MIND MAPPING (NL+E)

Of ze in Bulgarije ook goeie prog maken? Zeker wel, want de instrumentale progressieve klanken van Travelhouse die uit dit ex-Oostblokland komen, klinken niet alleen erg westers, maar de drie heren Kalin Tonev (toetsen, composities), Biser Ivanov (gitaar) en Pavel Milenov (drums) weten er nog een goed uur uiterst aangename muziek van te maken ook. Dat zij al wat langer meedraaien in het circuit is goed te horen, want hun techniek is voortreffelijk. Tonev is verantwoordelijk voor het leeuwendeel van de composities en hij verwerkt ook wat fusion- en ambientinvloeden in zijn overwegend progressief-symfonische muziek met soms wat pittige passages. Eigenlijk was de basis voor dit album al klaar in 2006, maar Mind Mapping is door omstandigheden pas in november 2012 uitgebracht. In de tien tracks plus een bonustrack hoor je weergaloze muziek die aan UK doet denken, terwijl andere stukken meer een kruising zijn tussen Saga en Jan Hammer, zoals in Black Coffee. Ook doemen hier en daar elementen op uit de muziek van Emerson, Lake & Palmer en Derek Sherinian. Tonev speelt niet alleen mooi en weergaloos snel, maar hij kan ook buitengewoon melodieus uit de hoek komen in de diverse rustige stukjes. Zijn orgelspel lijkt op dat van Eddie Jobson, maar ook zijn werk op de overige keyboards en zijn orkestraties mogen er zijn. Het spel van Ivanov doet soms sterk aan dat van Allan Holdsworth denken. Mind Mapping van Travelhouse is een aanrader voor liefhebbers van UK en de melodieuzere stukken van Derek Sherinian.

ENGLISH:

Travelhouse from Bulgaria makes progressive instrumental music, so what else is new? It's amazingly ‘western’ sounding prog from a trio that has been playing together for about ten years. From the ashes of the band Allegro, keyboardist and composer Kalin Tonev, guitarist Biser Ivanov and drummer Pavel Milenov decided to continue making progressive instrumental music with some fusion and ambient influences. All three are excellent musicians with a great deal of experience to their credit. Tonev composed almost all of the pieces in 2006, the album was finished over a year ago and since its release on November 24, 2012 we can hear the fruits of all these efforts. In the first track we hear UK in the era of Danger Money (1978) with addition of a good rock and metal guitarist. Especially the organ brings back memories of Eddie Jobson playing it. The next piece Guru In Love is a beautiful piece of melodic electronic music with a nice bass-synth. The guitar and drums give a slightly progressive edge to it. Then it’s waking up with Black Coffee a tune wherein Saga meets Jan Hammer’s Miami Vice-music, before UK-influences turn up once more and this time Ivanov really is soloing like Allan Holdsworth. Clouds is an extremely nice relaxing laid-back piece of music with lots of electronics and subtle guitar playing by Ivanov. Up-tempo, built on a powerful sequence, is More Magic From Oz with influences from both UK and Derek Sherinian. The synth-sounds Tonev uses are brighter, spacyer and more echoing than Sherinian’s guitar-like sounds. The music doesn’t stop and it goes right through in the same style, although the second part of Dark Gentleman is a bit darker and quite heavy but yet melodic, a heavy version of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The last part is taken up by Tonev’s keyboards: pure delight in an almost ambient ambiance. A little gem by keyboards only, is Blink followed by Neutron I, a varied track with different elements: fusion, some heavy influences and also more symphonic, featuring different sounds of the guitar. There’s lots of electronics and spacey effects, on the fundaments of quite heavy riffs, alternated by a far more fusion-jazz guitar accompanied by floating, very atmospheric orchestrations. Track 10, officially the last track, is dreamier, comparable with Jan Hammer’s music in the eighties. The voice-like synth is probably influenced by the synthi-pop from that same era. As a bonustrack Neutron II is added and just like the first part it’s heavily influenced by Sherinian. There are also gorgeous more laid-back parts, however, with tasteful keyboards in which Ivanov gets the opportunity to show his impressive abilities to play both fast as well as awesome melodic, symphonic solos. It’s a pleasure to hear such wonderful music from an East-European country and probably it means there are far more bands out there just a good as TravelHouse. Let’s keep our eyes and ears open, because in this case, there’s no need to get frustrated from a singer whose voice you don’t like; you don’t have to worry about getting bored because of lack of variety because it’s all instrumental: these three gentleman offer a fine album of superb quality!