Macwood Fleet: Live in 2023: Karnataka live at Acapela Studios, Pentyrch on Thursday 14th September 2023

Karnataka returned to the Chapel as part of a Tour to promote their latest album, Requiem For A Dream.

Carrying on from last year's selection of dates the band have had a change in line up once more.

Main Man Ian Jones remains as always on Bass and now he is joined by lead vocalist Sertari and lead guitarist Luke Machin who both appear on the new album.

This time however on Keyboards we have Rob Wilsher and on Drums/Percussion it's Jack Summerfield.

The band played a two part set with heavy emphasis on the new album. Indeed, throughout the night they played every track from the album. The theme of the album is very much about climate change and most of the songs carry this message.

The band kick off with the lead track from the new album, All Around The World.

click HERE to hear All Around The World

The previous incarnation of the band featured the fabulous Hayley Griffiths on Vocals, she was very much the English Rose and rocked out with the Band with that fabulous soaring operatic voice.

Sertari is almost the complete opposite, her look is very much Eastern and her movements are more sensuously Eastern as is the music on the new album. New people bring new ideas and colours to the music and it shows in this performance. She has grown so much into her role as front woman, even from last years debut she seems much more confident which was great to see.

Next up was another very strong song from Requiem, The Night's Dance.

The Night's Dance

The album that the band are performing here tonight is possibly the strongest they've ever produced. And this is the band that brought us the Award winning album Secrets Of Angels, so that's saying something.

You can tell that they know that they've produced a winner as confidence oozed from every musician on the stage.

Talking of Secrets Of Angels - next song up was the only SOA track of the night - The Road To Cairo.

Sertari tackled the song with grace and aplomb. It's amazing how every new Karnataka vocalist manages to make the older songs their own. I suspect the hand of Ian Jones here working with the vocalist, guiding them through the song.

The Road To Cairo

For the next two songs we head back to 2000 and the album, The Storm.

We are treated to Dreamer before Ian, Luke & Sertari take to their stools for an acoustic version of The Journey. I love hearing these acoustic, stripped back versions of the songs as I always assume it must sound as they were written.

Click here to listen to THE JOURNEY

For the final track of Part 1 we are back with the Requiem album and the tuneful Forgiven.

The new album is such a tuneful album and even with it's dramatic religious Latin closing section, it still holds it's sense of melody.

As if by magic - it's Part 2 and the band return with a bang with the epic Say Goodbye Tomorrow from the Requiem album. And it's another song full of melody and drama. If singles were a thing these days, it would certainly be a contender in whatever chart would be relevant these days.

SAY GOODBYE TOMORROW

The band stick with requiem for the rest of the set and we are straight into Sacrifice, another song that showcases Sertari's vocal dexterity. It's a sultry mix with another killer chorus and a chance for Luke to make some pinpoint fluid licks. Luke has been fabulous all night as indeed have Rob and Jack who have selflessly laid histrionics aside and have chosen to just serve the music, Jack by giving it the drama and solidity and Rob by giving the music it's multitude of colours and flavours.

And in charge of it all we have The Guvnor - Ian Jones who literally holds it all together and provides the visual foil for Sertari's sensuous movements.

My favourite song on Requiem comes next. As Feels Like Home was my favourite on Secrets Of Angels due to it's tuneful, almost film soundtrack quality, so Don't Forget My Name plays the same role on Requiem. It's even in the same place, just before the Epic title track. You could definitely hear it on some top movie as the credits roll. and Luke plays a blinding solo. It really comes alive live, so to speak.

Don't Forget My Name

Which leads us to the final song of the set, and of Requiem, the epic 25 minute title track, Requiem To A Dream. I'm not going to go into it here, I'll save that for my albums Of 2023 Blog. Suffice to say it is up there with all those other great Karnataka epics such as Gathering Light and Secrets Of Angels.

It gives plenty of room for ALL of the band to shine and get their moment in the sun.

'WE KEEP DANCING IN THE RAIN'

Requiem For A Dream

But........ There's always room for an encore!!

The band return to the stage and unveil a beautiful new version of fan favourite Forsaken, from the Gathering Light album, 13 years old this year, Bathed in Purple and finally Green light, the band played it beautifully I can guarantee I wasn't the only old man with a tear in his eye at the end of the show. And anyone who knows the song will know it has an epic instrumental ending with all hands on deck and one monumental guitar solo which Luke made his own tonight to a massive round of applause.

and then, it was over. 2 Hours of music just flew by. The band must have been delighted with the response they got to the new material. Sertari really has settled in SO well and brought yet another dimension to the Karnataka music, I just hope she stays around for another tour where she gets her chance to sing some of the Karnataka favourites like Gathering Light, Secrets of Angels and Delicate Flame Of Desire,