Kaipa, a Swedish prog/folk/rock group, was originally called Ura Kaipa way back in 1973, but Wiki gives one the impression that they broke up circa 1982 and only reunited in 2000. Sattyg is their thirteenth studio album, the name being Swedish for diablerie, which Google gives two definitions for. One is “reckless mischief; charismatic wildness” and the other is the archaic definition: “sorcery supposedly assisted by the devil.” And it would seem both definitions are appropriate here. Their especially long songs — one is 15 minutes — could easily sound like recklessness to one who isn’t generally isn’t a fan of prog music. To the uninitiated, they could come off less like a band writing songs and more like a band just jamming and routinely going off in different directions. As for the devil, they sing about “mystic worlds” and things of that nature, so one could say their music is an audible sort of sorcery. Personally, prog rock isn’t my cup of tea, but I enjoyed listening to this. I’ve only listened to it twice and probably won’t listen to it again, but I’m knowledgeable enough to recognize that they’re doing exactly what they set out to do, meshing rock and folk quite well. You’ll hear a guitar solo one minute and then there’s a wood instrument solo, such as in “World of the Void.” There are times when it feels a little odd but in most instances it’s as seamless as they’re surely intending for it to be. The thing I liked most about it was the bass playing, which is fantastic. If I had friends who were into prog then I would definitely recommend this to them. And so, if you’re a prog junkie, I am recommending this to you. Highly.
