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A spinoff of one of the greatest Eastern European apocalyptic neofolk groups Romowe Rikoito delivers an astounding masterpiece that blends the best of Coil & Current 93 with its own unique magical spirit.
KRATONG is a solo project of Jhonny, the guitarist of Romowe Rikoito (Prussia). All the nine tracks from "The Bees of Psychic Province" show us various musical inspiration of the artist. On this album you'll find song inspired by the middle ages, neo-folk music, ambient passages and even a rhytmic electro. Although the music is very complex every little sound created by the artist is neccesary here.
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Michael J. Salo says on 3 Aug 2005
Putting on the Kratong CD was one of those jaw-dropping moments, where it's somehow perfectly clear within the first few seconds that this is going to be brilliant, and it's amazing I didn't know about this until now.
Kratong is a new spinoff project of Romowe Rikoito, a band that have been around for a while with a few well regarded although highly obscure dark folk releases. This album has a similar full seven-piece band, just a somewhat different lineup than Romowe.
What we have here is some of the most magically effective apocalyptic folk music I've ever heard.
It's a mix of acoustics & electronics, male & female vocals, and an impressive range of musical styles that all work.
The album starts off with a few beautiful acoustic folk ballads. I defy any Current 93 fan to have a listen and not be totally enchanted & hooked by the first song.
As we progress, mysterious soft electronics increasingly take over the mix until we're in definite Moon Musick territory. The album gradually fades out to a dark ambient/drone finish. (And then a dance track tacked to the end as a bonus - perhaps an imperfection).
While enjoying this album, one can easily notice the influences at work. The first track is similar to Current 93's "Earth Covers Earth." The next songs are like lost outtakes of Nature and Organisation's Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude. The later tracks sound just like Musick to Play in the Dark or Astral Disaster-era Coil. The opening guitar line is remarkably similar to NIN's "Hurt"(!)
Yet what's interesting is Kratong never comes across as imitative. It's so well performed and has so much original spirit that it seems it's completely their own. The effect is almost as if those Western artists had all secretly borrowed their ideas from this unknown Eastern European group who's been doing it forever.
While Romowe Rikoito's music is recommended, this Kratong album is even better than what I've heard from Romowe so far.
The Bees of Psychic Providence was released last year sometime, by a small Polish label. Due to a lack of wide distribution I'm considering this effectively new for '05. You'll have a hard time finding this elsewhere, especially in North America, where Strange Fortune is one of the only sellers offering you this mind-boggling gem of an album.
Johnny says on 9 Aug 2005
Thanx for review!!!
Johnny says on 8 Oct 2005
Yep
Chris Danielson says on 11 Feb 2006
Great. I'd put this up there with, or maybe even above, Death in June's greatest stuff ("Roseclouds of Holocaust," "But What ends when Symbols Shatter?"). And that IS saying a lot! Kratong definitely know what they are doing with both folk and electronics, and when they combine the two, on songs like "Dreams of the Faded Summer," it is the most surreal listening ever.
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