Caamora represents the partnership of Clive Nolan and Agnieszka Swita in a lavish and creative
collaboration. They provide the artistic nucleus to an extravagant and imaginative musical experience.
One of the most ambitious and difficult projects that keyboard wizard Clive Nolan worked on was without any doubt the musical rock opera "She". It cannot be compared to any project he did before with Pendragon, Arena, Shadowland or Strangers On A Train. Of course, we are very curious to know what the maestro himself has to tell about the Caamora project.
CLIVE NOLAN
Clive Nolan (Born 30 June 1961) is a British musician, composer and producer who has played a prominent role in the recent development of progressive and symphonic rock. He was a pupil at
Wycliffe College and King's School, Gloucester. He completed his B. Mus and M. Mus degrees at London University where he studied composition, orchestration and conducting. He has been the regular keyboard player in Pendragon (1986-present), Shadowland (1992-present), Strangers on a Train (1993-1994), Arena (1995-present) and Caamora (2006-present) as well as writing music and lyrics for Arena, Shadowland, Caamora and numerous other projects.
Nolan is the founder member of The Caamora Theatre Company formed to produce and perform the
Clive Nolan musicals. The premiere of 'She' took place in Katowice Wyspianski Theatre in Poland in October 2007. Subsequently, full theatrical performances of 'She' were performed in January 2010 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, followed by the eight-man 'She in Concert' variation in Holland in September 2011. In February 2012 theatrical version of 'She' debuted in the UK in Cheltenham Playhouse Theatre. He was voted Best Keyboard Player by Classic Rock Society in the years: 1995, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2011.
AGNIESZKA SWITA
Agnieszka’s musical journey began with guitar lessons at the age seven. By the age of nine she had already written her first song titled Epilogue. Her musical development continued with singing lessons
at the Institute of Music in Lublin University, Poland. Later, Agnieszka would become involved in the world-renowned Leszek Madzik’s Visual and Provisorium Theatres in Lublin. Her early fascination with rock music led to Agnieszka fronting her first band, Clemency. Influenced by new wave, progressive and gothic rock, the band’s success in Lublin resulted in airplay on the local radio stations and Agnieszka’s first live rock performances.
Clive and Agnieszka first met in February 2005. They gelled immediately and discussed the possibility
of working together. In March, Agnieszka returned to the UK from her homeland of Poland, and recorded some material with Clive. This included what became the first song written for the “She” project. As a result of this fruitful session they decided to form Caamora. Over the next two years material for the ‘She' project was written and developed. For such a large-scale project, this represented a lot of music and lyrics.
Clive Nolan: "The demo songs were recorded with Agnieszka testing out all of the vocals. This gradually helped to give us an overall picture of the opera."
During this time, the duo decided to take their music out on tour. The ‘She' project has always been a long-term plan, and they were eager to get out and spread the word. So, during the later part of 2006 Caamora (with Swita singing to Nolan's piano playing) toured Europe to a warm reception. Then they
headed out to South America with some very successful gigs in Chile and Argentina. Caamora's first fruit - “Closer” EP - was released in Autumn 2006 and featured back catalogue material written by Clive, as well as some new material from the “She” project. The music was arranged and recorded specially for this limited release. The CD was received very well, and has led to some positive reviews, and increased interest in the 'She' project. 2007 began with a vibrant set of concerts in Poland, organized by Metal Mind. Reaction and interest in Caamora was growing with every concert.
Agnieszka Swita: "We never expected such enthusiasm! We hadn't prepared for three encores nearly every night."
Upon returning to the UK, recording begun on more Caamora material, which continued to develop the
main album. Meanwhile, demand for Caamora on tour had grown, and dates are being booked for later in the year, which saw them visit Portugal and Canada for the first time, as well as returning to some familiar countries. On 4th June 2007 Metal Mind Productions released Caamora's second EP entitled \"Walk On Water\". The EP featured guest performances by Mark Westwood (Neo) on guitar, John Jowitt (IQ) on bass and Scott Higham (Shadowkeep) on drums.
The “She” album was recorded in the summer of 2007..... The partly staged show took place on 31st
October 2007 at the Wyspianski Theatre, Katowice, Poland. Spearheaded by Clive Nolan and Agnieszka Swita, this epic production featured also guest musicians: Alan Reed (Pallas/Neo) & Christina Booth (Magenta) on the vocals, bassist John Jowitt (IQ, Neo), Mark Westwood & Martin Bowen on the guitars, Richard West & Steve Williams on the keyboards, Scott Higham on the drums. Additional orchestra and choir, eye catching visuals and dramatic stage show formed an ambitious two hour musical journey.
Clive Nolan (Arena, Pendragon) and Polish vocalist Agnieszka Swita joined together in 2005 in a
project called She - by adventure writer H. Rider Haggard. Famous neo-progressive keyboardist Clive Nolan and the much lesser-known singer Agnieszka Świta met in early 2005, during her trip to England from her homeland of Poland. Introduced to each other by a common friend, they soon began working on a Rock Opera adaptation of the H. Rider Haggard novel, "She". Their ambitious project took almost two years to complete. Late 2006, the duet started performing some concerts in Europe and South America, which received warm appreciation from audiences.
Studio recording took place from June to December 2007. Meanwhile, the live performance on the 31st
of October in Katowice, Poland, was also recorded and then made available via DVD. Band's name refers to a term used by Stephen R. Donaldson in his series of fantasy novels called "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant". It describes a ritual of cleansing by fire.
Caamora – She
Label: Metal Mind Productions – MASSCD1116DD
Format: 2 x CD, Album
Country: Poland
Released: 2008
Genre: Rock
Style: Prog Rock, Symphonic Rock, Rock Opera
DISC 1. ACT 1.
01. Overture 6:12
SCENE 1.
02. The Storm 4:31
03. The Veil 4:59
04. Covenant Of Faith 3:19
05. Rescue 5:04
SCENE 2:
06. The Lost City 1:57
07. The Bonding 5:25
08. Ambush 5:22
SCENE 3:
09. Judgement 5:27
10. History 5:36
SCENE 4:
11. Confrontation 6:16
12. Vigil 4:50
SCENE 5:
13. Shadows 7:20
Total playing time:
CD 1: 66'25
MP3 @ 320 SIZE: 153 MB
Flac SIZE: 453 MB
DISC 2. ACT 2.
SCENE 1:
01. Fire Dance 9:5
SCENE 2:
02. Cursed 4:51
03. Closer 2:57
04. Disbelief 1:11
05. Murder 4:03
06. The Eleventh Hour 5:10
SCENE 3:
07. Resting Place 6:14
08. The Sands Of Time 4:18
SCENE 4:
09. Embrace Of Fire 3:35
10. The Night Before 3:55
SCENE 5:
11. The Fire Of Life 10:12
Total playing time:
CD 2: 56'27
MP3 @ 320 SIZE: 141 MB
Flac SIZE: 407 MB
NOTES
Artwork, Layout, Design – Graal
Choir – Agnieszka Swita, Anoushka Reynolds, Clive Nolan, Daniel Holmes , Jamie Fletcher, Mark
Westwood, Penny Roberts, Pete Morton, Scott Higham, Siobhan Clarke, Tina Riley
Music By, Lyrics By – Clive Nolan
Musician [The Instrumentalist], Bass – John Jowitt
Musician [The Instrumentalist], Cello – Hugh McDowell (tracks: 1-4; 1-11; 1-12; 2-11)
Musician [The Instrumentalist], Drums, Percussion – Scott Higham
Musician [The Instrumentalist], Guitar – Mark Westwood
Musician [The Instrumentalist], Horn – Mark Kane Musician [The Instrumentalist], Keyboards, Orchestrated By [Orchestrations] – Clive Nolan
Musician [The Instrumentalist], Oboe – Alaster Bentley
Producer – Clive Nolan
Vocals [The Singers: Ayesha] – Agnieszka Swita
Vocals [The Singers: Holly] – Alan Reed
Vocals [The Singers: Leo] – Clive Nolan
Vocals [The Singers: Ustane] – Christina Booth
Thank you Kostas for the unknown amazingly beautiful music. 2 cd + 1 dvd for only 15e a gift.
ReplyDeleteGreat Neo Prog Symphonic music and great voice of Agnieszka Swita. Really an excellent album. See this in concert must be an extraordinary experience. Thank you for your comment.
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