KOPECKY

I hear a great deal of progressive rock, much more than the normal punter, and while I may get excited from time to time it is rare that anything new, or 'progressive', ever reaches my ears. So when I first started listening to this instrumental CD, which had arrived from the States, I found that I was intrigued, which in turn made way for me to being totally focussed on what I was hearing. Kopecky are a trio of brothers with Joe on guitar/tambourine, Paul on percussion and William on bass, sitar and keyboards. Any of these instruments can take on the lead role, with the fretless bass being especially effective.

But while on some numbers they are almost traditional, with rock themes being the basis for the melody (which moves and melds in glorious ways), on others they sound as if they have come straight out of the East. The use of sitar, combined with complementary percussion gives the music an otherworldly exotic feel. Apparently William's teacher, Veena Chandra, is a grand- disciple of Ravi Shankar. But, the sitar is an integral part of a rock band, not Indian-style music in its' own right. On "Sukha", while William plays a melody Joe is hard at work either emulating it or taking the music in a different direction altogether.

For an instrumental album to fully hold the attention of the listener throughout its' length it must be something special indeed, and I for one feel that my musical experience has been broadened by listening to this album.

Feedback #58, May 2000