Kaipa
Solo

A boring afternoon some time ago, "wandering" around with my car, I stopped at a "record store", greeted the owner, and slowly approached the heavy metal section, peeking here and there, my gaze fell on a CD with a very beautiful fantasy landscape cover. This CD bore the name Kaipa "Sattyg"; what a nice cover I said to myself, it must be the usual prog. metal band, all show, no substance. I put the album back and continued to wander around the store.

Now....

Popporopò, Popporopò, Popporopò.... Pò Pò Pooò, Wacciù Wary Wary, Wacciù Wary Wary, you get it, right?

Three weeks ago, more bored than usual, also due to the lousy weather, I was cozy in my little room, watching the legendary first episode of The Tragic Accountant Ugo Fantozzi. In the famous scene of the Japanese restaurant, Ugo jumps into the tank of red mullets (in despair) because Miss Silvani, once again, rejects his advances.

Faithful disciples, disciples, hey you, Kaipa great priest, give me some bread, give me some bread... Kaipa? I wondered curiously, I wonder what the meaning of this strange word is, curious as always, I picked up my smartphone and went to find out on the web.

Kaipa, historic Swedish progressive rock band bla bla bla... mmmm... interesting, as far as I know, Sweden has never been a land that produced progressive rock bands of the historical period that "counts". Evidently, I was wrong. I went to see the discography, with the related cover images, and lo and behold, who do I see again? The album I had seen at the music store some time ago.

The biography on Wikipedia specifies that the masterpiece of Kaipa from the golden era is "Solo" from 1978, I think for a moment, but yeah, I'll treat myself to a gift. I go on Amazon, nothing; on eBay, nothing; it doesn't even exist there. Damn, they are also difficult to find. I try on the Ibs music section, and here they are, blessed Kaipa, I click purchase, and after two days, the brand new album arrives; I must say the record is beautiful, "mysterious," so to speak "funny" yet poignant at the same time, basically a real masterpiece.

And so, exceptionally from the Sea of Galilee, I will review "Solo" by Kaipa, (but why am I talking so much nonsense today) oh well, let's get to the album in question. The band consists of Hans Lundin, one of the band's founders (keyboards, Hammond organ, vocals), Mats Lindberg (bass, Taurus pedals), Ingemar Bergman (drums and percussion), Mats Löfgren (lead vocals and percussion), Roine Stolt (6/12 string electric guitar), good heavens a true symphonic progressive rock band.

A hysterical giggle opens the doors to the first track, "Den Skrattande Grevinnan"; immediately after, the notes of a bizarre and shrill keyboard prelude the rest... the track, entirely instrumental, has the classic symphonic progressive structure, Stolt's guitar is expansive and intriguing, occasionally reminiscent of Latimer of Camel. "Sen Repris" is instead a ballad, sung in Swedish (as is the entire album), another noteworthy, very contemplative track that doesn't exceed 4 minutes, now make yourself comfortable, lie on the bed, and close your eyes with the beautiful "Anar Dig", another delicate dreamy ballad, where the keyboard in this case, assumes the role of a piano, the rhythmic part of the song is slow but not trivial, Mats' melancholic voice transports us to the distant Scandinavian tundra in a winter landscape where everything seems calm and unchanged. Or, as the cover suggests, in a great Swedish forest, full of charm and mystery, this track is my favorite, simply wonderful.

The quirky "Frog Funk", with its progressive/funk structure, seems so simple and immediate yet simultaneously technical and challenging. Stolt's guitar is very peculiar; in the end, it seems "out of" the soundtrack of a detective film with Charles Bronson, another instrumental track decidedly more "cheerful" than the first, with synthesizers mimicking the croaking of frogs... Could it be a love dispute between two rival frogs? Who knows.

The gloomy atmosphere of "Visa i sommaren" transports us far with imagination, it seems like a space rock/new age track, if it weren't for the interlude, where the drums peek out, only to dissolve seconds later, then pursued by a cosmic keyboard. "Tajgan", another introspective track, not bad but nothing more, "Total förvirring" the song starts slowly to proceed livelier and a bit "angry," the track is simply divine, again Stolt's guitar sound is expansive yet more incisive, the singing takes on more depth and speed compared to the latter, tribal rhythms completely disrupt the track's structure, gaining more and more pathos, the same goes for the concluding "Sist på Plan" but enough of that.

In total 11 tracks to listen to and listen to again, Wikipedia is right "Solo" is truly a masterpiece that I recommend to any music lover, even those not strictly progressive, if at first listen it doesn't convince you, give it time, trust me, and you'll find this album will win you over.

The discography of Kaipa deserves further exploration... and I will do it as soon as possible. Bye.