Kracq - Cellar Tapes 1 - Beautiful Sun

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Kracq - Cellar Tapes 1 - Beautiful Sun - Forever Lost? 8

Artist:	Kracq
Title:	Cellar Tapes 1 - Beautiful Sun - Forever Lost? 8
Label:	Polumnia P011
Length(s):	76 minutes
Year(s) of release:	2005
Month of review:	[03/2006]

Line up

Charlotte Rutten - vocals, percussion
Jos Hustings - guitars, vocals
Bert Vermijs - synths, keyboards, vocals, guitar, recording

Tracks

1)	Mooneater - Introspection	13.41
2)	Mooneater - Fight	5.32
3)	Appendix & Practical II	1.48
4)	Adapted Letter	12.57
5)	Charlotte's Blues	8.57
6)	Ritmus - Slow	6.06
7)	Beautiful Sun - Forever Lost?	12.05
8)	Visions And Reality	13.53
9)	I Can't Find It	1.28

Summary

In the Dutch music scene of the seventies, Kracq (originally named King's Ransom And Carmine Queen) was a band that made one legendary, self titled album, Circumvision. I am still trying to track down an affordable vinyl version, but no such luck (yet). Until then, I will have to make do with Cellar Tapes 1, which was recorded in 1979, and re-animated in 2005 by Sam Samshuijzen in 2005. This album, by the way, is the first part of a trilogy.

The music

Mooneater - Introspection is the long opener. Indeed , this album has no less than four songs over ten minutes. The recording is lo-fi, and shows a band with typically Italian progressive elements, going in the direction of avant-jazz (but in a soothing way) and although the vocals are not really operatic, I detect quite a bit of Opus Avantra. Later there is some recitation, which adds to the datedness. The song continues to be very synthesized, yet warm and rich in vibes. Mooneater - Fight is likely enough a continuation. This is strictly more avant-garde with the vocals going more in the direction of Diamanda Galas and the synths blurping and gurgling. There is even some fuzz guitar in the back.

Appendix & Practical II is short, and continues the vocal expresssions, which follow the spooky keyboards. The guitar resides somewhere in the back. The vocals have a very live feel. Adapted Letter is another long track, which opens with repeated loops. At first, it seems like a live track played in a bar, but then the loop stops and we come to a quirky synth dominated passage. There is even some singing here, not just vocal wailings, although Rutten does have the Dagmar Krause approach. The keys can be experimental, the use Fender Rhodes bring in a warm that the album really needs. Later, a sharp guitar sets in for some occasional outbursts. Towards the end the song starts to flow more, with the advent of sequencers, and repeated distorted lines over that.

Charlotte's Blues is only nine-minutes in length. The guitar is more dominant here, there are two of them in fact. The first one strumming, the second electric and, yes, bluesy. The vocals are very forward in this track. Later, the music becomes more like longing, and languid.

Ritmus - Slow is indeed a slow and rhythmic tune, rather melodic and for this band quite easy. The vocals are now deep in the music, although they are slowly coming forward, somewhere between singing and recitation. There is also a strong bass presence here, something I did not spot on earlier tracks at all.

The title track takes a long time to get started and has scary vocals by Rutten. The music is mainly effects played on guitar, and the music is very introspective (and hard to hear). Visions And Reality is another long and moody piece. The synths are strong here, taking the lead in developing that mood. Again, plenty of weird effects, almost musique concrete like. Later, we get some percussive... is that really piano? sounding like a bell of some kind. The melodies are subtle here.

I Can't Find It is a short track, a bit chaotic at first, with Rutten speaking and later vocalizing.

Conclusion

Kracq is not your typical Dutch progband. The closest I could come is a mix of Opus Avantra and Dagmar Krause against a background dominated by synth and distorted guitar. The music never becomes loud or abrasive, it wasn't yet the time for that. It is more on the weird but introspective kind. The sonics aren't great, so if you expect a pristine sound: forget it. This is very much music of its time, following the Recommended Records crowd, although it comes off sounding more amateurish. The band is strong however, in building weird moods, led by the synthesizer, as on for instance Visions And Reality which I liked most.