Karfagen -  Omni

After just having finished my, not so positive, review of the latest Steven Wilson album I am delighted to discover that I am very happy with another album that also uses a side A and side B principle. Antony Kalugin's new album under his project name Karfagen is also presented in that way. Omni, which means as much as "all" or "all-encompassing", is also split into two parts, just like an LP used to be. I don't have any warm feelings for the LP format or vinyl anymore, but if an artist does, then this choice is understandable. The disadvantage is that it has become a relatively short album because just over forty-five minutes is limited by today's standards, and possibilities of the CD format. I will come back to this later.

First to the music and I can't hide my enthusiasm anymore because I am very impressed by this beautiful album. If I would label Omni I would say that side A is very good, Omni B is really fantastic. Where Kalugin initially considered a fully instrumental album, after filling in a track with the vocals of his partner Olga Rostovska, he decided to approach several vocalists to provide even more vocals to his music written for this release. This sometimes doesn't work out so well, but on Omni it has led to really impressive performances by a number of very good singers. Richard Sinclair (Caravan, Camel), Per Malmberg (Salva), Jean Pageau (Mystery), Marco Glühmann (Sylvan) and Bartosz Kossowicz (Quidam, Collage) are allowed to tell the story of Omni in their own timbres. Of course, Kalugin himself also takes care of some vocal lines and despite the fact that he may not be the most gifted singer, he also does this quite well.

But not only vocally he has engaged a number of top players. When I read that Michel St-Pere (Mystery, Huis) has contributed as a guitarist, it could hardly go wrong because I am a big fan of his guitar playing. Of course, that does not alter the fact that regular guitarist Max Velychko also plays great, just listen to his solo in Unchained, beautiful and moving. And why would you ask Malmberg to only sing when he can also play a nice bit of guitar (The Spark). We don't really need to talk about Antony's keyboard playing anymore because he is one of the best in our genre and shows that again. Without a steady rhythm section it wouldn't sound as good and with Aleksandr Murenko on drums you can't go wrong. The bass parts are divided between Richard Sinclair, Per Malmberg and Kalugin himself, with the fretless playing of Sinclair (The Storyteller) in particular creating a special atmosphere. Finally, we have to mention John Hackett (flute) and Daniel Ilyin (violin) because they also help determine the atmosphere on this album.

When an album is so strong vocally and musically, the question remains, what are the compositions like? I considered naming all the separate parts of Omni, because as always, the long suites are divided into separate tracks, but I think that detracts from the chosen concept. Of course you can listen to these tracks separately, but I enjoy this masterpiece the most when I listen to the whole thing in one go and that is not a problem with the short playing time. I promised to come back to the playing time. The download version also comes with an Omni Overture II and I would have loved to see it on the CD, as a conclusion that is.

The music is occasionally dreamy and generally quite uncomplicated but with deeper underlays and beautiful arrangements. The emotion and melancholy are tangible and that's what it's all about, conveying the right feelings and intentions through beautiful melodies. There are several great guitar solos on the album, but that certainly doesn't make Kalugin's keyboard playing any less striking. No freaking but just clever compositions with well-played parts. Omni A consists of a few more parts than Omni B and that is mainly due to the instrumental interludes that string together the more clearly defined songs. Sinclair's somewhat "lazy" voice conjures up a Canterbury-like atmosphere, creating a laid-back feeling and Rostovska also sings on a track (Whispers from the Past).  On Omni B, the vocal parts are really world class. Pageau, Glühmann, Kossowicz and Sinclair successively make a substantial contribution, accompanied by the background vocals of Antony and Olga. In You and I St-Pere plays a very beautiful solo in his familiar way, but also in The Cards we play his playing is so well intertwined with Glühmann's voice. And I could go on like this for a while.

The lyrics are written with the situation in the world right now in mind but without being overly political or judgemental. More from a personal view on things and how we have to deal with it all (Omni).

If you don't know Kalugin's music yet but you like melodic prog with virtuosity and subtlety poured into a true concept album, try Omi.

For the people who are already familiar with the music of Antony Kalugin, you should really take some time to listen to Omni because this is a glorious summary of all the strong elements from his music. Hackett's flute parts are sparse but influential and fortunately we don't hear any other horns, I'm happy with that.

Kalugin is sometimes accused of releasing too much music and I can sometimes relate to that, but remember that this Ukrainian musician has to work hard to realise his musical dreams. As I am always looking at a cd as a complete package and work of art I must mention the outstanding artwork by Krzysztof Wisniewski.

For now the biggest contender for the number one spot in my yearlist.

Music 95

Cover 93