GZA TSISKEN (SKY WAY)

My generation of Georgians should remember the stereotypes about Georgian rock music that circulated in their childhood. They should remember how would we build in each other's heads that rock music wasn't Georgian man's business and would blame it on the absence of some abstract "spirit". They should remember that majority of us, the "rock music lovers", never had even one tape of any Georgian music (with the exception of one table-song compilation maybe, just to make parodies and "elucidate the difference"). Et cetera, so forth and then some.

Hence in my childhood, my interest in Georgian music was mostly limited to music videos I commonly saw on TV. And the musical west seemed like a fairy-tale unrelated whatsoever with Georgian reality. So, with this status quo affirmed, I used to collect the music of King Crimson, Yes, Van Der Graaf Generator - I thought Can were English at that time, for I used to be told that only English write great rock music.

So when I was 14, I saw one man talking about his band's music on Stereo One (main music TV channel at that time) and he called it art rock. I was very surprised - then they mentioned the band name "Sinatlis Tselitsadi" (Georgian for "The Light Year"). The channel showed some interesting excerpts from their concerts, so I decided to find their CD that had been just released.

I managed to find this album only a couple of years later, when I got internet installed. I wouldn't say I liked it fully from the first listen, because despite music being harmonic, it's still quite complex and the sound is very non-standard, but it soon won my heart over - it just couldn't be otherwise for there's so much melodic beauty in it.

Sinatlis Tselitsadi's debut release (just like the sophomore one) is a live album, but you could only tell it by applauses - sound engineering is on high level. Overall sound of music is, as I mentioned, very unusual - band completely eschews bass and electric guitars and grand piano, atmospheric keyboards and the string section determine the sound. Gigi Gegelashvili's vocals, while not having very broad range, accentuate the music by the virtue of expressiveness.

As a result, Sinatlis Tselitsadi offers us extremely lyrical, "RPI-type" symphonic progressive rock, where beautiful melodies all follow one another. Even the most dramatic moments are full with contrasting lyricism, giving the impression of certain fullness.

Format-wise, music varies quite much - there are dark, multi-movement songs ("Somebody Walking Along" [9], "Circulation Of Time In Space" [10], "Escape From Paradise" [12]), a couple of well-development instrumental themes ("Prologue" [1], "Circle" [13]), short songs used for albums thematic development ("Town We Have Built" [2], "Möbius Strip - Part 1" [4]), short, beautiful interlude ("Etude For Children And Adults" [6]) and two breathtaking ballads - "Sea Passion" [3] and "R-atom" [10]. These two songs, located near the start and end of the album, form the most direct, loud manifesto of music's sentimental aesthetic.

Instrumentally, the performance is top-class. There are no contrived virtuoso passages whatsoever - everything serves the music's need. Although of the album is recorded live, musicians' high performance skills let the music flow freely between segments of different difficulties, moods and intensities.

Strange: if you asked me what I thought of this album right after the first listen, I'd have just said that it's just a good work, but as it often happens with harmonically complex music, I fell in love with this music so much that it became my favourite Georgian album. So, here you have the masterpiece of highest European level - something like Italian legends, PFM, Quella Vecchia Locanda, Celeste or Le Orme did. If these names don't ring any bell, then imagine Genesis with more classical music influences. If still no success - then hear Sinatlis Tselitsadi and then the aforementioned bands.

Sinatlis Tselitsadi is still active with changing personnel. In 2010, they released their sophomore live album "Generation XXI - Rock Cantata" and the next album is under way.

Originally written for www.georgianmusic.wordpress.com