CHRISTIAAN BRUIN

Enchanting! Is the term I would use if I had to describe this release in one word. And what an cover it is, like from some kind of fantastic video game (or possibly a studio Ghibli?)

Largely instrumental double Overture takes its time, clocking at 15 minutes. And sets ... what exactly? I'm not so sure, but at least the tone for this album, which is an eclectic mix of more than a dozen instruments (starting with Gregorian monks-like chanting in the intro, before morphing into the cello part, which in a minute moves onto an instrument (at 2:10, cimbalom perhaps?) which you don't hear often. I can continue forth, but you get the idea. It reminds me of many movie/video games instrumental soundtracks, which I like in general, so there's that.

The rest is more of that, big mix of various influences, for example it reminds me bit of a soft Haken sound without the metal parts in "Fairground" part, but after all, both stories takes place partly in a circus.

I am not that good at understanding what concept albums are about, storywise. I can understand the words, phrases, but poetry was never my strong suit. But even I can understand that the fairytale calm rhythm of the music which lasted until the "A Dot on the Horizon" is gone and the story ends in ... cliffhanger perhaps? To be continued on the second disc?

Waltz (or -like) rhythms ("Beneath the Surface", but elsewhere too) help to set the mood too. With the first tones of "Flight of Columbo", the thing that was on my mind was "cheesy", but ti turns somewhat better. Adventurous would be better description perhaps.

At times, personified by my example of "House Behind the Hedge" would, musically, remind me Tim Bowness (especially Schoolyard Ghosts release) or even Steven Wilson from his projects.

And it continues thorough the 95 minutes, taking inspirations here and there, pushing together its narrative (which I don't understand, but that's fine, it still feels good).

Though some could also say that large swathes of some tracks sounds like a PG-13 version of Dracula (using "eastern" like music instruments). You decide, though for me it works both ways. 3.5***, so rounded up.

Dutch multi-instrumentalist Christiaan Bruin has produced the third in the Inventions series (he also works under other names such as Black Codex), and this time he has been joined by Theo Travis (Steven Wilson, Robert Fripp, Soft Machine, David Gilmour) on saxophones and flute, the Rotterdam-based DOT Quartet on strings, with narrations by Andy Rowe (The Room). There is no doubt he has been heavily influenced by Mike Oldfield, but the use of (particularly) the saxophone takes the music in a different direction while the very fact that Bruin is an accomplished drummer ensures the album is quite different to many others produced by multi-instrumentalists.

It is eclectic, bombastic and very cinematic in ways which at times do remind me of Karda Estra, but far more songs based, and it must be said both commercial and somewhat heavier at times. It is an album which has a great deal of space contained within it which even frenetic Palmer-style drumming does little to hide. It is probably the drumming which makes this album so very different to Oldfield, allowing what can be quite simple melodies be sat against complex rhythms, and vice versa. This was sent out as an EP, but it is still well in excess of fifty minutes long, so hate to think what they consider a full-length release to be.

'Logica' is fairly one-dimensional in some ways, and it is this which stops it from being a great album, but as it is, it is still one I have really enjoyed playing, and I am intrigued to hear more of his work.

The newest studio album "Inventions: Logica" from the Dutch multi-instrumentalist Christiaan Bruin might give a great first impression but, unfortunately, repeated listens fail to grant the same experience.

Although this record was my first encounter with the aforementioned musician, initially I found myself captivated by the inspiring, symphonic sound reminiscent of a soundtrack to a magical film. "Inventions: Logica" blends together the well-crafted (even if at times repetitive) melodies from the string quartet, saxes, and flutes with the smooth, warm, comforting vocals, and a cracking, distorted narration. This is true for nearly every piece on this album: all of them maintain the same style, at times repeating similar musical themes. As such, this record can be plausibly called a conceptual one. At times, rock elements, such as the guitars in the titular track or in "Mind of God" enter. The song lyrics and narration mention philosophy, humanities, and even mathematics, in an attempt to complete the atmosphere of inspirational grandeur already established by the sound. Unfortunately, this might be a choice that ends up making this album too easy to see as pretentious or pseudo-intellectual. In addition, at repeated listens the record ceases to sound original, coming close rather to a wannabe (and not succeeding) successor to Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells", while the monotony of some musical ideas and the vocals become tiring if used for any other purpose than background music. This is a pity, considering how interesting the initial idea is: it seems as if Christiaan Bruin ended up both overdoing (in terms of the grandeur/epicness) and underdoing (in terms of variety) it on "Inventions: Logica".

It's probably a good idea to give this album one or two listens: but not more than that, unless you're fine with the risk of losing that good first impression. "Inventions: Logica" remains a piece of pleasant film-like music with intellectual lyrics and a beautiful cubist album artwork, but unfortunately, not much more than that. 2.75 stars, rounded up.

2011 was an extremely busy year for Christiaan Bruin.He had already launched his first album with Sky Architect and this period was full of live shows for the young Dutch, including performances at Night of the Prog and Progpower festivals.But there was no intention to slow down the writing process for another solo album and in 2012 he returned with ''City of light'', yet another totally one-man production, released on Progress Records.

This was another very strong album by Chris, even if you feel already from the start his tendency to throw in some poppier and more conventional acts in his music.The thing is that Bruin works mostly as a drummer, but most of the album's drumming appears to be sampled, delivering robotic beats, which is not what you expect from a drummer.But he appears to be a great multi-instrumentalist and composer at the same time, you can still find these light Mellotron/electric-acoustic piano washes and vintage touches in his music, the overall result though being a modernized Prog/Art Rock album with electronic samplers standing next to the natural instruments.At this point his work has more to do with bands/artists like FISH ON FRIDAY, JOHNNY UNICORN or ACTIVE HEED than to say SPOCK'S BEARD or IZZ.While the irritating vocals and digital sounds are a matter of discussion, the compositions are still intricate and varied with multiple themes and tonal changes, offering acoustic textures, sharper guitar/keyboard edges, symphonic textures and plenty of Art Pop.And there is an amazing ability by this young man to place some epic instrumental ideas next to his more accesible ideas.Six tracks are contained in the album and three of them are longer than 8 minutes, but the most enganging piece is the romantic/dramatic ''Stars align'', excellent stuff indeed.

Remember, this guy was only 24 years old at the time and he had already produced three very good solo efforts.''City of light'' doesn't sit at the top of the list, but it's a nice mix of progressive grandieur and poppy quirikness with plenty of memorable tunes and striking melodies.Recommended.

What does it take for a two-star artist to soar to five stars? You might just want to ask Chris that question. That name refers to Christiaan Bruin, a multi-instrumentalist that takes care of vocals, guitars, bass, drums, and keys on this magnificent album, "Days of Summer Gone". I had originally heard "City of Light" back in 2012, and I was completely underwhelmed. Despite a beautiful cover and some great ideas, the album fell flat with overproduction and uninspired songs. Fast-forward to 2013, however, and Chris has created an album that has captivated me for the last six months.

Chris seems to be the king of beautiful art, enticing track titles, and just an overall feel of quality. "Days of Summer Gone" is no different, as the art is the aspect that convinced me to give his music another go. As I got deeper into the album, his concept of using mostly acoustic instruments for this album really presented itself well and it was addictive, to say the least.

But what can one do with all acoustic instruments, ranging from the standard fare to cellos, trombones, flutes, and so on? Chris has created an album of intimate orchestration; an album that begs the listener to come a little closer. He paints what literally seem to be tapestries of folksy music, except the folksiness is often American in sound, and not just the wonderful European style. Indeed, as an American, I get "Americana" in this album, for better or worse. But not the loud, boisterous America that I know the world detests: No, I hear the quiet, snow-laden country America, complete with dark, starry skies and a good bit of whimsy and fantasy.

Indeed, "Days of Summer Gone" is a grand, fantastical opus of perfect melodies, quiet moments, and plenty of space and time between notes in order to reach heaven. Truly, the wondrous melodies, driven by flutes and oboes, crest rolling hills and soar into dark night skies. They will weave a tangled web within your mind, and you will be humming them for months. Yes, hum-worthy melodies!

My two favorite tracks (difficult to choose, though) are "Cold Night" and "A Heart's Endeavor". The former feels exactly that: cold. It weaves in and around and over your mind, but the lyrics are sad and desperate. The latter feels urgent and flowing, caught in a river of emotion. Yet, though these are my favorites, there are high points in every track that make this album feel like one complete work that was written in a single setting. While I doubt it was, it really feels that way, as if Chris had an epiphany. Honestly, his vocals were my least favorite part of the album at first, but their subtlety has really grown on me, too.

If this had released in 2014, it would be my album of the year. As it stands, Chris' "Days of Summer Gone" is an album of emotional, melodic musings; an album that plays wistfully with your heart and with the corridors of your artistic mind. It will ever be on the corners of your brain, I promise you. Buy it. You won't regret it.

By the time of the release of ''A glimpse inside'', Christiaan Bruin had already finished the recordings of a second album.Hansi Cross, the manager of Progress Records, had appeaciated the talent of Sky Architect's young drummer and decided to team up with him for this sophomore effort.''Making sense'' was released in September 2010, being a concept album about human beings and the philosophical content of their existence.As with ''A glimpse inside'', all vocals and instruments are performed by Chris himself.

This was another solid release by the young Dutch, showing full respect for the 70's and transforming the sound into the modern era, recalling the works of SPOCK'S BEARD, MAGIC PIE and BEARDFISH, incorporating poppy sensibilities into symphonic arrangements and coloring the style with heavier overtones akin to his own SKY ARCHITECT project.Once more the mix of multiple voices and instruments is absolutely brilliant and Chris' multi-instrumental talents are more than satisfying.Musically ''Making sense'' appears to be an efficient concept work, divided in mini-epics and shorter tracks with an evident sense of melody but also enough complexity to convince die-hard Prog fans.The music passes from emotional lines and accesible tunes to big symphonic themes and grandiose instrumentals, featuring lots of synthesizers as well as some old-styled organ and Mellotron.THE BEATLES appear to be an obvious influence during the vocal parts, but the music is rooted in the style of RUSH, YES and GENESIS with dramatic sections, pompous orchestrations and shifting climates.Chris avoids any kind of laid-back ballad-like stuff and the acoustic passages are also very limited, insisting in a dynamic electric sound with his proposal being deeply rooted in the principles of Classic Progressive Rock, while the heavy guitars add a welcome dimension in the well-crafted keyboard moves.

Another one-man beauty by this great Dutch talent.Dramatic, modern Neo/Symphonic Prog with accomplished executions and filled with interesting arrangements.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

I came by "Days of Summer Gone" by accident and the cover got my attention. I totally agree that Chris has a very theatrical style and he does sound a bit like a Dutch Phideaux version (instrumentally), I might add that the trippy jazz sections reminds me a lot of The Tangent too and the guitars and some vocal parts somehow fall into Radiohead landscapes. The string instruments and flute might appeal to give you an After Crying feeling but the piano really goes into another direction creating a more proggy approach than classical.

It is a beautiful album and aside from the comparisons I have made with other bands Chris has managed to put together some really good ideas and melodies; I enjoyed a lot his decision of including a Cellist and other musicians as they give the album more freshness.

As for the theatrical style I must admit that the "dramatic" climax of the album contains an interesting blend of nuances.

For some reason the vocals can not match the quality of the music; I think that the addition of a singer in the future that could blend better with this orchestral variety will definitely make Chris music reach a even superior level.

The essentiality of this album depends on how appealing the vocals feels to you, I definitely recommend listening to the album since it contains great moments that make it worth all the while.

Recommended!

Maybe it's his thoroughly modern style of theatrical prog, or maybe it's the treatments applied to his vocals, but Chris - or Christiaan Bruin, to give him his full name - presents on this album a sound which reminds me a lot of Phideaux. And given how hot a streak Phideaux has been on since Doomsday Afternoon, that's no bad thing - especially with the ongoing wait for the release of the much-delayed Infernal.wearing on prog fans worldwide. With Baan taking on the more usual prog instrumentation himself, guest spots on the album are saved for a range of classical instrumentalists, giving this album a particularly orchestral air.

I'm not so sure I like this album. I mean, everything is there for a good neo-prog album, but some aspects are just a little strange. For instance, the vox are quite pop-influenced. I couldn't get past them. In a way, Chris wants to sound a bit like Frost*, but I think they take the pop influence too far for my tastes.

Another example would be the drums. It sounds more like a drum machine or something. Just like the rest of the album, they don't sound organic or even real. This really bothers me for some reason. Overall, there are some nice synth solos, and some catchy melodies, but that's about it. Everything else sounds cheap.

I have to say that this is a fantastic album by Chris Bruin. Yes, it's definitely got clear Genesis influences. I can even hear a bit of Mike Oldfield sprinkled around as well. This is really a superb second album and a big improvement over the first album 'A Glimpse Inside'. If this is the sort of stuff he can make by himself, why the hell is he bothering with Sky Architect, a group I cannot get into at all. He is clearly a hugely creative and talented individual and deserves a better vehicle (unless Sky Architect go out and produce a masterpiece next year). To be honest, I am also looking forward to his next album and I hope he can prioritise his solo work, because it is superb. Great artist, great album and a huge talent for the future. There are a few artists I follow. Chris Bruin is one of them. Easily 4 stars and I'm anticipating even better in the future. Go Chris!