DIY (Do it yourself) was the main idea behind the punk movement in the late 1970s. One did not have to be a genius or a highly skilled musician to be creative. But for recording a proper album you needed to go to a studio, as a beginning band you needed the help of an engineer and producer and the backing of a record company for the distribution. But the technology for making music and recording has developed much further and has become much more affordable. It is now possible to record, mix and master a professional sounding album in a home studio. Via the internet, on websites like Bandcamp, the artist can sell it easily. The only problem is to make one's music heard in the vast amount of music being produced today. Fëdor Kahlil Kramer recorded his first album in his home studio. He played all the instruments himself. There is not much info about him on the web site. Where he comes from, if he has been involved in other musical projects or whether this album is really the first step in his musical career. Kramer's main inspiration lies with the early Pink Floyd (especially the keyboardsof Rick Wright, around the time of A Saucerful Of Secretsin 1968), early King Crimson and more cosmic bands such as Gong, Hawkwind and Tangerine Dream, around the time of Alpha Centauri (1971), Atem (1973) and Zeit (1972). Working entirely on your own has the advantage that you never have to make compromises. On the other hand making music together can also be inspirational and can bring you to new ideas. And it can be refreshing to have someone else's opinion, positive or negative. The Wake Of Urizen does not sound like a coherent album, but more like a loose collection of ideas and efforts to copy his idols rather than adding something of his own to it. His vocal capacities are limited so I prefer the instrumental parts. Although not bad, the album lacks a magical feeling. The CD itself is black and looks like a vinyl record. *** Erik Gibbels (edited by Astrid de Ronde) Where to buy? |
