CARPATHIA PROJECT

1998 in Budapest and two Hungarian musicians, guitarist Zsolt Daczi (R.I.P.) and guitarist/violin player Tamas Angyan started Carpathia Project.With the help of session members on bass, drums, keyboards and flute the duo recorded its self-titled debut in 1999, a work which was good enough for Periferic Records to release it on CD the same year.

What characterizes this album is the strong amount of energy and passion of its compositions, which come as a blend of fiery Jazz/Fusion, Guitar Rock and Ethnic Music.Daczi and Angyan were not only the driving forces of Carpathia Project but also the two mwn who shine on this record with their satisfying and talented performances.One moment the listener has to face the dynamic riffs, powerful grooves and intricate solos of Daczi, not to mention a few lovely acoustic crescendos he delivers.His work is nicely blended with the violin execution of his bandmate Tamas Angyan, his performance has strong Hungarian Folk and Classical tendencies (Polish act ANKH come to mind) and the interplays between the two are definitely the highlights of this release.The rest of the crew is not far behind, especially Tamas Zsoldos with his incredible jazzy and complex bass lines.Some nice flute work and organ passages here and there make this work more diverse.Another clever move of the band is keeping the length of the album short (just over 37 minutes) and compress the ideas in short forms, without getting the listener tired.

Among the very good and satisfying releases of modern-era Jazz/Prog/Fusion.''Carpathia Project'' is strongly recommended to all fans of powerful Jazz/Fusion with an evident ethnic feeling...3.5 stars.