Kratong is the project of Jhonny, the guitarist of the excellent Prussian dark folk band Romowe Rikoito.
It starts in a very melancholic way, with quiet vocals, acoustic guitar, dreamy violin, close to Sorrow and Current 93. It sounds like birds singing in Spring for the sun to shine, for the Nature to rebirth, like drops of rain going their way through the leaves of the trees. Male and female vocals unite to conquer the earth, playing traditional folk music, in a superb and romantic serenity. Then electronic structures combine with acoustic instruments, reminding me of Coil during their "Musick to Play in the Dark" period, or sometimes even of In The Nursery and Legendary Pink Dots. Dark atmospheres, innovative soundscapes, synthetic visions take slowly the advantage on acoustic elements, with a narrative voice as only guide. Repetitive and cold, but also melodic and rhythmic, Kratong play a fantastic ritual music, giving a new dimension to both dark-folk and ambient electronic music, destroying all barriers and borders.
A fantastic album to meditate and dream about quiet and isolated landscapes.