Eve by Karda Estra free download

Here's the message from Richard Wileman:
" To mark the 10th anniversary of my Karda Estra album 'Eve', I've made it available as a free download "

Review + Spotlight: Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung! - We Need New Animals (1998, Sony Classical)

I've had a "crush" on these belgians' music for some years now.

Their first album is still my favourite.

What follows is a short introduction to the band as well as a review of their second album, We Need New Animals.

New Karda Estra Album, New Worlds, Available For Free Download

Here's Richard Wileman's announcement from Progressive Ears:

"Following on from my last post, I released the new Karda Estra album NEW WORLDS today and it can be downloaded for free.

12 futurist nostalgia instrumental tracks including collaborations with Kavus Torabi (Knifeworld, Cardiacs), Don Falcone & Bridget Wishart (Spirits Burning, Hawkwind) and Stu Rowe (Lightertheif, Andy Partridge).

2 Options:

Free 256k mp3 (same quality as Amazon/i-tunes) download at:
http://www.gimmesound.com/KARDAESTRA/

Pay what you want (min £1) for 320k mp3 or lossless formats:
http://kardaestra.bandcamp.com/album/new-worlds

Who plays what:
http://kardaestra.110mb.com/newworlds.htm

Best wishes,
Richard "

Band in the Spotlight: Les Fragments De La Nuits

I mentioned this group in my 2010 year-end list. This is a French ensemble from Versailles, playing chamber music/neo-classical music.

Musician / Band in the Spotlight: Richard Wileman / Karda Estra

Richard Wileman, under the moniker of Karda Estra, composes, plays and produces his releases, comprising of stunning lush pieces of neo-classical/folk/goth/etc. music and in which he has guest musicians playing alongside him. 

He has released thus far 9 full-length studio albums, of which I'd highly recommend Eve, Weird Tales and The Age of Science And Enlightenment (but all the albums are of high quality, in my opinion).The music is, while calm, emotional and ranging from gorgeously beautiful to eerie and spooky, from senses of elation to bleak and somber (all depending on the album and track). It is played in a restrained and appropriate manner, never getting cheesy or over the top. I like how every instrument gets its proper role and is heard distinctly in the recordings.

You can listen to many compositions by Karda Estra here, here and here.

For those of you interested in buying these, you can buy directly from Richard all his albums (provided they're not sold out), from his website at 5£ each, including free shipping world-wide.

After the jump are recent videos that Richard has recorded of him with other musicians playing Karda Estra pieces. You can see/hear more here.

Recommendation: Greg Haines (UK, ambient)

Beautiful music is something many, if not all people, are after. However beauty comes in many forms and is differently perceived by different minds. And so one form of beauty can be found in Greg Haines music, which is as soothing and calming as it is beautiful.
I've recently heard his Until The Point Of Hushed Support, and was mesmerized by the sheer power of emotions and gorgeous textures found on this release. You can listen to samples on his website and myspace (linked in the two previous links).

You can stream a previous release of his, Komarovo, on the following bandcamp by Slaapwel records: