Musical Witchcraft - Utopia

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Periferic Records / Stereo KFT
Catalog Number: BGCD 116
Format: CD
Total Time: 47:22:00

When Solaris flute player Atilla Kollar released his first ever solo album under the moniker of Musical Witchcraft some years ago we were all delighted to hear those fragile compositions come to life. With his second album Atilla wishes to make it clear that this is not a second solo album but that everything has developed into what can be seen as the project called Musical Witchcraft. He started work on this album by collaborating with guitarist Gabor Naszadi, resulting in five acoustic songs based around guitar and flute. Only later did the more rock inspired songs make their entrance. Kollar also felt that a lot of his ideas came close to the feel of the middle ages and renaissance so listening to Utopia is like taking a trip into time.

The album immediately starts with the "Utopia Suite" which in fact consists out of four individual parts ranging from heavy sections fuelled by electric guitar to the more intense acoustic nature of guitar, flute and primitive percussion. The fagot in "A Maglya Fényénél' certainly opens a classical mood which blends nicely with the violin creating a certain tension. It's true that, when stripped to the bare essentials of flute and acoustic guitar, one tends to find the atmosphere firmly situated in the middle ages. Accompanied by subtle percussion and tambourine "Kastélyok Rejtekén" would be ideal when performed in a true castle! "Lakoma A Lovagi Tornan" even has the ambience of a real feast in the background so you need only the meals and the drinks to go with it! With "A Toronyszoba Ködbe Vész" the band (?) approaches a soft jazzy direction where both guitar and piano and not forgetting the warm vocals of Edina Szirtes add nice textures.

In the end it's all nice and tame with of course the flute as main instrument. Saying that this is not a solo album to me sounds strange especially because you clearly hear that all of the songs are based around the flute instrument. Of course the rest of the musicians can have contributed to the compositions but it mainly remains an Atilla Kollar album having placed his mark all over this CD. Sometimes the "colour" of the sounds used don't get my approval. The sound of the organ during "Nagyvarosi Utopia" simply sounds way too cheap to be featured here, yet they use it! There are other occasions where "cheap" keyboard sounds are used as well, as opposed to putting real Mellotron or real Moog in for instance. Maybe for the third Musical Witchcraft offering the recording budget can be increased a little so vintage instruments can be rented to do the job properly!

Tracklisting:
Suite Utopia (19:53) / In The Hiding Places Of Castles (2:51) / Secrets Of Morus (3:52) / Feast On The Tournament (2:23) / Inquisition (4:44) / The Tower:s Room Lost In The Fog (4:57) / Utopia From The City (5:07) / Fairytale Along The Loire (3:32)

Musicians:
Kollar Attila - flute, recorder, tambourine
Bokor György - bassoon
Gömör Laszlo - drums
Kornis Ferenc - percussion
Naszadi Gabor - acoustic guitar
Pocs Tamas - bass
Sarik Peter - piano, organ, synthesizer
Szirtes Edina - violin, vocal
Vamos Zsolt - electric and acoustic guitars
Vermes Laszlo - drums

Discography:
Solaris - Marsbeli Kronikak (1983)
Solaris - 1990 (1990)
Solaris - Live In Los Angeles (1996)
Musical Witchcraft (1998)
Solaris - Nostradamus (1999)
Solaris - Az Els? Id?k? Solaris Archive 1 (Back To The Roots? Solaris Archive 1) (2000)
Utopia (2002)
Psalms & Sountrack (2002)
Solaris - Archive 2 - NOAB (2005)

Genre: Progressive Folk

Origin HU

Added: September 22nd 2003
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.solarisstudio.hu/index-regi.htm
Hits: 1974
Language: english