THE ADEKAEM

The band's next step. During those two years after releasing their recent album THE ADEKAEM protagonists and composer duo Andrzej Bielas and Krzysztof Wala have culled all their sentimental dreams appearing in one way or another. And then immediately managed to set this into new music. The production also draws on a few tracks that were leftovers from former 'The Great Lie' sessions. Furthermore important to know, the band's core now is enlarged to a trio, due to Jakub Bason, who is responsible for the lyrics in particular. Concerning bass, drums and the vocals several other musicians are collaborating, all are known for being active already with other bands deriving from the comprehensive prog pool in Poland.

When considering the band's entire catalogue I'd still prefer the 2021 release 'The Great Lie' anyhow. What you will get here on 'All The Dreams' are ten nice accessible tracks, aiming to offer something melodic and charming, most certainly. However, more drifting into popular fields in this case, actually getting close to the likes of Tears For Fears, Simple Minds or Cutting Crew maybe. Just to note the short excerpt Something Is Coming for instance. Probably just being some of those leftovers, The Geographer and the album title track are convincing much on the other hand, when considering the expected progressiveness and trickiness. Nice album, but not necessarily a must have.

This prolific Polish prog band has released 5 albums since their debut in 2014 and owning and enjoying all of them except that first one, it is fair to say that the Adekaem are here to stay. They have progressed immensely, refining their craft, as their previous The Great Lie (2021) was a stunning piece of work. Led by the savvy duo of Andrzej Bielas (keyboards) and Krzysztof Wala (guitars), their style has been polished (excuse the pun) to a glorious sheen. Aided by a rock-solid rhythm section of Krzysztof Wawra on bass and Grzegorz Bauer, both mainstays with Millenium and Ryszard Kramarski Project, as well as a slew of other similar artists, the Adekaem are a professional sounding band with immense melodic prowess as well as impeccable musicianship. Lead vocals are handled equally by two entrancing vocalists who have worked with the above on numerous occasions.

The sweeping "Soul of Syria" starts off the proceedings in a symphonic tribute to this tragic land with a difficult history of endless warfare in arguably the 'toughest neighbourhood on the planet', one that I have visited in the past and can vouch for the previous claims. Lyricist Jakub Bason provides the content for singer Marcin Staszek to emote the sadness emanating from that storied country. The floating like quality of "Premonition" serves almost as a segue with Wala's plaintive guitar crying in obvious pain, the ringing rhythm chords weaving quite the storm. And as most omens, it ends abruptly as if awakening from an uncontrolled slumber. The longer, 7 and a half minute "the Geographer" ratchets up the sound into a more bombastic, heavily melodic blanket with the choppy guitars offering movement, blending perfectly with the majestic keyboard flurry. This is the hallmark quality of the band, as the guitars and keys fuse in complete agreement, paralleling and diverging when needed, both on an even keel. The extended synth solo is one of restraint and melodic passion, which is something the Poles kind of have a hang for. The sudden emergence of wailing Arabic voice is truly hypnotizing, like a cobra slithering out of its straw basket, looking for a place to plunge its fangs. A fascinating track. A trio of shorter but exalting pieces seek to alter the mood and they most successfully do so. The breezy "Something Is Coming" sounds almost like an 80s dream-pop nugget, a wispy synth leading the vocals along a pleasant melody line, showcasing the considerable vocal talents of Marcin Staszek. "Mystic Moon" is suitably darker instrumental with a slippery bass groove, as Wawra mans the fretless with immense prowess. A trumpet synth patch offers a convincing jazzy touch, extremely medicating and soothing sliver of sound. The elegant "Disassociation" may sound like a hit single possibility, a gorgeous piano -led melody with Daniel Kurtyka providing the microphoned voice, and Wala offering up a compelling axe solo. This is another total winner, as Daniel elevates the emotion, as it spirals upward like a vortex of lush beauty.

Another luxuriant track with tons of instrumental details, "Last Day's Sun" convinces from the get-go as Bielas does an incredibly contained synthesizer solo, rekindling images of Camel keyboardists Peter Bardens or Foss Patterson, the opposite of blazing hyper-fast playing! The vocal and the main melody have a brooding, melancholic tinge that adds a silent rage to the proceedings. The resonant "Inmate's Cry" sounds like a Peter Murphy prog piece, with a haunting voice that seems to echo off the sweat stained walls of some imaginary penitentiary, a despondent synth and an angry guitar coalesce, as if pleading for some kind of eventual liberation or pardon. Another change of pace, "Full Moon Hike" has a vaporous playfulness to its slow burn melody, where bubbly synths and tingly guitar slashes merge into a dreamy whole, as if walking in a nighttime forest with a torch as a guide. Finally, we reach the title track and the album finale, "All the Dreams" simply unites all the previous attributes into one statement, a heady brew of coloured sound that encompasses their talent. The pulsating rhythmic foundation establishes the platform for a wicked electric guitar romp, that is as tortuous as it gets, duplicated by the same electronic keyboard adventure, two instrumentalists who know how to combine their talents into a cohesive melodic message. The final vocal outcry is exemplary.

Premonition, Disassociation, and Inmate's Cry get a bonus track reworking that only highlights how good these tracks really are. Excellent piece of art with a consummate sound, absorbing cover art and distinguished musical expression.

4.5 complete fantasies

The Adekaem were formed in January 2013 by Andrzej Bielas (keyboards) and Krzysztof Stefan Wala (guitars), inspired by the progressive and psychedelic rock of the 70's and 80's. This means they were working with the same inspirations as the 90's neo prog scene so it is no surprise they come across as being very much from that era. This is their debut album, released in 2015, for which they were joined by guests Szalony Iwan (vocals), Marcin "Budda" Pekala (bass) and Darek Goinski (drums) and together the quintet have brought back to life one of my favourite eras of one of my favourite bands, Galahad. Again, it can be argued this is no surprise as Galahad have quite a following in Poland, and often work with a Polish label, and here The Adekaem are looking to that early Nineties period when Galahad had recently had success with 'Nothing Is Written', and had yet to truly formulate what would become 'Sleepers', and mixed that with melodic rock to create something which brings in elements of Styx.

There is no way that one would guess this was a 2015 album from a Polish band, as it feels very much like an undiscovered British Neo album from 30 years ago, when the scene was vibrant and exciting and way more underground than it is now. To anyone who lived through the scene all those years back this is actually like a breath of fresh air as it really does bring those days back to life where we were all going to tiny venues and supporting are favourite bands through word of mouth and fanzines (the internet and Prog Magazine were not even a distant dream, they were fantasies). Iwan has a nice clear style, the guitars are clean and vibrant, the rhythm section is direct and punchy, while much of the album is based on keyboards and the songs are all short and direct. I am coming to this album rather late in the piece, and there have been a few more since this one, but if Neo is your style then this is definitely worth investigating.

PLEASANT POLISH PROG

The Polish prog formation The Adekaem was founded in early 2013 by Andrzej Biełas (keyboards) and Krzysztof Wala (guitars ), a few months later joined by Marcin "Budda" Pękała on bass and Dariusz Goiński on drums. Band info. "Hence the name of the band was created from the first letters of the first four members written in Polish: A De Ka eM. From their start The Adekaem was going to create music that was the result of musical inspirations, namely progressive rock, psychedelic music and elements of classical rock and jazz-rock. At the beginning a large part of their work was based on team improvisations directed towards space rock."

Until so far The Adekaem have released 4 studio-albums since 2014 (and not 3 as I wrote in my The Great Lie review), 1 live album and EP. This review is about their third effort entitled Sound Colouring. The Adekaem operates here no longer as a 4-piece formation but as a duo featuring Andrzej Bielas (keyboards) and Krzysztof Wala (guitars), with additional guest musicans.

Sound Colouring is a very pleasant musical encounter. This band writes wonderful melodic compositions with flowing shifting moods, between dreamy, mid-tempo and bombastic beats, fuelled by a tight rhythm-section. Looking at the title I conclude that the coloring of the sound is very tasteful: from tender or swinging piano, soaring keyboards and acoustic guitar to fat synthesizer flights.

Especially the often David Gilmour (but also Steve Rothery and Andy Latimer) inspired electric guitar solo deserve a special mention. Like the use of slide and wah-wah in the instrumental Orcher (it sounds like an 'Eighties neo-prog tribute', especially Marillion). Very moving in the alternating ballad Black. Sensitive and fiery in the varied and dynamic epic Green featuring halfway an exciting break with Hammond organ sound, along with powerful vocals. Compelling in the mid-long and beautiful build-up, White , topped with emotional vocals and classical orchestrations. And howling runs in Red (with additional female vocal harmonies) and again very moving in the instrumental final track Blue (beautiful dreamy keyboards).

Like so many good Polish prog bands, The Adekaem delivers very tastefully arranged, melodic and accessible progressive rock, with neo-prog hints. The emphasis in their music is on creating pleasant and compelling climates, rather than impressing with awesome skills on instruments or complex rhythms and climates. The vocals are in decent English, with a slight accent but not disturbing. Well done.

My rating: 3,5 star.

Poland has been quite the hot scene for prog bands in the 21st century ranging from the proggy metal sounds of Riverside and Retrospective to the crazy avant-fusion of Light Coorporation and Merkabah. The space rock and neo-prog scenes have also been quite strong with bands like Millenium and Believe cranking out some interesting art rock in the last couple decades and then there's this band called THE ADEKAEM which formed in Tychy in the south of Poland in 2013. Basically THE ADEKAEM is a duo consisting of Andrzej Bielas on keys and synths and Krzysztof Wala on guitars and synths. Both have contributed vocals.

Although technically a duo, this band has employed numerous guest musicians over the years and on ADEKEEM's fourth release THE GREAT LIE, the number has expanded to include drummer Tomasz Holewa, bassist Krzysztof Wyrwa, two vocalists Marcin Staszek and Krzysztof Wyrwa as well as flautist Jakub Bason. While considered to be neo-prog in some camps, THE ADEKAEM is a bit more eclectic than the term implies. True that the basic compositional structures are based in catchy sprawling grooves heavily fortified by synthesizer counterpoints but the band started out with a heavy reliance on jazz-fusion styles. On THE GREAT LIE these guys have jettisoned the jazz influences and settled into more of a space rock sound with darker overtones like classic King Crimson or even the horrific soundtracks of the Italian band Goblin.

This is a rather long album with nine tracks that just miss the 77-minute mark. The highlights of the album are the drifting sounds heard on the instrumental tracks. The opening "Woodland Frolics at 3AM" and "Spontaneous Combustion of Ego" showcase the band's ability to exercise its instrumental interplay with spontaneous and creative textures and tapestries of synthesized atmospheric splendor. Many of the vocal tracks feature space rock tones and timbres familiar to any fan of classic 70s Pink Floyd or Eloy. The album sort of slinks along at mid-tempo processions and floats by like drifting clouds in the sky on a lazy summer afternoon but rock guitar heft is added with power chords adding some distorted sustain and the occasional neo-prog guitar sweeps are ubiquitous as well.

For album of this length, a band needs to keep things from falling into a monotonous procession of ideas and in that regard THE ADEKAEM does an excellent job at keeping things from running on auto-pilot. The alternating vocal and instrumental parts display different strengths of the band as they can easily adapt to either stylistic approach and the adept use of keyboards allows droning atmospheres to provide the perfect background for more adventurous keyboard soloing and guitar exploration. The thumping bass may remind a bit of classic 70s Floyd at moments but luckily the supporting musical backdrop steers your attention away into swirling synth majesty.

This is my first experience with THE ADEKAEM but it won't be my last. THE GREAT LIE reveals a very gifted duo who can lead a group of musicians into a progressive rock world where interesting psychedelic space rock meets neo-prog and more. This is a very relaxing album and although the style presented could've easily nosedived into the world of cheesiness, Bielas and Wala are masters of fine-tuning the subtleties so that everything sounds organic and naturally unfolding. Add to that the brilliant album cover art which perfectly depicts the music experienced inside except for the fact that there are no violin or cello sounds to be heard! LOL. This is indeed the perfect soundtrack for a moonlit starry night on the beach. A lot like some Eloy only with much better vocals.

THE ADEKAEM is the Polish duo founded in 2013 of Andrzej and Krzysztof who are inspired by psychedelic progressive rock, releasing their 4th CD here with a few big names like Marcin STASZEK from MOONRISE and Krzysztof WYRWA from MILLENIUM, Jakub BASOŃ taking care of the lyrics. An opus with space flights, heavy breaks, fluid melodies and some Latin-jazzy derivations; area where the synth is king accompanied by guitar solos reminiscent of PINK FLOYD, CAMEL or MARILLION and its characteristic neo prog. Posed art-music leading to territories, grandiloquent climates as we are going to see.

"Woodland Frolics at 3 AM" and a grandiloquent, half-neo, half-psychedelic instrumental opening on CAMEL, COLLAGE; a composition where the symphonic is linked to the electric guitar as on PINK FLOYD with WRIGHT; there is even a little KITARO at a brief moment of slow spatial atmospheres guided by majestic synths, a recent return to what made the strength of neo in particular with the musical delusions of PENDRAGON. "The Tightrope Walker" follows, PENDRAGON always with its acoustic intros, it vibrates, it sparkles, it rises slowly on a sensual synth; Marcin's calm voice leaves the oriental break, Andalusian, hypnotizing and crystalline; the crescendo on the bolero of RAVEL a fleeting time with guitar and synths, then the amplification of the sound by a well-placed pitch bend, I detect PINK FLOYD, not RUDESS with his keyboards that he likes to torture. "Fool and Death" continues by joining an expressive, fiery guitar and a fat synth that makes you forget the vocals; Cuban percussive break and its heavy rock riff just to bring a planing variation where the melancholic keyboard responds to an acoustic guitar solo in the tradition of the best CAMEL; we melt, we regress to the 70's with these characteristic vintage sounds. "The Fall of Phaeton" comes and breaks the frame by surfing on an energetic Latin swing rhythm; the voice denotes too tight, too choppy; luckily, the chorus goes better and what about Krzysztof's enjoyable, symphonic guitar break, ready to make you shed a tear; the Latin South American side is a nice surprise.

Three-part "Luminous We Are" with a vibrant intro reminiscent of DREAM THEATER, it's pure, clear, crystalline and meditative. 3 minutes and the sweet air surprises, the built-in voice limit phrasing works best here as an addition to another instrument; Intimate and Andalusian Floydien break, jazzy, you can feel the reminiscences of the masters, the bass here excels; final more enlightened jazz-rock with an aerial synth bringing freshness imitated by the limpid solo on the guitar, the synths coming in bidding. "Sacred Geometry" hymn intro then addition of a surely synthetic violin, repetitive monolithic tune like a ballad of the mandarins at the time of the Mellotron, an interlude track with a high female voice in the background; That's it the long-awaited tune goes well to China with these recognizable bells, yet another singular title that avoids getting bored and takes it easy. "Spontaneous Combustion of Ego" follows, disturbing bass, the synths set off on the drifts of KING CRIMSON on "Red" in particular. The fat guitar strikes the final blow, musical dread gives way to a desperate, austere, aggressive air; the flute recalls ART ZOYD and his research in contemporary music. The tortured Crimsonian side then explodes with a dreamlike hypnotic crescendo, mischievous but inventive; the Mellotron with celestial choirs gives a creative, varied finale that does not limit the group to a defined drawer, proof of its quality. "Still, Constantly" given its short title smacks of nostalgic ballad with piano at first; Marcin and Martyna in a duo sing to a characteristic neo tune, the guitar supported by keyboards making the link; a simple title that rests. "The Great Lie" percussion in entry, a TOTO tune for a moment then the spleen guitar with its pedal responds to the voice firmly in place; it is almost lamentation, melodic and contemplative; a COLLAGE break with its soft synths begins to melt, Krzysztof's guitar gives a layer on a slow dreamlike declination; sumptuous finale with a symbolism of fireworks.

THE ADEKAEM has surrounded itself with guests to release melodic compositions where the harmonic remains the basis, bringing certain stylized atmospheres. A disc colored by the musical surges pouring over certain dark and austere regions, an album to listen to several times by its diversity, its commitment to synthesize a number of musical modes, a very good album in fact.

What do you think is a great lie? Not this: with good conviction you can say that Poland is a traditional stronghold when it comes to the Neo Prog scene, that said the manyfold bands, musicians as well as the fan base too. And thanks to this album I definitely would like to count THE ADEKAEM band in. Hailing from Katowice they are a duo in a strict sense, consisting of Krzysztof Wala (guitar, synth) and Andrzej Bielas (keys). Nine nice prog songs are offered here, where both are responsible for concept and compositions. But of course rock music would not work without competent rhythm support, this time in person of Tomasz Holewa (drums) and Millenium bassist Krzysztof Wyrwa. Finally versatile male and female guest vocalists are a worthy completion. That said you'll notice Marcin Staszek and Martyna Zygadlo in a duet on Still, Constantly for example.

77 minutes playing time, that's a lot. I mean you probably will expect some slack and weakness regarding that. No, not at all! Drenched with a nice floydy mood Woodland Frolics At 3 AM is opening this comfortable show. The Tightrope Walker then shines with nice repetitive piano lines backing ambitious acoustic and electric guitar solo activity. Minimal limitation, well, the cello like on Sacred Geometry, also manifested on the album cover, won't be listed in the liner notes. Alongside with some symphonic strings this alternatively must have been arranged through the synthesizer. Well thought out compositions, fairly psychedelic tinged again and again. Synths and guitars are ruling, taken for granted. There's nothing imposed, overloaded, I really liked the relaxed nonchalant flow overall.

The Polish prog formation The Adekaem was founded in early 2013 by Andrzej Biełas (keyboards) and Krzysztof Wala (guitars ), a few months later joined by Marcin "Budda" Pękała on bass and Dariusz Goiński on drums. Band info. "Hence the name of the band was created from the first letters of the first four members written in Polish: A De Ka eM. From their start The Adekaem was going to create music that was the result of musical inspirations, namely progressive rock, psychedelic music and elements of classical rock and jazz-rock. At the beginning a large part of their work was based on team improvisations directed towards space rock." In 2015 the band released their eponymous first album The Adekaem and in 2017 the successor entitled Sound Coloring. Like so many good Polish prog bands, The Adekaem delivers very tastefully arranged, melodic and accessible progressive rock, with neo-prog hints. The emphasis in their music is on creating pleasant and compelling climates, rather than impressing with awesome skills on instruments or complex rhythms and climates. The vocals are in decent English, with a slight accent but not disturbing. Especially the often David Gilmour (but also Steve Rothery and Andy Latimer) inspired electric guitar soli deserve a special mention. And now, anno 2021, the new album The Great Lie, the cover art is amazing.

Like on the previous album The Adekaem operates here as a duo, featuring Andrzej Bielas (keyboards, synthesizers and vocal on 5 part 1) and Krzysztof Wala (guitars, guitar synthesizer, synthesizers and voice on 5 part 2), with additional guest musicans, including members from other Polish prog bands Moonrise and Millenium. The band presents nine melodic and harmonic compositions (between 5 and 14 minutes), with a remarkable variety of atmospheres, in comparison with the previous album.

Woodland Frolics At 3 AM (13:43) First a slow rhythm, in a bombastic climate, then senstitive electric guitar work joins, followed by a synthesizer solo. Now the moving guitar returns with a wonderful solo, halfway a spacey break, and finally the slow rhythm rhythm and bombastic climate of the start returns. This composition sounds as a pleasant blend of Seventies Symphonic rock and Neo-Prog, with hints from Pink Floyd, Camel and Pendragon.

The Tightrope Walker (10:51) starts with twanging acoustic guitar and tender acoustic guitar runs, dreamy English vocals, and a sultry sounding synthesizer solo. I like ethnic flavour (reminding me of Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun by Pink Floyd). Then music turns into a hypnotizing atmosphere featuring a sensitive, slightly psychedelic sounding electric guitar solo. In the final part mellow vocals and a delicate synthesizer solo with use of the sensational pitchbend button. This track showcases how The Adekaem has matured in writing.

In Fool And Death (7:37) The Adekaem rocks with fiery guitar and a flashy pitchbend driven synthesizer solo, but the English vocals are a bit average. Then a break with propulsive percussion and rock guitar riffs, very dynamic. Halfway the mood shifts to dreamy with soaring keyboards, tender acoustic guitar solo, in a slow rhythm featuring synthesizer soli (spacey and with an accordion sound).

And now the big surprise of this album: in The Fall of Phaeton (5:50), a swinging Latin-American rhythm, blended with rock guitar! The English vocals are OK, no more or less. Halfway a moving guitar solo, I love the variety that The Adekaem delivers on this album.

In the epic Spontaneous Combustion Of Ego (11:13) the atmosphere is dark and hypnotizing (evoking early King Crimson), with fiery agressive guitar runs and ominous synthesizer flights. In the second part a Mellotron choir sound reigns, and finally a short bombastic outburst. Another fine example how The Adekaem tries to present variety and creativity.

The final composition The Great Lie (7:05) delivers in the first part a slow rhythm that contains soaring keyboards, subtle moving volume pedal driven guitar runs and dreamy vocals. Halfway a slight accellaration with synthesizer flights, a tight beat and another beautiful moving guitar solo. The conclusion features a short sumptuous eruption, as the grand finale of the album.

In comparison with its previous effort The Adekaem sounds more varied, and more elaborate, but the focus is still on colouring the music with wonderful work on guitar and keyboards. Well done, this is a promising band, pretty underrated in my opinion.

My rating: 3,5 star.