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Okapins Gastabud : Langt Fran Stadslivets Dan (S,2011)****
A professional debut, waiting to be released on a real label, I heard this demo of this new project by Christopher Stahle, from which I reviewed his previous project before, Mashbrick and the Horns of Plenty. I know almost nothing of this band except for its members with multi-instrumentalist Christpher Stahle on lead, with Joel Munther on bass and backing voice, Jorker Wennstrom on drums and percussion and guests Susanna Wennstrom on flute on two tracks, Albin Johansson on Wurlitzer & synth on 3 tracks, Johan Malmberg on violin on two tracks, Olaf Svensson on electric guitar on one track, Matts Björk on one track and David Svedmyr on mellotron and sitar on two tracks.
Christopher’s voice is attractive in sound with a certain emotional timbre, on the first track, which is with a more progressive folk-rock sound, with a flute arrangement and additional mellotron, this sounds a bit like the 70s Argentine band Pastoral. There are a few more up-tempo a bit more delicately rhythm-driven songs and more acid folk flavoured songs. Arrangements include mouth harmonica, acoustic guitar pickings, oscillating violin, rather jazzy electric piano and so on. Some of the attractive additions are the flute and violin parts, the sitar effect on one track and the electric guitar solo on the last track. Here and there atmospheric passages are added too under the form of a far distant big room recording performance of crackling sounds or action noises echoing with flute or voices, or with deep and trembling overtone voices, a room of sound returning like a distance making break point a couple of times. A very nice album, fitting with what can be heard in the (best examples of the) progressive scene in Sweden nowadays (so this band would work perfectly with such bands on stage in the live arena).
