MORPHEUS PROJECT

MORPHEUS PROJECT is not the space project of NASA but that of a self-taught Sri Lankan songwriter Mustafa Khetty.

"Cry For Freedom" and a piano violin sonata by Matias, languorous female voice, romantic spleen, introductory piece to this parable album, world classical music par excellence; a war tribute to the Bosnian distress which gives a particularly moving musical vision of the torments of life, of insurmountable brokenness. "Dancing with Elves" is more beautiful in its musical candor, classic sounds with the contribution in the second part of an enlightened symphonic guitar, a little Andalusian, orchestral symphony, a sound apart. "Istanbul Swing" for a bass Indian percussion sound, twirling guitar à la AL DI MEOLA, to the great MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA; a supercharged jazz-rock rhythm with touches of a QUANTUM FANTAY and on the "Soul Makossa" of RIP DI BANGO.

"Mozaick" for the album track; a compendium of oriental beauty, bouzouki, guitar, zither, flute, divine choirs, a musical wave for an awakening of the day; it turns in all directions, it merges between the ethnic, the indescribable musical trance, a little OLDFIELD for the climates, a little VOLLENWEIDER for spiritual creation, a little religious magic; battle scene from "Lord of the Rings" or not, integrating 30 instruments and 130 different tracks, it talks about jazz-fusion, about progression in its entirety; a mix of sounds and genres that transcend music.

"Nights to Remember" for a hard rock cover brought up to date, the origin dating from the 80s. A theme by the poet Dylan THOMAS which immerses us in a rock opera title à la RAINBOW of good old Ritchie or à la BON JOVI , a title which stands out from the previous ones, which gives pep to this decidedly unusual album. "Rage Before the Storm" before the storm, soaring, stunning, sidereal, introspective, intimate, the first music of the first day, conducive to contemplation, a little guitar solo with a sublime end, a refreshing piece perhaps too short.

"Shrill" on the same wave with the contribution of the gypsy violin, a dreamlike voice on a latent, slightly melancholic variation, the one that recharges you, the piano comes in clusters of water droplets, a rock opera base with choruses that arrive, bluesy note at the end with the contribution of a serene flute. "Tomorrow Never Comes", return to the Orient with percussion, flute, sound from there, crescendo like on this "passion" track by Peter GABRIEL, hard gravelly voice a bit like Russell ALLEN of SYMPHONY X or AYREON , sound with omnipresent bass à la Chris SQUIRE (well, well!) and some layers of keyboards, ending with a phrased monologue. "Waiting" or the killer guitar title, romantic-melancholic ballad with its little piano, vocals like ETERNITY

MORPHEUS PROJECT is a project in its own right, world-prog-music on the one hand, a fusion of continents, genres and codes, each title shaping an atypical musical universe.

World music? This is it!!! Born in Sri Lanka, raised in Ireland and living in NYC, Mustafa Khetty is a "world man". And this is a great album, where you can found very different musical "colors". Khetty writes the music and gets a huge "gang" of musicians to play it: the Morpheus Project. Songs sometimes sound Indian and then look like Latin-American, most of the time using western instruments. Many times this reminds me of Peter Gabriel's last albums (not the songs, but the sound). Every song is definitely unique and at the same time has an identifying character of the album as a whole. "Istambul Swing" sounds like taken from a Carlos Santana album. "Tomorrow Never Comes" begins really Arabian, then turns to a heavy rock sound and when voice enters (after five minutes) it changes to a light atmosphere. ""Cry for Freedom" is the quintessential symphonic rock. This is really a Mozaic. A great starting point!!!

Website info. "Mustafa Khetty is a composer and song writer with little musical background. Born in Sri Lanka, educated in Ireland and an Irish citizen, his early years there absorbing the culture, humour, literature, ethos and musical heritage has been a lifelong inspiration. He has lived in the UK, USA, Middle East and Far East, which has contributed to a rich and diverse palette of musical influence. His influences are Indian classical, western classical, choral, Mid-Eastern, progressive rock, samba, African, jazz fusion, heavy metal, ethnic and other genres. He started composing music at the age of 12 and scored the first sketches of a rock/classical fusion concerto, toccata and fugue and other pieces by the age of 15. At the end of 2017, after nearly 36 years as an investor and IT entrepreneur, he made a complete change and returned to his first passion, music. His music style ranges across different genres and fusion of both western and eastern styles and instruments merging soundscapes forming a tapestry of moods, emotions, rhythmic patterns and harmonic layers. Often described as world music, his creative spirit is free from rules. A Bohemian at heart, his music and acoustic expressions are a reflection of his travels, life experiences and observations."

What an interesting musical journey by Mustafa Khetty his band Morpheus Project, in the true meaning of the word, very varied and eclectic. But also wonderfully coloured with a wide range of instruments. You have to be up to the emotional vocals, at some moments pretty theatrical. My highlights.

A blend of soaring keyboards, nature sounds, soft howling guitar runs and synthesizer flights in the atmospheric opener Rage Before The Storm.

A dreamy climate with twanging acoustic guitar, piano, intense violin play, then an eruption with emotional theatrical vocals, and finally a majestic Mellotron choir sound in Shrill.

Between mellow and bombastic with excellent guitar play, from tender acoustic to a heavy electric sound, and outstanding interplay between sparkling piano and howling guitar in Dancing With Elves.

The titletrack delivers lots of shifting moods and a lush instrumentaiton. First a tight beat with propulsive percussion, then swinging with heavy guitar. In between a sultry violin solo and flashy synthesizer flights. In the end howling guitar runs and violin, with propulsive percussion, what an exciting blend of prog and ethnic!

The captivating and dynamic track Istanbul Swing showcases Morpheus Project in its full splendor. It starts with Santana-like conga percussion, blended with synthesizer drops, then an electric guitar joins, in a hypnotizing climate, gradually a more tight beat and fiery guitar runs. Halfway a break with soaring strings, conga, turning into a swinging rhythm with awesome Hammond organ work and fiery guitar runs. This exciting sound reminds me of Al DiMeola his jazzrock, and early Santana, wow!

More bombastic Hammond organ and rock guitar in Nights To Remember. After a mellow break with sensitive electric guitar and theatrical vocals, again a bombastic and propulsive mid-tempo, now featuring flashy synthesizer flights and heavy guitar runs, pretty exciting. (By the way, does this song contain a hidden tribute to The Beatles, a variation on Eleanor Rigby?)

The final song Cry For Freedom turns into a very emotional experience, due to the wonderful Grand piano and violin, with strong melancholical undertones. The opera-like female voice and soaring strings are the musical translation of "the cry for freedom", very intense. And a huge contrast to the two previous bombastic and dynamic tracks, emphasizing Morpheus Project its captivating and varied musical journey.

This one is worked out by an armada of musicians really. What an ambitious project! That ends into a successfull result on top of that ... Sri Lanka born world traveller Mustafa Khetty is responsible for this. Concretely, that means compositions and arrangements are contributed by him, the rest is up to the already mentioned armada. His recording studio is currently located in Turkey, no wonder, when considering their names, that nearly every involved musician respectively singer is coming from that country in the end. Here we have a wonderful eclectic album with nearly 50 minutes playing time at hand, embracing a lot of music genres, brimfull of sonic surprises. When trying to pigeonhole this from the stylistical point of view, one can say we can enjoy progressive art rock, refined with classical, opera, jazz and ethno/world ingredients.

Here we go, on a wild, unpredictable, yet highly entertaining ride through diverse musical meadows. When I listened to the spacey melancholic intro Rage Before The Storm for the first time, I was immediately hooked. Such an irresistible mood, priceless! Expressive opera tinged vocals on the following Shrill, later turning into a latin jazz direction. Well. I was puzzled for some time, due to the eponymously titled single excerpt, which was released earlier in 2020. This one didn't reach for a place on the regular album in that way. Alternatively though was reworked respectively incorporated to the album's centerpiece It's Who We Are! Mozaick finally. This exceptional track showcases a fantastic blend of Middle Eastern Folk as well as Santana inspired Samba and Jazz Fusion.

Then you won't miss heavy guitar riffs and a proper drive throughout, just to notice on Nights To Remember for example. The fast-paced percussion driven Istanbul Swing showcases excellent bass lines as well as some guitar and keyboard battle. Finally the magical Cry For Freedom is concipated as a tribute to the Bosnian women and children who have suffered the most during the Balkan conflicts. Chapeau Mustafa Khetty, with 'Mozaick' you've managed nothing less than a masterpiece! Well worth the listen, multiple times at best, just in order to fully discover the sheer variety and beauty.