Omni Part 2 (Karfagen, 2025)

 Antony Kalugin, the ukrainian multi-instrumentalist behind Karfagen, is a man of many talents and his 2025 album "Omni" is another good example of his stunningly prolific vein (you'll find more elsewhere in this blog)."Omni" Part 2 is a well built suite, a 22 minute one divided into 4 movements, also enjoyable as stand-alone songs, many of them in a rather slow tempo, but with some welcome accelerations and many, unpredictable changes. 

As usual, an inspiring cover art

As always, there are very good melodies and beautiful solos, and this time the vocals, provided by the kinds of Marco Glühmann, Richard Sinclair, Jean Pageau, Bartosz Kossowicz plus, of course, Olha Rostovska and Antony Kalugin himself,  play an essential role in the great picture, something we don't easily find in Karfagen's discography. All those different and sensitive voices fit perfectly in such a rich musical texture. Among other guest musicians, Michel St-Père's (of Mystery fame) guitars and John Hackett's flute need no introductions and are two more bonuses added to this musical pearl. This is Neo-Progressive rock & Symphonic Rock at their best and I'm glad to loose my mind in this flowing, lush musical river.

Phase 1 (Karfagen, 2016)

Karfagen are a stunning band from Ukraine, the brainchild of  multi-instrumentalist Antony Kalugin. One of the most prolific acts I've ever known (21 studio albums during their first 19 years!), they produce mostly instrumental tracks, but this one, coming from their 2026 album "Spektra", also includes a choir section. As usual for Karfagen, this seven movement suite is simply unpredictable and deliciously varied. Classical music inspires many parts of "Phase 1" and if keyboards prevail all along the track, there is a good choice of instruments , such as violin, acoustic and electric guitars, some unusual percussions and, of course, a vocal trio, singing in latin. 

This is Karfagen's eighth studio album.

As you can imagine, tempos, moods and  arrangements are in a perpetual change, spanning from atmospheric to rock moments, including some very good guitar and keyboard solos and many lively interplays. Nonetheless, this is not a collection of sparse compositions. On the contary, there is a strong pattern all along the suite and each passage is there for a good musical reason, enriching the previous one and preparing in a way the next one. A beautiful, invigorating experience.

Mystery (Karfagen, 2010)

One of the few Ukraine prog rock bands, Karfagen (meaning Karthago) are the artistic son of kjeyboardist and composer Antony Kalugin and accordionist Sergei Kovalev. This 22 minutes suite comes from their fourth studio album, "Solitary Sandpiper Journey" and I really like it. It's a melodic track divided into five movements, including some beautiful keyboard progressions, long electric guitar solos, a constant dialogue between those two instruments and also some remarkable choral arrangements. You'll find here a scent of Renaissance and a pinch of neo-prog, but also some electric guitar slightly jazz improvisations and a few poppish tentations (not bad, after all).

This is a very good album, with no fillers inside.

The accordion adds an original mood to the big picture and a pleasant chamber orchestra comes in now and then, including cello, flute, oboe, basson, viola and violin. All is well done, IMHO, and I like all the passages, with a special mention for Marina Zacharova's soprano voice and Roman Gorielov's acoustic guitar (I would have liked more of this...). A scarcely known band that's worth a keen listening. I'll surely explore more of their discography.