CD Reviews

Ocipinski is percussionist Evan Carson's first solo album inspired by Jerzy Ocipinski and the Polish Resistance Movements of the Second World War. Why this subject matter you ask?  It just so happens that Jerzy Ocipnski was Evan’s Grandfather.

The album has taken somewhat longer to complete that originally planned, but as we all know Evan is a busy man recording  and/or performing with The Willows, Sam Kelly and the Lost Boys, Carousel and more recently The Tweed Project, to name just a few.  It was also recorded in places as far afield as the UK, Russia, Iceland and Australia so it was somewhat logistically challenging.

The music was co-written by Evan and Gleb Kolyadin, who also plays piano on the album masterfully. The lyrics are credited to Evan, Georgia Lewis, Jim Grey and Hannah Sanders who also provide their highly impressive vocal talents along with Evan himself and Ben Savage.  Other musicians involved are Karl James Pestka (violin & viola), Graham Coe (cello), Toby Shaer (flutes), Chris Heales (electric guitars and bass), Josh Franklin bass and synths), Chris Cawood (acoustic guitar and bass) and Archie Churchill Moss (melodian).  You are probably already getting the feeling this is something you have to listen to.

The way the album flows is like a prog folk version of Genesis’ ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’, albeit shorter and without all the psychedelic imagery.  Four of the 7 tracks are over 6 minutes long and all are filled with intricate percussion, piano and vocals.  The album is obviously percussion driven and those of you who have seen Evan with any of his bands will know he is not one to stick with a standard drum kit and 4:4 beat. 

‘Sky’, the opening track is the shortest on the album and it creeps up on you like an instrumental dawn, it builds gently and then leads into ‘Shards’ (for me the best track on the album) with it’s syncopated drum beat and frenetic piano and wonderful lead vocals from Georgia (someone I must find out more about).  This leads into ‘Chrysalis’ with more haunting vocal which has an Eastern feel to it. 

‘Otriad’ starts with more great piano from Gleb, features Evan/Jim on lead vocal and has the strings from Karl and flutes from Toby which come to the fore in a middle instrumental section.  ‘Bloodlines’ starts slower, but then there is more of that driving percussion with Hannah on lead vocals and Ben’s warming backing vocals.  This leads into ‘The Fireflies of Falaise’ which is mainly instrumental with a multi-vocal chant to take it to the end.  The final track ‘Anders_Prayer’, has an industrial feel to it with Georgia again on lead vocal and it closes out the album in fine fashion.

This is a truly original piece of work brilliantly produced by Joshua Franklin, which I encourage you to take 43 minutes out of your day to sit down and listen to from start to finish.  If you’re at the more open-minded end of the folk world, you will thoroughly enjoy the experience.