Karda Estra - The Age Of Science And Enlightenment


Year of Release: 2006
Label: Cyclops
Catalog Number: CYCL 158
Format: CD
Total Time: 43:29:00

The words that immediately spring to mind after listening to this record for a few minutes are symphonic, progressive, delightful, classical, dark yet gentle, gothic, ambient, and - most of all - sophisticated. And after many, many spins, those first impressions remain.

In general, The Age Of Science And Enlightenment is extremely relaxing music - yet on closer inspection there are tensions and crescendos and subtle complexities that allow the music to be appreciated at several different levels. Listen to the opening bars of the CD - there's immediately a sense of stress and anxiety that fades - and returns and fades several times.

Karda Estra is the project of composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Richard Wileman, who enlists four artists to complement his guitar, percussion, keyboard and piano work. Expect to hear instruments as unconventional as a flute, oboe, cor anglais (a fancy word for a de-tuned English horn - rather like an oboe), violin, and sax. And one of the sounds that is key to the atmosphere Wileman develops is choirs of haunting, wordless female vocals. Very pretty, and they contribute a rich, dark gothic element to the music. The use of real instruments, rather than keyboard emulations, gives the music an organic, high quality sound that is lacking in so much of today's prog. Also unlike modern prog, there are no bombastic walls of sound - instead there's lots of space, and you'll find a delicate balance of sometimes as few as 2 instruments, a la chamber music.

"The Return Of John Deth" is a 16-minute 3-song epic whose pieces don't roll into each other, yet seem to complement each other musically - although the relationship isn't obvious. The piece was inspired by the painting "John Deth" by Edward Burra. Each had its own inspiration. For example "Am I Dreaming You? Are You Dreaming Me?" was inspired by a line in Robert Silverberg's Son Of Man, and "Second Star" was inspired by lyrics in the Kate Bush song "In Search Of Peter Pan." According to Wileman, the major theme of this album is Redemption.

The Age Of Science And Enlightenment is the tenth Karda Estra piece in eight years. Production standards are high, and the cover pictures are wall paintings Richard photographed at Pompeii.

In the vein of a Bjorn Lynne, or of Pär Lindh's Gothic Impressions, or of Steve Hackett's Voyage Of The Acolyte, this is a sophisticated body of timeless art rock - and it is a record you could play again and again and again. I did.


Tracklisting:
Talos (4:25) / Carmilla (4:30) / Am I Dreaming You? Are Dreaming Me? (6:01) / The Age Of Science And Enlightement (4:50) / The Return Of John Deth: / I) The Red Room (5:39) / II) Bones In The Moonlight (8:12) / III) Nocturne Macabre (2:05) / Second Star (7:25)

Musicians:
Richard Wileman - classical, electric and bass guitars, keyboards, percussion
Ileesha Bailey - vocals
Helen Dearnley - violin
Caron Hansford - oboe, cor anglais
Zo? Josey - flute, alto and soprano saxophones

Discography:
A Winter In Summertime (1998)
Thirteen From The Twenty First (2000)
The Land Of Ghosts (2000)
Eve (2001)
Equilibrium (2002)
The Land Of Ghosts Vol. 2 (2002) (oop)
Constellations (2003)
Voivode Dracula (2004)
Alternate History (2004)
The Age Of Science And Enlightenment (2006)
The Last Of The Libertine (2007)
Weird Tales (2009)
New Worlds (2011) (free album download)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin UK

Added: July 2nd 2006
Reviewer: Duncan N Glenday
Score:
Artist website: www.kardaestra.co.uk
Hits: 2487
Language: english

  

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