Baja
California VII - March 2003! - have a look at the musical
video report - the road movie! The music
for a new album is just ready and was released by Rock Symphony (Brasil) and
Metal Mind Production (Poland). Have a look at the Reviews. In April
1999, Ankh played a memorable concert - for themselves and the audience - at
the Volksbühne Theatre in Berlin. The theatre, internationally renowned for
embracing a variety of uncommercial bands, recognised Ankh as a band who produce
challenging and individual music and the reception that the band received was
electric. In December
1999 the group was invited by Brazilian company ROCK SYMPHONY and took part
in the Rio Art Rock Festival ’99.
Seven bands from five different countries – Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina,
Sweden and Poland. Ankh’s gig was said to be the best of the festival. 1999
should be remembered as the year when Ankh have truly arrived on a world scale.
Ankh
"...bedzie tajemnica": This is a real discovery - a band from Poland that, like
After Crying, has been putting out gem after gem since 1994!!! After being contacted
by their manager and receiving a copy of their last album, I promptly arranged
for them to play at this year's Rio ArtRock Festival. "...bedzie tajemnica"
is an original work. Simply that. A NUCLEAR prog-torpedo shot by a quartet with
no keyboards: only one violin, drums, bass and a singer/guitarist. Their music
has elements of psych/punk rock (!), dark/gothic music and LOADS of prog/classical
rock. Crimson all over as well. Hard to grip, huh? This one even includes a
cover of 21st Century Schizoid Man!!! They were the main act of the first night
of RARF '99 and I'm not lying when I say the band conquered the heart of the
audience (which included the Anekdoten's musicians, who were completely astonished
by Ankh's music!). In short (and this is no exageration of my part): together
with Anglagard, Anekdoten, After Crying and Tempus Fugit, Ankh is the last (just-discovered)
"best-band" for the 90's.
27.02.2008 Ankh was given a special, honoured prize of the Minister of Culture and Heritage - in the name of "Deserved For Polish Culture". This kind of a special title was given first time in Poland to the rock band, to appreciate the American way of the polish band. We are very happy after that and ready to get some new tasks and spread our music moreover around the world. The new pieces for the forthcoming album are almost ready and should be released in the late of 2008.
In 2003 the band released remastered versions of the previous albums. Each one with two extra tracks previously unreleased. Moreover - in 2004 Ankh released two concert albums: "Koncert akustyczny 1994" (so far available only on MC) and "Live In Bytom 1995" - the gig from the Slaska Opera House. This one is particulary a strong piece of Ankh music in the middle nineties. In March 2007 - after 9 years after the most famous Ankh gig in Rio de Janeiro - Rock Symphony from Brasil released ""Cachaca - Ankh Live In Rio". Oh, yeah - that is realy a mastrerpiece, a pearl in Ankh's discography.
In March 2003 the band was invited to Baja
Prog VII - eg. to Mexicali in far north Mexico again. There was
a world premiere of the new album "Expect
Unexpected". The new project was recorded without a violin player
(except samples in "loop fast violin mix") and it's very brave in the construction
of the sound. In 10 years history we were trying very different sounds at our
concerts. We used to play with two drum sets (Rain, Rajski), without violin
(Jelonek) but with viola (Lisowski), and with viola and violin together on one
stage. Now we take a new chalenge and play with two guitars and with two kbds.
Two shows in USA last year, three more in Mexico and many more in Poland convienced
us that this direction makes sense and we will follow it with "Expect Unexpected"
project and furthermore after.
Leonardo Nahoum
ROCK SYMPHONY
Rio Art Rock Festival ’99.