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R.A.I.G., DD
“Lique Mekwas” is the 7th studio album by VESPERO, their 1st one performed as a 6-piece ensemble comprising Ivan Fedotov (drums, percussion), Alexander Timakov (drums, percussion), Arkady Fedotov (bass, synthesizers), Alexander Kuzovlev (guitars, electric piano), Alexey Klabukov (keyboards, synthesizers), and Vitaly Borodin (violin). It’s all instrumental musical burlesque combining the elements of prog-rock, space-psychedelia, jazz-fusion, and world-beats. The album tells a story of a young man who was appointed to serve the Crown Prince of Abyssinia as a guard-impersonator, and after the years of hard trials and adventures got to know that he had always been a true King of his country. Recorded and mixed by Alexander Kuzovlev; mastered by Tobias Svensson. Original artwork image by Alexander Zhelonkin. (7 tracks – 75 min.). Free streaming or immediate digital download of the album (MP3, FLAC or other formats) is available through Official R.A.I.G. Bandcamp.
R.A.I.G., R092, CD
CD comes in a full-color 4-panel cardboard folder.
You can order CD from our bandcamp merch page
REVIEWS
Ilias Goumagias from progrocks.gr
[collapse title=””]20 / 06 / 2016After the masterpiece Fitful slumber Until 5 A.M., released in 2015 (our reviews here, in Greek only), the last thing one would expect from Vespero is a new 75-minute epic album of comparable quality and importance, just one year later. Yet, Vespero against all predictions, or rather against all logic, are here again, not “empty” by inspiration after such a great album.
Their new album tells a story of a young man who was appointed to serve the Crown Prince of Abyssinia as a guard-impersonator, and after the years of hard trials and adventures got to know that he had always been a true king of his country; a story of historical, sociopolitical and at the same time existential background.
Back2Back champions
Following the concept of Lique Mekwas, Vespero removed the traditional Russian musical elements (features of Fitful Slumber…) and recruited tribal percussion and saxophone, which, combined with the beautiful guitar approach “à la Santana” in many parts, give a strong latin complexion in the project, from which the typical extreme psychedelic experimentation and rich variations in rhythm are not absent.
This time the band is less focused on compositions, but this doesn’t mean that the beautiful musical themes interwoven in a unique way are lacking. The result is a completely autonomous sound, a kind of jamming not spent in chatty improvisations nor curbed by the strict rules of composition, but a sound that lives and breathes as an independent entity, recounting the story of the album. The ambition of the band to play fusion is clear and they succeed in doing so in a way that sometimes is reminiscent of the “nuclear” sessions of Santana in the early 70s (The Course Of Abagaz), or the “expensive” playing of Jean-Luc Ponty (Oromoo’s Flashing Eyes ), while in some parts the sound output reaches the stardom of Mars Volta in Amputechture, while expressing what Mars Volta tried to do at that time but failed to accomplish as Vespero do today. However, one can easily trace countless coenobitic elements (early Floyd and especially Gong) which are a basic ingredient of any Vespero album.
Among the album tracks it is difficult to single out one in particular, however The Emperor’s Second Self, a seminar of cosmic music structure and deconstruction, holds a slight edge. Certainly the album structure helps a lot to highlight the playing of the guitarist Alexander Kuzovlef, who besides Santana (a perfect example of this is the “authority” that marks the two notes in the 20th second of Abyssinian Ground), embellishes the tracks with other elements as well, both technically and acoustically (e.g. in the introduction of Ras Dashien, the influences by Steve Hackett are more than obvious).
After this year’s release of Lique Mekwas, what is certain and at the same time causes joy, respect and awe is the fact that Vespero are in the middle of a creative orgasm, proving that not only they deserve to be at the top of space-rock, but also that they surpass the limits of the genre, thus willingly entering in more jazzy musical fields. It is quite possible that they are preparing a successor while this review is written. For the time being, we are dealing with a great album that looks like the perfect soundtrack for this summer.
9 / 10
Ilias Goumagias
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César Inca Mendoza from rock-progresivo.com
[collapse title=””]8 junio 2016 Hoy tenemos el placer de centrar nuestros oídos en el nuevo trabajo de los rusos VESPERO, figuras destacadas de la nueva generación del space-rock progresivo, por motivo de su reciente nuevo disco “Lique Mekwas”, el séptimo ítem de su catálogo de estudio. VESPERO se asienta como sexteto con las coordinadas presencias de Ivan Fedotov [batería, percusión y wave drum], Alexander Timakov [percusión y wave drum], Arkady Fedotov [bajos y sintetizadores], Alexandre Kuzovlev [guitarras y piano eléctrico], Alexey Klabukov [teclados, sintetizadores y efectos] y Vitaly Borodin [violín]. Con las ocasionales participaciones del saxofonista invitado Pavel Alekseev, el sonido grupal se enriquece con incrementados coloridos con los que se pueden explayar los esquemas musicales diseñados para la ocasión. Publicado por el sello R.A.I.G. en la segunda mitad del pasado mes de marzo, “Lique Mekwas” es un disco conceptual basado en la historia de un joven a quien se asignó la misión de proteger al Príncipe de Abisinia como su protector-imitador, y tras pasar por muchos avatares y situaciones de riesgo, se revela como un hombre con auténtico espíritu de rey.Durando la maratónica cantidad de 16 ¼ minutos, ‘The Course Of Abagaz’ abre el repertorio con un intenso groove afro-tropical que nos remite a aquellos tiempos de los tres primeros discos de SANTANA y la vitalidad exótica de OSIBISA, añadiéndose elementos de psicodelia ruda al estilo de los primeros años de los legendarios OZRIC TENTACLES (especialmente en la etapa que va desde “Sliding Gliding Worlds” hasta “Strangeitude”). La presencia del saxo añade matices jazzeros al asunto mientras el reinante frenesí se asienta soberbiamente… hasta poco antes de llegar a la frontera del séptimo minuto, que es cuando hay una parada en el camino para la exhibición de unas capas flotantes de múltiples sintetizadores centrados en crear una ambientación cibernética. Es a partir de aquí que la dupla rítmica sobriamente introduce un compás jamaicano inspirado en el dub-reggae: ahora el frenesí muscular inicial es reemplazado por un encantador sosiego espiritual mientras se instaura la nueva modalidad de space-rock exótico. Para los minutos finales, la primera sección es retomada con una convicción fresca y contagiosa. Y así, como quien no quiere la cosa, han pasado más de 16 minutos. Cargando sobre su espalda la misión de suceder a una pieza de apertura tan extensa, ‘Ras Dashen’ ocupa un no desdeñable espacio de 9 ½ minutos. Abordando ritmos y texturas de África del Norte y del Oriente Próximo en su primera sección, la pieza comienza focalizándose en la faceta etérea del ideario musical de la banda, desarrollando un encuadre global en medio de las capas de teclado y los cálidos arreglos percusivos; luego, el grupo elabora un esquema un poco más robusto en cuanto a lo rockero pero sin dejar de recibir los ecos de la dinámica reflexiva instaurada al inicio. El violín cumple a la perfección los sucesivos roles de cómplice de la guitarra y colorista acompañador de los sintetizadores. ‘Oromoo’s Flashing Eyes’ propone una vitalista mezcla de reggae y jazz-rock que bajo el gobierno de la psicodelia progresiva se traduce en una expansión de sonoridades pletóricas de fervor y cadencias extrovertidas.
‘Abyssinian Ground’ sigue de cerca a la aureola de majestuosa distinción de la pieza precedente, y también en parte, al dinamismo reflexivo y sereno que marcó a la primera sección de ‘Ras Dashen’, dando como resultado una maravillosa expansión de la vitalidad sofisticada para la cual el esquema sonoro de VESPERO siempre ha sido terreno fértil. Estableciendo nexos claros con la tradición del jazz-fusion estadounidense y con el modelo del PIERRE MOERLEN’S GONG, el colectivo ruso nos regala un hermoso viaje jazz-progresivo en el cual lo psicodélico pasa a ser un factor secundario. ‘Isidore’s Prophet’ se dedica a centrarse en lo introspectivo aunque no por ello resulta una pieza lánguida y cándida: por el contrario, el magnífico y consistente groove instaurado por el trío rítmico y la permanente presencia protagónica de la guitarra nos remiten a una voracidad propia del rock, aunque en este caso ella viene filtrada a través de la maraña de sofisticación cósmica exigida por la pieza desde sus entrañas esenciales. De todas maneras, más tarde o más temprano, el ensamble pasa a gestar un viraje hacia consonancias más filudas. Uno que hubiera estado orgulloso de haber gestado esta pieza e incluirla en su catálogo compositivo es STEVE HILLAGE, y lo mismo vale para ED WYNNE, el eterno jefe de OZRIC TENTACLES. ‘Follow The Fitawrari’ está más metido en la musculatura del estándar progresivo psicodélico, perpetuando así el legado de esos primeros años densamente ácidos de los OZRIC TENTACLES, y también por ello, a otras bandas jóvenes veteranas como QUANTUM FANTAY e HIDRIA SPACEFOLK. Dando un viraje inesperadamente perturbador al álbum en sus instancias finales, la pieza que ocupa los últimos 11 ½ minutos del mismo y que se titula ‘The Emperor’s Sescond Self’ instala un clima oscurantista y nebuloso, al modo de un paseo por los límites entre el Limbo y el Purgatorio. Tras comenzar con un groove exótico en clave sosegada, el esquema rítmico termina transitando sobre un terreno sobre el cual se siente presto a ser deconstruido en cualquier momento. Por su parte, los ornamentos de sintetizador y guitarra se vuelven crecientemente densos, haciendo que la inquietud espectral antes latente se haga patente hasta el punto de llenar todos los espacios posibles hasta la saciedad. Tenemos aquí el resurgir de algunos modelos del krautrock (GILA, GURU GUR, AGITATION FREE), ni más ni menos. Un broche sorprendente, y sobre todo, soberbio para un repertorio impresionante.
Han sido 75 minutos de magia space-rockera de parte de un grupo que, por lo visto, no sabe cómo enfrentarse a un periodo de crisis, pues todos los discos que ha venido haciendo hasta el día de hoy les muestra en un continuo estado de gracia creativa. Los artesanos musicales que conforman VESPERO nos han brindado con “Lique Mekwas” un trabajo de ingeniería musical meticulosamente diseñado y ornamentado. Definitivamente, queda claro que los VESPERO siguen siendo monarcas irremplazables de la provincia psicodélica dentro del gran cosmos progresivo de nuestros días ¡Disco recomendado al 200![/collapse]
Max from agesofrock
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marzo 23, 2016
Prosegue imperterrita la marcia dei Vespero giunti in pochi anni al settimo album. Lique Mekwas è il titolo del nuovo lavoro della band russa capitanata dai fratelli Fedotov e, a grandi linee, poco aggiunge a quanto già non si sapesse sugli orientamenti musicali del combo di Astrakhan.Space rock fatto di lunghe digressioni interamente strumentali, caratterizzate dalla presenza palpabile del violino (Vitaly Borodin) e, con più parsimonia, di un sax aggiunto (Pavel Alekseev): ciò detto a vantaggio di chi non li conoscesse. Devo anche sottolineare che si tratta sicuramente di musicisti dotati di una cifra tecnica non indifferente; il limite, purtroppo facilmente individuabile, risiede in una talvolta pervicace similitudine al sound dei Ozric Tentacles.Di nuovo ci troviamo in quella situazione in cui il termine “derivativo” non solo purtroppo non è fuori luogo ma è in assoluto il più calzante e, per certi versi, è un peccato. E’ pur vero che la fattiva presenza del violino e di alcune particolari sonorità provenienti dalla noise box suonata dal tastierista Alexey Klabukov regalano almeno un tocco di personalità ma la globalità dell’impianto sonoro messo in piedi dal sestetto ed il tipo di impatto (per conto mio) si rifanno troppo da vicino alla matrice originaria.
La tendenza a rendere i brani delle lunghe jam che tendono a svariare partendo da uno spunto, da un’idea, supera qui ogni altra tentazione ed inclinazione, andando a collidere (seppur piacevolmente) contro una sensazione netta di replica; 75 minuti non sono davvero pochi e tranne qualche rara occasione i Vespero avrebbero potuto osare di più.
Come detto, Ozric Tentacles in primis e Hawkwind le stelle polari che guidano il cammino di Lique Mekwas, aperto dalla lunga e trascinante The Course 0f Abagaz. Sedici minuti nei quali protagonista assoluto è il ritmo incessante prodotto dalla coppia Alexander Timakov (percussioni) e Ivan Fedotov (batteria); chitarra (Alexander Kuzovlev) e sax tenore partono alternativamente per una tangente immaginaria, sostenuti da una ritmica che diviene quasi in odore…Santana. Note di basso (Arkady Fedotov ) e keyboards lanciano progressivamente una lunga fase più introspettiva, meno dinamica, sospesa tra psichedelia e trip-hop, prima del pirotecnico finale.
Inquadrato il bersaglio diventa facile procedere. Ras Dashen vede in primo piano il violino, accompagnato da una fitta tessitura ritmica e dagli svolazzi della chitarra, muoversi in un contesto sonoro oscuro ed opprimente.
Oromoo’s Flashing Eyes ancora nel segno di un ritmo quasi in loop; ogni strumento si ritaglia a turno il proprio spazio, tra questi un prepotente ingresso del sax ed il basso protagonista. La seconda fase, assolutamente psichedelica, vede tornare alla ribalta il violino.
Con Abyssinian Ground si fa sentire il vecchio wha-wha sulla chitarra di Kuzovlev ma lo schema compositivo rimane piuttosto bloccato. C’è un buon lavoro di basso e batteria, in grado di “riempire” molto e per il resto si va verso la consuete sarabanda con la chitarra stavolta sotto i riflettori.
Le tracce si susseguono, piacevoli ma sono oggettivamente strutturate in modo piuttosto uniforme. Isidore’s Prophet propone ad esempio un elaborato che si può riallacciare al brano introduttivo, c’è maggiore intensità ma il perimetro di confine resta inalterato.
Follow the Fitawrari è il brano con il piglio più convincente; ritmo e densità sin dall’apertura, sax in buona evidenza seguito dal violino e quindi la chitarra a svariare a lungo, imprevedibilmente.
L’ultima traccia, The Emperor’s Second Self, va a ricercare atmosfere sospese e notturne, quasi d’attesa.
L’ascolto termina qui e come sempre in questi casi non è semplice farne un consuntivo. I ritmi e la “anarchica” piacevolezza del sound dei Vespero non sono in discussione ma resta il fatto che si registra una pressoché totale mancanza di originalità.
Max
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Blogger from Dayz of Purple and Orange
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Vespero are one of the flag bearers of Russian psych. Formed in Astrakhan in 2003, they have honed their artful fusion of psychedelia, space rock and krautrock with ethnic flourishes and flashes of prog rock and improv. The band consist of Arkady ‘Ark’ Fedotov (bass, synths, flutes, voice), Ivan Fedotov (drums, percussions), Alexei Klabukov (synths, keyboards, accordion), Alexander Kuzovlev (guitars, electronics), Vitaly Borodin (violin), and Alexander Timakov (percussion, drums). ‘Lique Mekwas’, the bands seventh full length, tells a story of a young man who was appointed to serve the Crown Prince of Abyssinia as a guard-impersonator, and after the years of hard trials and adventures got to know that he had always been a true King of his country. It is the first part in the band’s Abyssinian Tales dilogy. It starts with ‘The Course of Abagaz’, a sixteen minute journey into the realms of spacey prog. An insistent, drum pattern, bordering on afrobeat, holds together some fine guitarwork that straddles the divide between prog and psych. The synth adds some spacey effects that give it a cosmic feel. The track starts at a mid-tempo rate but settles into something more sedate with touches of jazz before once again hitting its stride, this time with added sax. ‘Ras Dashen’ is a gentle space rock number with more fine guitar and synth effects. The addition of the sax again (courtesy of Pavel Alekseev) lends it a smooth, almost lounge, jazzy feel, while the passages with violin have an ethnic, acid folk feel. I can’t think of many other bands who can mix so many disparate ideas and yet come up with a seamless product. ‘Oromoo’s Flashing Eyes’ is an hypnotic track, again mixing prog, psych and space rock influences….it feels at times very Ozric Tentacles. It is a track with so much going on that the listener is left feeling a tad discombobulated, but in a good way. ‘Abyssinian Ground’ starts as a sophisticated, syncopated prog track before evolving into an upbeat number with definite ethnic flourishes. ‘Isidore’s Prophet’ sees the band yet again embrace the jazzier side of life with the sax and the jazzy drums. As the track progresses it grows into something with a real seventies groove. ‘Follow the Fitawrari’ is probably my favourite from the album….a ‘showcase’ for the album in that contains pretty much everything…some wonderful wah-wah guitar, an insistent rhythm, some ethnic touches all mixed up in a prog/psych package that fair rattles along. ‘The Emperor’s Second Self’ closes the album; a long, hypnotic number with some laid-back prog/psych that closes the album in a classy manner.’Lique Mekwas’ certainly sees Vespero take another direction from some of their earlier outings – it is built on a more progressive base and has definite jazz influences. This is by no means a bad thing and it combines well with the trademark Vespero ethno-rock of the past. There is no doubt that the band are technically astute and accomplished musicians and the album is put together in a thoughtful way. A fine album that rewards the listener with its flurries of activity and then more sedate passages
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Carry Munter from New Underground Music
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Vespero werd in 2003 in Astrakhan, zuid Rusland opgericht en brengt sinds 2004 muziek uit, zowel in eigen beheer, als via maatschappijen.
De band onderging sinds hun oprichting diverse keren bezettingswisselingen en bestaat uit: Ivan Fedotov – drums en percussie, Arkady Fedotov – basgitaar,
synthesizer, fluit en achtergrond zang, Alexander Kuzolev – gitaar, effecten en elektonica en Alexei Klabukov – arpeggiator, keyboards en mellotron.
Nadat Vladimir Belov – cello, Vespero had bijgestaan op de CD “Droga”, speelde hij ook live met de band mee.
De opnamen die daarvan zijn gemaakt, zijn na de plotselinge dood van Vladimir op 7 juni 2014, als download verkrijgbaar onder de naam “Cello Liventures (In Memory Of Vladimir Belov)”, waarbij de totale opbrengst van het album naar de familie Belov gaat.
Vladimr is ook nog in een nummer te horen op het album “Fitful Slumber Until 5 A.M.”, waarop verder Alexey Esin – dwarsfluit en zhaleyka, Pavel Alekseev – tenor saxofoon en Alexander Taranenko – accordeon als gastmuzikanten mee spelen.
Op het zevende studio album, “Lique Mekwas”, speelt Vespero voor het eerst in een zes mans formatie en bestaat hierop uit: Ivan Fedotov – drums en percussie, Alexander Timakov – drums en percussie, Arkady Fedotov – basgitaar en synthesizer, Alexander Kuzovlev – sologitaar en elektrische piano, Alexey Klabukov – keyboards en synthesizer en Vitaly Borodin – viool en tevens speelt Pavel Alekseev als gastmuzikant mee op tenor saxofoon.
Het album “Lique Mekwas”, dat 24 maart 2016 door het R.A.I.G. Records label op CD en als digitale download is uitgebracht, is het eerste deel van Vespero’s “Abyssinian Tales Dilogy” en bevat 7 nummers. Het album start met het iets meer dan 16 minuten durende “The Course Of Abagaz” en daarin krijg ik een fantastisch swingend progressief nummer te horen, dat een hypnotiserend drums ritme bevat en tevens spacerock invloeden heeft, waarbij het tempo vrij hoog ligt, maar halverwege gaat het tempo naar beneden en verandert het in een rustig stuk melodische muziek met lichte jazz invloeden, om tegen het einde opnieuw te versnellen.
Daarna schotelt de band me “Ras Dashen” voor en hoor ik een schitterend licht hypnotiserend melodisch nummer, dat spacerock, jazzrock en zigeuner jazz invloeden kent (luister naar dit nummer via de youtube link onder de recensie) en gevolgd wordt door “OromooÖCÖs Flashing Eyes”, waarin de band weer zo’n geweldig stuk hypnotiserende progressieve muziek in een gemiddeld tempo speelt, dat invloeden bevat uit space- en jazzrock en tevens swingt als een trein, waarbij stil zitten geen optie is.
Dan zet Vespero me “Abyssinisan Ground” voor en hoor ik een progressief melodisch nummer, dat na enkele minuten verandert in een zeer dansbaar stuk muziek, waarbij het onmogelijk is niet in beweging te komen en even verder in het nummer meer tempo krijgt, waarbij een mix tussen jazz en spacerock gespeeld wordt.
In “Isidore’s Prophet” laat de band me genieten van een swingende mix van jazz, spacerock, dance en progressieve rock, die met een aanstekelijk dansbaar ritme gespeeld wordt, om halverwege tijdelijk te veranderen in een rustiger stuk muziek, maar na enkele minuten weer verder te gaan in een swingend jazzrock nummer, waarbij het tempo weer opgeschroefd is.
Vervolgens schotelt de band me “Follow The Fitawrari” voor, een verrukkelijk swingend progressief rock nummer dat in een vrij hoog tempo gespeeld wordt en ook dit verandert halverwege in een rustiger tempo, waarin een enigszins trieste ondertoon zit, maar dan versneld de muziek weer en krijg ik opnieuw een heerlijk swingend stuk progressieve rock te horen.
Het laatste nummer heet “The EmperorÖCÖs Second Self”, een swingend jazzrock nummer, dat over gaat in een stuk melodische progressieve rock, waar ook spacerock invloeden in verwerkt worden.”Lique Mekwas” van Vespero bevat 7 schitterende nummers, die een genot zijn om te beluisteren en technisch van hoogstaande kwaliteit zijn, waardoor ik dit album kan kenmerken als een meesterwerk en ik kan iedere liefhebber deze schijf dan ook aanraden.
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Scott aka. Dr. Space from his music reviews
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July 7, 2016 Vespero are back with their 14th album, not including Eps etc.. A very productive Russian band that started back in 2005. I have to say this is the best thing I have ever heard from the band and have been spinning this album a lot lately. Wow.. The album is a little over 70mins long and features 7 tracks. The band is also 7 members including violin, sax, wave drum. The Course of Abagaz starts things off with some tasty guitar that is complimented by some great percussion and drums as it slowly builds and the layers start to come together with space sounds and grooves with great solos. The track dies out around 7mins and they head into a new direction and an almost dub like groove starts but the music is really spacey. Cool stuff in this 17min track. Ras Dashen features some beautiful saxophone playing and complimented with synths, violin and cool drumming. It slowly becomes very eastern in feeling. Oromoo’s Flashing Eyes is driven by the drums and violin to start and a really groovy bass line. About 2 ½ mins in the sax kicks in… Some great guitar playing as well. Abyssinian Ground speeds things up and has a very cool drum rhythm and groove over which the violin, keyboards and other sounds mingle well. Intense. Around 4mins the guitar really kicks in. Isidore’s Prophet starts with some spacey synths, hand drumming and sax as it slowly builds. Very jazzy and a killer groove on this one. Follow the Fitawrari is another super grooving track where everyone gets to make a cool solo and play a part, starting with the violin! A sort of Moroccon like thing going on. Gnawa… Next up guitar and what a solo around 7mins.. Cool stuff. Amazing bass playing on this track as well. This one really blew me away. The CD ends with the Emperor’s 2nd Self and this is much more relaxed but some of the guitar is pretty psyched out, while the sax and violin in laid back. Pretty awesome 70 min record.
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Rivertree from progarchives.com
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Hey, then you are on a right track on this occasion. Maybe you won’t believe, so please, give it a try from start to finish! VESPERO are offering something rather perfect here. Which means, this is either recommended for the tripped-out late hours of your next beach party (yep!) … or alternatively, in the same way, for a secret solo session by handling a bottle of wine and headphones (another yep!). Living in Astrakhan maybe causes a special inspiration – more than ever I’m wondering how they are able to realize such high quality albums, quasi in a row, since more than ten years now. Although still deriving from a space rock fundament, there is a further step towards a jazz/fusion attitude to state overall. The embedded drive is based on the collaboration of two percussionists here, apart from core member Ivan Fedotov, Alexander Timakov is on board too. Great presence by all means! The special ‘Lique Mekwas’ event is starting with The Course Of Abagaz, driven by afro beat, dub, jazz, mellotron and what else, equipped with an Ozric Tentacles feel somehow.Besides the violin – melancholy here and Vital(it)y there – the saxophone is very present too, there’s no mistaking. Over the course of seventyfive minutes playing time I can’t detect anything decreasing, the niveau remains on a top level. Strangely enough it took some time for me to concentrate on this album. Strike! I get a kick out of it! ‘Lique Mekwas’ proves that VESPERO are real top scorer when it comes to the progressive rock genre. Excellent musicianship taken for granted. Every album differs, they have successfully avoided to repeat themselves until today. 4.5 stars!
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BrufordFreak from progarchives.com
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2016-4-8 Finally, Vespero gets back on track to fulfill the amazing potential that they had shown through the Naughties with their Liventure live albums and especially through their wonderful 2010 studio album, By the Waters of Tomorrow. Every move the band makes here shows maturity, confidence and sensibility. Great melodies, great changes of pace–even in the middle of songs, not as much reliance on the psy-reggae rhythms of the recent past. It’s a long disc coming out at 75 minutes but it is very rewarding listen–no fluff, all substance and intrigue–and with an awesome story being told in concept album form. Guitars, keys, bass, sax and violins are all strongly present with the prominently featured creativity of master rhythmatists, Ivan Fedotov and Alexander Timakov. This could be a masterpiece. Let me get to know it better.
1. “The Course Of Abagaz” (16:18) opens with bass rapid harmonics play which quickly turns into some awesome rapid firm bass and rhythm guitar lines to support soaring sustained guitar notes performing the leads for the first three minutes. Tenor sax takes front and center over the next two minutes before giving way to more electric guitar. The awesome rhythm section sustains its breakneck speed throughout the first seven minutes of this long song–it sounds kind of like a SANTANA jam–which could be a problem in monotony were it not for the various soloists performing their interesting expositions. At the seven minute mark all instruments stop save for the spacey sounds produced by keyboards and flanged and other treated instruments. What sounds like a Mellotron (but is more likely a heavily treated violin) and Reggae-ish bass establish themselves as the new leads in this cool, slowed down section. PINK FLOYD and HAWKWIND come to mind here–especially as the synths take more of the foreground presence. Violin, guitar and sax solo at the same time, weaving their melodies into the spacey soundscape. What a trip! At 13:36 the music slows and a guitar signals a return to the SANTANA-like jam of the opening. Distorted keyboard has the first solo before echoed sax takes a brief turn, but it is the keys that carry it home to the end. Great song. (9/10)
2. “Ras Dashen” (9:31) opens slowly, establishing a nice laid back groove with bass and congas and other hand percussives, with some HACKETT-esque volume pedal controlled soloing over the top for the first two minutes. Violin gets the next turn as guitar and keys establish some spacey weave beneath. Then its tenor sax in the fourth minute. Pause in the middle of the fifth minute allows a recalibration and then return to original pace only this time with full drum kit, staccato bass play and muted guitar chords providing that foundational weave for first keyboard solo and then violin. Drums get to shine a bit in the final two minutes. Probably my favorite song on the album. (9/10)3. “Oromoo’s Flashing Eyes” (10:00) opening with a nice little moving groove within which spacey synth noises and violin get to weave their sounds. In the third minute the song stops and restarts with drums and rhythm section establishing a new somewhat polyrhythmic direction (syncopated drum beats) over which tenor sax takes a turn. By the time the screaming electric guitar takes over the lead in the fifth minute the whole-band rhythm has again congealed into an insistent and unified thrum. Violin and guitar take turns with soli as the foundational music massages and hypnotizes the listener. (9/10)
4. “Abyssinian Ground” (8:20) is perhaps the odd song on the album as the folk melodies and odd rhythms and unorthodox time signatures force one to wake up and take notice. Who said Russians don’t concern themselves with rhythm or time? Vespero are here proving them wrong. (9/10)
5. “Isidore’s Prophet” (10:23) long and steady but not enough change, development or nuance. (8/10)
6. “Follow The Fitawrari” (8:49) has nice development with sax, violin, synths and incredible bass play. There is an awesome spacey section in the sixth minute. The seventh minute puts some PERCY JONES-like bass play beneath the jazz guitar lead. (9/10)
7. “The Emperor’s Second Self” (11:39) has a very nice slow pace and development from the eerie, spacious opening to the end of the sixth minute. Up to that point all instruments seem to be floating around in their own daydreams. Then the instrumental threads congeal and weave into a cohesive expression. By the 8:00 mark the music is beginning to sound like a meditative/breathworks jam intended to take both listener and musician into altered states of consciousness. Beautiful and awesome! (9/10)
Overall, an awesome excursion into the spacey, rhythmically massaging world of Kosmisches Musik–done in a jazz fusion style!
4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of prog rock and an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.
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Achim Breiling from babyblaue seiten
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17.4.2016Für ihr siebtes Studioalbum haben sich Vespero aus Astrakhan zum Sextett erweitert. Neben dem Kernquartett aus Ivan und Arkady Fedotov, Alexander Kuzovlev und Alexey Klabukov gehören nun der zweite Perkussionist Alexander Timakov und der Geiger Vitaly Borodin zur Gruppe. Recht klangprägend ist zudem wieder, er war schon of dem Vorgänger “Fitful Slumber until 5 A.M.” zu hören, der Gast-Saxophonist Pavel Alekseev mit von der Partie.
“Lique Mekwas” ist – so kann man im Inneren des diesmal sehr bunt bedruckten Pappklappteils nachlesen, in dem die CD geliefert wird – der offizielle Titel des Doubles des Äthiopischen Königs (es gab wohl mindestens zwei davon), die denselben bei offiziellen Anlässen und bei Kampfhandlungen zu begleiten hatten und im Falle eines Falles Angreifer auf sich zu ziehen hatten. Das Album erzählt (wobei es keinerlei Texte gibt) die Geschichte eines dieser Doppelgänger, der nach langen Jahren herausfindet, dass er in Wirklichkeit der echte König ist. Das Label teilt zudem mit, dass “Lique Mekwas” der erste Teil der “Abyssinian Tales Dilogy” wäre. Es ist also noch ein Schwesteralbum zu erwarten.In musikalischer Hinsicht gibt es hier kaum Überraschungen. Einen reich instrumentierten, jazzig-schwungvollen Spacerock haben Vespero im Angebot, der sich wenig von dem unterscheidet, der auf den sechs Vorgängeralben zu finden ist. Oder, ein paar Unterschiede gibt es schon. Das krautige Element und Elektronisches sind eigentlich Ganz aus der Musik der Russen verschwunden und wurde offenbar zu Maat Lander ausgelagert. Auch Postrockiges spielt kaum noch eine Rolle. Durch das prägnante Saxophon ist die Musik zudem etwas jazzrockiger ausgefallen als auf den früheren Alben. Dazu trägt auch Borodins flottes Geige bei, oft im Duett mit Kuzovlev ausladenden E-Gitarreneskapaden. Mellotronartige Schübe und allerlei Synthesizerblubbern und -fiepen sorgen zudem für eine deutlich retroprogressive Atmosphäre.
Klassischen Spacerock à la Gong ohne Spacewhispern und Gesang gibt es daher auf “Lique Mekwas” zu hören, sehr farbig und abwechslungsreich vorgetragen, der aufgrund der doppelt besetzten Perkussionsabteilung sehr rhythmisch und dynamisch aus den Boxen fließt. Sehr viel besser kann man jazzigen Spaceprog nicht machen, so dass Fans des Genre hier voll auf ihre Kosten kommen sollten. Irgendetwas Anderes oder Neues werden diese aber auf “Lique Mekwas” natürlich nicht vorfinden. Fast könnte man sagen, dass dies das bisher konservativste (und sicher zugänglichste) Album der Russen ist. Spaß macht das Ganze (dem eben genannten Fan) natürlich trotzdem.
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