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Nest of Storms - YETI RAIN |
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YETI RAIN
Nest of Storms
(Crimsonic CLSCD-110)
Yeti Rain is an experimental duo consisting of William Kopecky and Roger Ebner. Nest of Storms, the band’s second CD (but their first on the Crimsonic label), is a set of spontaneously composed music that is intense and visionary. The haunting sounds conjured up by Kopecky’s basses and Ebner’s sax and wind synth are by turns meditative and violent, the perfect soundtrack for a beautifully disturbing dream.
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William Kopecky is known internationally for his progressive and experimental bass playing. His extensive discography includes CD’s by Par Lindh Project, Kopecky, Far Corner, Michael Angelo Batio, Parallel Mind, Snarling Adjective Convention, and many others. On Nest of Storms, Kopecky plays both fretted and fretless electric basses.
Roger Ebner is an adventurous musician who has forged a unique sound on his wind synthesizer and saxophone. His daring and expressive performances as a member of both Yeti Rain and the sinister avant-garde funk/rock ensemble Snarling Adjective Convention have earned him critical acclaim around the world.
William Kopecky: electric basses, wind drum
Roger Ebner: sax, wind synth, wind drum, spoken word on “Heart Wakes”
Reviews:
Prolusion. YETI RAIN is a studio project featuring two American musicians, Roger Ebner and William Kopecky, of whom the latter is one of the most active and noticeable personages on the modern progressive rock scene, as he is a full member of several more bands, such as Kopecky, Far Corner and Par Lindh Project, to name a few. A follow-up to their debut output “Discarnate”, which was released by Canada’s Unicorn Records at the very beginning of 2007, “Nest of Storms” saw the light of day last spring via the Swedish label Crimsonic Records (managed by Par Lindh). By the way, this album and “Bluewolf Bloodwalk” by the Snarling Adjective Convention have a certain relationship between them, since both are created impromptu, both featuring William as well as Roger. Since I discovered that I have decided to publish the corresponding reviews simultaneously, so that of “Nest of Storms” has been postponed for quite a while (sorry, William).
Analysis. This album is vastly different from its predecessor and is a much more comprehensive creation, to say the least. When trying to classify the music on “Discarnate” I labeled most of it as Doom Ambient, due to its at once dark and flowing, cinematic, nature, with a lot of quasi amorphous textures and comparatively few clearly audible, i.e. instantly recognizable, solos, particularly those of bass. There is nothing amorphous on the “Nest of Storms”, six of the disc’s seven tracks being full-fledged, almost completely structured, compositions, with plenty of real passages and solos. The music is not without a sense of doom, but inasmuch as only the bass provides distinctly somber colorations here, and even then not on all of the tracks, the overall palette of the album much more often suggests suspense than an overt darkness. The only piece with lyrics (delivered silently, in a whisper, although completely incomprehensible), Heart Wakes is at the same time the sole track on here that falls into the idiom of pure Ambient. Apart from Roger‘s voice, I believe there is only William’s bass whose sound is so heavily processed that it’s changed totally beyond recognition, being merely used for psychedelic effect. The concluding track, Star-Drilled Void, is another standout, as it doesn’t completely blend with the recording’s predominant style, nor does it feature the sax either. William plucks the higher-tone strings of bass here, perhaps by fingering, creating at once ever-changing and very harmonious patterns, while Roger, as I suppose, is behind the wind synth which, though, frequently sounds like a conventional synthesizer. This composition is closer to symphonic Space Rock in style and, save the (highly original, fusionesque) bass lines, evokes something halfway between Sphinx or Stonehenge by Black Sabbath (from “Seventh Star” and “Born Again”, respectively) and Edward Artemiev’s soundtrack for “The Stalker” movie by Andrei Tarkovsky, where – in both cases – the music not merely drifts, but properly evolves, slowly, yet constantly changing its outlines. Quite frankly, if I weren’t aware of the real state of affairs, I could have easily believed that it’s Geoff Nicholls and Edward who play keyboards all over the first and the second half of the track, respectively. If you are unacquainted with any of the aforesaid creations, recall Carried by the Cosmic Winds (Eloy, “Planets”) as a last resort, but only mark it well :-) that if those two can serve as relative reference points, the latter is almost exclusively so. In any event, this is a remarkable piece, throughout having a feeling that resonates with mystery and magic. The sax works directly as a soloing instrument throughout each of the remaining five compositions – alone on Mad as Birds and Ulalume, and along with bass on Aa, the title track and Map of Aggravations. Unlike the latter three compositions, the first two find William creating what comes across as constructed, yet truly artistic sonic tapestries which are often reminiscent of synthesizer passages, hence some resemblance between the first half of the epic Star-Drilled Void and both these which, though, are already jazz ambient pieces. As hinted above, the title track and Map of Aggravations consist of direct interactions between the players, and since the bass sounds heavy throughout both, each evokes Jazz Metal without drums (brilliant stuff). Okay, there are also echoed solos on these as well as some other tracks, but those are used not merely for effect: they help the music sound more volumetric, adding an additional dimension to it. Finally, Aa reminds me of some solo creations by Karsten Vogel (of Secret Oyster and Taylor’s Universe fame), but, well, while not far-fetched, this connection isn’t obvious, either.
Conclusion. One may say Mr. Lindh took a too brave step by having signed Yeti Rain to his ‘distinctly symphonic’ label, though this act of Par’s simply indicates that he is (and has actually always been) the most open-minded person, always willing to experiment and so on. Besides, while the project’s first outing is certainly not everybody’s cup of tea, “Nest of Storms” will please probably any experienced prog head with a broad stylistic horizon. Very moody and atmospheric, strange and imaginative, this creation is irresistible – a true piece of art. Top-20-2008
VM=Vitaly Menshikov: April 11, 2009
The Rating Room
Review from Sea of Tranquility:
The duo of William Kopecky (bass, wind drum) and Roger Ebner (sax, wind synth, wind drum), better known as Yeti Rain, are back with their second CD, titled Nest of Storms, their follow-up to 2007's Discarnate. The band now finds themselves on the Crimsonic label, but this change has not effected their music one bit, as Nest of Storms continues their journey into dark, ambient soundscapes and frightening avant-garde aural nightmares. The opening two cuts "AA" and "Nest of Storms" are menacing pieces, Kopecky's angular bass throbbing through the mix while Ebner's sax squonks and screams, creating a truly monstrous glob of terrifying sounds. Fans of the early 70's Tangerine Dream albums will love "Ulalume", a haunting exploration into dark space, complete with spooky wind synth that creates that confining feeling of pressure, interrupted on by the occasional sax burst or bass flutter. A truly frightening piece that really is a good example of what effective 'space music' is all about. Things stay on a similar path on the space-meets-avant jazz number "Mad As Birds", with Ebner stabbing through the cosmos with his obnoxious sax lines for a chilling listening experience, while "Heart Wakes", with its eerie spoken word passages and nightmarish soundscapes, reminds of a dark meeting between Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd. Kopecky comes out of his shell in a big way on the bombastic "Map of Aggravations", his bass grooves thick and intimidating, and he even drops in some fleet fingered lines on the epic closer 'Star-Drilled Void", a 13-minute piece driven by floating wind synth colors and Kopecky's Zappa-ish lead bass explorations.
In the end, Nest of Storms is darker, deeper, more spacious, more ominous, and more daring than Discarnate, and a release that bridges the gap between ambient, space rock, prog, and avant-garde jazz quite nicely. Check it out.
ReviReview from Are U On Something:
I've never really been frightened to do a review. I mean ….you listen, you analyze, and then try to convey what you heard to the reader. It's really not a difficult concept. But this is Yeti Rain.
When I first held this CD in my hand, I paused before I actually placed it in the tray. As I watched it slide into my CD player, my heart sank to my knees. If you've ever heard Yeti Rain's material you know that trying to explain it is like eating prime rib with a spoon, only harder. Explaining what I heard on this latest disc from Yeti Rain, "Nest Of Storms," was no simple task. Like Yeti Rain's debut CD "Discarnate," I think it's a disc you have to "experience." "Nest Of Storms," plays out like the score to a horror film, much like "Discarnate" did, but this time Roger Ebner's sax wails are more prevalent and vital to the overall mood of many of these compositions. And I call them "compositions" for good reason. These are not traditional songs, but should be considered swatches of a musical canvas. Roger Ebner and William Kopecky are no different than DaVinci and Michelangelo, except they use instruments instead of brushes, and shiny digital vinyl things as their canvas. With Ebner's eerie sax screams and the spacious, echoing chimes of Kopecky's bass, Yet Rain paints an impromptu aural vacation for your mind. In the same way Pink Floyd created an alternative universe of sound, Yeti Rain has created galaxies. If you thought Pink Floyd took you on a cerebral journey, Yeti Rain makes Pink Floyd sound like Green Day. And yes, I did say "impromptu." All of these tracks were "written on the fly," or "spontaneously composed" as the band puts it.
I must admit that I was insatiably curious to hear the fifth track of "Nest" as it is the only Yeti track that has ever had lyrics. What will this sound like with a vocal? I couldn't wait to hear. As I start to experience the track I am reminded of the music from the Friday The 13th films, where there is a slight whisper that floats heavily on the air. Most of the lyrics are inaudible, but they still create a sadistic edge to the piece.
If you want to get as far away from mainstream as possible, you need to hear Yeti Rain. If you are a fan of atmospheric, space age symphonics, this is the disc for you. And, if you want to hear something that you've never heard before, Yeti Rain is always the act to turn to.
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