Yagull's official debut for MoonJune Records,
'Kai', finds the band expanding its post-rock chamber soundtrack concept to
great effect. The result is a simmering sonic bouillabaisse, chocked full of
choice ingredients which delectably merge to blur the lines drawn by traditional
genres - delightfully teasing the palette, while appealing to an expansive
range of music aficionados! The group delivers twelve songs on this joyous
outing: eight brand new compositions; two tunes from Films, reworked and
revisited; plus, two tastefully-revised classic rock covers. The tracks
showcase Yagull's considerably potent stylistic capacity, making for a savory,
finely-polished sophomore release. This new effort finds Yagull now launching
itself from a duo framework - with Sasha Markovic being joined by the
extraordinary pianist, Kana Kamitsubo - this most special of occasions is
perfectly accentuated by a host of guest contributors; featuring fellow
MoonJune international recording maestros, Beledo (guitar, lute), Dewa Budjana
(guitar) and Marko Djordjevic (drums), and many other great musicians. With
'Kai', Sasha, Kana & company have embarked on a majestic journey that will
appeal to a broad range of listeners... and carry them along for the ride!
'Kai,' represents big musical and personal changes for group
founder, composer, producer, and guitarist, Sasha Markovic. Yagull has
officially became a duo with the addition of Sasha's most challenging
collaborator up until this time, pianist extraordinaire Kana Kamitsubo. Sasha
and Kana's partnership went further as they became husband and wife. Album
'Kai' and the title track are named after their son born in 2014.
Picking up where the first Yagull CD, 'Films' left off in
2012, 'Kai' expands the post rock chamber soundtrack concept exploring new
structures written around acoustic guitar, bass, percussion and acoustic piano.
Yagull as a duo has an increased crossover potential for attracting listeners
that may not be dialed into any of the specific genres baked into this release.
Yagull delivers eight brand new compositions, two tunes from
'Films' revisited ( Dark, Sound Of M ) plus two covers for this sophomore
release. The tracks range from “North” which exploits Kana's mastery of
creating evocative mood and space for Sasha to play, folksy “Z-Parrow” while
“Omniprism” drifts into progressive rock ambiance. Methenyesque tune “Blossom”,
leaves space for special guest Dewa Budjana to shine with another beautiful,
lyrical solo. The title track for their son emotes a melody that can easily go
alongside “Waltz for Debby” by Bill Evans in any play list. Sasha once again
wears his affection for classic rock as a badge reworking the Free song,
“Wishing Well”, which was also passionately performed by the late Gary Moore,
as well as Deep Purple's “Burn”. Beledo's majestic lute introduction pays a
homage to Deep Purple's live version from the 'Made In Europe' record.
Regarding the cover material, Sasha recently explained to
DME, “My first serious music love was Deep Purple, since I heard the 'Deepest
Purple' compilation along with ‘Rainbow Rising' at age of 11. I’ve been playing
'Burn' in the similar arrangement for fun for many years now. It started as a
joke when I was a teenager, and played it along with a friend of mine in a
two-guitar arrangement with Zappa-like kind of vocal approach. When I presented
this idea to Kana [Kamitsubo] last year, she gave the song completely new
dimension with her playful piano solos. We are having a lot of fun playing it
live these days. As for 'Wishing Well', I am a huge fan of Free and Bad Company
and had to do the tribute to them on this album. I still consider Free the best
teenage band that ever lived - since they were all between 16-18 when they
started. 'Wishing Well' is one of those songs I grew up on and always liked
singing for fun with my acoustic guitar. I just experimented with replacing the
vocal parts with classical guitar, and at the end Wen Chang added her violin
playing the main riff, so the basic album arrangement was born. Always loved
Gary Moore's and Blackfoot's take on it, too. I had a chance meeting with Simon
Kirke this summer, and got to play him the song, and he loved it.”
Yagull are also joined by several guest musicians, the
extraordinary and diverse line up hailing from eight different countries,
including fellow Moonjune international recording artists Beledo (guitar), Dewa
Budjana (guitar) and Marko Djordjevic (drums), as well as the long time
collaborator flutist Lori Reddy, Anthony Mullin from The Blackfires (guitar),
Jackson Kincheloe from Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds ( harmonica ),
Gabriel Nat (clarinet), Wen Chang (violin) and Yoshiki Yamada (upright bass).
'Kai' has set Yagull on a journey that will appeal to wide range of listeners.
This is essential MoonJune music.
TRACK LISTING
1. North 05:33 (Kamitsubo/Markovic)
2. Dark 06:58 (Markovic/Kamitsubo/Thomas)
3. Heiwa 03:18 (Markovic/Kamitsubo)
4. Blossom 05:06 (Kamitsubo/Markovic)
5. Mio 05:20 (Markovic/Kamitsubo)
6. Wishing Well 04:39 (Free)
7. Burn 03:55 (Deep Purple)
8. Sound Of M 04:31 (Markovic/Kamitsubo)
9. Z-Parrow 01:50 (Markovic)
10. Kai 04:05 (Kamitsubo/Markovic)
11. Omniprism 05:50 (Markovic/Kamitsubo/Beledo)
12. Oyasumi 01:54 (Markovic/Kamitsubo)
Produced by Sasha Markovic
Executive production by Leonardo Pavkovic
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