New concept album from Velislav Ivanov

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From the maker of "Under Dark Skies" finally comes the new, long awaited concept album "So Close to the Sky Itself",
Most of the lyrics are based on the poems of a Bulgarian poet, Atanas Daltchev, the rest are his own creation. Let's see what the author has to say for himself:

 "So close to sky itself" is the fruit of eighteen months' effort, rethinking and elaboration. After a brief but important moment of reflection, which followed the release of "Under dark skies", I came to the conclusion that even though I could carry on producing more of the same, I would rather create something different, more experimental, more claustrophobic, less accessible and more progressive. I doubt there is a better poetic expression of those cravings than Daltchev's "Diabolic", and without any long-term intentions, I created a self-titled song. Its musical idiosyncrasies eventually became more or less of a pattern for the others - free musical structure, multi-layered wide-screen sound, a wide array of instruments, experiment. Being satisfied with the result, I decided to go on working in the same track - the next piece of the jigsaw puzzle was "And at last the heart dies". That's when the concept clarified in my head - I decided to include a second view point, ridiculing and satirising the protagonist(a collective image in the album) of Daltchev's poems. For a more detailed description of the concept read below.
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I have used a wide array of musical instruments and synths for the arrangements, yet the mellotron would have to retain primary significance. It is an early analog instrument, invented to recreate the sound of a strings ensemble through recordings on magnetic tapes connected to keys. However, the tapes distort the sound, which creates a surreal and ethereal one, something ephemeral and unmatched. I doubt the existence of another instrument which would recreate the feelings and suggestions of the album in such a manner.

The drums - programmed, in the background. Among the arrangements could be heard a wide array of synthesizers, sound effects and - in "Diabolic" - guitar such. Perhaps they are not conspicuous, yet they create the specific ambience of the album, and after each listen you can hear new sonic details.

What's best even, the album is available for free at the website linked also above. The quality is as good as, if not even better than with the debut release. The musical passages show obvious development in both composition and technical skills, and the album sounds very enjoyable, though rather complex at first listen.
Also, in the end, once you've checked it out, notice, that on the last songs there's a reference to Your's Truly as the guitarist, though I take almost no credit.

Edited by Passionist - November 11 2008 at 10:03