"In my opinion the arrangements in “Start” are excellent. Every time that I listen to it I discover new details that enriches the songs, making them sound perfect."
“Kalle Mathiesen and Marie Ingerslev have created this masterly piece of mayhem. Musically it veers all over the place hanging on to the coat tails of its Zappa influences but amongst the instrumental assassination are the calmer waters of Marie Ingerslev’s beautiful vocals wich add a real air of serenity and make for an album of striking contrasts and the end result is both highly original and thoroughly enjoyable.”
"On every track you can hear the incredible virtuos drumming from Kalle Mathiesen. This man has an unusual excellent feeling for expressive drumming."
Både original og personlig er orkestret med det ligefremme navn Kalles World Tour, som titlen til trods med 'Start' er ude med sit andet album.
Velspillet, snurrig og humoristisk dansk musik med nogle helt specielle og stærkt filosofiske tekster.
Det er spøjst og anderledes, men også en anelse anstrengende i længden, blandt andet fordi også sangerinden Marie Ingerslev har lidt problemer til trommeslager og orkesterleder Kalle Mathiesens spidsfindige, engelske tekster med danske indslag som i 'Kotelet' og 'Come Blood - Bleed Hair - Kom blot - Blidt her'.
Tænder man på den slags ordlege, er der masser at hente hos Kalle og verdensturneen. Tænder man ikke, vil man sikkert finde det studentikost og småirriterende.
"Den københavnske kvartet har blandt andet skrevet sangen "Jeg har stjålet denne sang", der handler om kunstens forfald på grund af mangel på originalitet. Og hvis der er noget, de ikke mangler, så er det lige præcis originalitet. Deres andet album "Start" er en mærkværdig musikalsk hybrid, der både byder på sprudlende popballader, jazzede fusioner, unikke sproglige krumspring og musikalsk finesse."
Kalle’s World Tour has gone through mass changes since their debut CD NU. The band, which hails from Denmark, had started out as an avant-garde jazz act, featuring sousaphone as a lead instrument. But on the new CD Start, all but drummer Kalle Mathiesen have been replaced. Vocalist Marie Ingerslev provides a nice melodic phrasing that allows the up-front rhythm section of Mathiesen and bassist Kim Matzen to steer the music in many directions.
Most of the music would be called jazz-tinged rock, bordering on the melodic-progressive side. Mathiesen, who also plays all the keyboard parts and guitarist Peter Muller, never really take off and solo, they provide the atmosphere that the songs evolve into. “Start”, “Tango”, and “Normal” remind me of Aquaplan with the drumming and vocal phrasing. “No”, “Kotelet” and “Capitalist” are more adventurous and have a lot of groove to them. The songs on Start rock, but with enough twists to keep this from being just another pop-album. “Capitalist” and “Come Blood” (with its layered vocals by Ingerslev) are two of my favorite tracks, but all the tracks are well performed.
Start is going to appeal to any fan of melodic rock. The songs are up-beat and direct, but not sugar coated. A little dip into some of the crazy turns that NU took would have been nice to hear, but you can tell that this was meant to be a more standard release. Overall you can hear the enjoyment that Kalle’s World Tour brings to these recordings. A fine debut (this can not be called the same band that made NU) by this instance of Kalle’s World Tour.
"It is impossible to compare this CD with anything else! The only thing that comes to mind is Bill Brufords work."
What you think of Nu one way or the other will have
nothing to do with your opinion of Start. A completely
different line-up, aside from Mathiesen, and an utterly
different approach to the music make this album far more
"normal" than Nu. Keeping in mind that this isn't saying
much, Start is still quite experimental in its own way,
while having points of reference for someone who likes
melody and harmony to grab ahold of. The most obvious
of these is singer Marie Ingerslev, who would sound quite
natural singing any Carpenter's song you could name. Her
vocals are the rock around which the other musicians can
be more experimental. Mathiesen's drums are turned up in
the mix, but never to the point where they overwhelm Peter
Muller on guitars, Kim Matzen on bass, Mathiesen himself
on keys or Ingerslev's vocals. His drumming style is a
mixture of complex progressive and jazz drumming, punkish
bashing and an unusually abundant quantity of snare rolls.
The drum recording is a bit on the dull side (as in not
much treble, not lack of excitement) which, along with
Mathiesen's unique style, makes the drums sound very
different and interesting. Lyrically, the songs are a bit
self-conscious, talking about the music itself and the
lyrics. Most of the lyrics are in perfectly composed and
pronounced English, though two are in Danish ("kotelet"
and "jeg har stjalet denne sang") and another ("come
blood, bleed hair, kom blot blidt her") alternates
between the two, comparing words in both languages that
sound nearly the same.
While Start bears little resemblance to the usual bands
you think of when the word "prog" is invoked (no comparisons
to Yes, Genesis or ELP here), this album should appeal to
most folks who like prog. It's got lots of inventive
composition, cool studio work and a really unique blend of
musical styles. Nu will appeal more to avant-garde lovers,
especially those that don't mind some humor and craziness
mixed in with the experimentation. Both albums are easy
to recommend. -- Fred Trafton