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avestin View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Karcius - Episodes (2008)
    Posted: January 24 2009 at 11:34
KARCIUS -


2008
Episodes


Their PA bio:

KARCIUS is an instrumental group aiming at playing a mix of progressive rock and fusion jazz music. Four instrumentalists created the band at spring 2001: Dominique Blouin on bass, Thomas Brodeur on drums, Simon L’Espérance on guitars and Mingan Sauriol on keyboards. The group objective is to develop different musical ideas and explore styles to generate a surprising and diversified music. The improvisation and written music stand side by side generating a unique and particular musical concept. KARCIUS invites you in its universe of rhythms, colours, images, emotions and ambiances.

KARCIUS exceptionnal musicians devotes unceasing work and true passion to their art.



http://www.karcius.com/

www.myspace.com/karcius 

Wonderful album!!! beautiful and engaging instrumental pieces.


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 24 2009 at 11:38
Certainly enjoyed their previous works but have not heard this one yet.  

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 24 2009 at 11:49
Missed that release, ordered it right away now. Thanks for the reminder, Assaf!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 24 2009 at 11:55
Originally posted by Angelo Angelo wrote:

Missed that release, ordered it right away now. Thanks for the reminder, Assaf!


Hope you'll like it (I think you will).
Am listening to it now, and the two tracks Incident and Purple King are simply Awesome!!! Beauty and fabulous Spanish falvour in the first and power and subtle rawness in the second.




Edited by avestin - January 24 2009 at 11:56
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 24 2009 at 12:13
I know I'll like it - it's Karcius after all. I'm ashamed I missed the release - they might have ended up on my top-5 for 2008.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 25 2009 at 12:14
Listened to it again today, this is awesome! They've changed from their first album that's for sure. This one presents the different "faces" of the band, as they play different styles in each track. All of them very enjoyable and well performed.


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 26 2009 at 15:48
A review by Cesar Inca

KARCIUS — Episodes
Review by Cesar Inca (César Inca Mendoza Loyola)
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4 stars Always restlessly approaching their interests in an eclectic sort of prog rock that mixes jazz-rock, psychedelia, fusion and symphonic textures, the guys of Karcius have released yet another gem in their repertoire by the end of 2008: “Episodes” is a marvelous exhibition of how much creatity these guys carry in their minds and souls in order o keep their artistic proposal fresh and renewed. As always, this band’s sonic framework is loose enough as to fluidly incorporate sources of musical power that somehow relate their essence to the standards of prog-metal. You can also notice some bizarre progressions and ornaments that feel quite close to the challenging pace of avant-prog. This album doesn’t fall short concerning these assets, but as I said before, Karcius does not replicate itself. “Episodes” comprises some new explorations related to space-rock, which in turn serves as a motive to emphasize the psychedelic factor that had already been present in preceding albums. The three sections of ‘Elements’ open up the album in a most revealing fashion. ‘Submersion’, the autonomous title of the first section, openly flirts with he dense flow of your regular spacey psychedelic rock. At first, Suriol’s piano keeps things on a level of dreamy majesty, but it is only when l? Esperánce’s lead guitar comes to the fore that the track meets its main body and crucial development. Things pretty much get heavy-prog, featuring an incendiary guitar lead augmented by an ominous choir mellotron. The opening motif then returns, partially capturing the increased energy. The last two minutes get very spacey, with a bass guitar riff that paves the way for the emergence of ‘Sol’, the second section. This one is more celebratory, elaborating a jazz-funk groove that might as well remind us of Weather Report-meets-Brand-X. Near the end, things get hardened, linked to the current era of jazz-rock. ‘Combustion’, the suite’s third section, benefits from this particularly explicit momentum, with a first part that combines metallish riffs and Floydian environments: there is something grayish, subtly sinister about it. After the 6 minute mark, things get tighter up to the point of arriving at LTE-like territory. The epic conclusion provides a reprise of the bridge between sections 1 and 2. This suite has been simply lovely, a manifestation of the album’s main virtues as a whole. ‘Incident’ is more patently fusion-oriented, clearly influenced by good old Return to Forever (mostly due to the Flamenco-like atmospheres), but there is also that aura of musical extravagance that sounds closer to bands such as The Lonely Bears. The piano sonata entitled ‘Levant’ is only 2 ½ minutes long, but that’s OK since its Gershwin moods are developed in a most efficient manner. A lovely piece, indeed. In this way, the listener is prepared to listen to ‘Purple King’, a solid rocker in which the lead guitarist seems o pay homage to Allan Holdsworth and Jeff Beck. The progressive ornaments that go settling in allow the band to teach a lesson of prog metal even if it is not a prog metal group. There is also an organ solo very worthy of a special mention, in which we find traces of Lord’s exquisiteness and Emerson’s vibration. ‘Purple King’ can be fairly regarded as the album’s zenith. ‘Racine’ occupies the album’s last 9– minutes. This one is very much like Ozric Tentacles: starting with a white reggae vibe, later on the track shifts towards a space-rock momentum augmented with fusion touches. This is very similar to Ozric Tentacles at their most sophisticated. Ultimately, the first motive is reinstated in order to provide a cosmic relaxation with agile spacey textures. All in all, this albums doesn’t equal the robustness of 2kaleidoscope”, but it is not to say that this album is soft or lacking stamina. It has lots of stamina, indeed, but the band has put it in a more subtle level. Karcius still rules!

Report this review (#200726) | Posted Monday, January 26, 2009, 14:24 EST
Review Permalink | Submit a review for this album | Buy this album from PA partners


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 26 2009 at 22:33

Kind of like the darkness of their previous albums, felt this one was much more lighter... still good though.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 27 2009 at 12:57
Getting more curious by the minute, hope unicorn mail it soon...
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2009 at 12:50
Originally posted by Plankowner Plankowner wrote:

Kind of like the darkness of their previous albums, felt this one was much more lighter... still good though.



I personally would not call their previous efforts dark, but more aggressive, yes.
Here they have definitely gone on a more epic note (the first 3 linked tracks), mellow note (Incident), still preserving some of their former power (Purple King) and a light jazzy note (the album closing track).

A great varied album!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2009 at 22:05
Angelo, did you get the album?

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2009 at 14:35
Originally posted by Angelo Angelo wrote:

Missed that release, ordered it right away now. Thanks for the reminder, Assaf!


And missing the ALT2 show? - played a couple tracks
The best eclectic music on the Web,8-11pm BST/GMT THURS.
CLICK ON: http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php
Host by PA's Dick Heath.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 01 2009 at 15:47
A really good thing about these guys is that they're pretty young right now and still have a long way to go. All of their albums until now were great and I'm pretty sure they'll come up with a lot of other good material in the future. I talked to the bassist the other day and they're already working on new music.

They also might play at NEARfest soon.

RIP in bossa nova heaven.
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