Phogz

what is the sound of floating in space? does it sound like joy submerged in fluid? is it a dolphin doing backflips in mud? do i even know what i'm talking about anymore? probably not, but it begs the question how we determine association in music. are certain sounds universal? if so, is "divan" the sound of hope?

the aforementioned track opens like a sunrise slowly pulling over the horizon with electronic tones. "divan" elegantly lurches forward, articulating itself with minor brush strokes over the course of 8 and a half minutes, slowly changing shape, reflecting a fully contextualized metaphor for life itself - birth, growth, and finally death.

"'tzal", however, seems somewhat less fully realized, despite the two extra minutes, shifting between soundscaping, minimalism, jazz piano, & vocal samples. the concepts involved in the track, however, can't be faulted. there is a definite melodicism & orchestration to the track which is absent from many strictly ambient works. however, it seems to lack the concise shaping & construction of the previous track, giving it a somewhat uneven feel in comparison.

in short, there are some quite interesting ideas & themes running through "phogz" which will unfold themselves to you, should you allow them to.

Again, I feel earnestly honoured at being included in KraftiM's wonderful creative processes, as well as others. This artist has a very unique ability to understand my personality and utilises what meagre rations I provide to excellent effect. Here there is such a fine example of those efforts, to such good ends. Even the sitar, not one of my favourite instruments, blends in beautifully thanks to Lena (and Doc). I honestly feel the first track is a fine success in terms of accomplishment, without wanting to sound at all boastful. KraftiM is after all the craftsman, with embellishments from the wonderful Doc. A true pleasure for me to be included.

'Tzal has a wonderful resonance to it, and I like Bibi's voice. The track has a lovely elegance about it, which I will put down to the more balanced woman's touch!-) Lena's piano is par excellence, as ever. Gently, but strongly spirited, it makes for a good track. It floats more delicately than a helium-filled, glittering balloon in the stratosphere. In fact, there is a strong sense of buoyancy, though not floating in the water but the aether. Like travelling the astral plane. Audibly piquant, very agreeable to the soul, to the point of almost being insubstantial, but still retaining a strong sense of beingness. Altogether, two fine tracks. Nice work, as ever. Thanks for sharing the experience and allowing me to be a part of such creativity and all for the sheer joy of being able to do so, which makes it all the more sweeter.

Divan - I simply love this track. Not only as a piece of music, but also as a way to use a public domain text. A lecture given in 1889 - 120 years ago - has been given a new life in 2009 beautifully, and in a very modern way. I say this even though that I know "modern" is always relative - synth didn't exist in 1889, did it? I'm sure that sitar exited at the time, but not sure if John Caird, the author, had a chance to hear the sound.

Tzal - Beyond words. Different traditions are perfectly woven together. It begins with beautiful ambient drone with jazzy bass line, and haunting female voice tells you something - you don't know what you are being told because of the language barrier (I don't, but it does not matter). Then you find yourself listening to the piano, which is like something you hear, say, in the film "Casablanca"... Is there a better way to spend 11:34 in a rainy lazy day?

Thank you for sharing.

Damn! I wrote world's best review and Jamendo just erase it! Sorry guys :(

Here is short version.
Divan is "untipical" KraftiK for me. Things FLOWS and ambience is ful of movement. Probably the movement signaled by oriental flow of saz sound - which is by the way good balanced and don't stick's out in word music overdrive. Since title anotates unmovable thing - soffa actually - only explanation is that we are sitting on the divan and watching oriental flow in the air hapening in front of divan, then little mechanic flow in Ivan's voice which is again, treated as instrument (poor Ivan LOL), equally important like all other sounds in the flow. I love it. It's refreshing. Only, I experience production as little too loud for this kind of stuff. Not soft enough. But it's probably only me.

'Tzal is deep, serious ambient. Voices in passing, patches of melodies (PIANO), seasons in passing, lives. It puts deep and wide river to flow in front of us and we have to cross it. It pull us down and it seems that piano's roll here is to hold us in shore in reality of every days living rooms, life behind death. Krafti is master of frozen moments. One sensation frozen and developed in actually longer time frame. Here we see that he can control easy flow - thing are moving, at least on unconscious level through eleven minutes...

What to say? I like particulary group work here. It feel's in both pieces that K. is not alone. Colorit is his but still different, richer with experiences of others. Heil to collaborations!

Great work all of you!