Their new album Sommargryningsljus is fine. I enjoy it. Nice melodies, nice playing - a good listen. However, I'm getting tired of that keyboard-imitating-a-guitar sound that Hans Lundin loves. I like a guitar to sound like a guitar and a keyboard to sound like a keyboard. It's a personal quirk.
I do like the incorporation of what sound like folk melodies but still in a rock format and that makes them different.
Last edited by Splicer; 06-30-2024 at 10:09 AM.
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The Hans Lundin's Kaipa material with Per Nilsson on guitar (after Roine's departure) is great but a lot of their songs share very similar elements in a way that the lack of variety makes some of those songs not very memorable IMHO. However, the technical aspects such as production, editing, instrumental performance and so on are top level. My favorite era of Kaipa is still the 1974-1978 era. Honestly, I think Roine Stolt's one shot project Kaipa Da Capo which, strangely enough, featured more founding Kaipa members than any Hans Lundin's Kaipa album, is much closer to the musical atmosphere, that made me fall in love with the early Kaipa material so much, than what Lundin is doing now with Aleena, Lundström and others. YMMV.
I was thinking earlier that if I put all the current Kaipa in a playlist and hit shuffle, I couldn't tell that it wasn't from the same album.Originally Posted by Czyszy
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I was thrilled when their first three albums were reissued on vinyl. With a young Roine on guitar, and lyrics sung in Swedish.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
I heard some of Sattyg and thought it was horrific. It sounded more like Andrew Lloyd Webber than prog.
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
I like the new album a lot, but then I have always liked Kaipa. I can't pick particular players and who sound like guitars, but it's keys or visa versa. I like the album without picking it apart, but I will say, I think,(as is always necessary to mention in these reviews) IMPO, I really like the drumming. Darby Todd, nice job!
I think Hans Lundin has been trying to "push" that lead synth as his signature/trademark sound for some time now. From what I remember he created it on a Nord Lead synth.
Now, this is just a speculation, but maybe Lundin has a stealth endorsment deal with Clavia going on behind the scenes. A lot of Swedish keyboard players do that, since Clavia/Nord is a Swedish brand.
Jan Hammer also did that a lot... and yes, it was annoying!
IMHO
The debut album from '75 is nice and should be heard by more. This is the only record of theirs that I've kept, though.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
I'm looking forward to this latest one because Darby Todd is drumming. The previous one (Urskog) is my favorite since Keyholder. There were two or three albums before Urskog which seem a bit like musical wallpaper to me. Sort of nondescript or boring from my perspective. I don't mind the lead keyboard sound at all though.
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Not my favourite band. Keyholder is probably the worst album I have in my collection.
My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/
Michele Bon of Le Orme does a full on guitar impression, using his keytar. If one closes one's eyes, one could swear it's an actual guitar.Jan Hammer also did that a lot... and yes, it was annoying!
IMHO
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
I didn't care for it when it first came out and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it for some reason. I put it on repeat one summer while putting new shingles on my roof and after about a half a dozen spins it really clicked for me. Somehow it was the bass lines that tied everything together for me. It often seems to be the vocals that are the most divisive for people.
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Keyholder is the only Kaipa I own and the only one I ever listened to. It didn't really click for me. I may need to investigate further.
Aleena's voice sometimes hits a tone that sounds like a fork scraping across the bottom of a pan.
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I really dig their first couple of albums, especially the second (Inget Nytt Under Solen). Alas, despite them being commendably prolific since their return in 2002, I have never warmed to their newer material. It's odd because I love The Flower Kings and have a lot of time for Ritual, but for some reason modern Kaipa never quite sticks the landing for me. There's a sort of stodginess to it that makes it weirdly forgettable.
Don't remember the name of it, but the only one I have is the one with the frog in the cover... I remember it sounding, IMHO, so similar to The Flower Kings that somehow, while I am not against getting more of their discography as this is not a bad thing all in itself, there is always something else that I want to get first... This is post 70s work, of course, which makes me ask, in people's opinion, what is worth getting of the current era of the band?
[Edit: The album I own is "Mindrevolutions" and I have no idea why I got the impression there is a frog on the cover... mah bad]
"Keyholder" is the one with a frog iike creature on the cover so maybe you had that at one time. Regarding what to get IMO the correct answer is to seek out the Roine Stolt version of Kaipa called Kaipa Da Capo and their 2016 album "Dårskapens Monotoni" 3/4 of the classic lineup (original members Ingemar Bergman (drums) and Tomas Eriksson (Bass) are also on board) - I think it is one of the best things Roine has ever done.
Of the Hans Lundin Kaipa version, "Keyholder" and "Notes from the Past" are generally regarded as the best with the albums afterward having declining interest.
Individual songs that I'd highlight from those two albums are:
A Complex Work Of Art
Distant Voices
Mirrors Of Yesterday
Leaving The Horizon
The musicianship remains at a high level on the subsequent albums but the songs imo lack memorable melodies and the production being quite harsh and brick walled.
Kaipa is the sort of band that always gets put in my "Save for Later" cart on Amazon and then I never actually get around to buying. It's decent enough material, but nothing that really moves me. And, yeah, not a fan of the Keyboard-as-guitar sound.
I do like the 70s albums quite a bit and should probably pick those up at some point, though.
I really dug Keyholder when it first came out. Haven't listened to it for some time now though, which doesn't mean I don't still like it. In the modern post-Stolt era, there's something in most of the albums I enjoy. I'll give a particular mention to the several shorter folky homeland numbers, some of which are sung in their native tongue (some are instrumental). Of the albums in this era, I'd have to give the nod to In the Wake of Evolution. Love The Seven Oceans of our Mind, a track that includes humming!, which precedes some tasty Prog build-up. Electric Power Water Notes from that record also tickles my fancy.
The LIVE album is killer as well. With Lalle Larsson on keys.
HuGo"Very, very nice," said a man in the crowd,
When the golden voice appeared.
She was gold alright, but then so is rust.
"Such a shame about the beard."
Hans Kaipa and Roines Kaipa DaCapo are really showcases for the distance between the two strong minds. While the modern Kaipa is "precise" in playing and arrangements, awesome on its own, Kaipa DaCapo leaves more room for the live feel and improvisations - even "sloppy" in a sense. I like both for different reasons and it's really two different genres existing in parallel and not really to be compared. The few "intermediate" kaipa albums after the reunion already shows the two leading musicians dragging in different directions. As for the original few 70s albums, they are interesting as Swedish proto-prog copying what was going on a few years earlier in international prog (the music biz in those days were severly hampered from political reasons) but those albums are really only childhood drawings in comparison to what Hans/Roine have accomplished thereafter. IMHO what limits Kaipa from going stellar is the singers - Patrik and Aleena are generic and insensitive in their renditions and that Per Nilsson, though very skilled, feels just like a hired hand (same in Meshuggah) compared to what he does in Scar Symmetry. As for DaCapo, they are quite charming but not quite up to the complexity that the music requires - btw, "Tonerna" is my favourite song of the new ones - it's like a "Back to the Future" collage of the 70s we wish it was
The Nord Lead is/was a prerequisite for Hans "guitar solo" technique. The synth's oscillator sync he uses is not unique per se but has a particularly harsh tone to due to the fact its an early VA synth (aliasing) but more importantly he makes great use of the wooden pitch "stick" which has very stiff action compared to any other pitch modulation solutions (the famous minimoog wheels for instance). This allows for way more precise bends, much more similar to actual finger string bends, and likewise the ability to mimic the finger vibrato, almost unachievable on other synths...
My Progressive Workshop at http://soundcloud.com/hfxx
Somebody 'round here is spitting truth!Hans Kaipa and Roines Kaipa DaCapo are really showcases for the distance between the two strong minds. While the modern Kaipa is "precise" in playing and arrangements, awesome on its own, Kaipa DaCapo leaves more room for the live feel and improvisations - even "sloppy" in a sense. I like both for different reasons and it's really two different genres existing in parallel and not really to be compared. The few "intermediate" kaipa albums after the reunion already shows the two leading musicians dragging in different directions. As for the original few 70s albums, they are interesting as Swedish proto-prog copying what was going on a few years earlier in international prog (the music biz in those days were severly hampered from political reasons) but those albums are really only childhood drawings in comparison to what Hans/Roine have accomplished thereafter. IMHO what limits Kaipa from going stellar is the singers - Patrik and Aleena are generic and insensitive in their renditions and that Per Nilsson, though very skilled, feels just like a hired hand (same in Meshuggah) compared to what he does in Scar Symmetry. As for DaCapo, they are quite charming but not quite up to the complexity that the music requires - btw, "Tonerna" is my favourite song of the new ones - it's like a "Back to the Future" collage of the 70s we wish it was
The Nord Lead is/was a prerequisite for Hans "guitar solo" technique. The synth's oscillator sync he uses is not unique per se but has a particularly harsh tone to due to the fact its an early VA synth (aliasing) but more importantly he makes great use of the wooden pitch "stick" which has very stiff action compared to any other pitch modulation solutions (the famous minimoog wheels for instance). This allows for way more precise bends, much more similar to actual finger string bends, and likewise the ability to mimic the finger vibrato, almost unachievable on other synths...Wonderful. <3
Kaipa's first three albums quite clearly demonstrate what Roine's creative decisions really brought to the table. The debut features minimal compositional input from Roine Stolt (3 songwriting credits vs the total of 6 in Lundin's case). The second album had 4 Stolt credits and 2 Lundin credits, and on Solo - 7 songs by Stolt, 3 songs by Lundin. There's a noticable stylistic shift from a traditional classicist Camel style Symphonic prog rock to a more loose and eclectic style with more pronounced jam sections over the course of those three albums.
Anyway, Tonerna is a beautiful mini-epic. The lyrics are pretty cool as well. Very impressionistic.
Here am I - welcome to another better world
Every day, the sun goes up for everybody who's here
Everyone knows it, but nobody sees it - in all of eternity
I'll take you up a mountain and show you all the beautiful things I have
We sit here together and we're thankful that we can stay
Everyone knows it, but nobody sees it - in all of eternity
Yes - a terrific recording.
Mongrel dog soils actor's feet
The ones I would recommend:
Note From The Past
Keyholder
Urskog
Kaipa Da Capo - Dårskapens Monotoni and Live
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