Alpaca Guessed's “If Not Then Else” has been reviewed on the ProgGnosis site
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Alpaca Guessed is a duo featuring English classical composer/multi-instrumentalist Rohan Leach and English songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Nik Newark. They have joined forces on If not then Else to make a CD fusing progressive rock with traditional chinese wind instruments.
Just befor putting If not then Else I was expecting mellow and very classically inspired music. I got that for about one minute…. When the heavy and distorted electronic drums kicked in, I was much closer to contemporary King Crimson or Peter Gabriel. The remainder of the album is pretty varied in style. There actually is some beautiful Chinese inspired acoustic music, one piece reminds me of Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays. There are some ambient and Jazz moments (mostly in conclusion of some tracks) and we still get some King Crimson and Peter Gabriel references sparkled in at times (one track's mood reminds me a lot of “Secret World”).
In conclusion, If not then Else is a brilliant instrumental album featuring two highly talented musicians/composers. The production/sound being of the highest possible level, If not then Else ranks as the best instrumental album I have listened to in years. Highly recommended