KLUBKIN'S VOYAGE (E)

Quorum is an interesting Russian band. The band was formed in 2003 and the current line-up consists of Dmitri Shtatnov (keyboards, vocals, bass, main composer), Pavel Barabnov (guitars), Sergey Nicoronov (drums, Elena Kanevskaya (backing vocals) and Dmitri Drogounov (flutes, voices). In almost eighty minutes the band takes you non-stop on a journey with Klubkin, a character they derived from a TV-show in Russia, but a non-existing name in the history of mankind as far as discoveries are concerned. Because the lyrics are in Russian, most of our readers won’t be able to understand what the band is trying to say lyrically and most of us will frown hearing this language with all those strange sounds, unfamiliar to us listening most of the time to English and maybe sometimes to Spanish, Portuguese, French, German or Dutch. Overture shows us exactly what the music's all about: well-played progressive music with touches of jazz and fusion. Both guitar and synth play melodies and solos. The music flows right through into the first of the three Klubkin Voyages and for the first time the vocals - a mediocre voice but not in the least disturbing. Fortunately there are many exquisite instrumental pieces. The third track features flutes in the first part, sounding a bit like Cusco meets Gandalf. Then vocal parts and inbetween an up-tempo piece with delicious soloing of guitar and synth. Track four begins with a vocal part on superb mid-tempo progressive rock. As multiple times in the previous track, a tasteful change of tempo, the music is now slower and more majestic. In spite of the vocals there a gorgeous arrangements by different keyboards, a bit in the style of bands like Starcastle. For the most part Geopgraphic Community has a distinct Pink Floyd-feel with a tasteful guitar solo by Barabnov, followed by an even more impressive solo by Shtatnov’s synth. Insanity has a nice rhythm with all kinds of strange sounds and effects on top. In Confusion you'll hear vocal harmonies on rock music and in the second part a slide guitar. The music sounds like a modern version of music by the late Bo Hansson. Non Accidental Meeting is a jazzy pop tune featuring piano and female background vocal harmonies. Decision is a nice piece paying tribute to the symphonic rock of the seventies, featuring the sounds of the organ, guitar and flute. The duet between guitar and flute reminds me of Caravan. Shtatnov’s organ sounds like it is played by Rick Wakeman. Back to basics, that is to say superb progressive rock only instruments this time, in part two of Klubkin's Voyage. Melodies and solos by flute, guitar and synth combined with tasteful orchestral arrangements as well as piano and exquisite drumming and bass playing. As a sort of an interlude there are solo spots for Barabnov’s acoustic guitar and a flute in a rather Spanish sounding piece of music. My Land Where Are You? is pop meeting musical featuring Shtatnov’s voice and piano. In the middle-section some impressive piano playing followed by guitar solos. Then a more classical orientated majestic piece, gradually turning back to the more progressive kind of music. Discovery opens with piano and drums, followed by a part where the synth is playing solos on top of a nice deep bass line. Then Shtatnov starts to sing accompanied by bass, piano and drums. Vocal harmonies are added, then all of a sudden the organ comes in, then the guitar and the music changes in style once again. In yet another tempo there’s an interlude by the keyboards. A tribute to Emerson, Lake & Palmer at the beginning of World Is Mocking but the music changes quickly into a 'pop meets prog' kind of style with multiple changes of tempo. So Tired opens with an acoustic guitar, then flute, bass and strings are added, followed by a synth. Shtatnov sings on top, but it’s almost impossible to describe how quickly the music changes in style and instrumentation, but strangely enough it keeps on flowing! A delicious duel between synth and guitar in the first piece of the instrumental third part of Klubkin's Voyage, with some familiar themes. Very sweet and melodic is the final part of the voyage, but not without an interlude with some influences of Genesis. Solos by Barabnov and vocal harmonies are the conclusion of this voyage, perhaps to be continued…

In spite of the language barrier, which took me quite a while to get over, the music flows from the beginning to the end and because of all the little bits and pieces melted together with extraordinary craftsmanship, the album remains challenging and interesting for the whole eighty minutes. The music, in my opinion, is way above average, played by highly skilled musicians. Improvements are possible production-wise, but most certainly Quorum must rank among the top bands in their country and probably outside of Russia too.