MESSAGES FROM AFAR: SECOND NATURE

Thanks Antony , for the privilege to hear and enjoy some demos long before the album comes. To see it rise and transform. What I can say , it's one of the well balanced sounding album in AKP discography to date. It has this depth and clarity. It's not a dragon island or Birds - this album is more like a Amonia Avenue by Alan Parsons . The same high level of production on one hand and nice melodic structure.

It's 100 recognisable AKP album but I clearly understand what Antony said, that he wanted to create an album of dedication to the art rock artists he likes.

Probably the highlight of the album is the epic " Searching for Mr. Kite". This track is like a lost amazing gem from Rick Wakeman's discography when he did produce some cool magical stuff (unfortunately not anymore..) to me " mr Kite" is even more spectacular and imaginative than 90% of the latest Wakemans opus..

It was an amazing surprise to hear mr. Colin Bass on a "Bright Little Star " another highlight of the album- it was released as a single on Christmas and has fantastic festive video on YouTube which can be surely enjoyed by not only Prog fans.

Antony states that music is his "second nature " . I must admit that it's mine either!

I like the ebbs and flows on Karfagen albums- sometimes it's a concept symphonic suite , sometimes it's more into shorter stories . This time it's even more into jazz rock - Canterbury territory at places , think of late 70s Camel and Happy the Man. "Agora by Night" is an acoustic masterpiece delivered by Max Velychko on acoustic guitar.

All other tracks were recorded by Dmytro Ignatov in Lviv , and it's very lush and energetic.

This album is highly recommended to all Prog lovers and if you're new to Anton's music, "Second Nature " is a good choice for the beginner guide through AKP soundscape depth .

This is the third album in the "Messages from Afar" series by Antony Kalugin. The first under the Karfagen banner, "Messages from Afar: First Contact", the second under the Sunchild banner being "Messages from Afar: The Division and Illusion of Time". This contains three songs with the remaining six tracks as instrumentals. Again there is the fantastical images on the cover by artist and painter Igor Sokolskiy.

The album opens with the song 'Ride Your Dream'. A classical style of piano begins this song with Antony providing the vocals. The lyric, "Great the sun, great the sky, Feel the wind, golden fields of rhye" is reflecting the track from 'First Contact'.

'Fantasian' follows, an instrumental running at 7.25 minutes profiles Antony's keyboards mostly exposing his styles with a flourish here and there of guitar both acoustic and electric. It evokes a fantasy landscape that ends with an exciting rock climax.

'November Blue' is another instrumental piece that is a nice, relaxing slice of jazz fusion starring Yan Vedaman on saxophones.

'Bond of Love' is the second song that gave me the 'Wow' factor. It starts with the singing of Maria Panasenko in a sweet melody. Then in a sudden 90 degree left turn we get an unexpected heavy rock riff that blew me away. This gives way to an improvised section of guitar and keyboards that sails into a climax where guitarist Dmytro Ignatov uses his electric guitar in a mandolin like fashion reminiscent of Ritchie Blackmore at the end of the Deep Purple song 'Mistreated'. This kind of guitar gives me goosebumps and I am so glad to hear it here. This track finishes just as it started with Maria repeating the lyrics she sang at the beginning.

We get more guitar magic from guitarist Max Velychko on 'Agora by Night'. A light chill out track that highlights Max's deft and soft touch as required. A truly heartfelt piece of music.

'Daybreak' is another shorter section containing the tinkling of many notes played on piano transitioning into solo saxophone emphasising the rising of the sun and the start of a new day.

'Bright Little Star' is no doubt a love letter to the band Camel as it includes Camel's bass player Colin Bass offering his vocals to sing this third song. Essence of Camel come through from around the 'I Can See Your House From Here' and 'Nude' era albums. As a lover of Camel, this has a special meaning to me as well.

'Searching for Mr. Kite' is the longest track on the album at just over 11 minutes. Here we have classic Karfagen with the familiar mix of keyboards and guitar vying for the attention. In the end keyboard and guitar are supporting each other to bring another eloquent and satisfying composition. There is keyboard sounds reminiscent of the early Karfagen album 'Magicians Theater' which is wonderful to hear again. If anyone finds Mr. Kite, please let Antony know so he can write the sequel 'Found Mr. Kite'.

'Second Nature' is a short piano session closing off the end of the album maybe hinting at another chapter of 'Messages from Afar'? So another masterpiece from Antony Kalugin. He again has found a wonderful guitar player Dmytro who was introduced on their 'Message of Peace' tour - such an expressive player. A worthy prog. rock purchase I also urge anyone to buy the CD as it contains bonus tracks featuring Dmytro showcasing his talent.

With this newest release, Messages From Afar: Second Nature, Antony continues his recent excursions into expanding on previous releases with a new one that draws off the original with flavors from the past and explorations into something new. He has already done so most recently with His Dragon Island and Birds releases, and now he continues doing so here with his Messages from Afar efforts. First there was his Karfagen 2017 Messages from Afar: First Contact, and secondly his 2018 Sunchild Messages from Afar: The Division and Illusion of Time, and now this third one for our listening pleasure.

By far and large, the direct correlations between this release and the previous two tend to be fairly minimal, which is fine as it gives us a new palette of music to take in. That being said, the opening track on Second Nature is definitely a sister track to the opening one on the First Contact album and also a continuation of the fade out of the last track of that album as well. Beyond that it becomes divergent pretty quickly. First contact, which is highly recommended by the way, was primarily instrumental, and guitar driven against Antony's keywork. This newest effort tends to be more symphonic, keys forward, jazzy, with some pastoral touches, but that's not to say the guitars don't have their moments at the forefront.

As always, another great album cover that creates anticipation for the music to follow. So, some brief thoughts on the tracks.

1 Ride Your Dreams (3:41) As mentioned, this sister song to First Contact is immediately recognizable and feels like an old friend, but this is a mellower and shorter version. Just like its predecessor, it has an undeniable Pink Floyd vibe that is most enjoyable. Sometimes Antony does Pink Floyd better than they themselves did in their later years. A great start. 9/10

2 Fantasion (7:26) This is a creative instrumental piece with the synths forward and nice guitar interplay throughout. Has moments that are quite symphonic, but weaves jazzy expressions in and out. Very nice! Easily could have been an extension of the first track and been combined into a single 11 minute piece. 9/10

3 November Blue (4:34) Instrumental change of pace with a definite Jazz vibe including some brass and tasteful Metheny like soft guitar play. Mellow and laid back. Not a lot of sonic variety here, but a pleasant listen nonetheless. 8/10

4 Bond of Love (7:02) This is a star track full of surprises. Starts off acoustic with a beautiful female vocal. Seems that it will be a ballad but no, heavy guitar work cuts across and takes us in a whole different direction. Nice guitar workout with Antony's keys always close by. Closes out with a repetition of the opening lyric. As much as I liked Antony's previous Passage to the Forest of Mysterious, one of the things I lamented was the lack of the female vocals in that album. Happy to see that corrected here. 10/10

5 Agora By Night (4:32) An acoustic guitar instrumental, this feels like a piece extracted from the just mentioned Passage to the Forest of Mysterious. From about the 2:30 point takes on a Vangelis type atmosphere. A lovely piece. 9/10

6 Daybreak (3:48) Another instrumental, opening with piano this time, jazz oriented but for the first half initially more avant-garde than the previous jazzy track. About the second half, brass is incorporated and the track becomes more conventional. Some decent restrained guitar work towards the end adds a nice dimension. Not bad, but not my particular cup of tea either. 7/10

7 Bright Little Star (3:56) The most accessible track this time around. This has an optimistic lyric that is quite engaging. Again, an interesting mix of soft symphonic with some jazz undertones. At about 2:30 there is really enjoyable but short guitar escalation that I always look forward to. Nice artsy video available to view with this. 8/10

8 Searching for Mr. Kite (11:05) Longest track on this album, a big instrumental that upon each listen you pick up subtle different nuances. Just a great guitar and synth workout with reoccurring and building themes. There is a carnival atmosphere near the middle that is a bit unexpected but works well. There is a video in a similar artsy format available for this track as well. Antony saved one of the best for nearly last. 9/10

9 Second Nature (2:26) Antony saved the title track, the shortest one, for last. In doing so, he decided to close out the album with something a bit pastoral after the bombast of the previous piece. This one features piano, that for me, brings up a Genesis type feel, but gets expanded upon as it proceeds to its conclusion. A tasteful and elegant way to close the proceedings. 9/10

In conclusion, another most enjoyable offering from Antony and his fellow musicians. Unlike his previous effort, Passage to the Forest Mysterious, which seemed to at least loosely be a concept album, that is not the case here. The tracks seem to be stand alone efforts with quite a bit of different flavors and atmospheres, but it all works together quite nicely. I have to say that I have grown to have a lot of affection for Antony's offerings and they seem to just keep getting a little better each time. Another solid 4 star offering worth investigating.

I have been familiar with the Ukrainian multi-instrumentalist Antony Kalugin and his musical project Karfagen since the very first beginning, which was the debut album entitled Continium, from 2006, I was delighted with the dual keyboard work. Since then, Kalugin has turned into a prolific musician, releasing many albums with Karfagen, but he also founded other musical projects, from Hoggwash and Sunchild to AKKO and AKP. Last year I was lucky to witness Karfagen during a Dutch festival in the prog venue De Boerderij in Zoetermeer. He made a lot of friends with his wonderful music, and I bought a Karfagen t-shirt, after a short talk with Antony. He was very busy that evening, and the huge attention for him and Karfagen was fully deserved.

Listening to this new album again I am impressed by his skills as a musician and a composer. In the 9 tracks he delivers very melodic, harmonic and accessible music, often dreamy or slow rhythms, but he succeeds to keep my attention with beautiful work on keyboards, guitar and saxophone, along with pleasant vocals. My highlights.

Ride Your Dream has a slow rhythm, dreamy vocals and a flashy synthesizer solo.

Bond Of Love - Expanded Version contains first a mellow intro with female vocals, then a bombastic climate with fat guitar riffs, saxophone and a brassy synthesizer solo, and finally tender vocals and keyboards, topped with sensitive guitar runs.

Daybreak features a classical piano intro, gradually the music shifts to a tight beat with powerful saxophone and a fiery guitar solo.

Bright Little Star has a nice surprise, the distinctive voice of Colin Bass, in a dreamy atmosphere featuring mellow work on the saxophone and a moving guitar solo. The Camel fans will love it!

Searching For Mr. Kite - Expanded Version is an epic composition that has the focus on a long, harder-edged guitar solo, with a tight beat, and halfway a spectacular synthesizer solo.

Finally, the short but beautiful Second Nature with tender piano, in the second part blended with orchestrations, wonderful!

My CD version contains 3 exclusively bonus tracks featuring music of guitarist Dmytro Ignatov.

A slow rhythm with a long and compelling guitar solo in Flying High. Duo acoustic guitars that reminds me of early Dutch prog folk band Flairck in Another Day.

And finally, One Last Time. It starts dreamy with soaring keyboards, then a slow beat with an intense guitar sound evoking Camel, followed by an excellent build-up with howling and biting wah-wah guitar, fuelled by propulsive rhythm-section. Halfway a slowdown and then again bombastic and powerful guitar, and in the end tender acoustic guitar, wow!

Highly recommended!

This review was previously published at the website of Background Magazine, the oldest Dutch progrock source.

A virtually assembly line of symphonic prog, the Ukrainian band KARFAGEN led by the indefatigable Antony Kalugin has now released 19 full-length studio albums since the band debuted with the 2006 "Continuum." Half of these releases have come out since 2019 with three alone in 2020, three more in 2023 and so far in 2024 two! And it's only March! Someone has acquired Buckethead syndrome :/

MESSAGES FROM AFAR: SECOND NATURE is the first release of the year and features nine tracks at about 48 1/2 minutes but bonus tracks are also included on the CD version under the moniker Dmytro Ignatov who happens to be the electric and acoustic guitarist. While Kalugin dominates the soundscape with his fiery keyboard playing, the album features a wide range of guest musicians and singers that up to nine, one for each track! Concept-wise it's a sequel to 2017's "Messages from Afar: First Contact."

This is a band i've checked out periodically over the years to sample but not really kept up with simply because i tend to avoid bands that favor quantity over quality unless they aren't devoted to a single genre and have license to go anywhere they want. In the case of KARGAGEN the entire musical style is crafted within the realms of modern symphonic prog and although not unpleasant, not really a style of modern prog that gets my juices going therefore so many other artists to explore.

Being that this is one of the highest rated album from the KARFAGEN canon out of the band's existence, i figured that this might be the time to drop in, tune in and evaluate if the band had stepped things up a few notches from the monotonous cookie cutter albums of the past to something more dynamic that can keep my interest throughout its entire run. Lo and behold, as i checked this release out i have to admit that KARFAGEN has indeed stepped things up a few notches and went well beyond some of the overly aerie fairy princess prog of the past (sorry, that's what i call squeaky clean prog with no gonads.)

Like all of KARFAGEN's releases that i've experienced, MESSAGES FROM AFAR: SECOND NATURE is drenched in atmosphere and the entire shebang sort of sounds more like a neo-prog release in some ways with instantly catchy pop-flavored hooks, soaring guitar sweeps and nice comfy song structures that adhere to more modern traditional symphonic prog song structures a la Neil Morse or any of those symphonic prog acts that appear on the Colossus Project compilations. Once again KARFAGEN delivers soundtracks to fairytales that are dreamy and dripping with ambience and layered keyboard effects.

What's new, at least to me is the fact that not only did KARFAGEN offer a more diverse array of track styles on MESSAGES FROM AFAR: SECOND NATURE but added the accompanying sounds of jazz, classical guitar and vocal sections including a surprise cameo from Camel's bass player Colin Bass of all people! In other words, this release is a huge step up from the one's i've dabbled in previously however just like prolific artists such as Neal Morse, Buckethead, Alio Die, Brian Eno or The Residents, just to name a few, there is always a lot of filler with the occasional gem to be plucked from the overgrowth therefore careful selection is the key.

Well in this case, i'm actually quite pleased with how this album flows and how it keeps things interesting by offering varying tempos, time signature workouts and guests singers and sounds that weave their way into the overall mainframe. Add to that the songs are all interesting and even though the band has the same basic sound it always has, this one has enough spice to keep a hardcore progger like me entertained! While i wouldn't go as far as to say that i'm going to go back and check out every possible KARFAGEN album at this point but i will definitely be checking out the releases that are receiving the most positive reviews and ratings. A pleasant surprise for a band that i really wanted to write off! Great job, Mr Kalugin!