BABER / WILEMAN

Richard Wileman (Lives & Times, Karda Estra) first met Matt Baber at Roastfest in 2011 where he was performing with Sanguine Hum and they soon started working together. The first results of this could be heard on the 2013 Karda Estra album 'Mondo Profondo' where Matt joined to perform on their collaboration "Mondo Profondo 1". They started playing together in 2020, initially with the idea of doing just a couple of tracks together, but it all went so well that they ended up with a complete album with Matt providing keyboards and drums, Richard guitars, vocals, bass, keyboards, while they were joined on three tracks by long-time musical colleague of Richard, Amy Fry, on vocals and clarinet for three tracks.

This 2022 release fits in very well with Richard's own style, and if this had been released under his solo name or even Karda Estra one would not have been surprised. Where there are vocals, they are laid back and add to the accompaniment while never taking from it, as this is music which is a mixture of modern classical and film score, with just a hint of Americana and modern folk, which makes it incredibly easy to listen to. I have often accused Richard, in a friendly manner of course, of making film scores for the mind and yet again there is a breadth of music contained here where the arrangements are key, and the different threads create a tapestry of beauty. This is the first time I have heard Matt away from Sanguine Hum, and he has fitted in seamlessly alongside Richard to create an album which is an absolute delight, and that it has yet to be reviewed on ProgArchives means a lot of people are missing out on something which is incredibly enjoyable indeed. It needs to be played on headphones when the listener has time to do just that, but they will undoubtedly benefit from the experience.