{"id":7997,"date":"2021-05-11T15:51:30","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T13:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/?p=7997"},"modified":"2021-05-11T15:51:31","modified_gmt":"2021-05-11T13:51:31","slug":"karmamoi-room-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/cd-recensie\/karmamoi-room-101\/","title":{"rendered":"Karmamoi \u2013 Room 101"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Als je deze recensie liever in het Nederlands leest, kun je hier klikken<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Italian neo prog band Karmamoi was founded 13 years ago by Daniele Giovannoni. ‘Room 101’ will be released on May 28, this fifth album is based on the book ‘1984’ by George Orwell. Karmamoi adapts some of the themes of this dystopian novel, from 1949, to the present time. The focus is on the human mind and its weaknesses. It features several guest musicians including pianist Adam Holzman (Miles Davis and Steven Wilson, among others), and Steve Unruh (United Progressive Fraternity). Sara Rinaldi is lead vocalist as on their previous album ‘The Day Is Done’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Memory Holes’ begins with electronic, mysterious sounds. The way of singing fits the atmosphere of the music, so it’s not a problem that you can’t understand everything. On the percussion you can hear a slight resonance now and then. Between the mysterious parts, rocking elements can be heard, sometimes even at the same time. Both the rocking and the quiet parts are complex and contain quite a few details, such as flute playing. You have to listen several times to discover them all. In one ‘rocking’ part there is violin playing interwoven. There are pleasantly long instrumental pieces that sometimes contain contrasts, yet everything remains in balance. ‘Drop by Drop’ starts with slow, rather low vocals and a touch of music. A few details are added, the music gets louder. The volume drops again, the tempo moves with it, again there are twists and details. The music is minimalist at times, all this creates an intense listening experience. This particular track fades out nicely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ‘Newspeak’ the sound runs back and forth in the headphones several times during the intro. The minimalist music here is almost experimental in style. Almost unnoticeable, lightly rocking elements come in. Some of the music remains pleasantly slow, even when the pace of the electronic sounds speeds up a bit. The piano solo is beautiful, a little later the violin reappears, giving this instrumental track an emotional ending. ‘Room 101’ begins very softly, the details are subtly added. The twist is quite unexpected, again the vocals are unique. Because of the way of singing, and the echo on the vocals, it is almost impossible to understand. After an extended rest, you hear various crackling sounds. In a piece where tempo and volume are a bit higher, different styles are mixed or alternated. The build-up to the tight ending is good. ‘The New World’ is the most ‘rocking’ track, yet there is a very quiet piece woven into it. The balance remains, right up to the last note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because there are quite significant volume changes, it takes some time to find the right level, especially if you listen with headphones. The quiet (or even minimalist) parts are mysterious and\/or dreamy. In the parts where the tempo and\/or volume are higher, you can hear a mix or alternation of electronic sounds and rocking elements. At times, the number of layers in both parts is quite high. Occasionally there are rests of a few seconds, sometimes a song even seems to end. The drum heads seem a bit loose which makes the sound a bit dull, but it fits within the whole. The division between (bass) guitar and keyboards is fine. Each track has a nice intro, and a nice outro. In addition, the sound flows nicely back and forth in the headphones. The vocals are just as special as the music. Even if the lyrics largely pass you by, the colour of the vocals and the way they are intertwined with the music positively stands out. Even if the lyrics largely pass you by, the colour of the vocals and the way they are intertwined with the music positively stands out. If your attention sometimes wanders away, it is only for a moment. Again, and again Karmamoi knows how to touch and\/or amaze you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(83\/100) (Own Management)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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