Although this album was originally released in 2009, it was re-mastered by Yuval in 2012 and then promoted towards the end of last year. It’s quite strange in some respects as this album is now available free of charge from Yuval’s website (www.yuvalron.com). This is mostly an instrumental album, the music being supplied by Yuval Ron (guitar), Aviram Gottfried (keys, laptop), Yaniv Shalev (bass) and Yatziv Caspi (drums) although there are also some female vocals here and there care of Dorin Mandelbaum. They describe their music as a constant emphasis on harmonic richness, rhythmical sophistication, dialogue between the players and an extensive use of synthesizers, laptops and other electronic instruments. It is certainly a breathtaking mix of styles with fusion very much at the heart of all that they do, but while Yuval provides the main melodic lead it is obvious that the rest of the guys are all incredible musicians in their own right.
The keyboard sounds being deployed often have more in common with electronica than prog, and in many ways this feels at times as if it has been transported from the Seventies, a lost album if you will. Yuval has an incredibly fluid style and McLaughlin has obviously been a major impact on him but they are also bringing in elements that are more progressive, and even some that are metallic. The album is a combination of carefully thought out compositions with improvisations, and I just found myself listening and smiling, gently moving with the beat as I feel under its’ spell. Even the drum solo didn’t distract me (I normally hate studio drum solos with a passion) as it seemed to be just so in keeping with the rest of what was going on. The simple pianowork on “Watching Over Shizutani Kou Bay, Pt 1” is incredibly compelling.
So there you have it, a fusion album that originally came out a few years ago which is now being made available as a free download if you sign up to Yuval’s mailing list. What have you got to lose?
