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Kaplan Brothers
Karat
Leah Kardos
Mick Karn
Kasabian
Tim Kasher
Kashmir [Swi]
Kashmir [Den]
Tokiko Kato
Kazuhiko Katoh
Katzenjammer
Kaukasus
Sada Sat Kaur
Kaveret
John Kay
Kayak
Tom Kazas
Phil Keaggy

Tonio K  (US)

Tonio K, 'Olé'

Olé  (1997, recorded 1989,  53.17)  ***/½

Stop the Clock
Time Steps Aside
Maybe There Isn't
Stuck
That Could Have Been Me
Hey Lady
Come With Me
I'll Remember You
What a Way to Live
Day and Night
Pardon Me for Living
We Walk on

Current availability:

Chamberlin used:

Steven "Tonio K" Krikorian is probably better known as a songwriter than as a performer, having been covered by the likes of Al Green, Bonnie Raitt and Chicago, amongst many others. There's a story behind 1997's Olé: it was recorded around 1989 and should've been his fifth solo album, but A&M shelved it, no doubt for the usual cretinous record company reasons, so it finally saw the light of day eight years on through the indie Gadfly label. It's a fairly timeless roots rock/Americana album, lyrics possibly stronger than music, probably at its best on That Could Have Been Me, Hey Lady and What A Way To Live.

Some sources credit producer T Bone Burnett with Chamberlin; given how odd it would be to give him a fake credit, I think we'll have to accept it as genuine, although the only possible use is some very background strings on closer We Walk On.

Official site

K2  (US)

K2, 'Book of the Dead'

Book of the Dead  (2005,  46.46)  ***/TT

Chapter 1: Infinite Voyage
Chapter 2: Mirror to the Spirits
Chapter 3: The Edge of Light

Chapter 4: Aten (Window of Appearances)
Chapter 5: Cloak of Antiquity
K2, 'Black Garden'

Black Garden  (2010,  55.42)  ***½/TTT½

Black Garden
Passage to the Deep
Widows Watch
Encounter or Absence
Storm at Sunset
Summer's Fall
Path of the Warrior

Current availability:

Mellotrons used:

The LA-based K2 (to spell their name correctly) are bassist Ken Jaquess' prog project, including not only Spock's Beard's Ryo Okumoto, but also legendary Brit fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth (1946-2017), amusingly referred to as 'ex-UK' on prog reviews sites, although they were really only a blip in his lengthy career.

2005's Book of the Dead is, in some ways, a typical modern progressive release, although it has elements of fusion (mostly from Holdsworth), thankfully lacking the heaviosity of many current bands. However, it also lacks much compositional complexity, clearly written by someone whose chief listening is other progressive bands, so interesting key modulations are notable only by their absence and the material often plods. For those who love prog epics, opener Chapter 1: Infinite Voyage is twenty-three minutes of, well, prog, although to call it 'a Supper's Ready' of the new millennium', as their wildly over-enthusiastic biographer at ProgArchives has, is a little optimistic. Yes, the band utilise elements of Genesis and Yes, particularly in Jaquess' slightly unwelcome bass solos, but the song structures are more '80s neo-prog than classic-era, although Yvette Devereaux's violin makes a welcome change from the usual instrumentation. Jaquess plays Ryo's M400, with strings and/or choir present and correct on all but Chapter 4: Aten (Window Of Appearances), effectively a bass solo over drifting synths. I won't try to claim that the Mellotron use is the heaviest I've ever heard, but sometimes, subtle is best. Not a bad album, then, but, as with so many others, few real chances are taken (you know, what made the first couple of Spock's albums so exciting) and even though it's not overlong, it drags in places and finishes fairly abruptly, lacking any kind of musical closure.

Five years on, Black Garden is a distinct improvement on its predecessor, its fusion-inflected material showcasing a more original, very American sound, at least within the confines of the genre. Highlights include the epic Storm At Sunset, the solo-Mellotron-and-vocal Summer's Fall and closer Path Of The Warrior, although nothing here should upset fans of modern US prog. Much more Mellotron this time round, from both Jaquess and Okumoto, playing one or more of the M400s at Gene Stopp's studio, more notable use including the upfront strings on the opening title track, string swells throughout Widows Watch and the solo strings that underpin Summer's Fall, with string and/or choir parts on everything else.

Facebook

See: Ryo Okumoto

K2Project  (Ireland)  see: Samples etc.

Kaipa  (Sweden)  see:

Kaipa

Kaiser Cartel  (US)

Kaiser Cartel, 'March Forth'

March Forth  (2008,  38.29)  ***/TT

Oh No
Seasons Song
Traveling Feet
Good Ones

The Flood
Inside Out
Okay
The Same
Favorite Song
Dog Stars
Blue Sky

Free Will Zone

Current availability:

Chamberlin used:

The Brooklyn-based duo of Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel's debut, 2008's March Forth, is something of a naïf of an album, switching between dark, mournful, folk-inspired material like opener Oh No or Good Ones and cheerful, childlike songs along the lines of Season Song or Favorite Song in roughly equal measures. This would appear to be a tactic that could all too easily split their audience between bedsit-dwellers and small children. Maybe that's the point?

Both members play Chamberlin, with distant string notes on Traveling Feet, distant string chords on Good Ones and Blue Sky, nicely upfront flutes on Okay and quite overwhelming strings on Dog Stars, although the cello on a few tracks is real. A somewhat schizophrenic release, then, that might not appeal to anyone much in its entirety. I can't entirely vouch for three of its possible Chamby tracks, either, but two in-yer-face examples is more than we usually get.

Kaiser Chiefs  (UK)  see: Samples etc.

Dag Kajander  (Norway)

Dag Kajander, 'Den Underlige Sang' Dag Kajander, 'Sanger Fra Lofoten'

Den Underlige Sang  [a.k.a. Sanger Fra Lofoten]  (1982,  32.19/37.55)  **/½ (T)

Nordlandssang
Jul
Krambua
På Krita
Den Underlige Sang
Nordland-Sang
Lofot Koral
Egne Line
Gubben Vågakall
Nordlands-Sang
Lofotbrev
Di Sula Opp
Litj Hans
Grønt Lauv i Snyen
Nordlands-Sang
Længer Sør Længter Ikkje Vi
[Reissue adds:
Kreve Tien
Tre Daga Tel Endes]

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Dag Kajander is a Norwegian composer and singer, several of his releases aimed at the children's market. 1982's Den Underlige Sang (reissued in 1995 as Sanger Fra Lofoten) veers between just-about-acceptable piano-accompanied or a capella folk and really-not-very-acceptable-at-all jaunty singalongs, which probably don't sound any better if you understand the language. Any better tracks? Egne Line stands out, with its female narrator, but it's pretty slim pickings.

Kajander and Inge Kolsvik both play Mellotron, with a rather weak flute line on Di Sula Opp and a slightly stronger one on closer Længer Sør Længter Ikkje Vi, the best use, however, being the flutes on Kreve Tien, one of two tracks added to the reissue. This can be heard on YouTube, which isn't to say it should be.

Paul Kalkbrenner  (Germany)  see: Samples etc.

The Kamikazies  (Canada)  see: Samples etc.

Kane  (Netherlands)  see: Samples etc.

Kangaroo Kourt  (US)

Kangaroo Kourt, 'Messages in Ether'

Messages in Ether  (1989,  39.31)  ***½/TTTT

Invocations of the Undead
  The Stirring
  The Vows
  The Carnage
  The Third Coming

Bracelets
Under the Double Moon

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Kangaroo Kourt are an early Ventricle band, appearing alongside Mauve Sideshow, in other words, weird darkwave, full of atonal synths, creaking Mellotrons and banshee wails. Every Ventricle project is different, concentrating on a different aspect of their vision. In this case, it's arhythmic drones and dissonance, with a good deal of accomplished harp playing on Under The Double Moon that I haven't heard on any of the collective's releases before. The album as a whole is dark and mystical, quite certainly the effect the musicians were after. Job done.

Mellotrons-a-plenty on their third album (of four), 1989's Messages in Ether (possibly 1990), which is pretty good going when you think that any meaningful third-party maintenance of their machine must have been of historical interest only, although Dave Kean's Audities Foundation was probably setting up shop around the same time, on the right side of the Atlantic for them. All four parts of Invocations Of The Undead are stuffed with the thing, with cellos and warbling choirs on The Stirring, string section and church organ on The Vows and are those Mellotron sounds effects I can hear? The Third Coming features what sounds like an on/off mix of the string section and organ, assuming they're next to each other on the relevant tape frame. Dusty Lee seems to care not that the M400 wobbles around like a seasick orchestra; there are those who have it that it sounds better that way (hi, Tim) and who am I to argue? OK, I could, but in this case, its inherent unmaintained instabilities merely add to the overall effect, which could well be lost with a fully-functional machine.

Wow - what a rollercoaster ride. Messages in Ether is definitely at the more listenable end of the Ventricle spectrum, certainly compared to the highly dissonant Steeple of Fyre, which isn't to say that they're exactly easy listening, unless you're of the opinion that Coil have wussed out in recent years. It wouldn't be true to say this album was recorded on nothing but Mellotron, but side one can't be far off it, giving the album four Ts overall and making this well worth a purchase, assuming you can actually find a copy.

See: Mauve Sideshow | Angel Provocateur | Steeple of Fyre | Torn Curtain

Paul Kantner, Grace Slick & David Freiberg  (US)

Kantner, Slick & Freiberg, 'Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun'

Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun  (1973,  40.25)  ***/TTTT

Ballad of the Chrome Nun
Fat
Flowers of the Night

Walkin'
Your Mind Has Left Your Body
Across the Board
Harp Tree Lament
White Boy (Transcaucasian Airmachine Blues)
Fishman
Sketches of China

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Apparently named for David Crosby's nicknames for Kantner and Slick, Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun is a decidedly watered-down version of Jefferson Airplane, then in the last throes of dissolution, just before the dodgy Jefferson Starship rose from the ashes like a rather slick phoenix (pun intended). The material's a bit anodyne, to be honest, although it's immeasurably better than later Starship stuff, particularly from the '80s.

David Freiberg's Mellotron is used fairly extensively, with background strings on Fat and a much more upfront part on Flowers Of The Night, ditto Across The Board, while Harp Tree Lament adds flutes to the ubiquitous strings. Six out of ten tracks is pretty heavy usage and it's rarely hidden away in the mix, so top marks on the Mellotron front and recommended for that, at least.

See: Jefferson Airplane | Jefferson Starship

Kaplan Brothers  (US)

Kaplan Brothers, 'Nightbird'

Nightbird  (1976?,  41.21)  **/TTT½

Ode to Life
Vodka and Caviare
Epitaph
Listen to the Falling Rain
Life and Me
Love is Life
Night Bird
Happy
He

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

The Kaplan Brothers were apparently a Chicago-based lounge act who freaked out completely and recorded this bizarre attempt at a concept album. I'm, well... really quite lost for words over Nightbird; cheesy easy listening music shoehorned into a pseudo-progressive format just makes it sound like the progenitors of this piece of lunacy ingested far too much brown acid at Woodstock and never quite got over it. The weirdest part of the album is track three. Yes, it's that Epitaph; if you've ever had a yearning to hear King Crimson played in a lounge stylee, well, here's your chance. Listen To The Falling Rain mixes nursery-rhyme lyrics with a brief burst of Grieg's Hall Of The Mountain King, although the rest of the album is outstanding only in its mediocrity. It's not even certain when this montrosity was released: I've had to shift my original date of 1974 to '76, whiile Discogs reckons '78.

I said, "I've no idea who played the Mellotron on the album, but he/she deserves a medal; it's splattered all over the place, played expertly and frequently at speed", although it seems it was Larry and John Kaplan. Opener Ode To Life features strings, oboe (?) and female choir, with more strings, including a relatively speedy arpeggiated part on Vodka And Caviare, with one of the quickest Mellotron parts I've ever heard on their bizarre take on Epitaph. Most of the rest of the use is strings, although those choirs rear their ugly heads again on a couple of tracks. I'm torn between giving this album one star for being complete rubbish, or the full five for its sheer chutzpah, so I've compromised on a rather measly two. This is possibly the weirdest album I've sat through over the last few years, although as listening experiences go, I've encountered an awful lot worse. At least Nightbird made me laugh in places, which is more than I can say for a few things I've run into... I can't honestly recommend this on musical grounds, but should you run into a copy cheap, it's probably worth it for the laugh and for its well over the top Mellotron.

Karat  (E. Germany)

Karat, 'Schwanenkönig' Karat, 'Schwanenkönig'

Schwanenkönig  (1980,  45.16)  ***/T

Tanz Mit der Sphinx
Mitternacht-Blues
Magisches Licht
Der Boxer
Le Doyen I
Das Narrenschiff
Tiefsee
Großstadt
Schwanenkönig
Le Doyen II

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

1980's Schwanenkönig was Karat's third album (second outside East Germany), as the West German Albatros (which I own) is apparently compiled from their first two LPs. Schwanenkönig (The Swan King) is a rather bitty effort, but then, the band were almost certainly constrained by their state-owned record company, the end result being rather middling rock with occasional proggy touches. Unsurprisingly, these constitute the album's highlights: the brief, instrumental string synth piece Le Doyen I, Tiefsee and Le Doyen II, other passable tracks including opener Tanz Mit Der Sphinx and cheesy synth ballad Magisches Licht.

Keys man Ulrich Ed Swillms plays Mellotron on Das Narrenschiff, with distant choirs during the all-keyboard instrumental section, followed by extremely upfront choirs, as if for contrast. This just scrapes three stars, frankly; for better East German prog, try Lift.

Official site

Leah Kardos  (UK)

Leah Kardos, 'Rococochet'

Rococochet  (2017,  33.23)  ****/TT½

Let Your Body
Ro Coco Shay
Cat's Eye

My Cumulus Veil
Malio Malio
Open
Little Phase
Somnia Dub

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Visconti Studio's M4000

Australian-born, British-based Leah Kardos is a classical pianist, I believe, whose third album, 2017's Rococochet, borders ambient for most of its length, gentle piano chiefly interspersed with saxophones, mallet percussion and her own Mellotron and synth parts, the only jarring note being Paul Glover's drums on opener Let Your Body and Open. Highlights are difficult to isolate, although perhaps My Cumulus Veil's subtle key changes feature her style at its apogee.

Leah plays Tony Visconti's new M4000, with distant string and choir parts on Let Your Body, Mellotron piano (!) doubling something and cello on Ro Coco Shay, along with a more 'standard' string part and clicky sax (?), distinct from Lara James' real saxes on several tracks and flute on Cat's Eye. Strangely, the album's Mellotron work seems to be clustered in its first third, unless I'm missing some particularly obscure sounds later on, or are those choir and string parts in the distant background on Open and Little Phase? Either way, a fine album.

Official site

J Karjalainen Electric Sauna  (Finland)  see: Samples etc.

Mary Karlzen  (US)  see: Samples etc.

Karmakanic  (Sweden)  see: Samples etc.

Mick Karn  (UK)

Mick Karn, 'Titles'

Titles  (1982,  34.39)  ***½/½

Tribal Dawn
Lost Affections in a Room
Passion in Moisture
Weather the Windmill
Saviour, Are You With Me?
Trust Me
Sensitive
Piper Blue

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Mick Karn (née Andonis Michaelides) released his first solo album a year after Japan's final gasp, Tin Drum (****), effectively carrying on in a similar vein, sparse instrumental textures overlaid with his ever-present hiccupping fretless bass. Although this is technically 'relaxed' music, Karn's bass work gives it a weird sense of edgy urgency, although the juxtaposition seems to work well enough. Difficult to pick out 'best' pieces, as, despite the gaps between tracks, the album works better as a unified whole, or rather, two unified wholes (?). Side one is instrumental, while side two is more 'song' based, featuring Karn's quite acceptable singing, although he lacks David Sylvian's Bowie-esque tones. Probably a good thing.

Very little Mellotron on the album; Karn puts some female choirs (?) onto Trust Me, but they almost have that 'Fairlight' sound about them, to be honest. As a result, avoid on the Mellotron front. If, however, you're a fan of Japan's quite unique thing, but you've never run into this before, give it a go. Oh and one bonus track on the CD, but I haven't heard it. Tragically, Karn died on January 4th, 2011, finally putting to rest any more 'Japan to reform' rumours.

Kasabian  (UK)

Kasabian, 'Kasabian'

Kasabian  (2004,  53.22)  **/TTT

Club Foot
Processed Beats
Reason is Treason
I.D.
Orange
L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)
Running Battle
Test Transmission
Pinch Roller
Cutt Off
Butcher Blues

Ovary Stripe
U Boat
Reason is Treason (Jacknife Lee Version)

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Leicester-based Kasabian (named for Manson Family member Linda Kasabian; tasteful, guys) appear to be one of UK indie's biggest successes of the 2000s, so it comes as no great surprise to find that their eponymous debut is, by and large, pretty awful. Low points? Most of it, particularly the pseudo-'baggy' (remember that?) drumming and sub-Oasisisms all over the place, although I.D.'s electronica isn't too terrible and I actually quite like the acoustic-ish U Boat.

Although I'm sure a friend who knows the band has told me they used Mellotron samples, it actually sounds pretty convincing on much of the album, although the grossly extended flute chord opening Club Foot isn't a good start. I presume Sergio Pizzorno (credited with 'synths') plays it, with more strings and flutes on Club Foot, while the solo string part a minute or so into I.D. not only wobbles convincingly, but has one note running flat, which is quite a trick when using samples. String swells in L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever) and Running Battle, phased strings on Test Transmission, more string swells in the provocatively-title Pinch Roller (a mechanical part of a Mellotron, for the uninitiated), flutes, strings (and vibes?) on Cutt Off (another Mellotron-related joke?) and an odd little flute part at the beginning of Butcher Blues, with strings later on, seem to complete the run-through, which isn't to say that I haven't missed something in the mix. Real? Although much of it's generic enough to be sampled, the odd parts I've commented on seem to indicate it's genuine. Still don't like the album, though.

Official site

See: Samples etc.

Tim Kasher  (US)

Tim Kasher, 'The Game of Monogamy'

The Game of Monogamy  (2010,  37.58)  ***/T½

Monogamy Overture
A Grown Man
I'm Afraid I'm Gonna Die Here
Strays
Cold Love
Surprise, Surprise
There Must Be Something I've Lost
Bad, Bad Dreams
No Fireworks
The Prodigal Husband

Monogamy

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Tim Kasher (also of Cursive and The Good Life) is an indie artist of some repute, apparently, his solo debut, 2010's The Game of Monogamy, being a passable enough effort within the genre. Strongest point? The lyrics, chiefly, although I've certainly heard far worse music in this field, better tracks including the gentle Strays and The Prodigal Husband.

Patrick Newbery plays Mellotron, with very wobbly and clicky choirs on I'm Afraid I'm Gonna Die Here, distant choirs on No Fireworks and a flute melody riding over more distant choirs on The Prodigal Husband. This is pretty much an 'indie fans only need apply' release, but it could be a great deal worse, while the Mellotron sounds like it might even be real.

Official site

See: Cursive | The Good Life

Kashmir  (Switzerland)

Kashmir, 'Je Suis...' Kashmir, 'Alarme!'

Je Suis...  [a.k.a. Alarme!]  (1979,  39.45)  ***/T½

Désert Bleu
Je Suis...
Alarme!
Linear
Far Away
Slowly
6 H 30
Go!

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Swiss duo Kashmir's Je Suis... (titled Alarme! elsewhere) is typical of progressive rock's gradual simplification in the late '70s, their sound akin to that country's Flame Dream, obvious influences including 10cc and Supertramp (listen to the Wurlitzer work on 6 H 30). For all that, it contains some good material, not least excellent synthy opener Désert Bleu, Linear and 6 H 30, although ten-minute closer Go! is actually a bit disappointing.

Patrice Guenat plays Mellotron, with volume-pedalled string chords and distant choirs on Alarme! itself and flute and string lines on Far Away, although the other massed voices and the strings on Go! are real. The band made one more album, '82's Histoire Cruelle, which apparently moves away from this album's sound, before disappearing into obscurity.

Kashmir  (Denmark)

Kashmir, 'Cruzential'

Cruzential  (1996/97,  44.04/52.43)  **½/½ (T½)

Vote 4 Dick Taid
Stand
Prawn's Blues
Bring Back Superman
Travelogue
Could We Kill Fred?
Dring
Star in My Movie
Gloom
Beamed
Lollypork Stomp
Victoria
Bag of Flash & Thyme
Kashmir, 'The Good Life'

The Good Life  (1999,  49.45)  ***/TTT

Mom in Love, Daddy in Space
Make it Grand
Lampshade
Graceland
It's OK Now
Miss You
New Year's Eve
Mudbath
Gorgeous
Kiss Me Goodbye
Kashmir, 'Home Dead'

Home Dead  (2001,  34.15)  **/T

Undisturbed
Home Dead
The Ghost of No One
Miss You (Slight Return)
Just a Phase
Mom in Love, Daddy in Space (opiate version)
Gorgeous (opiate version)

Current availability:

Mellotrons used:

Kashmir had the misfortune to call themselves Nirvana when they formed in 1991, clearly not having heard of the British band of the same name, never mind (ho ho) Seattle's finest, already one album into their brief but meteoric career. They entered a Danish 'battle of the bands'-style contest, DM i Rock, in '93, having the bad luck to find themselves up against Tim Christensen's mighty Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, although they still secured a contract with the local branch of Sony, releasing their debut, Travelogue, a year later.

They followed up with '96's Cruzential, a slightly unfocussed effort, veering between the 'alt.rock' of much of the album, the DML-alike Bring Back Superman, alt./psych crossover Dring and mournful acoustic closer Bag Of Flash & Thyme. The album certainly has its moments, but far too much of it's lost in a Seattle-wannabee haze of quiet/loud. Just to confuse the issue, it was reissued the following year with two extra tracks, both singles from that year, italicised in the tracklisting above. Mads Tunebjerg plays Mellotron on the original release, with background strings on Travelogue, another entrant in the 'title track to the previous album' stakes (see: Zeppelin's Houses Of The Holy on Physical Graffiti, or Queen's Sheer Heart Attack from News of the World, which bucks the trend by using the title from three albums earlier), but nothing obvious on Dring, despite a credit, while Kasper Eistrup adds it to both of the 'new' tracks, with background strings on Stand and nicely upfront flutes and strings on Gloom.

Three years later, Kashmir became one of the slew of Danish pop/rock acts to be produced by Tim Christensen, post-DML. 1999's The Good Life, is a perfectly respectable and fairly cheese-free collection of songs, although few of them are especially memorable and even fewer have even a hint of the power of Zeppelin's namesake epic. Saying that, closers Gorgeous and Kiss Me Goodbye both have their epic moments and little here makes you wish they'd left it in the can. Christensen also plays keys (along with Floyd's '80s/'90s live keys man Jon Carin), including Mellotron, with strings all over opener Mom In Love, Daddy In Space, Gorgeous and Kiss Me Goodbye, background choirs on the actually-rather-good It's OK Now and both on New Year's Eve, making for a nicely Mellotron-heavy effort, as you'd expect when Tim gets his teeth between the bit.

Despite being the length of a short '70s album, 2001's Home Dead is classed as an EP, containing remixes of three tracks from The Good Life and four new tracks of post-rockish intent, none of which really stand out in any way. Henrik Lindstrand plays Mellotron, with cellos and some of the best-recorded Mellotron vibes I've ever heard on Miss You (Slight Return), although Christensen's Mellotron parts on the original versions of Mom In Love, Daddy In Space and Gorgeous are missing.

See: Tim Christensen

Katatonia  (Sweden)  see: Samples etc.

Tokiko Kato  (Japan)

Tokiko Kato, 'Kono Yo ni Umarete Kitara'

Kono Yo ni Umarete Kitara  (1974,  41.49)  **½/T

Konoyo ni Umarete Kitara
Omae no Jinsei
Tada Hitokoto Kare ni Tsutaetai
Kuro no Funauta
Muyonosuke
Iku Jidai ka ga Arimashite
Anata no Kehai
Asa no Shokuji
Kedarui Warutsu
Kosodate Jizo
Teneshi Warutsu
Haiiro no Hitomi

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Tokiko Kato is a singer/composer/actress, whose second album, 1974's Kono Yo ni Umarete Kitara, combines mainstream pop and balladry, with the occasional curveball thrown in. Better tracks? The vaguely bluesy Kuro No Funauta and the balladic Iku Jidai Ka Ga Arimashite and Kosodate Jizo, everything else being pretty forgettable.

At some point over the last decade or two, I've obviously been given some information about this album, including the possibility that it's Jun Fukamachi on Mellotron, not that there's much of it, merely background choirs on the opening title track and flutes on Kuro No Funauta, distinct from the real flute heard elsewhere. I can't honestly recommend this, but if you feel the need to hear it, it's on YouTube under the title If You Have Been Born Into This World.

Kazuhiko Katoh  (Japan)

Kazuhiko Katoh, 'Belle Excentrique'

Belle Excentrique  (1981,  30.49)  ***/TTT

Scandale de Mme Rothchild
Gigi, la Danseuse
Bar Américain

Diaghilev, l'Homme-Orchestre
Les Nuits Folles de l'Hotel Negresco
Masque Rose de Mme M
Trocadèro
Je Connaissais Jean Cocteau
Adieu, Mon Amour
Je Te Veux

Current availability:

Chamberlin used:

Kazuhiko Katoh (1947-2009, of the Sadistic Mika Band, also transliterated as Kato) was a Japanese singer/songwriter/producer, whose seventh solo release, 1981's Belle Excentrique, could possibly best be described as 'Nippo-Gallic' in its wholesale appropriation of French imagery and musical styles. The end result, while something of a stylistic mish-mash, is actually very listenable, at its best on the fiddle-led Gigi, La Danseuse and the semi-progressive Je Connaissais Jean Cocteau.

This is one of two known tape-replay credits for the legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto, in this case, a Chamberlin, probably an older, two-manual version, recorded at Le Chateau in Paris. He really goes for it on several tracks, with an upfront flute part and strings on opener Scandale De Mme Rothchild, background strings on Gigi, La Danseuse, what sounds like rhythm tapes, vibes and a clarinet solo on Bar Américain and chordal strings on Masque Rose De Mme M and Je Connaissais Jean Cocteau, five of the six tracks on which he's credited.

Katrin  (US)  see: Samples etc.

Katzenjammer  (Norway)

Katzenjammer, 'Le Pop'

Le Pop  (2008,  40.27)  ***/T

Overture
A Bar in Amsterdam
Tea With Cinnamon
Hey Ho on The Devil's Back
Virginia Clemm
Le Pop
Der Kapitän
Wading in Deeper
Play My Darling, Play
To the Sea
Mother Superior
Ain't No Thang
Katzenjammer, 'A Kiss Before You Go'

A Kiss Before You Go  (2011,  40.55)  ***/½

A Kiss Before You Go
I Will Dance (When I Walk Away)
Cherry Pie
Land of Confusion
Lady Marlene
Rock-Paper-Scissors
Cocktails and Ruby Slippers
Soviet Trumpeter
Loathsome M
Shepherd's Song
Gypsy Flee
God's Great Dust Storm

Current availability:

Mellotrons used:

Katzenjammer are an all-female Norwegian quartet, whose music reflects its members' interests in various folk forms, including Balkan and French chanson, amongst other styles. They win extra Planet Mellotron brownie points for using a contrabass balalaika onstage, which really has to be seen to be believed. Their debut album, 2008's Le Pop, sounds like the above, with a noticeable sea-shanty influence thrown in, making for a raucous, fun album that I can imagine going down well at, oh, a pirate party, maybe? I shall inform the Pirate Party UK, or possibly Mad Cap'n Tom. The Mellotron's played by Anne Marit Bergheim and our old friend Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim, with strings on Virginia Clemm and Der Kapitän, although nothing that overt, sadly.

2011's A Kiss Before You Go isn't dissimilar to its predecessor, to the point where fans of that album are almost certain to go for this one, too, top tracks including the upbeat I Will Dance (When I Walk Away), the mildly deranged Cocktails And Ruby Slippers and the largely-a capella closer God's Great Dust Storm. Despite three credited Mellotron tracks (from Bergheim again, Marianne Sveen and Solveig Heilo), the only obvious use is the strings on Soviet Trumpeter, complete with extremely authentic wobble, leaving nothing audible on either the opening title track or Lady Marlene.

Official site

Kaukasus  (Norway/Sweden)

Kaukasus, ''I''

'I'  (2014,  47.22)  ****/TT½

The Ending of the Open Sky
Lift the Memory
In the Stillness of Time

Starlit Motion
Reptilian
The Witness
The Skies Give Meaning
Kaukasus, 'To Give' download  (2020)  ***½/TT

To Give

Current availability:

Mellotron(s) used:

Kaukasus are a Norwegian/Swedish trio featuring both Rhys Marsh and Mattias Olsson (Änglagård, a hundred others), whose debut, 'I', reminds me of No-Man and other Tim Bowness projects; think: 'Scott Walker goes art-prog' and you won't be a million miles off the mark. The album shifts between the heavy-duty prog of its opening tracks, The Ending Of The Open Sky and Lift The Memory, the artier likes of In The Stillness Of Time and the flute-driven Starlit Motion and the superior 'crescendo rock' of closer The Skies Give Meaning, other stylistic pointers including Japan (albeit only slightly) and Talk Talk.

Marsh and Olsson both play Mellotron, with strings on The Ending Of The Open Sky and In The Stillness Of Time, raucous brass on Lift The Memory, overt strings and wobbly flutes on Reptilian and background strings on The Skies Give Meaning, often using it with considerable subtlety, in direct comparison with some of their contemporaries. A common feature of albums labelled I, 1, First or similar is how often they end up being a band's sole testament; let's hope the member of Kaukasus, busy though they are, make the time to work together again.

[Several years on] Well, that hope's been realised in a minimal kind of way by the download-only release of a single track, To Give, in a similar vein to the album, Mattias playing upfront Mellotron strings throughout. More please, chaps!

See: Rhys Marsh | Änglagård

Sada Sat Kaur  (US)

Sada Sat Kaur, 'Angels' Waltz'

Angels' Waltz  (2003,  68.31)  **½/T

Angels' Waltz
Adi Shakti
Guru Guru Wahe Guru
Bolo Ram
Ra Ma Da Sa
Bhaja Man Mere

Current availability:

Chamberlin used:

Sada Sat Kaur is American, although her original name seems to be lost in the mists of time. Born in the late '40s, a brief scene in Woodstock caught her attention, leading to her becoming a convert to Sikhism, although it took a chance meeting with producer Jeremy Toback for her to consider actually recording her take on that culture's sacred chants at the relatively advanced age of fifty-six. Said debut, 2003's Angels' Waltz, bears vague comparison with many Christian albums, in that it's more about a form of worship than the actual music per se; thankfully, it's far better than said tragic excuses for albums, which isn't to say that it's necessarily a wonderful listen.

Each track on the album seems to be based around a different instrument (bottleneck guitar on Adi Shakti, piano on Guru Guru Wahe Guru, pedal steel on Ra Ma Da Sa and Bhaja Man Mere), the opening title track heavily featuring Zac Rae's (Macy Gray, Lisa Marie Presley, many others) Chamberlin, with a string part running right through the twelve-minute piece. Generally speaking, if long-format, repetitive, trance-inducing Indian music with a Western bent floats your boat, you may well love this, although the rest of us should probably approach with caution. Kaur's other alleged tape-replay record, 2005's Shashara, turns out to feature nothing more than samples.

See: Samples etc.

Kaveret  [a.k.a. Poogy]  (Israel)

Kaveret, 'Poogy in a Pita'

Poogy in a Pita  (1974,  33.06)  **/T

Natati La Cha'yay
Moshe Ken, Moshe Loh
Ochel Ta'Tzipornayim
L'amour et la Vie
Sookar Ba'Teh
Hora He'achzoot
Ha'Tamnoon Ha'Iter
Shir Ha'Mechiron
Shir Mecha'ah
Ha'Balada Al Ari Veh'Derchi

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

For some utterly unknown reason the perfectly well-named Kaveret (Beehive) opted to ridiculously rename themselves Poogy when they played abroad, clearly in the mistaken belief that it would travel better. 1974's Poogy in a Pita was their second album (of three), containing (as with many Israeli albums of the period) folk-influenced pop, with a slightly unwelcome 'comedy' edge that was only ever going to work for Hebrew speakers.

Vocalist Danny Sanderson and keyboard player Yonatan (Yoni) Rechter play Mellotron, with flutes and background strings on Ha'Balada Al Ari Veh'Derchi (The Ballad Of Arivederchi), although that would appear to be your lot, with nothing extra on the CD's bonus tracks. I think you'd have to be seriously into Israeli pop to really get anything out of this album; I'm sure it does what it does well, but from a Western European viewpoint, it's almost impossible to tell. One decent Mellotron track, anyway.

John Kay  (Canada)

John Kay, 'My Sportin' Life'

My Sportin' Life  (1973,  37.27)  **½/T

Moonshine (Friend of Mine)
Nobody Lives Here Anymore
Drift Away
Heroes and Devils
My Sportin' Life
Easy Evil
Giles of the River
Dance to My Song
Sing With the Children

Current availability:

Mellotron (or Chamberlin) used:

Born in Germany, Joachim Fritz "John Kay" Krauledat moved to Canada in his teens, becoming vocalist with the future Steppenwolf in 1965, playing with them, on and off, up to the present day. After the original band's dissolution in 1972, Kay began a solo career, releasing two albums before the band reformed for 1974's truly appalling Slow Flux. The second of these, 1973's My Sportin' Life, must've horrified Steppenwolf fans, being essentially a country album, the only recognisable track being his version of Dobie Gray's soft rock classic Drift Away (believe me, you'll know it when you hear it), while the one sop here for Steppenwolf fans is lengthy blues-rock closer Sing With The Children.

Someone, possibly famed 'Wrecking Crew' member Larry Knechtel, plays a tape-replay instrument on Giles Of The River, with a pseudo-orchestral string part that may or may not be the result of a relatively limited budget. Generally speaking, unless you're a fan of that soft rock/country crossover thing, you really aren't going to like this very much, although it's perfectly well done, so with a sole Mellotron/Chamberlin track, I'd have to advise you against.

Official Steppenwolf site

Kayak  (Netherlands)

Kayak, 'See See the Sun'

See See the Sun  (1973,  48.10)  ****/TTT½

Reason for it All
Lyrics
Mouldy Wood
Lovely Luna
Hope for a Life
Ballet of the Cripple
Forever is a Lonely Thought
Mammoth
See See the Sun
Kayak, 'Kayak'

Kayak  [a.k.a. Kayak II]  (1974,  36.29)  ****/TTT½

Alibi
Wintertime
Mountain Too Rough
They Get to Know Me
Serenades
Woe and Alas
Mireille
Trust in the Machine

His Master's Noise
Kayak, 'Royal Bed Bouncer'

Royal Bed Bouncer  (1975,  38.16)  ****/TT½

Royal Bed Bouncer
Life of Gold
(You're So) Bizarre
Bury the World
Chance for a Lifetime
If This is Your Welcome
Moments of Joy
Patricia Anglaia
Said No Word
My Heart Never Changed
Kayak, 'The Last Encore'

The Last Encore  (1976,  41.35)  ***½/T½

Back to the Front
Nothingness
Love of a Victim
Land on the Water
The Last Encore
Do You Care
Still My Heart Cries for You
Relics From a Distant Age
Love Me Tonight/Get on Board
Evocation

Raid Your Own House
Well Done
Kayak, 'Starlight Dancer'

Starlight Dancer  (1977,  42.37)  ***/T½

Daughter or Son
Starlight Dancer
Want You to Be Mine
Letdown
Irene
Golddust
May
Turn the Tide
Dead Bird Flies Forever
Sweet Revenge
Where Do We Go From Here?

Current availability:

Mellotrons used:

Along with Earth & Fire, Kayak were the Netherlands' chief exponents of progressive pop, or song-based progressive rock; no real epics, but mostly interesting song structures. Like all such, they shifted further towards the mainstream by the late '70s, but their first few albums are definitely worth hearing. See See the Sun is classic Kayak, with proggier material like Mouldy Wood rubbing shoulders with more mainstream fare such as Lyrics (a hit in the Netherlands, I believe). Incidentally, this particular song leads to some confusion, with some copies of the album stating 'includes Lyrics' on the sleeve, only for you to find out it both doesn't and does, all at the same time.

Although most of the keys were played by Ton Scherpenzeel, when the band bought their Mellotron, it was decided that vocalist Max Werner (nicknamed 'Werlerofzoiets', meaning 'something like Werner'; in-jokes, eh?) would play it most of the time, in between his vocal duties. I think I'm right in saying that Werner actually started life as a drummer, then shifted across to the mic when they realised he had the best voice in the band. Anyway, in an interview I saw with Scherpenzeel a few years ago, he said that they'd hoped their Mellotron would make it sound like they were being backed by an orchestra; of course, it 'just' sounded like they were being backed by a Mellotron and, once they got their heads round that fact, they ran with it. See See the Sun has track-by-track credits, although you don't need them to hear Werner's upfront Mellotron strings on six of the nine tracks. None of them stand out particularly from the others, but the Mellotron use is good all round, making this well worth it on the Mellotron front.

Confusingly, Kayak is actually their second LP, every bit as good as their debut, with more classically-influenced songwriting, particularly Wintertime. Mountain Too Rough reminds me of their countrymen Trace, in places, although their first LP only came out the same year. It's actually a more 'progressive' album than its predecessor, with two of the band's longest tracks in They Get To Know Me and Trust In The Machine, so this may be a good place to start for the confirmed proghead. There's a bit of change on the Mellotron front, with a solo flute part in the lengthy-ish They Get To Know Me, also the album's Mellotronic highlight, superb strings closing the song. Woe And Alas also has a great string part, the other Mellotron tracks still having quite overt use.

Royal Bed Bouncer's opening title track is probably the catchiest thing the band (or rather, Scherpenzeel) ever wrote, not to mention one of their wittiest lyrics, particularly as they were writing in their second language. Nothing much over the five-minute mark here, but the songwriting's still well up to scratch, if possibly just a touch more mainstream. Werner's Mellotron is noticeably further in the background, though, although it's still present on half the tracks, the most overt use on Said No Word; watch for the real strings on a couple of tracks, though. The Last Encore carries on the work of its predecessors, although things are definitely more mainstream this time round; more and shorter songs, although there's still some interesting tracks here and there, notably Nothingness, with its excellent vocal arrangements and Relics From A Distant Age. Even less Mellotron (this time played by both Werner and Scherpenzeel), although Do You Care features choir and that must be Mellotron brass on Get On Board, both for the first time on a Kayak album, but, once again, some of the strings are real.

Starlight Dancer still has its moments, though Kayak's onward march to mainstream acceptance continued apace. In other words, although their style hadn't changed that radically since See See the Sun, most of the 'progressiveness' seems to have been knocked out of them somewhere along the line. About the best track is the instrumental, Irene, leaving the bulk of the material merely average, although there's nothing as hopeless as The Last Encore's Love Me Tonight/Get On Board, which is a blessing of sorts. Very little Mellotron this time, although Irene has a symphonic strings part and Dead Bird Flies Forever has a decent enough strings intro, leaving the album's Mellotron highlight as closer Where Do We Go From Here?, with a solid strings backdrop.

Official site

See: Ton Scherpenzeel | Max Werner

Kayo Dot  (US)  see: Samples etc.

Tom Kazas  (Australia)

Tom Kazas, 'Book of Saturday'

Book of Saturday  (1993,  69.12)  ***½/½

Running Towards Dawn
Lament
Eastern Expanse
Across Oceans
Theme for a Future City
From Tall Cliffs
Paparounes
A Thousand Blossoms
Someday That is Saturday
Vision of Serenity
On Endless Nights
Mediterranean Move
A Water Cycle
Tom Kazas, 'Saint or Fool'

Saint or Fool  (1997,  53.40)  **½/T

Something Sacred
Through the Eye of a Dragonfly
Driving to the Airport
Garden of Fascination
Nothing at All
The Ball
While I Sleep
The Washing Tide
Day Like Today
Not a Fever
The Wednesday Song
Tom Kazas, 'Telemetry'

Telemetry  (2003,  46.02)  ***/TT

The First Minute...
Into the Fathomless
Reinvention
Always Have to Choose
Life on Earth
She's From Fornax
The Enlightenment Machine

Complexity in Zoom
End as Beginning
Storms to Wash From
A New Era
The Last Minute...
Tom Kazas, 'Fleeting Eternities'

Fleeting Eternities  (2006,  48.06)  ***/T

Civil Time
You Are Sky
Search All You Like
My Piano Played Winter
Fault Report
Long Near Far Short
Into the Empyrean
Katharsis
The Ache
Asymptoting
Post Utopian Pause

Current availability:

Mellotrons used:

Tom Kazas is probably best known as leader of '80s Aussie psychonauts The Moffs, although he's run a subsequent solo career for over thirty years at the time of writing. For anyone in doubt that he uses an actual Mellotron, here's a quote from a website written by a chap who got to do some demos with Kazas, commenting on the contents of his studio: "...he has an original mellotron!" So there you go.

Is 1993's Book of Saturday named in honour of the King Crimson song? Its sleeve has a distinctly Crimsoid look to it, but the album bears little comparison with Bob'n'the boys. It's a lengthy instrumental set, incorporating material more rhythmic (opener Running Towards Dawn, Theme For A Future City) and less (almost everything else), highlights including the nine-minute Eastern Expanse, the Japanese-sounding A Thousand Blossoms and the sparse On Endless Nights. Did I say 'no Crimson connection'? Calling a track Lament's a bit of a giveaway, not to mention Vision Of Serenity, which could be the most relaxed end of Crimso. Kazas adds exceedingly background Mellotron choirs to Mediterranean Move, in a 'don't bother' kind of way.

1997's Saint or Fool is something of a curate's egg, better material including opener Something Sacred, the 'very psychedelic' Through The Eye Of A Dragonfly, Garden Of Fascination and Not A Fever, although several tracks fall into the 'dreary and overlong' category, sad to say, not least the faux-Britpop of Day Like Today. Kazas adds background Mellotron strings to While I Sleep; while it's possible it's on another track or two, this is the only one for which I'm actually prepared to put my (essentially non-existent) reputation on the line. 1999's Music From... The Wound is a soundtrack album to a theatrical piece exploring the Greek-Australian experience, Kazas contributing no fewer than nine tracks out of fifteen, although, despite a credit, the nearest this gets to a Mellotron seems to be the background strings on opener Gift Or Curse.

2003's Telemetry is more song-based 'quiet end of indie' than anything, the nearest it gets to an outstanding feature being Kazas' distinctive baritone, better material including Reinvention, The Enlightenment Machine and brief, instrumental closer The Last Minute... Mellotron on several tracks, with a background string line on Reinvention, distant strings on Life On Earth, flute and string lines (with pitchbend) on She's From Fornax, more pitchbent strings on The Enlightenment Machine and watery strings on Storms To Wash From. 2006's Fleeting Eternities is another instrumental album, bordering ambient in places, at its probable best on the beautiful My Piano Played Winter, Into the Empyrean and The Ache. Only two obvious Mellotron tracks, with background flute lines on Search All You Like and The Ache, although it's possible it's hidden away in the mix elsewhere.

Official site

See: Moffs

Phil Keaggy  (US)

Phil Keaggy, 'Crimson & Blue'

Crimson & Blue  (1993,  69.40)  **/T

Shouts of Joy
World of Mine
Everywhere I Look
Love Divine
Reunion of Friends
All There is to Know
When Will I Ever Learn to Live With God
Stone Eyes
I Will Be There
Don't Pass Me By
John the Revelator
Doin' Nothin'
Nothing But the Blood

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Even more CCM from Nick Hewitt.

This threatened to be terrible. Phil Keaggy, as well as issuing his own albums, also appears as a session musician/singer on innumerable other albums by a wide variety of other artists. These, in turn, are of quite variable quality, ranging from average down to toe-curling, knuckle-chewing, gut-stirring, vomit-inducing crap. This, however, is tending towards the average, but with an additional dose of plagiarism.

I don't think Mr Keaggy knows WHAT he is, if you have to attach titles of genre to an individual musician. Listening to this, you can quite clearly hear a number of styles that makes you think, "Hey, that's Cream", on Don't Pass Me By, John The Revelator and Doin' Nothin. It gets worse on Love Divine as it's so like The Beatles' All My Lovin' and the fact that Reunion Of Friends has also got both We Can Work It Out AND Hello Goodbye in it must also be pointed out. It is possible that Keaggy simply re-worked that style of music into the CCM canon and hoped that no one noticed. WRONG!

To be fair, Phil Keaggy IS trying to be different from other CCM artists. The trouble is, on the strength of this opus, he's doing it by copying other people's/bands' styles. This probably only works if no one spots it, but if you get reviewed by a confirmed train-spotter like me, then you're heading for a bit of a mauling. But I'm not going to do that. Well, not much! He does make a genuine attempt to 'do his own thing' and to be a bit inventive, which is where Keaggy gets most of the asterisks in his rating. Applying the Beatles and Cream styles to CCM is new to me, but I don't profess to listen to a great deal of CCM. I only hear what my wife puts on the stereo (which is where this review copy came from). He and whatever musicians he has around him at the time, performs competently, if not spectacularly. As well as 'copying' the styles noted above, the rest of the material is mid-paced 'rock', if I must apply some sort of comparison. He makes an attempt at something a little 'harder' on Shouts Of Joy, but it quickly loses any doominess and reverts to something a little happier, which seems a little self-contradictory. One nice experiment is a large chunk of Hendrix-esque solo rhythm guitar on Nothing But The Blood, which surprisingly works. You, however, may regard this as sacrilege. Fair Do's!

Mellotron, on the tracks noted above, is supplied by John Painter, a.k.a. John Mark Painter, who has played Mellotron under the latter appellation. (See Susan Ashton's eponymous album) It is used so sparingly on World Of Mine you can barely hear it. It's a different kettle of fish on I Will Be There, where it's part of the background rhythm. It's subtle and, in my view, effective, considering the slight C&W tinge present in the song.

It's CCM, so don't touch it. Similarly, there's not enough Mellotron in it, so please leave it alone!

Nick Hewitt

Official site


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