Hans Lundin is back with his Kaipa. Formed in 1973, the band now turned over 50 years. 50 years, that is a truly long period. Hans Lundin is now 76 years old, or young, it is how you look to the world and to ages.... Hans created 5 albums in the early years of the band. After a hiatus of more than 20 years, he returned in 2002. Since then Sommargryningsljus is the tenth album he created. In the last 23 years the band only had two line-up changes. Per Nilsson replaced Roine Stolt on guitars and a few years ago Darby Todd replaced drummer Morgan Ågren and now played on his second album since joining the band. The rest of the line up consists of Jonas Reingold on bass, Patrik Lundström on vocals and Aleena Gibson, also on vocals. Then there are guests, who also played on previous albums, they are Frederik Lindqvist on recorders and whistles, Elin Rubinsztein on violin and Olof Åslund on saxophone. As on earlier records, Hans find his inspiration in being in nature, cycling and enjoying all that nature has to give. If you read the lyrics, that will not be a surprise. The journey on the new album takes only 80 minutes, yes you read it good, 80 minutes. Lundin never made a record that was only three quarters of music, why not use all the space on the disc? And this time I totally agree that he did that. The new album consists of an intro song, than you can hear 6 songs all clocking between 9 and 15 minutes, and then the intro song continues in what we can call an outro song. The remaining time on the disc is the single edit of the first and last song, but then in its entirety. The cover of the disc is of exceptional beauty, just as the production is, we can get this through a ring. What can you expect from this album? His main sound is well known by the listeners of Kaipa and did not change that much over the years. Well, for me this is his most fresh album to date with songs that lift you up, higher and higher. The lyrics give you a good mood and an opportunity to deal with your negative thoughts. Is it really? Yes, if you have a bad day or period in your life, please listen to this album and you feel a bit better, I can assure you! In Sommarskymningsljus you only hear the keys of Hans and the voice of Aleena, and that is more than enough. Aleena has a wonderful voice in my opinion and she directly creates the first pearl on the album, however the song only takes 90 seconds. It sounds beautiful and serene. Aleena sings in Swedish this time. The second song, Seven Birds starts slowly but intense. This time Patrik starts singing. It is a song that describes how our mood sometimes needs to be lifted up and that is exactly what happens during this song, with the lyrics as well as the music. Patrik and Eleena both have vocal parts in this song and that is what makes it so strong. Musically it takes the time, everybody is involved in this song. Hans keyboards touch you so deeply, wow. Also Per may give a beautiful guitar solo. When Aleena sings: 'Fourteen wings that lift me, that lift me, out of my storms', goosebumps all over my body. We are not alone, we do have a connection with all that is in nature, and the more you will see it, the more you will feel it. Also the way Aleena sings 'Fly, fly, fly... I want to fly, fly, fly... out of my storms', superb! What a way to start the album, after the intro song of course. The start of Like Thousand Dawns is an extravaganza of styles, potpourri of prog and a lovely solo of Hans in his typical style. After the intro it slows down, it is more relaxing with Aleena on vocals. After this section the song goes from easy to heavy, from up to down, from left to right and always sounds like, Kaipa. Kaleidoscope is sung a few times in this song, and that is a good word to describe the song. Lovely prog music in the best possible form. There is also a solo on saxophone that fits well. Revelationview is the next one. A carpet of keys starts the song, again you are drawn into the song. Patrik sings so beautifully, as well as Aleena. A lot of singing together on this album. This song is calmer and more folky then the previous one. There is a solo on violin and recorder, beautiful! There is a lot of harmony and an excellent role for the rhythm section. The guitar of Per goes directly to you soul in his great solo towards the end of the song. A nice proggy and jazzy intro starts Chase By Wolves And Burnt By The Sun. Now it is the time for Darby to hit his drums in the beginning section, great. Then we slow down a bit and we welcome Jonas on his bass guitar. A truly mellow episode in the song where Patrik sounds like Freddy Mercury, it really moves you, as if we are chased by the band instead of the wolves! This is the most jazzy song on the album with a lot of variety, excellent. The demo was written in the nineties, but now the time was finally there to be fully created and transformed into the next song, Spiderweb Train. It is the longest track on the album. I think the longer the song is on the shelf, the better it will be. A whole quarter of an hour of prog music of the highest level, another time from left to right, from slow to fast, from easy to heavy and you may think of other comparisons. Lyrically it touches me because the song is about the train to the future where we may not have an opinion, we do not have to think about whatever, that will be done by the spider in which web we entered and cannot escape. For me this is the best song on the album. If you can create such beautiful music after a history of 50 years of Kaipa, than I will take my hat off and bow for you, you master Hans! Songs In Our Hands is another great song, another time the whole spectrum of prog and jazz will be heard. There are a few solo's of Hans that touch you deeply. But not only can Hans be heard on the song, all instruments do a good job. Variety is an asset. The outro song is the album title, Sommargryningsljus and goes further where the opening song started. By this song the circle is round and also this song is really beautiful. When I draw my conclusion I can only tell you that the older Hans Lundin becomes, the better his music sounds and that is a great compliment, because earlier albums were also from a high standard. For me this album is his best work to date. I hope he is given some time to create more of this beautiful music, however I also want Hans to relax as much as is possible for his age. But hopefully his relaxation is found in creating music, then everything goes hand in hand. Another time I say to Hans that I bow for you after I took off my hat, you are a true musical master!!! ***** Michel Stolk (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
