JAJ, A VILÁG! / OH WHAT A WORLD!

A Hungarian band from the capital Budapest, established in 2004 around the talent of young guitarist Miklós Both.As a seven-piece ensemble with traditional instruments like violins, accordion and dulcimer next to the typical rock instrumentation, Napra participated in several festivals and gigs, before being discovered by the FolkEuropa label, on which they released their debut ''Jaj, a világ! Oh, what a world!'' in 2007.

What will you get, when having a small folk army alongside a virtuosic guitarist?The answer is Napra and their very good debut, which comes as an original mix of traditional Folk tunes with technical guitar workouts, even with a little shredding added for good measure.Unlike many other Prog Folk groups, Napra play a really uptempo and highly energetic music with extremely fast rhythmic parts and tons of sudden breaks, while Both's style even has a slight Neo-Classical edge.Beware, this has nothing to do with Folk or Neo-Classical Metal, this is an album falling steadily in the Art Rock category with notable Ethnic orientations.Interplays and mad solos are also in the menu, even more impressive most of them come from the traditional instruments.Lots of furious violin solos mixed with schizophenic accordions lead the way, supported by Both's speedy guitar solos.A few tracks are closer to smoother Folk Rock with dramatic vocals, delicate violin runs, soft piano lines and an almost poetic atmosphere.Another pair is characterized also by some fair and really nice keyboard doses and are as close as it gets to a standard Prog Rock value.On the other hand, those who are not used of listening to powerful and highly technical guitar exercises may find the album a little disturbing along the way with all these super-fast grooves and solos.

Napra are an unexpected but welcome surprise in the Art Rock field.Music, that comes from the depths of time to meet the modern technologies, surrounded by some impressive vocal performances, both male and female.Recommended material, which can satisfy both Folk and Heavy Rock fans.