Review by Nightfly on August 31st 2009

Sunchild is the latest musical project from Antony Kalugin who has also released albums under the names Karfagen and Hoggwash. The Invisible Line is the second album under the Sunchild banner, the first being the rather ambitious double cd The Gnomon released in 2008. Kalugin comes from the Ukraine, his accent distinguishable in his vocals though he does sing in English.

Although Kalugin is the principle writer, he's aided by Will Mackie who has a hand in or writes most of the lyrics. Kalugin as well as being lead vocalist also plays keyboards and has brought in a host of talented Ukranian musicians and vocalists which gives the project a band feel. Wind instruments such as oboe, sax, flute and bassoon add an extra dimension to the sound.

The eleven varied compositions often venture into symphonic territory, often in a mellow vein though more powerful moments such as the title track, The Invisible Line part 1 are present. It appears again as part 2 to close the album but this time a much mellower ballad affair until picking up pace mid song, bearing no resemblance to part 1. There's a strong emphasis on melody and some fine instrumental sections. The best of these feature in Amalgama and Line In The Sand; at fourteen and a half minutes long having plenty of space for tastefully restrained rather than bombastic musical workouts but as already said, an emphasis on melody keeps the listener engaged.

Overall an excellent album and while there's little to set the pulse racing on a musical level, it's such a tastefully played and well crafted record with an emphasis on song writing I can strongly recommend it. 

4/5.

Reviewed by Prof prognaut.com on June 23rd, 2010

“In 1994 I decided that I’ll be a professional musician and gathered some friends and created Karfagen.” “Although it was a school band we played mainly our own music and in 1997 I entered architectural university, (I’m an architect by profession) but I continued to walk the musical road.”.

“And in 1998 I recorded my first "album" in a studio; looking back it was very raw and unprofessional.” “I was only 17 and what I knew about mixing and mastering was nothing.” “Hey, but I never gave up!”.

“Until 2001 lots of the vocals were written in Russian, later in 2001 I completed my first fully electronic album “The Water "(new age, ambient, art - rock).” “From 2003 until 2006 I composed and recorded lots of new age and enigmatic stuff.” “It was a commercial step but this gave me an opportunity to be a self employed musician working on my music the whole day”.” It was the time of learning and it opened new horizons for me.” (Source: Antony Kalugin‘s Sunchild Page, 2010).

Review:

1. Postcards from the past (pt1) (1:40) – Soft keys and vocals to open the album. “Take a look at my life.” “Let me see yours too.” “Together we can share postcards from the past.” “Together as one…to reach the sea.” Wonderful orchestration with flute, strings and keys.

2. The invisible line (pt1) (6:22) – Power drums and synths break the silence along with bass and electric guitar. “Can you call the tune?” “Can you tell the time?” “Can you walk between The invisible line?” Beautiful supporting female vocals with woodwinds, synths, and drums building an anthem sound. Very original. “Let me take you on a journey.” “Across that very special line.” “Let me introduce you to the changing of water into wine.” The instrumental section that follows is full of highlights and a good sampling of what will follow on this journey of sound. The synth sounds and effects are wonderful.

3. Raindrops (6:29) – This one opens with those raindrops and thunder. “Rain drops, gentle touch of the wind.” “I can feel you close to me.” “Under the veil of the dawn.” “Rain drops, water paintings in the sky.” “Fade the memories of the past; fade the glory of the night.” The flute, soft drums, electric guitar and synths warm and then escalate their thunder as the song progresses. “You will always be the light for me.” “You will always be the light...” The sax soloing and keys are wonderful throughout the song. Piano, keys, drums, bass, and those raindrops all around remind me of some of Satellite’s early work. One of the better songs on the album. A romantic, soft, but with moments of power, song that lifts this early part of the album well.

4. Amalgama (5:08) – A synthesizer slide comes in as the last song drifts perfectly in this one. That synthesizer and organ are real highlights of this album, along with the bold electric guitar which makes its entry with drums. An instrumental song which truly showcases the talents of the many artists on this work. Power guitar riffs make their entrances throughout as you are surrounded with the sounds of synths, flutes, and organs. Definitely one of the best songs on the album. The song fades out beautifully to those raindrops.

5. A moment in time (5:13) – This song transitions from the last with Antony’s vocals, “To wish upon a star, may be a wish too far, so be careful for what you seek.” A great use of piano and synths with electric guitar filling in the spaces. The use of the sax to create highlight moments is wonderful. The spacey synths that surround create a dream world effect which is wonderful to close your eyes and just appreciate.

6. Time & the tide (11:20) – One of the big epic songs on the album. This one opens with the Ukrainian Bandura, which sounds allot like a sitar, creating a wonderful dreamlike effect to open this one. Strings, woodwinds, and orchestration soon follow to create a song of epic proportions. A wonderful, morning opening complete with rooster, bassoon, soft vocals and drums with the electric and bass guitars along for the ride. Great supporting vocals as the sax makes its entrance to deliver hook flights of fantasy. Grinding guitars as the vocals unfold, “Time passes us by, oh so quickly.” “Love falls from the sky if only.” “One day in time our castle may fall, live for a moment.” There are wonderful moments of solo guitar and sax within this track that would be a standout on any album.

7. Fading light (3:31) – Acoustic guitar. “Where will you go?” “And who will you meet?” “How you will see?” “When the light is fading.” The flute, acoustic, bass, drums and keys surround the song and envelope it in warmth. The vocals emit a warm feeling of caring, “Your faith will see you through.” “To the place so rare, that faith will take you to a place without despair.” “I hope that one day too, I will meet you there.”

8. Recollections (1:33) – A short acoustic guitar interlude with soft flowing stream effects and penny flute in the background. Shakers and the acoustic take you through this quiet song of reflection.

9. Line in the sand (14:36) – The big epic on the album. It opens with piano similar to my favorite, Supper’s Ready, heightening my interest and making this an early candidate for the best song on the album. Then that roaring guitar and piano along with organ, drums and bass. The piano and sound effects drift through as the vocals begin, “We walked the shore hand in hand. “ And drew a line deep in the sand.” “As we stood each side and smiled together.” “Our line would stay and define forever!” Drums and keys to support a duet of male and female vocals. Just wonderful. The keys, bass, drums, and guitar build a melody as the vocals bring back the storyline, “As ships that sometimes pass in the night, I remained on board.” “It was love at first sight.” “Feelings!” The drum, bass and lead guitar interlude after is very good. The song drifts into a very cool instrumental section with all of the instruments and players adding their power to the piece. The song closes with that wonderful piano and the vocals, “Our special feelings.” “Our own desires.” “On the empty shore.” “With hearts on fire!”

10. Postcards from the past (pt2) (5:20) – The piano builds a very strong reminder of the first segment of this song as the album is coming to a close. “Like a fine wine.” “Memories last the time.” “Together we can share.” “Postcards from the past.” The synths are more pronounced on this segment of the song. The drumming more urgent and the guitar more powerful at time. The song closes out with beautiful piano and synths.

11. The invisible line (pt2) (8:21) – That wonderful piano is back. “The sands of time have run and run, but still I feel you close to me.” “Thru sun, wind and rain, we have laughed.”

“Two young souls - but one old tree...” The lyrics are wonderfully romantic. “I’ll remember all these days, forever.” “And I’ll remember your blue eyes.” “Speak to me, and I’ll remember your first smile, forever.”

Rating: 9/10 – One of the better classic prog albums I have heard this year. This album is full of beautiful music and a story which will keep you interested and involved. The lyrics, vocals and musicianship are superb. The added sax is definitely a highlight along with the use of traditional Ukrainian Bandura. It’s always impressive when musicians share the treasures of their culture with the audience. There are many reminders of both early and mid 70s Genesis all over the keys and sounds on this one. That made it an instant favorite for me. But this is all original, making it even more special.

A review by Hans Ravensbergen

In the beginning of the year 2008 I was cheered with the double album “The Gnomon”. Almost a year later there is its successor “The Invisible Line”

The recipe of bandleader Antony Kalugin has not changed much, the ingredients he used does. This time all music has arisen from the brain of this young man from Ukraine, who is singing and playing all the keyboards. On this album he has gathered a new bunch of talented and skilled musicians who are playing lot’s of different instruments.

Just like “The Gnomon” the “The Invisible Line” is an album with a main concept. Red thread is the invisible line which draws mankind between good and bad, beautiful and ugly. It is the same mankind that is deciding if and when this invisible line will be crossed. “It is the line that lies at a different place for everyone, for you and for me”, is what Antony Kalugin saying about it himself.

The main musical influences on this album are Pink Floyd, Yes, The Flower Kings and Kayak. These are the bands that can be heard on “The Invisible Line”
Postcards From The Past tells in a nutshell the story of the whole album. The Invisible Line Part 1 is a driven track in which heavy keyboard sounds are playing the main role. Beautiful solos on oboe are alternated with heavy guitar riffs of Bogdan Gembik and the keyboard tunes of the master himself. The upcoming climax is obvious there and you get it, for sure.

The instrumental track Amalgama calls distant times of The Flower Kings at their album “Retropolis” (the first progressive rockalbum Kalugin bought himself)). A Moment In Time is much quieter with influences of The Tangent, including Andy Tillison-like vocals. Central in this track is the special solo on flügelhorn by Dmitriy Bondarev.

Characteristic of the Kalugin’s obstinate approach of progressive rock is the intro of the beautiful The Time And The Tide. We can hear the bandura, a folkloristic Ukrainian snare instrument. The swelling track sounds literally like a budding summer day including the crowing of a rooster. Close your eyes and let yourself go in these wonderful music which ends after ten minutes with the heavy sounds of trumpet, oboe en saxophone.

If you think Neal Morse is the uncrowned king of intros, you must listen to the one of Line In The Sand. The guitar playing sounds a bit like the Dutch band Kayak. It’s not the vocal of Kalugin but the Clannad-like vocal of Olya Kaganyuk that give the music another twist. Wide instrumental passages, the guitar solos of Gembik and a long keyboard solo of Kalugin give me goose bumps. Off course the saxophone is not missed and gives several passages a jazzy feeling.

Almost symmetrical the album closes with the track Postcards From The Past Part 2 and The Invisible Line Part 2. Especially the latter with its happy-end-feel is a worthy closing track of this album.

If you can’t get enough of this worldly progressive music then you can get the special edition including a bonus disc. This bonus disc has some alternative versions and demo tracks, just as a home video The Making Of The Invisible Line, filmed by Antony Kalugin himself. “The Invisible Line” is a great successor of “The Gnomon” and is worth is listening to by every lover of progressive rock in common.

Hans Ravensbergen
Progwereld (www.progwereld.org)

A review by By Sea of Tranquility, Alex Torres.

Here's one in the eye for those doubters who savage the internet as a good source of revenue for musicians, as well as for those who are cynical about the ability of lone musicians to compose and play fine music. Ukrainian Antony Kalugin, whose project Sunchild is, was "discovered" on the internet in 2005 by Will Mackie of Caerllysi Music in the UK. Will has both inspired and supported Antony in his endeavours since. Antony had started as a lone musician in 1998, gaining experience and confidence, before bringing other musicians on board, as he does with Sunchild. His other projects are called Karfagen and Hoggwash, as well as having a "new age" album released under his own name.

The Invisible Line is Sunchild's second album, following on from the double-CD Gnomon (2008). For this project Antony has invited a significant number of other Ukrainian musicians to assist him. The result, on the strength of The Invisible Line, is a sumptuously orchestrated piece of symphonic progressive rock that is following the Pink Floyd, modern-Marillion line, soundscape space that is now populated by peers such as Pendragon.

There's a couple of minor irritations on The Invisible Line but they pale into insignificance when compared with the excellence of the music. Since about 2001, Antony has written lyrics and sung in English. This is a boon to English speakers of course and outweighs the slight distraction of his strong accent. Another minor distraction is that on "Raindrops" it sounds for a time as if he is singing with cotton-wool in his mouth; but again, I'd rather have the colour of the vocal melodic line than a totally instrumental album.

In any case, these minor distractions vanish under the onslaught of some inspirational composition and arrangement. Compositionally, this may be familiar territory, but Antony's skill with the orchestration arrangements adds much beauty and interest to these eleven pieces. Some of the highlights include the occasional use of a female vocalist, Olya Kaganyuk, to complement Antony's singing; and the use of sax, oboe, trumpet and other similar instruments within the arrangements. Couple to that melodic writing of the highest order and you have the ingredients for an album of very beautiful music.

The passage in "Raindrops" with the sax and the female vocalisation is very Pink Floydian but very beautiful. On "A Moment in Time", the section with the trumpet and piano is sublime. "Time & The Tide" excels: first in heavenly melody, then gorgous harmonies, then more trumpet work, working beautifully in combination with the keys. "Recollections" is a short folk-rock linking piece with a baroque feel. Picking up, "Line in the Sand" starts with a stunning vocal passage: female lead, then wonderful harmonies; has some of the most pleasing rock guitar I've heard on a symphonic album for a very long time indeed, as well as some fine passages with sax - brilliant! To end the album, "The Invisible Line Part 2" treats us to another beautiful melody in the opening phase and a strong rock ending with the guitars and sax battling it out in time-honoured fashion.

There's much more other than these brief highlights to enjoy. If you're a fan of symphonic progressive rock then I can recommend this Sunchild album without hesitation. It is my introduction to the music of Antony Kalugin and he has made a positive impression - I will be looking out for some more!. 

A review by By Jerry Lucky.

After a couple of discs under the name of Karfagen, the musical world of Ukrainian prog-meister Antony Kalugin has expanded and evolved yet again. Now going by the name of Antony Kalugin Project he is able to create and produce an even wider range of musical offerings. His latest comes under the band name Sunchild and is entitledThe Invisible Line. This is an introspective disc that lyrically addresses a variety of ethical and moral lines each of us faces. Heady stuff, that’s for sure and musically this is quite a pleasing symphonic prog disc. Kalugin is the brainchild here but he’s surrounded himself with 8 very talented and competent musicians to help execute his ideas.

The Invisible Line consists of eleven tracks of varying lengths; everything from 1:33 to 14:36 some with vocals and others instrumentals. As I mentioned this is full-on symphonic prog with a myriad of influences and layered arrangements. At times it rocks out like on “Amalgama” [5:08] and other times it betrays more of an atmospheric almost New Age feel on a couple tracks. There are loads of keyboards from the latest synths patches to Mellotron sounds. Stylistically there is a mix of Crime of the Century Supertramp and World of Adventures Flower Kings. These two influences are absorbed into Kalugin’s own personal and accomplished approach. The Supertramp feel is heard on tracks where there are many dramatic and yet jazzy styled climaxes or where the sax or clarinet fill in the musical bridges. This really is evident in a piece like “Time & The Tide” [11:20] with it’s mix of opening jazzy reeds and poppy middle section all blended together and then towards the end we have a series of vocal crescendos before the whole band creates waves of musical climaxes fronted by sax tying it all together. As for the Flower Kings it’s most prevalent in the way certain tracks, especially the longer ones will have a lead line performed by an ever changing lead instrument. Same line but one time it’s a keyboard and another it’s sax and the again it’s a guitar. This is just one of the ways Sunchild infuses layers of musicality into the compositions.

Hey, if you are a fan of Kalugin’s work with Karfagen, I’d say this is a major step up the proggy ladder. It’s a little bit more of everything, majestic and panoramic at times, haunting and melancholic at others. To my ears this is his best work yet. Sunchild embodies everything I like in a symphonic prog recording, it’s dramatic, it’s melodic, it’s full of musicianship and it’s down-right enjoyable to listen to over and over again. I highly recommend The Invisible Line. 

A review by By Craig Hartranft, (courtesy of Dangerdog)

Without doubt Antony Kalugin is a prolific, if not a relatively unknown, composer of progressive rock. Hailing from the Ukraine, this multi-instrumentalist disguised as an architect has composed and performed under several monikers including his own name, Hoggwash (The Last Horizon), and lately Sunchild with two releases 'The Gnomon' and currently 'The Invisible Line.' Until the latter crossed my review desk, I had never heard of Kalugin. Now having listened to 'The Invisible Line,' I wish I had his back catalogue because Kalugin is masterful at imaginative, intriguing and highly entertaining progressive rock.

As Sunchild, Kalugin and his players bring rich compositions diverse in mood, tempo, and instrumental depth. Though piano and synthesizer driven throughout, 'The Invisible Line' boasts the use of oboe, saxophone, trumpet, flugel horn and bandura (traditional Ukrainian instrument) among other items along side more conventional tools of electric guitar and fretless bass. Even better is the fact that the more unique instruments are used in concert and not as novelties, as is often common in prog rock, in the arrangements. 'Time & The Tide' and 'The Invisible Line (Part 1)' are representative and compelling examples of this. Overall, the breadth and depth of Kalugin's compositions are immense and require repeated listening to truly enjoy; there is much to enjoy, so this is not a one off thing.

Antony Kalugin's Sunchild project 'The Invisible Line' is a rich and deeply satisfying work of progressive rock. This is not your common prog fare as Kalugin combines diverse arrangements with a multitude of uncommon instruments, like oboe and flugel horn, with standard ones to develop his arrangements both imaginative and ompelling. Very recommended!