KARNATAKA – In Concert

This DVD was my very first taste of this young Welsh Rock band as I never heard any of their earlier stuff before. These guys were praised on so many different forums, so I was really curious what they have to offer and I’m glad I was finally hooked up with their material. “In Concert” introduces Karnataka to the wider audience with this recording of their 2001 gig at London’s Mean Fiddler on October 27th. The band gathers around charismatic lead singer Rachel Jones who seems to be the driving force in Karnataka. Along with Ian Jones and Jonathan Edwards she’s also responsible for the songwriting in the band and of course she’s in the center of attention on stage especially.

The music they play could be described as kind of an atmospheric progressive rock with some Celtic influences and Rachel’s dreamy vocals fit perfectly to the music. At the time of the recording the five-piece already had two studio albums out, so I guess they played most of their back catalogue on this London gig. Making the band sounding even better on stage Karnataka invited a couple of guest musicians including a saxophone player Steve Simmons and flutist Anne-Marie Helder who became the sixth member of the band in early 2002. Adding to the visual experience the DVD also contains black and white video footage of backstage and dressing room moments with Rachel and the boys (clothes on folks :)) and some beautiful Welsh landscapes.

I’m sure fans of Karnataka will enjoy this DVD release very much and the band is going to make new followers with it as well. And they already gained at least one as I’m eagerly waiting for the upcoming third album.