Reviews: medieval

Milagro Acustico, the band of driving force Bob Salmieri, is back with a new cd that you takes you to ancient Persia. This album is based around the poetic work of Omar Khayyam, born in 1040, for a long time mostly known as a scientist. He wrote verses during the heyday of Islamic culture, but also a time of the first religious extremism and violence…

A few years ago a Swedish/Danish group called AU caught my attention. They made an album thematically based on alchemy. Their music was a fusion of folk/medieval music and electronics/psychedelics. Now the same musicians have made this new album with strictly acoustic traditional music. Ars Ultima has a raw and unpolished sound which fits the tradtional tunes very well…

Daemonia Nymphe already surprised me with a very strong album from a few years ago. Instead of playing traditional music from the Middle Ages (like many bands) they play music from ancient Greek times. This record is not really a new album but consists of recordings even older then the first album. Luckily this says nothing about the quality of these songs…

This new CD by Amir Baghiri, called ?Ghazal?, came to me as quite a surprise. I expected to hear more of the ethnic ambient that I associated with Baghiri (like the amplexus stuff). On this CD, however, Baghiri presents some very rhythmic and danceable tracks. The tracks sound like some sort of ?pop? music from Iran, Irak, or perhaps Syria…

Riharc Smiles is a new act for me. Their mlp is released by Ahnstern, mostly known as the label of Allerseelen. The music of Riharc Smiles combines traditional folk with medieval elements. Heavy percussion, bagpipes and various traditional form the solid base of most tracks. The Austrian band sounds convincing, perhaps they have build up experience by playing live…

Dubia Fortuna is a traditional music group from the Czech Republic. Most of the bands repertoire consists of profane medieval music, mainly dances but also more tranquil pieces. What really sets this band apart from many other medieval bands is their Eastern European sound. Which is evident in many tracks, but very clear in ‘Quant Je Suis Mis Au Retour’ and ‘Estas Mesas’…

After three years there is finally a new album by Hekate. In the past I found the band not always consistent in material and quality of their work. This new album is the most cohesive release they have made so far. Most songs are inspired by European myths and legend, like the Grail legend and that of Morgan le Fay (the lady of the lake). Musically this is well translated…

After Qumran this is already an new album (and the fifth) by GOR. Croisades is less Arabic orientated than the previous album and focuses more on European medieval music. Again, most of the songs are very tranquil and mystical, like ’Mais no seria’ and ‘Fraternitas’. The most impressive tracks are the beautiful romantic pieces like ‘Alla societate’ and ‘Flamma amoris’…

This medieval ensemble from the Czech Republic consists of four young ladies dressed in old robes (and sometimes modern outfits). Most pieces the group performs are from the Spanish / Portuguese Jewish tradition. Next to that a few songs from other traditions are played like a French and a German tune. The sound of Psalteria is organic and the recordings on this cd sound very natural…

Prikosnovénie label boss Frederic Chaplain himself is responsible for Lys. This project displays precisely what the Prikosnovénie sound is. Dreamy music with oriental samples, shamanistic vocals and modern beats: traditions and modernity meet each other on Mélisse and Prikosnovénie. Most songs on this record are very tranquil, due to which the music is a bit like ambient music…

After eight records you might expect that Estampie would run out of material, as the medieval repertoire is limited. But that is not the case, as the group searches in all regions for music from ages ago. Estampie is for years the best act in medieval music with recognition in the field of classic music, world music and the alternative (wave/gothic)scene…

The French label Prikosnovénie plays around a bit with the terms folk and traditional music. All the music they release has a link with some form of authentic music but only seldom this is actually performed in its true form. Flëur is a duo, assisted by guest musicians, from the Ukraine. Their popmusic has many references to Russian folkmusic…

Malbrook is a project by Wolfgang Meyering. Together with (befriended) guest musicians (amongst others Kerstin Blodig from Kelpie) he researched the (mutual) influence of Scandinavian and (Northern) German culture, language and music as this happened in the Middle Ages. The result is this album with on it a collection of Northern European folk songs and dances…

Although this is the fourth release Crone of War can be seen as the first real album of the Dutch Omnia. The band has been active for years and has played in different line-ups in many countries. For some time now the group consists of the three musicians who are responsible for the music on this album. Omnia themselves describe their music as Neo-Celtic Pagan folk…

The music of D’Arcadia is a mixture between gothic, medieval and pagan folk, somewhere between Faun, Qntal and Hagalaz’ Runedance. On their previous EP (Théatre du Satan) the band sounded dominant acoustic. This new cd, Realitale, features lots of electronic beats and also some electric guitars…

A mini cd with three tracks from Ataraxia, on the new French label Arkadyss Creations. It is a conceptual release, dedicated to the endless light Norman landscapes. “Where struggle leads to purification and the communion with nature to the abandon of the body armor to get the lightness of birds and the purity of the air.” The nice looking digipack is also very bright and white…

The Soil Bleeds Black is a band lead by the Riddick brothers (Mark and Michael). Together they are also responsible for the gothic/wave label The Fossil Dungeon. With their band they play medieval music in a raw and unpolished way. Lots of bands (among them Estampie) play often a very smooth and polished version of old (European) music…

Prikosnovénie keeps discovering interesting new and exotic artists. Pinknruby is a typical act for the French label. It’s a duo, consisting of Slovene singer Mihaela Repina and English guitarist Paul Bradbury. Their music is laid-back and relaxing. The overall mood of this album is sweet and fairy-like, at times melancholic or sensual…

Sarrazine is another new signing of Prikosnovénie. Sarrazine is a theatrical, androgynous character. A trademark of the music is the typical high voice of Francois testory, who is both a tenor and a counter tenor. he is a former dancer and actor, and now sings in operas and cabarets…

To begin with the conclusion: this is just another wonderful release from the French Prikosnovénie label. This label is focusing on what they call Fairy World music. Some of the previous releases were by musicians like GOR, Collection d’Arnell Andrea and Anima in Fiamma. Irfan is a Bulgarian band that dedicates itself to the various musical traditions of their country…