Karfagen [Antony Kalugin]

KARFAGEN is the brainchild of Ukrainian born keyboards player Antony Kalugin. Mainly an instrumental band, they have a unique sound that separates them from most others in the genre.

They show imaginative use of keyboards and guitars with just a hint of new age and jazz-rock in places.

Their influences are quite wide ranging, but you will hear references to bands like: CAMEL, IQ, SAGA, FOCUS, The ENID, the FLOWER KINGS and Anthony Phillips in their music.

KARFAGEN (means Karthago) is a symbol of glory and wisdom and also a never-ending journey into the world of the forgotten past and un-predictable future. The name was first heard in 1997 when Antony Kalugin formed the band at school, but it was while he was studying at the architectural university in 1998 that he began to record their first album with his close friend Sergey Kovalev (accordion and harmonica).

After making several solo albums Kalugin composed and performed on more than forty other albums between 2003 and 2005. These were all released in Russia and the Ukraine. With those projects, Antony gathered the necessary funds to record the first real KARFAGEN album, and in 2005 the band reformed and went into the studio to record: ‘Continium’, an album which led the band to sign with the UNICORN DIGITAL label in Canada. 

After one other album for that label, Kalugin formed a partnership with Welsh based musician Will Mackie and has since released all the KARFAGEN and related titles on his Caerllysi Music label.

Antony Kalugin 's main strength is his delicate keyboard work, and alongside his musical collaborators he offers a tribute to the Symphonic Prog of the past.  His impressive portfolio of musical projects threaten to place him as a Ukrainian answer to Steven Wilson - a prolific creative force capable of playing Progressive and Prog-influenced music in a vast variety of styles!  As well as KARFANEN and his solo projects, he has interests in projects of SUNCHILD, a melodic, song-based Prog band in which he recruited various Ukrainian musicians. He is also an integral contributor to Will Mackie's band HOGGWASH.  Despite how important those ongoing projects are to him, KARFAGEN is Kalugin's "flagship" Progressive Rock band, the one he instituted and has been working with ever since deciding to pursue a music career back in 1994.