KINESIS

The Kinetics Of Sound

3.5 stars

The third band from the Altr0ck house of progressive rock is another Italian band, but this one is not at all like the first release on this label by country mates Yugen. Accordo Dei Contrari (AdC henceforth) are a dynamic group of (changing lineup of) musicians (drums, guitar, keyboards and bass; reinforced by guests on violin and sax) and their comfort zone is in the instrumental fusion territory. No need to go into biographical details as those can be read on their Myspace, but I will quite to you what their promo material says about their influences and sound: "The album "Kinesis" is the result of two days of live-recording in studio in june 2006, with short overdubs of violin and sax in october-november 2006. "Accordo dei Contrari"'s influences range from rock progressive music and rock-jazz of seventies, to contemporary jazz and classic music of 20th century (Strawinsky, Messiaen). Influences : Area, Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, Cherry Five, Deus ex Machina, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Frank Zappa, Soft Machine and many others."

Of all those, I'd say the jazz-rock influences are the most prominent and obvious, but those other names do come to mind and their overall sound is quite varied and rich. What a great and intense ride AdC deliver in this album. They are as entertaining and melodic as they are energetic and upbeat. AdC's sound comes from various styles as jazz-rock but bringing in a variety of other sounds to spice up the affairs with great keyboard playing (reminiscing some past prog days and bands) and a fierce guitar emphasizing the rock edge among others.

The listening experience with this album is great as it conjures up memories of other bands and yet doesn't feel like they are a retro-prog sort of band, but one that relies on certain roots and uses them to make their own fresh sound.

With this album, I kept discovering new intricacies and small features in the music with each further listen. I could suddenly notice a particular movement I didn't realize was there before. A link to one of their influences suddenly became clear (for instance, King Crimson which at first wasn't clear to me where they draw from them, all of a sudden became clear). This can be said about many prog albums, and for this one it is veyr much the case in particular since as I listened more and more, the melodies sank in, leaving an imprint on my listening area in my brain, making me want to listen to it again, which is exactly what I expect from an album.

For a great thrill of an album; an album that mixes fusion with prog-rock characteristics of the past and present; for good musicianship; for a rich and enveloping sound; for a well-balanced mix of melody and technicality - this album will satisfy your needs and more. This album is a highlight in this year's releases and another excellent release from Altr0ck.

Let me start by saying that I regard "Kinesis" as a prog masterpiece: Accordo dei Contrari has delivered a real musical gem for the year 2007, refurbishing the jazz-prog area with vigor, creativity and powerful colorfulness. Going beyond the typical sound of a quartet of guitar/bass/Keyboard/drums with the additions of guests on sax and violin, the band sets its style with inspiration from Area, Return to Forever, Deus ex Machina, Gentle Giant, and to a lesser degree, ELP and Happy the Man. 'Lester' kicks off the album with ravishing splendor, stating an exciting jazz-oriented vibe that at times borders on the power sound of contemporary hard jazz-rock. The sax solo gives a special warm undertone to the track during its short duration. 'Meghiste Kinesis' (meaning "greatest speed" in ancient Greek) goes to more energetic places, in this way capitalizing the previous track's fire. The notable use of dissonant chord progressions and the presence of a guest violinist make the band lean really close to pre-"Cinque" era Deus ex Machina. The intensity is interrupted by a subtle piano solo that relies on the empty spaces to provide an air of mystery: the following crescendo reminds me of a jazzed Gentle Giant, which in turn leads to a reprise of the opening motif for the coda. A special mention goes to the synth solo, an exhibition of Hammer-meets-Duke. This is an undisputed highlight. 'Scala Quadro' puts an emphasis in the rock side of jazz-prog rock: the recurrent motif is quite catchy, and then, for the last two minutes, the keyboardsman leads the way in an unmistakable Emersonian fashion. 'Gondwana' bears a similar structure to that of track 2 - a strong motif sets the pace and a much calmer interlude creates a well-ordained variation. This track's interlude sort of emulates the most serene passages of Happy the Man's repertoire, while the main motif displays a mixture of classic Gentle Giant and 80s King Crimson. 'Anexelenkton', in turn, brings back the robust spirit of track 3: the rhythm duo's peculiar dynamics and the partially sinister moods displayed in Parmeggiani's keyboards (once again, quite Minnear-like) are the track's most featured factors. With an interlude focused on a clever crescendo adorned with a certain extravagance and an impressive drum solo near the end, this track reaches a compelling climax. The album's last 6 ¼ minutes are occupied by 'O.M.', a number that keeps pace with the tracklist's overall punch, even enhancing it at times. In many ways, 'O.M.' is a condensed retake of the band's main references: Area, Return to Forever, Gentle Giant. The excellence of Accordo dei Contrari is based on a tight confluence of all individuals' virtuosic endeavors - their "Kinesis" is, IMHO, a must in any decent prog collection.

ACCORDO DEI CONTRARI are a young Jazz / Fusion band out of Italy. This is an all-instrumenatal album, although we do get a little blurb with each song which indicates that these guys are highly educated to say the least. Basically a four piece band with some guest violin and sax to compliment their sound.

"Lester" is named after Lester Bangs an American music critic who died in 1982. They hit us hard and fast on this one before it settles quickly. Great sound ! Contrasts continue. Nice bass before 3 1/2 minutes with some excellent guitar in tow that starts to light it up. Sax before 5 1/2 minutes. "Meghiste Kinesis" opens with piano and a good beat as violin joins in. It settles 2 minutes in but then starts to build 3 1/2 minutes in, guitar takes the lead a minute later. A nice heavy sound at 6 minutes as the song continues to change. "ScalaQuadro" is the longest track at almost 9 minutes. It builds with drums leading the charge as organ comes in. It settles before 2 minutes then builds again. Violin 3 1/2 minutes in. It's heavy a minute later as the organ returns. It settles with piano 8 minutes in.

"Gondwana" is heavy with some great guitar. It settles with violin before 1 1/2 minutes but it kicks back in quickly. The tempo continues to shift the rest of the way. Some nice contrasts on this one. "Anexelenkton" is led by organ and drums early before guitar and keys follow. Again tempo changes are a plenty. I like the organ on this one. A drum solo to end it. "OM" opens with piano as guitar and drums come in strongly. It settles with piano. Excellent sound 2 1/2 minutes in then the guitar starts to rip it up. Piano before 4 minutes and then it kicks in a minute later before piano ends it.

There's enough here to warrant 4 stars in my opinion but this didn't blow me away or anything, although it's quite powerful at times.

Modern Progressive/Jazz-Rock act from Bologna, formed in 2001 as a trio with Cristian Franchi on drums, Giovanni Parmeggiani on keyboards and Alessandro Pedrini on guitar. In 2003 Daniele Piccinini joined the band on bass, while Pedrini quit and Accordo Dei Contrari became a quintet with Marco Marzo on guitar and Vladimiro Cantaluppi on violin.In 2006, just a month before beginning their first official recording, Cantaluppi left and the rest of the crew went on as a quartet and created the sound of ''Kinesis'', an album finally released in 2007 on AltrOck.

The style is powerful and fiery complicated Jazz-Rock with an energetic rich sound, characterized mostly by a solid rhythm section, heavy guitar riffing, grandiose almost RIO- delivered piano and haunting keyboards (synthesizers, organ and electric piano).It comes like a cross between KING CRIMSON, compatriots ASSOLO DI BOGNO, MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA and FROGG CAFE with the band trying to mix tight complex ideas with plenty of isolated jamming solos by guitars, bass and keyboards, while a fair amount of violin and sax breaks add an extra dimension.''Kinesis'' flows as an album of changing moods and atmospheres with smoother parts leaving their place to bombastic interplays, dynamic radical shifts and endless solos.The approach is really professional with the quartet managing to offer a huge sound overall, but present are also some cold emotionless moments along with the obvious lack of any sense of melody.The most interesting moments to my ears belong to the excellent electric piano/guitar battles and the lovely violin lead moments.

A fantastic album for any kind of Jazz-Rock/Fusion/RIO/Avant Prog lover, having a rich, technical and grandiose sound all the way, but a bit emotionless for the rest of prog fans, still recommended with a cloudy questionmark next to a recommendation.

Accordo dei Contrari come from Bologna and began life in 2001 on the initiative of Cristian Franchi (drums), Giovanni Parmeggiani (keyboards) and Alessandro Pedrini (guitar). After many years of hard work and some line up changes, in 2007 they released an excellent debut album, Kinesis, on the independent label AltrOck with a line up featuring Cristian Franchi (drums), Giovanni Parmeggiani (keyboards), Daniele Piccinini (bass) and Marco Marzo (guitar) plus two guest musicians, Fabio Berti (violin) and Giorgio Trefiletti (sax). The band's influences range from progressive rock and jazz-rock from the seventies to contemporary jazz and classical music but the final mix is surprisingly fresh and rich in ideas. The album is completely instrumental but the beautiful art work by Davide Guidoni and the words written by the band to comment the album tracks provide an interpretation for the sparkling music that flows away without weak moments for about 45 minutes.

The opener "Lester" is named after the American music journalist Lester Bangs and marks the beginning of a musical journey. After the first uncertain steps the pace becomes steady and full of vitality with the electric guitar in the forefront backed by pulsing bass lines. The following "Meghiste Kinesis" is darker and tense. According to the liner notes it tries to evoke the ghastly dance of an impending, unprovoked war. A man observes a threatening fleet approaching the coastline and the landing of a formidable army ready to fight...

"ScalaQuadro" is complex and full of musical colours. According to the liner notes it tries to describe the Muses climbing up a stairway to reach the top of a tower, ready to jump in the void for an extreme sacrifice. It's my favourite track on this album and features tense, hypnotic electric guitar riffs and a powerful crescendo with frenzied keyboard patterns. A calmer piano solo finale leads to the following "Gondwana", a musical evocation in four movements of the irresistible force of the continental drift and of the ties between East and West.

"Anexelenkton" is another excellent track that tries to break the barriers between different genres. The last track, "OM", is dedicated to the French organist and composer Olivier Messiaen and according to the liner notes consists of visionary apparitions and prepared concern. A perfect conclusion for a very good album!