QUANTUM FANTAY

From the opening track "Tessellate", the album starts with ancestral sounds that are mixed with typical 70s psychedelic rock arrangements, making use of the resource of introducing the instruments little by little, entering -with an almost completely built atmosphere and in such a short time- the flute and then the keyboards with riffs and more arrangements to authenticate it as true space rock. This track is sustained with great energy, with all instruments participating equally in a mixture of atmospheres and beats. The flute, as long as it is well executed, is always very interesting as a dominant element in some psychedelic instrumental sections, and this song is no exception. Many parts of this song are reminiscent of early Alan Parsons, ranging from his debut to "The Turn of a Friendly Card", in such arbitrariness as the sustaining of the base instruments to give power to sequences of notes that come and go. Tessellate is a song that bridges a lot, with an interesting virtuosity in the rhythm, as it is never suffocating but constantly changing. Those changes are guided by drummer Gino Verhaegen, who possesses a total lucidity, one might say. Considering that this is the song that introduces an instrumental album, it is clear that it is reserved in several respects to function as just that: an introduction. In that sense, it reminds me very much of the first section of Transatlantic's The Whirlwind, with many ideas staged, but without delving into any of them. To make this clear, I'll exemplify this by contrasting it with Rush's wonderful La Villa Strangiato, where there are very brief instrumental sections, but nothing left unsaid. Decent introduction by the Belgians.

"Manas Kavya" is the second track, and I dare say that it starts off much more interesting than the previous one, with a total protagonism of the keyboards that leads to full-on electronic progressive, with vibrant synthesizers. In the face of such energy that the experimental keyboardist Pieter van den Broeck manages and sustains, the flute is a little more overshadowed and shocking in its melodies. And it is in this second song, after the 10 minutes of the first, that guitarist Tom Tas has his first important moments, with fast but not risky plucking. The song flies: the fast line proposed by the keyboards and drums leave very little room to create and improvise, and I think this is where Quantum's musicians are exposed (but not in a bad light): the slower note sequences work better than the faster ones. The influence of the British band Ozric Tentacles is clear in the exotic melodic components of the Belgians.

And if we had talked about ancestral music before, now the concept takes on much more force: "Astral Projection", the third song of the album and the one that will close side 1, is an embalming of - justly - astral and existential sounds that coexist in a sidereal but drastic space and go back and forth between a guitar that continues without taking risks and a keyboard of greater flight. The drummer is, almost without a doubt, the best of the band in this work; he doesn't outgrow a single moment and sustains a cadence that, with slightly looser beats and pulses, could fall apart. Of course, one can't expect this music to work as a seesaw of tonalities or impacts, but some flashes of originality wouldn't go amiss, because although virtuosity is not a problem here in general, there are many spaces to fill and monotony is something that, in several moments, is closer than far away.

And so closes the first side of the album: an astronomical and one-dimensional experiment that plays a lot with the instrumental swings, but does not seek distinctive leaps, but rather to neatly draw a line that has no theoretical wells.

Side 2 begins with a four-part song titled "Skytopia", a fun and exciting opener in its "(A): Azure" division, with striking percussion and a Tom Tas that begins to draw what he didn't draw on side 1. As if Astral Projection had been deliberately quiet to propel the fragmented Skytopia, the group aims to concentrate the maximum degree of elevation in this suite of thicker atmosphere and more catchy progressions.

Moving on to the cut "(B): Laputa", tension suddenly builds and everything becomes a little more mysterious, with a more present guitarist and keyboards continuing to grow. Wouter De Geest keeps his bass active by rotating in different roles; sometimes acting as guitar, sometimes shadowing the drums and sometimes delivering effective lines. Towards the end of the track, there is a very interesting keyboard-drums-bass section that concentrates what is perhaps the greatest prebend of dynamism on the whole album, or at least so far.

The shortest section of the suite, "(C), Ignis Fatuus", is the one that comes to give a structural and even vigorous pause, letting the staggered sections rest a little so that the flute brings back some calmness together with the Egyptian chanting voices of Nette Willox, who also takes care of the few sections with saxophone.

And, a suite that would seem to end without any noticeable gradations, releases its last section entitled "(D): Empyrean", which picks up a little of the power of the first songs, with the aforementioned typical set-up and some very seventies-like plucking. De Geest plays the sharpest lines in these 6 minutes, giving a fantastic passage to what is perhaps the best portion of the whole album, where it seems that everyone was on the same pulse, with a spectacular and very enjoyable multi-instrumental jam. This last part of the suite is a seesaw of grooves, a firm motif to move to the rhythm of the music. The saxophone also has its most striking melodies here, as may be the case with other instruments, apart from those already mentioned. A phenomenal peak of efficiency.

And so we come to the short-lived song that closes the album, entitled "Anahata", which is, true to Tessellate's introductory and light-hearted character, a spiritual stamp on what was a relaxing but moving journey. The second gateway to this immersive journey with tinges of various genres such as jazz, electronic music, symphonic rock and more.

Quantum Fantay's discography seems to be always a construction in process, aiming in each album to leave windows open in order to think of each latest work not as the last, but as a subsequent one, as a brick that rests on top of one and waits to be succeeded by another. A band with very ambitious aspirations that certainly gives something to talk about and is among the most remarkable of the Belgian progressive scene.

As others have mentioned they do try to blend a lot of styles and sounds into each song pretty much and it just isn't executed very well. It doesn't sound right even if that is in part what progressive rock is all about in constantly changing things up. I do appreciate that this band keeps their albums under an hour and even the songs are short compared to most Space Rock bands. This is all over the place though. I do like the guitar to end "Into The Deep" after not enjoying the rest of the song. The soaring guitar leads on the closer is good.

This is a band that has a ton of fans but I'm not one of them.

I read someone who said these guys were OZRIC TENTACLES light and I have to agree and I think the Ozrics are already too light. My tastes love that upfront bass with growly and spacey synths, a great drummer and throw in some attitude please. This is so lightweight. Even the best track that 11 1/2 minute closer suffers at times but I do like that guitar and this one has it's moments for sure.

I should mention there's a world music vibe at times on this record. The band likes to refer to their music as being liquid, fair enough but lets have some waves crashing in or a current that causes some concern(haha). Okay enough bashing these guys are truly talented they just aren't anywhere close to being in my Space Rock wheelhouse.

Quantum Fantay have been a good choice for those who know, love and treasure the kind of cosmic, mainly instrumental progressive rock that bands such as Ozric Tentacles popularized back in the day. As of 2019 this is still very much the case, so those aware of the band can safely get this album as well, and for those not yet aware of them this album is as good a place to start with them as any other album they have released so far.

Instrumental space rock with a liberal array of sounds and effects is what Quantum Fantay provides, yet again. An instrumental, cosmic journey, with a slight taste of the exotic and arguably even jazz tossed in here and there. Music very much of the Ozric Tentacles variety, but as far as such ventures goes this is a quality one, an elegant, swirling cosmic journey for travels of the outer and the inner space. Obviously an album I have noted down as a merited check by anyone with an interest in the aforementioned Ozrics and bands of a similar kind.

Recommend it to all fans of instrumental progressive space rock!

This really is a band that wants to both stay true to its roots and progress at the same time, so for 2017 the band has expanded from a four-piece with guests to a six-piece working on their own. No more using a guest flautist, as Jorinde has joined as a full member, as has Nette Willox who brings in saxophone and vocals. Don't worry, they haven't suddenly turned into a band with a lead singer, the vocals are just another effect they use when the time is right as opposed to now being a band providing backing music. They are still very influenced by Ozrics, but they have started to expand away from the core sound, especially with the use of the saxophone. In many ways, they have turned up the complexity with a great deal of layering within the sounds, and have also gone back to a more normal format of songwriting as opposed to the experimentation that existed on the previous album.

Although each of the three albums are quite similar in many ways, they know what people expect from them and are going to continue to keep delivering it, they also know that they need to move on to succeed and thrive and that is very much the case with this one. It is the strongest album of theirs that I have heard to date, and I am starting to realise that I need to go back in time and listen to their very first ones, as so far everything I have heard from the Belgians has impressed me immensely.

Quantum Fantay's 2015 album was interesting in quite a few respects. Firstly, they had a new guitarist in Tom Tas, and secondly, they had used more guest musicians than previously, one of whom was Ed Wynne! Given that these guys have been more than a little influenced by the mighty Ozrics that is a huge compliment to what they are doing. Lastly, instead of a series of songs of different lengths we are this time treated to four songs that are all basically 11:15 long. I hate to think just how many albums I have listened to over the years, but I am sure that is a first for me, as bands tend to have the songs as long as they need to be as opposed to attempting to keep them to a particular length (apart from the old days when they had to be three minutes or less to be played on the radio).

This album takes a more direct approach than the previous one, with a more rock approach and less folk, but still with plenty of swirling keyboards and space rock stylings. Its straightforward approach means that this is instantly appealing, and there is less thinking to do with this music, just let your ears open up and then drown in the sensations. Yet again this is indispensable for anyone into space rock in general and the Ozrics in particular.

By the time I came across this Belgian band they had already released four studio and two live albums prior to 'Terragaia', which came out in 2014. I was a little surprised that they managed to escape my attention for so long as these guys have been heavily influenced by one genre in particular, and one band especially, the mighty Ozric Tentacles. Given just how long the Ozrics have been around, perhaps it is surprising that there aren't more bands that have decided to create their own version of a sound which is instantly recognisable. They aren't mere copyists though, and have brought in some more ethnic and folk elements, particularly on songs such as "Azu Kénè Dékè Lepé" which contains some wonderful tribal drumming combining with clear guitar lines.

There is an energy and passion contained within the music, and the listener is soon transported into a magical world where woodwind, keyboards, guitars and drums combine to create something that is very special indeed

Truthfully the lengthier workouts here are really just made up of the little fragments that dart in all directions the band usually offers, but here they weave from one through the other with a cohesion and perfect sense of flow that means the longer twists and turns are a natural extension for the band. Far from being a mere clone band of the Ozrics that the group is sometimes dismissed as being, Quantum Fantay isn't adverse to including symphonic passages, heavier blasts and darker, more dramatic moods here as well, directions never really explored by `that other band'!

But nonetheless, opener `Nimbo' is easily the most overtly Ozrics-flavoured moment with plenty of looping electronic trickles, bubbling liquid synth gurgles, gentle flute drifts, up-tempo driving guitar alongside fiery drum bursts and skittering ska saunters all heading in a dozen directions. Ironically, Ed Wynne of the Ozric Tentacles guests on the second track `Rimbo', offering his usual phasing electric guitar soloing and some choice glissando moments, but the piece diverts quite significantly from the template of that group. A bombastic symphonic theme drifts in and out of the piece soaring over gliding synth breezes, and a foot-tapping beat charging the piece ever forwards brings endless empowering strength to the tune, with an addictive and dreamy middle-eastern flecked finale over dancing chiming keys.

Frequently victorious themes drift in and out of the up-tempo and propulsive `Cacimbo', a gutsy piece full of constant stomping momentum, overloaded with mysterious and pretty synth trills, sweetly pulsing bass, fiery electric guitar with some lovely reverberating fuzzy distorted delay and heavy grunting bursts, reflective gentle flute tranquillity and sly reggae ventures all thrown into the psychedelic stew. Closer `Limbo' is more of a slow-build, synths rising with a dramatic symphonic, almost orchestral grandiosity over dusty eastern textures grafted to the twisting guitar bite, drifting flute and an abundance of fizzing electronic breakdowns.

Quantum Fantay deliver exciting instrumental space-rock, always unpredictable and exotic, full of colour and energy whilst remaining endlessly melodic, and `Dancing in Limbo' is their strongest album to date.

Four stars.