Short Reviews [Iako Bei - 2023 - "Pursuits in 2ife. Vortex Fragoris"]

It took until last year for the second album to be released by Slovakian outfit Iako Bei, which may have something to do with the fact that only Roman Jakobej (lead vocals, bass, synths) is still there from the debut, and he has now been joined by Lukas Magoc (alto saxophone), Simon Majernik (keyboards) and Viliam Stanek (drums), with three guest backing singers in Vanessa Lalikova, Marko Hundza, and Jakub Ferenc. Mind you, if one did not look at the release one would probably not realise that, as this is very much a band based around Roman’s vocals, bass, and vision and this is an obvious follow-up to the original with a very similar thought process behind it. Yes, again there are no guitars, just because there is no room for them in an outfit where the songs have been written using a vibrant and melodic bass. Such is its importance to the overall sound that there are times when bass, keyboards and saxophone are all playing the same melody so there is quite a hole in the music until one gets to the drums. This provides Iako Bei with a very distinct sound, and they take this to its limits in opener “Vortex Fragoris” where they throw all their influences into a 25-minute long classic where there is even a section of multi-tracks vocals where everyone involved appears to have somewhat lost their mind. There is no doubt that Roman has a very powerful vision of what he wants to achieve with his music and while it can be argued that their influences are as diverse as Seventies space prog, 80‘s pop/art rock, 90‘s alternative rock through to 2010‘s prog metal there is no doubt in my mind that System of a Down have had an important part to play, even though in reality they sound nothing like them at all. Somehow this complex yet highly accessible, with lots of space within the music and the feeling that all the notes are there for a reason as opposed to just caressing egos, and oen can get inside this the first time it is played although it definitely rewards have proper attention to it and being played on headphones. Roman described their music as “a challenging but enjoyable sonic cocktail for either open-minded people tired of gazillion copy and paste artists or simply those who have heard way too much music in their lives and are looking for something fresh and exciting,” and that is a great way of looking at it. I certainly hope we do not have to wait five years for the next one.