity opens with its feeling of portent and foreboding. Just over one minute of music that feels like it weighs more than the whole universe bearing down on you before coming to a truncated close.

Wow, do I need to feel the sun on my face after that. Twenty minutes of the most intense,darkly enticing music that you will ever have the pleasure to listen to. Not for the faint hearted but an allegorical musical journey that, if you enjoy cinematic, atmospheric releases with a cryptic and esoteric edge, will leave you feeling satiated.

Released 4th August 2015

Buy The Seas And The Stars from bandcamp

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not so Weekly Wallet Emptier – 2nd September 2015

Sorry for my tardiness but holidays and work have got in the way……

Anyway, here we go with a few more delights for you to contemplate buying…

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Amadeus Awad – Death is Just a Feeling

Lebanese musician Amadeus is one of those guys who really wears his heart on his sleeve. Deep, absorbing and dark and with guests of the calibre of Anneke Van GiersbergenArjen Lucassen and Jimmy Keegan to name just a few, it is his most cohesive and impressive work to date. One word, marvelous…..

Next in the review queue….

Stand out track – Lonesome Clown

Released 20th August 2015

Buy from MRR records here…

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Roz Vitalis – Lavoro D’Amore

Beautiful instrumental music from this Russian band. Really mesmerising and dreamlike and yet with a hard underbelly, it caught my attention in a big way. Richly orchestrated and with a knowing aged honesty at its core, it is one that will open your mind and leave you in a state of wonder. Epic and Floydian in places and mind bending all over.

Stand out track – What Are You thinking

Released 26th March 2015

but Roz Vitalis at bandcamp

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The Bob Lazar Story – Self-Loathing Joe

Weird, wacky and quite wonderful, this album really does put a smile on your face. Not quite as ‘out-there’ as Cheeto’s Magazine but definitely slap bang in the middle of the ‘insane’ category it really has its tongue stuck right in its cheek. To quote the artist themselves…..

“Purveyor of tritonal wankery, The Bob Lazar Story hail from Christchurch, NZ and offer you an oasis of ProgMathsyFusion to soothe your weary earholes.”

Stand out track – Ezekiel II

Released 23rd August 2015

Buy Self-Loathing Joe from bandcamp

Seas & Stars cover

Karda Estra – The Seas and the Stars

Calm, collected and cinematic, this is music for the intellectual. Quite deep in meaning and execution it requires your complete attention and then delivers in quite a bewitching manner. Some times acoustically dissonant but, overall, thematically aesthetic and very pleasing on the ears. Big ideas realised in a big soundscape.

Stand out track – Lighthouse

Released 4th August 2015

But Karda Estra from bandcamp

And now for something completely different….

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John Storey – Euphonium

I have a soft spot for some classical music and, after the recent Big Big Train gigs, the music of the Band of the Coldstream Guards really caught my attention. John Storey is a celebrated euphonium player who has featured on the Big Big Train’s recent records and many other releases and I have had the pleasure of listening to his 2012 release ‘Euphonium’. It is an utter delight and really wonderful.

Released in 2012

Buy from the Euphonium store