KAMMA

Whalephant is a Russian group based in Moscow and founded in 2009. The group is lead by composer Nikolay Inshakov and this is their debut album. Mostly instrumental, some songs have a female lead vocalist singing in English. The style on this album is a mix of symphonic, electronic, jazz and folk. There are the usual keyboards/drums/guitars but also strings, clarinet and what sounds like the Australian instrument the didgeridoo. Lots of great instrumental work, some of the vocal-oriented tracks are generally accessible and almost single-like. The title track opens the album with atmospheric synths. Eventually piano, arpeggioed guitars and bass take over before switching to an almost prog metal vibe.

"Windrose" is a moody, classical inspired piece. It builds in instrumentation and intensity. Nice synth solo almost halfway. Over halfway an emotional guitar solo backed by great bass playing. "On The Wing" has a nice groove to it. Good melodies as well. The highlight of the album very well may be "Daskuul." This has a great symphonic/electronic opening. Bass comes in being doubled by synths. Nice atmosphere to this track with great playing. Wordless female vocals come in over halfway. "Stay" is based on a funky riff. One of the songs featuring the operatic vocals of Ekaterina Bakanova.

"Childhood" features a children's choir, singing in Russian I believe. Musically it based mainly on piano and strings/wind instruments. Drums show up later; at first pounding, then later playing a beat. The sound and production on this album is really well done. Very good performances of interesting material. This is available on Bandcamp. I will give this 4 stars.