Karn Evil 9

"Karn Evil 9" is an extended work by progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer, appearing on the album Brain Salad Surgery. A futuristic fusion of rock and classical themes, it is regarded by some to be their best work together with the song "Tarkus". At nearly half an hour long, it is also their longest studio recording.

General information

"Karn Evil 9" was written by Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and former King Crimson lyricist Peter Sinfield. The phrase "Karn Evil" is a slight alteration of the word "carnival".

It is the fifth and final track on Brain Salad Surgery with a running length of 29 minutes and 37 seconds. The initial release of the album on vinyl found "Karn Evil 9" split between the two sides due to its length, with a fade out/fade in between First Impression parts 1 and 2. Subsequent releases on compact disc and digital download have "Karn Evil 9" as a single track.

Impressions

"Karn Evil 9" consists of three movements (called "impressions") with the first impression divided into two parts:

Evil Nine

Evil Nine is a DJ duo comprising members Tom Beaufoy and Pat Pardy. Their musical style is primarily classified as breakbeat, although it additionally encompasses other influences.

Biography

The pair first came together in 1998 after meeting in Brighton. After sending in a demo cassette they were signed by Adam Freeland to his Marine Parade record label, with their first release being the single "Less Stress". According to Beaufoy (in an interview given to Fabric Nightclub) part of the reason that their demo cassette tape was actually listened to rather than thrown away (by 1998 cassettes had become virtually obsolete in favour of CDs) was because of their friendship with Jemma Griffiths, who worked for Marine Parade at the time. She has since gone on to achieve chart success as a singer-songwriter under the stage name "Jem".

After further single releases their debut album You Can Be Special Too was released to critical acclaim in 2004, winning the breakspoll 2004 award for best album. Prior to the release of You Can Be Special Too, Marine Parade suffered financial difficulties as a result of one of its distributors going into liquidation. This resulted in only 1000 copies of the album making it into stores initially, causing it to be a highly sought after item on eBay. The record eventually had a full release in greater numbers after the financial problems had subsided. The album featured collaborations with Aesop Rock and Juice Aleem, amongst others. The album track "Hired Goons" features in the video game Test Drive Unlimited.