PACHA / PÖRSTI: VIEWS FROM THE INNER WORLD

The Finnish producer, composer, drummer and multi-instrumentalist Kimmo Pörsti is a hardworking musician, but apparently he also gives his full heart and dedication to all of his musical projects. This album extends the fruitful collaboration with the Spanish composer and multi-instrumentalist Rafael Pacha, who was the central creative force behind the second album of THE GUILDMASTER, the more folk-oriented 'brother project' of The Samurai Of Prog. The composing credits here are shared between Pacha and Pörsti. The three sung tracks (out of ten) feature lyrics written by Dan Schamber. We're talking of mainly instrumental, melodic, accessible and tradition-friendly contemporary progressive rock with some stylistic similarities to artists such as Antony Kalugin, Steve Hackett, Nick Magnus, Camel, etc.

The guiding theme for the compositions was, as the title says, the inner visions. "They are visions of paradise or hell. They are reflections on the great doubts of our human condition to which we seek solutions in our inner world." The album tends to be fairly easy-going, not much dwelling in troubles or fears, which of course is a positive thing nevertheless. The airy and fresh, and slightly Hackett-reminding opener is a one-minute version of the gorgeous 9- minute instrumental 'Ventolera' (track No. 9). The first vocal track 'Watch the Stars' features nicely doubled vocals of John Wilkinson (The Swan Chorus; participations on TSOP albums) but the piece also demonstrates how gifted Rafael Pacha is on both guitars and keyboards.

Melodic compositions 'Jubilation' and 'Matkakuume' ("A beautiful Finnish word to express the expectation, the excitement of starting a journey...") are among the album's happiest pieces, while the arrangement of 'Under a Cloudless Sky' has some folk ingredients à la The Guildmaster. 'Leap in the Dark' makes me think of SALLY OLDFIELD, mainly -- but not only -- for the bright voice of Ariane Valdivié. The chorus in this nice song sticks to one's ears a bit too easily! Valdivié sings also the final track 'Alone Against Tomorrow' where the pop sensibility meets melancholia. 'Shadows of Lost Memories' and 'The Man Who Walked Home' represent Pörsti's diverse skills on composing, the first being a delicate little piece with very soft keys, acoustic guitars and percussion, and the latter approaching an epic scale and featuring the soprano saxophone of Marek Arnold (U.P.F., Damanek, etc).

Summa summarum: this is an enjoyable and well produced album of instrumentally oriented prog. What it lacks in surprises and listener-challenging personality, it makes up in elegance. 3½ stars rounded up.