Anyone who has followed Isildurs Bane's career knows that the Swedishes don't like linear routes, belonging to this category of artists (too rare for my taste) who like to astonish their audience. As for Peter Hammill, is it still necessary to present this English man as prolific as he is polymorphous, having successfully achieved the great gap between progressive rock ( especially with Van der Graaf Generator) and punk ("Nadir's Big Chance", Jimmy Rotten's bedside record !) and whose discography can boast of many albums that cannot be classified ?
So, seeing the names of these talented and unpredictable artists associated on the same cover automatically creates an irresistible attraction for lovers of strange and surprising musics. An association born from Peter Hammill's participation at the IB Expo2017, an annual event organized by Isildurs Bane that invites artists who do not put limits to their creativity. For the Swedes, this is not the first time, having already collaborated with Steve Hogarth in 2017 on "Colours Not Found in Nature". An experience that had left me unsatisfied as the performance of Marillion's singer didn't seem to be in tune with the symphonic universe of Isildurs Bane.
This time, the encounter seems more natural and almost inevitable between performers whose leitmotiv has always been their originality. And the result is, not surprisingly... original. If the first listenings leave the impression that it is a new Peter Hammill album, leaving Isildurs Bane fans disappointed (Hammill's voice is really a strong marker), the following ones help to dispel this feeling. The ever impressive and characteristic singing of the English man is mixed with the multiple instruments of Isildurs Bane, whose scores are far from being those of a simple musical accompaniment.
Mats Johansson's compositions seem to be inspired by the Hammillian universe. We find these dark atmospheres, these experimental and unstructured aspects, these evasive and not-possible-to-sing melodies characteristic of Hammill's solo albums. 'Before You Know' which opens the album would have been on "Fireships", for example. But the orchestration is more open, the instruments make many appearances, often ghostly, sometimes discordant, always inspired : koto, marimba, trumpet, saxophone... in their turn give replica to the singing.
Songs combine atmospheric passages, sporadic notes and tribal rhythms launched by very active and inventive percussions. If fans of straight melodies will soon be lost (they can at least listen to the beautiful, clear theme of 'The Day Is Done', the only title that sounds like a song), those who are looking for a change of scene will be delighted : the album offers a complexity as dense as the Amazon jungle from which it takes its title but, after a few listening that will disorient him, the listener will see his perseverance rewarded by a very rich album.
By combining their talents, Isildurs Bane and Peter Hammill have successfully released an album that will seduce fans of the Swedish band as easily as those of the English singer. "In Amazonia" is one of those records that manages a lot of surprises in each new listening, ensuring a longevity well beyond the average.