Chasing The Monsoon – No Ordinary World (Immrama Records, 2019)
Chasing The Monsoon is a superb crossover project that brings together an exciting mix of musical genres, including superbly constructed progressive rock, mesmerizing and dreamy ambient electronic atmospheres, edgy trip hop, evocative Celtic sounds and a rich palette of world music rhythms and chants. The project’s name is based on a book of the same name written by Alexander Frater.
The project was envisioned by Karnataka’s multi-instrumentalist Ian Jones and producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Steve Evans. No Ordinary World features a mix of exquisite, poetic lead male vocals and Enya-style ethereal female vocals and captivating chorus chanting.
Influences include Pink Floyd, Karnataka, Jon Anderson, One Giant Leap, British progressive rock band Solstice, and Deep Forest.
The lineup includes Ian Jones on bass, keyboards, guitars, programming; Steve Evans on keyboards, vocals, drums, programming; Ian Simmons on electric and acoustic guitars; Karnataka’s Lisa Fury on vocals. Guests include Nightwish’s Troy Donockley on flute, whistles and uilleann pipe; and Enrico Pinna on guitar.
No Ordinary World is masterfully recorded and orchestrated, a finely crafted progressive music crossover album with beautiful artwork.