Artist: Taal
Album: Skymind
Year: 2003
Line-up: Anthony Gabard – electric &
acoustic guitars
David Stuart Dosnon – bass
Loic Bernandeau – acoustic drums &
lead vocals
Igot Polisset – electric &
acoustic drums
Sebastian Constant – keyboards
Helene Sonnet – flute & vocals
on Blind Child
Manu Fournier – violin &
saxophone
Gaelle Deblonde – violin
Manue Bouriaud – viola
Mehdi Rossignol - cello
Label: Musea
Imagination is the one
weapon in the war against reality.
Jules de Gaultier
Every once and a while you run into
bands and groups who are musically all over the place taking a wide
range of influences from various different musical genres. As a
result, you might get some totally batshit crazy, and yet ever so
intriguing, mixture or just all mashed and messed up pile of
confusion. However, on rare occasions you just happen to find those
few hidden gems which are musically all over the map but somehow just
manage to pull it off. One of those rare bands is the oddball and
criminally unknown band from France called Taal.
Taal draws it musical influences from
such genres as heavy metal, western art music, gypsy music, French
jazz to name a few of the most prominent ingredients. Also, the
line-up of the band with such instruments as the flute and saxophone
completed with a whole string quartet in addition to the more
traditional pop/rock groups' arsenal (guitars, bass, drums and
keyboards) is one huge advantage that the band has in order to create
very imaginative soundscapes. From these elements, the band is able
to compose a surprisingly coherent and natural sounding whole earning
the band its' own unique and impossible-to-copy style. The perfect
manifestation of all the things so marvelous about Taal is their
second album, and unfortunately the last as for now though the band
stated back in 2007 that it was recording a new album, Skymind is
creative, fun, humorous, complex, dynamic, beautiful, rocking and all
around a fascinating album.
To describe comprehensively Skymind is
not an easy task. Not only is Taal a very talented and creative group
of musicians but they also have style: everything on Skymind is in a
perfect balance and not one element in the enormous palette is
misused nor overused, be it a certain musical instrument, a musical
genre or any other musical element. Everything on Skymind feels
justified and fits perfectly with what comes before and what comes
after. Nothing on the record feels forced or contrived which is
easily the case when mixing up so many different ingredients in one
pot. On the other hand, while Taal showcases a certain discipline
with its' music as the band manages to hold it all together
perfectly, the music of the group is so spellbinding that it often
brings me almost like a childlike enthusiasm and captures my
imagination without any limitations. That is a power not to be
underestimated. Skymind takes us truly on a musical ride where you go
back and forth from more soft and gentle moods to more guitar driven
rock feel. Skymind feels almost like a French musical carnival or
circus where our imaginations are treated which such genres as rock,
heavy metal, chamber music, gypsy music, French jazz, eastern music,
electronic music, folk music... you name it.
Skymind is a delightful attestation of
creativity, talent and originality; all features which are all to
rare in the current musical industry. It is truly a progressive album
as it mixes so many different elements seamlessly and all six songs
here are unique little musical journeys and stories. If you are
seeking something to get you again childishly excited about music,
look no further friends. You will find it on Skymind.
Take a listen to the first track:
Written
by Παναγιωτιης
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