Kent based band Splink have established themselves as one of the darlings of the Prog festival scene over the past few years and rightly so. They describe themselves as a four piece collaborative who create “no rules” music. This approach lends itself well to their live set.
Splink consists of Matt James – guitars/keyboards/sampler/vocals, Tim Chapman – drums/percussion, Vikki Ings – acoustic and electric violins/piano/vocals and Andy Crickett – bass. The band released their forth studio album Taklamakan on September 18th and is the focus of this review. Taklamakan is in true Prog terms a concept album based around a fable by Vikki Ings and Andy Crickett. The fable is presented over nine tracks three of which are songs.
Beautifully packaged with colourful artwork and a twenty paged booklet by Vikki Ings explaining the fable of love and tragedy set in the Taklamakan desert. The album is available with narration by Andy Crickett and without the narration too. There is also a special edition CD with both versions on two discs. I chose to hear the disc complete with the narration first and I would advise anyone buying the album to do so if possible. Andy Crickett’s voice is perfect for the job. His clear and concise speaking voice eludes to the very English nature of this musical genre despite the tale being set elsewhere in the world. The narration precedes most of the pieces throughout the album, though for the purpose of this review I focused on the nine musical tracks that make up this most fascinating album.
First up is the title track Taklamakan. With a chiming guitar and eerie electric violin the scene is perfectly set. Noticeable from the outset is Andy Crickett’s solid bass playing that really holds everything together nicely. Whilst Taklamakan has a smooth and easy beginning, it lacks no intensity at it’s conclusion. A very positive start and one that made me smile, as I was reminded of some of my favourite violin driven songs by the likes of Caravan and Quantum Jump, especially from the latter’s Barracuda album.
The formula for much of this album continues with Threads Of Fate (Yuan Fen). Sumptuous acoustic guitar opening with Vikki Ing’s violin having a deeper, richer and almost viola like tone to it. The lilting nature of the piece makes for a rather soothing listening experience, only disturbed by Tim Chapman’s drums thundering along reassuringly in the background and terminating the tune with a firm rimshot finish.
Gentle electric guitar and mesmerising violin steer the yet again tranquil tones of Wandering Dunes At Midnight. I found myself captivated by the hypnotic effect of this mystical tone poem and by now started to fully appreciate the lack of boundaries that Splink refuse to adhere to. Tim Chapman takes the lead in the more traditionally styled jig/reel that is The Path To Loulan. This is tempered by Matt James’s guitar and electronic noodling beginning at three minutes into the piece.
Synthesiser and effects herald the arrival of Incantation Of The Storm. With some refreshing toe tapping grooves in the mix this piece turns quickly into a full blown rock out. This is followed by the first of the songs on the album The Key (From Kunlun Pamir). Once again the by now familiar chiming acoustic guitar opening melds nicely with Matt James singing along with Vikki Ings backing vocals. This song takes off at just over four minutes in with a welcome guitar break. The bright and cheerful reoccurring acoustic guitar riff holds the whole piece together and at ten minutes and eighteen seconds long is the longest track of the album and somewhat of a whirlwind.
Some of the different rhythms and textures used throughout Splink‘s music often intrigues me. None more so than Metamorphosis. This piece has an almost Arabic feel about it and though fairly brief by comparison I found it very enjoyable and a fitting bridge to the second of the songs amidst this enchanting fable, The Waters Of Kashgar. Dramatic synthesiser intro and story-telling vocals by Matt James here as well as some of his best guitar work on to date etch this song out to be one of the highlights of the album. Along with Andy Crickett’s growling bass and Tim Chapman’s punchy drum sound, Vikki Ings nailed it with a great violin hook. If there is an earworm on Taklamakan this is it. To end this enchanting tale, Forever Bound finds Vikki Ings at her piano and singing this lilting finale.
Whether you listen to either version of this album the music following each of the narrations have more relevance than listening to the music tracks on their own. However, the pieces and songs sound excellent in their own right as simply well composed, played and engineered music that make the listener smile and revel in their atmosphere.
I would describe Taklamakan as an extremely well crafted and beautifully presented package that has significantly raised the bar for the band. I do think that the two disc special edition is worth the extra expense. I have enjoyed all of Splink‘s previous albums and I would advise music lovers to investigate their back catalogue to find out just what this unique collaboration are all about. For now though, I would highly recommend that you obtain and immerse yourself in this musical tale, so very well executed by one of the up and coming bands in the UK music scene and deserving of a wider audience.
You can buy Takmanakan HERE on Bandcamp
