THE EVENT

Israeli group from Jerusalem, formed sometime in the 90's by brothers and multi-instrumentalists Orj Hendel (guitars, mandolin, percussion, vocals) and Shachar Hendel (keyboards, drum programming, lead vocals).In 1999 they appeared for the first time in the tribute album ''To Canterbury and beyond'', covering Matching Mole's ''Dedicated to you but you weren't listening''.Shortly after female singer/flutist Sharon Rinat and the trio records their debut album ''The event'' with a few guests on vocals, flute and violin (the last played by Corinne Schlomovitch, who also contributed in the tribute album).The album was originally released in England in 2001 on the Headline label.

The Ashqelon Quilt had something new to propose and this fact alone made their attempts pretty exciting, even if their debut is not flawless.They blended the Orchestral Pop structures of THE BEATLES with the Symphonic/Folk Rock of GENTLE GIANT and RENAISSANCE, while they occasionally meet the more classic stylings of GENESIS and CAMEL.Their music contains elements from Classical, Folk, Pop and even Jazz, offered through fragile, refined arrangements with sensitive and ultra-clean vocals but also some impressive musicianship, which bursts from light, poppy vocal orientations to grandiose symphonic arrangements and folky interludes.The atmosphere is pretty soft and laid-back for the most of the album's length, led by an array of keyboards, the use of violin and flutes and the decent drum programming, supported by the good vocal arrangements.More pompous ideas of course are also present, especially when synthesizers and electric guitars are introduced.Their style becomes at this point very symphonic with CAMEL resemblances and tight links to 90's Italian Prog groups such as SITHONIA or MALIBRAN.The modern era of keyboards meets often the archaic sound of flutes and percussion, delivering imaginative and pretty original music.All vocals come in English apart from the narration of ''Introduction to the event'', which is delivered in Hebrew.

According to an interview of the trio, a new album was on its way with an expected date in 2003/2004 and the Hendel brothers were trying to gather a tight crew for live gigs, but for unknown reasons their name dissapeared from the map.Shachar Hendel remained involved with music, having also his own bandcamp page.

Very good mix of old-styled Symphonic Rock with Pop and Folk.Melodic and rich music with a few impressive cuts.Warmly recommended.