CHASING THE MONSOON
No Ordinary World PLANE GROOVY Karnataka man’s Celtic-tinged new project.
When Ian Jones announced that Karnataka, the band he had led and played bass for two decades, were going on “indefinite hiatus” at the end of 2017, it was tempting to wonder if there was more to it than that. Especially since he announced a few months later that he was reforming the band with a new line-up – minus vocals, which turned out to be news to dismayed erstwhile singer Hayley Griffiths. Strange behaviour.
STRONG HOOKS, POWERFUL MELODIES, EMOTIONAL RESONANCE.
He has since belatedly announced a new vocalist and plans for a new Karnataka album, but maybe that break partly served to let Jones focus on long-mooted other projects Chasing The Monsoon and The Illuminae, the first of which has seen the light of day with this debut album.
If so, a little freedom from the expectations that might have surrounded a new Karnataka album has done him no harm at all. Despite the world music influences mentioned when Ian Jones talked about his plans for this project, it’s no major departure from Karnataka’s brand of folk-rooted symphonic prog. The meditative backing vocals on Dancing In The Afterglow add a pronounced ethnic flavour, along with occasional snatches of eastern-sounding vocals and sparing laces of exotic percussion, but otherwise there’s a much more pronounced Celtic and folk influence, most obviously on Troy Donockley’s Uilleann pipes, which decorate Lament.
Long-time fans will also hear a familiar vocal warble gracing this album. Noughties-era Karnataka singer Lisa Fury rejoins forces with her old bandmate for several of these tracks, bringing a captivating vulnerability to the wistful Circles Of Stone. She then breathes passionate life into the windswept anthemscapes of Dreams and Innocent Child.
Those primary colours are offset by the contributions of producer and keyboardist Steve Evans, whose tenor tones on Into The Light quickly evoke – thanks in part to some rich harmonies – Jon Anderson. All this is punctuated by some distinctly Gilmourian guitar breaks from Ian Simmons.
But whatever touchstones you point to, this album succeeds on the back of old-fashioned songwriting virtues: strong hooks, powerful melodies and stirring emotional resonance.
Among the most immediate tunes are December Sky – whose chorus line ‘…but it’s cold out there where the sun don’t shine’ quickly turns into an earworm – and the floating romantic swell of Love Will Find You.
By the looks of it, Ian Jones is going to be rather busy in the near future, but this diversion, however brief, has been a worthwhile one. Let’s hope he chooses to pass this way again soon.