Sunrise Auranaut - 2018 - Inserter

(42:30; Rock Company)

Track list:
1. The Flight Continues 2:28
2. In the Old House 3:49
3. Keeper of the Forest Castle 4:12
4. Identification Man (Psychedelic Inserter) 5:39
5. Fog 2:29
6. The Saga of the Discoverers (Parts 1-2) 5:54
7. The Saga of the Discoverers (Part 3) 3:27
8. The World of Light 4:26
9. One Strange Morning 4:27
10. Hello, Star Man! 5:39

Line-up:
Vitaly Kiselev - guitars, programming
Alexander Malakhov - synthesizers


Prolusion.
Russian project Sunrise Auranaut is the creative vehicle of composer and musician Vitaly Kiselev. From 2013 and onward he has released a steady stream of albums under his chosen moniker, sometimes as a pure-bred one man operation while on other occasions additional musicians have been brought in to contribute as well. The album "Inserter" is the fifth of those albums, and was released in 2018 through Dutch label Rock Company.

Analysis.
It is an accessible and atmospheric laden variety of instrumental progressive rock we get on this album. The compositions are fairly alike in sound, mood and atmosphere, and while there are some differences in terms of structures and arrangements to be found the songs themselves aren't all that different from one another on certain core levels. In many ways you could describe this album as one that falls under the uniform description as far as style, sound and direction is concerned.

The main instruments given dominant roles throughout are guitars and keyboards, with the use of the organ adding a further level of variation to the keyboard part of the compositions here. All the songs will to a lesser or greater degree revolve around different combinations of the keyboards and the guitar as a lead instrument. In just about all f the songs we get sections with alternating lead instruments, and just about as common are passages where the instrument without a lead role will support the lead instrument at the time. With the most impactful of this latter combination being dark toned guitars in support of a light toned keyboard solo, where the former has a consistent and steady presence while the latter is more expressive. With the organ and guitar combination being the main variation of this classic set-up.

While the impulses from symphonic progressive rock are very much in place throughout, this is a project that hone in on the more accessible aspects of this tradition. While we do get some compositions with a more developed or intricate structure or quirky instrument details, the main focus here is to present flowing and floating landscapes where a gentle momentum takes us through landscapes that have qualities more in the dreamladen category than in the expressive one. Associations towards a band like Camel are easy to catch, and for my part I'd say that there are certain similarities to a venture like Soniq Theater too, albeit with the sound, mood and atmosphere explored by Sunrise Auranaut coming across as rather more organic. Where at least a part of that difference comes down to the use of real instruments rather than playing everything by way of keyboards.

Conclusion.
While this is accessible music that will have a fairly broad audience potential, this isn't the kind of album that will be regarded as a must listen by all and sundry. These are easygoing and elegant landscapes that float through your mind in a dreamladen manner. Relaxing music that may well inspire daydreaming to a greater extent than to inspire intent listening and a desire to catch all the details of what is going on. I would suggest that those who find the more easygoing and accessible parts of the back catalogue of a band like Camel to be inspiring and interesting music should be just about the perfect audience for the landscapes explored on this production.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, July 2024

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/sunriseauranaut/
https://rockcompany.nl/