01	Kali						06:27
	02	Mahatama						06:00
	03	Over The Wall						04:01
	04	The Caravan From Sheeba						04:15
	05	Birka						05:03
	06	Lop Nor						04:35
	07	Dervish Dreams						06:28
	08	Golgonda						04:27
	09	Gates Of Oneiron						05:45
	10	Chandrika						03:17
	11	Walking On Clouds						06:08

In the Labyrinth: Walking on Clouds
Sweden 1999

Peter Lindahl, flutes, mellotron, guitars, mandolin, viola da gamba, zither, saz, shehnai, bass, percussion, vocals, samples, effects;
Hakan Almkvist, sitar, tablas, electric guitar, bass, tapes, radio, effects;
with
Kirk Chilton, violin;
Ismet Demirhan, woodwinds;
Sven Lindahl, cornet;
Micke Lovroth, violin;
Fereidoun Nadimi, darbouka, recitation;
Miriam Oldenburg, accordion;
Stefan Ottman, recitation;
Helena Selander, vocals;
Anders Victorsson, vocals

Brandon Wu:
While perhaps lacking in the department of rhythmic complexity and pure instrumental virtuosity, In the Labyrinth's second release should appeal to progressive fans by merit of its masterful meshing of Western rock music and various diverse world musics, mostly Middle-Eastern and North Indian. This is truly atmospheric symphonic rock, attaining a rare level of mysticism and exoticism by blending native instruments with beautifully expressive melodies. The music most often explores somber yet hopeful and upbeat themes, never becoming dark and never becoming overly heavy or "rockish".
The varied instrumentation is really the focus of the album: sitars, zithers, and some other very ethnic-sounding string instruments prevail among a slew of sounds from the likes of tablas, flutes (wood flutes perhaps?), hand percussion, and so on, all of it anchored by some very prominent low-end bass. Vocals in English are present, but for the most part are tasteful and accent-free. I feel they detract somewhat from a couple pieces ("Over the Wall" and "Dervish Dreams"), but they are sparse enough that they don't bother me in any other songs. That said, easily the highlight of the disc is the instrumental trio of "Caravan From Sheeba", "Birka", and "Lop Nor", all of which run together as one piece. Here, the band's sense of adventurous atmosphere reaches a peak, moving from the romantic melodicism of "Caravan" to the more ethnic and exotic "Birka" to the almost conventionally symphonic and almost menacing "Lop Nor". A fantastic journey.
Though I cite those three tracks as the strongest, virtually every single track here is a gem, a fascinating trip through exotic lands. While those that require some element of weirdness and experimentation in their music may be disappointed, since the appeal of Walking on Clouds is more in the orchestration and textural diversity than anything else, I'd heartily recommend this to anyone that likes symphonic rock tinged with folk and world influences. This is one of the most pleasant surprises I've heard in a while.


In The Labyrinth - Walking On Clouds

Released: 1999
Label: TonArtProductions (TAP)
(dist: Record Heaven)
Cat. No.: TAP/RHCD 21
Total Time: 56:34


Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, June 2003
Sweden's In The Labyrinth are multi-instrumentalist Peter Lindahl (flutes, mellotron, guitars, mandolin, viola da gamba, zither, saz, shehnai, bass, percussion, vocals, samplers and "fx") with a variety of guests including fellow multi-instrumentalist Hakan Almkvist (sitar, tablas, electric guitar, bass, tapes, radio and fx). Walking On Clouds is the second CD by the group, whose members have changed over the years aside from the one constant, Lindahl.

In 1997, Lindahl and his wife had traveled to India; the music on the album reflects that trip as the arrangements and instruments used clearly indicate. It is a mix of instrumental and vocal pieces, where each of the album's 11 tracks has a descriptive introduction from Lindahl. The inclination is to refer to the rhythms and arrangements as Middle Eastern, but that isn't true, since India is, in fact, part of Asia and not the Middle East. But, influences being what they are, it is not surprising that there are similarities - and from which way across the border, I can't say. The Northwestern portion of India borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, countries that are considered part of the Middle East. But, short of spending time writing lecture on history and geography, let's just talk about the music.

Musically the pieces range from the upbeat, swirling darkness of "Kali" (the black, three-eyed goddess "who rules seemingly ruthlessly over the wild, bustling city of Calcutta" writes Lindahl) to the mostly mid-tempo, danceable rhythm of "Mahatma" (dedicated to Mohandas Gandhi) and "Gates On Oneiron" (meaning "gates to the dream-world," roughly, says Lindhal) to the calm, peaceful and gentle "Over The Wall" (about the Himalayas) to the austere "The Caravan From Sheeba," which sounds as if it could be part of a movie score, as it has the feel of an overture. In between we travel to the dark "Lop Nor (The Wandering Lake)" for some sharp guitar soloing and the sweet, dramatic sound of violins, and travel through the even darker "Dervish Dreams." Oddly enough, "Golgonda" (an Indian wine) has a bit of a Scottish Celtic sound to it, where their seems to be bagpipes, but, of course, there aren't. Otherwise, this piece is atmospheric, where the rhythmic percussion that has dominated the release so far is absent. Sounds of, perhaps, a street market can be heard in the background. The title track, "Walking On Clouds" falls somewhere in between being both atmospheric (as clouds might suggest) with soft but firm (if that makes sense) percussion (as walking might suggest).

Anyone who appreciates the mid-to-late period work by Tangerine Dream will find much to enjoy here. What might also come to mind, as it did for me every once in a while, was George Harrison's "Within You, Without You" (Sgt. Peppers) though in the first track, I thought a little bit of Pink Floyd's "Eclipse" (Dark Side Of The Moon) in the soft vocals and phrasing of Lindahl -- of course, with an Indian motif. The vocal pieces do hark back, a bit, to a more psychedelic late 60s, especially given Lindahl's singing voice, but then many artists were dabbling in "eastern mysticism," The Beatles at the feet of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi being one example.

Helping Lindahl create this rich suite of music that is both smooth and textured, and extremely inviting are Kirk Chilton and Micke Lovroth on violin, Ismet Demirhan on woodwinds, Sven Lindahl on cornett, Fereidoun Nadimi on darbouka and recitation, Miriam Oldenburg on accordion, Stefan Ottman providing additional recitation, Helena Selander and Anders Victorssen on background vocals -- all combining to transport you to a different world.

Rating: 4.5/5

More about Walking On Clouds:

Track Listing: Kali (6:28) / Mahatma (6:08) / Over The Wall (3:58) / The Caravan From Sheeba (4:16) / Birka (5:03) / Lop Nor (The Wandering Lake) (4:33) / Dervish Dreams (6:29) / Golgonda (4:27) / Gates Of Oneiron (5:46) / Chandrika (3:17) / Walking On Clouds (6:09)

Musicians:
Peter Lindahl - flutes, mellotron, guitars, mandolin, viola da gamba, zither, saz, shehnai, bass, percussion, vocals, samplers and "fx"
Hakan Almkvist - sitar, tablas, electric guitar, bass, tapes, radio and fx
Kirk Chilton - violin
Micke Lovroth - violin
Ismet Demirhan - woodwinds
Sven Lindahl - cornet
Fereidoun Nadimi - darbouka and recitation
Miriam Oldenburg - accordion
Stefan Ottman - recitation
Helena Selander - background vocals
Anders Victorssen - background vocals

Contact:

Website: www.inthelabyrinth.com
Note: will open new browser window

Discography

The Garden Of Mysteries (1996)
Walking On Clouds (1999)
Dryad (2002)




"In Kali ghat temple
The worshiped black godess
has everything under control
The pandals of Durga will float
on the Hooghly
And into the bay of Bengal"

From Kali


WALKING ON CLOUDS
TAP/RHCD 21
The second CD release by In The Labyrinth
Peter Lindahl: Mellotron, flutes, acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, zither, saz, bass, viola da gamba, synthesizers & samplers, shehnai, tamboura, percussion, vocals, background harmonies, soundeffects, radio & voices.
Hakan Almkvist: Sitar, tabla, electric guitar, bass, radio & soundeffects.
Helena Selander: Background harmonies & vocal improvisation.
Miriam Oldenburg: Piano accordion.
Stefan Ottman: Narration & voices.
Ismet Demirhan: Ney & mey.
Kirk Chilton: Violin.
Micke Lovroth: Violin.
Fereidoun Nadimi: Darbouka & narration.
Sven Lindahl: Cornett.
Anders Victorson: Background harmonies.

01 Kali
02 Mahatma
03 Over the wall
04 The caravan from Sheeba
05 Birka
06 Lop Nor (The wandering lake)
07 Dervish dreams
08 Golgonda
09 Gates of Oneiron
10 Chandrika
11 Walking on clouds

Playing time 56:34 minutes

All music & lyrics by P. Lindahl except 06 & 09: P. Lindahl / S. Ottman & 10: H. Almkvist

Early in 1997, Hakan Almkvist (who Peter Lindahl had started to connect with through his dealings with APM) got himself lost in the labyrinth too. From there on they had a bit of a partnership going between them. The next ITL album was released in 1999 by Hakan's newly started company TAP and was distributed by Record Heaven. It was titled Walking on clouds. Because of the involvement of Hakan in the project and as a result of an extensive journey which Peter and his wife made to India in late 1997, Walking on clouds may reflect some of the atmospheres present on the subcontinent. Peter wrote lyrics about, among other items, the hindu godesses Kali and Durga, about the Himalayas and the notorious yeti. They used quite a lot of sound effects on the album, most of them originating from India though some came from elsewhere. For the most, Hakan and Peter were focused on the Hindu thing and ususally on upbeat material. They allowed for an increase of vocals and tried to get in as many supplementary musicians as possible, as long as it enhanced the sound and the over-all feeling.

Sagarmatha

Also in 1999, one In The Labyrinth track called Sagarmatha appeared on an Italian, psychedelic compilation called Floralia vol. 3 (Wot4CD99003). The company behind this release was Mizmaze in coallition with a Dutch distributer by the name of Wot 4 records.The musicians who took part in the sessions were:
Peter Lindahl, Hakan Almkvist, Helena Selander & Stefan Ottman.
The main theme of the song, which is clearly inspired by the Indian raga, builds on an improvisation made by Peter back in the early seventies. Sagarmatha is Nepalese for Mt Everest.

Kali


Track one on Walking on clouds was also included on a sampler let out by Record Heaven in 1999.