We arrive in Belarus, another country I haven't visited and I don't know a great deal about, apart from the fact that it is governed by a pretty repressive dictatorship, a fact I don't think is too controversial internationally. The national language is Belarussian, but Russian is spoken widely. As far as the music is concerned, the government stipulates that 75% of music played on the radio has to be Belarussian, whether it be in the Belarussian or Russian languages, and presumably voices critical of the regime don't get a look in.
First stop is the western city of Lida, where multi-instrumentalist Ivan Kirchuk was born. He specialises in the ethnology and folklore of his homeland and plays rare and ancient instruments such as the ocarina, domra and bagpipes, as well as singing songs. He is a larger than life character with a beard to match his personality, who now teaches at Minsk university. Here is a song from his 1999 album Heritage of the Lost Villages called Oy, ishli-prayshli da try yangali:
Accordionist Aliaksandr Yasinski was born in the city Baranavichy in western Belarus in 1989, but now resides in Prague. He draws on Belarussian and Balkan music as well as tango and jazz in a unique and dramatic style. Here is the title track to his first 2022 solo album Hlybini (Depths):
Instrumental trio Port Mone were established in 2006 in the capital Minsk. They have forged their own roots style with influences from minimalism, jazz and ambient music. In 2012 they got together with the inimitable DakhaBrakha from neighbouring Ukraine to form the Khmeleva Project. Here is a track from the resulting album called Єлена (Elena):
The Camerata Vocal Group were established in 1992 in Minsk and appear to be quite proudly state sponsored, which isn't to say they are not talented. The seven or so members give their own orchestral accompaniment to their songs with their voices, using both electronic enhancement and at times techniques like beat-box. Here is a song from their 2000 album Angels called Сокол (Falcon), complete with snowy backdrop and (bizarrely) fighting knights:
Ethno-musicologist and multi-instrumentalist Zisl Slepovitch is a native of Minsk, but now resides in New York, where he lectures on Eastern European Jewish music and culture and klezmer, in which he holds a PHD. He has released 2 albums recreating songs remembered and described by Holocaust survivors. Whilst this sounds like a heavy subject matter, most of the songs are surprisingly resilient, even satirical, a testament of the power of music in adversity. The lyrics are in Yiddish, French and Polish and are sung by Latvian singer Sasha Lurje. Here's a song from the 2021 album Cry My Heart, Cry! Songs from Testimonies Vol. II called Kidush Hashem:
Early music folk band Stary Olsa was established in 1999 playing Medieval and renaissance music on from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, of which Belarus was once a part of. To keep it interesting though they also play covers of classic rock songs on the same instruments. Here's their 2021 single Балада пра Цмока (Ballad of the Dragon):
Finally spare a thought for the members of Tor Band whose protest songs about the regime in Belarus got them into trouble with the government and were sentenced to up to 9 years in prison in October this year for inciting hatred, creating an extremist group, discrediting Belarus and insulting the president. Their song не народец (Not a Nation) has become an anthem for the anti-government protest movement:
That's it from Belarus, next stop is Ukraine, where we linger a little longer. In the meantime you can follow my virtual musical journey on my Tripline map as usual.
As we carry on our exploration of the music of Helsinki we first encounter percussionist Minna Koskenlahti. Her music is difficult to categorise. She has a back ground in folk music and plays in various bands, but as a soloist she explores the limits and limitlessness of percussion, giving her instruments a melodic approach creating a minimalistic, intensive and hypnotic sound. Here is the first half of her 2021 album Toinen/Other:
DANTCHEV:DOMAIN is a Helsinki based Finnish/American/Bulgarian outfit, led by Finnish/Bulgarian singer Anna Dantchev. They dabble in Bulgarian folk combined with Nordic Jazz and cinematic storytelling with splashes of contemporary pop and rock. Dantchev sings in English and she is supported by a nice brass section as well as a twinkling vibraphone, distorted guitar and punchy bass. This is the title track of their 2022 album The Lions We Are:
Early music trio Ensemble Gamut! are a collective of early music and folk specialists looking for new ways to perform medieval and renaissance music by combining traditional instruments and electronics in innovative ways to create their own soundscape. Their name derives from a medieval music theory by Guido of Arrezzo, but also means colour reproduction, whilst the Finnish word kamut means friends and Kamu is shorthand for Finnish folk music. Here is a track from their 2022 album Ra called Lapsed caick laolacatt:
In 1998 the contemporary dance theatre group Tsuumi was founded, complete with their own in-house band the Tsuumi Sound System, who have since recorded several albums and toured extensively separate from the dance troupe. Their music is described as world music, but sounds more like Finnish folk rock. It's definitely rooted in Nordic folk with fiddle and accordion upfront backed by a strong rhythm section and saxophone. They really seem to rock the place during live performances. Here is a 10 minute extract from a concert at the Montelago Celtic Festival in 2017. Some of those tunes can be heard on their 2013 album Floating Letters:
Saxophonist and reed player JoneTakamäki was born in Helsinki in 1955 and has been prominent Finnish avant garde and improvised music scene since the late 1970's. For his latest collaboration he has teamed up with 2 Turkish musicians, multi-instrumentalist Umut
Çağlar (of Konstrukt and Karkhana) and drummer Fahrettin
Aykut (of BABA ZULA) to record a live session as Myth of the Drum (2022). It blends free jazz with East Asian Zen sounds. Here is an extract from the album:
Finally leaving Helsinki, although we could easily spend more time here, we are staying in the Uusimaa region as we are heading for the town of Kerava, just northeast of Helsinki. This is where musician and composer Milla Viljamaa was born in 1980. Her main instruments are piano and harmonium and she dabbles in various genres from folk to chamber music, opera to film music. One of her most enduring love affairs is the tango though. She has collaborated a lot with accordionist Johana Juhola, but this tune is from her 2011 solo album Minne and is called Neiti Marplen Tango (Miss Marple's Tango):
Next we are heading east for the town of Loviisa in the region of Uusimaa, where part of the world folk band BergåFolk Project comes from, the other half hailing from Helsinki. They arrange folk songs from all over the world and give them their own interpretations, singing them in their original languages. They are quite new on the scene, but are already making waves for their energetic live performances. Here is an Italian song from their 2022 self-titled debut album called La Donna Ideale (The ideal woman):
That's it from Uusimaa for today, next we are heading to the east of Finland for our last leg of Scandinavia. In the meantime you can follow my virtual tour on my Tripline map.
London is such a big place that it is practically a country in itself also boasting a huge ethnic diversity and therefore a lot of different musical influences. I'm just going to pick a few bits over two blog posts, highlighting some folk, but also a few other international musical styles. We are starting in the southwestern suburb of New Malden, where John Martyn was born, whose music blurred the boundaries between folk, jazz, rock and blues. Sadly he died prematurely aged 60 in 2009 after a life marred by substance abuse and addiction. He left behind an impressive discography. Here's a live performance from early in his career, Couldn't Love You More. A version of that song features on his 2008 album Glorious Fool:
Driving up the A3 dual carriageway, which believe me is some kind of hellish nightmare, having commuted up and down there myself for many years, we arrive in Putney, southwest London, where folk singer Naomi Bedford hails from. In recent years she has been collaborating with mandolin player and guitarist Paul Simmonds, who used to play with folk rock institution The Men They Couldn't Hang. Their latest album from 2019 Singing It All Home: Appalachian Ballads of English and Scottish Origin, does just what it says on the tin. This is the opening track from that album called I Must and Will Be Married:
Singer/songwriter and fiddle player Lisa Knapp was born in Balham in South London and grew up in nearby Tooting. Her 3 albums to date all have received much praise around the folk scene. Her 2017 album Till April Is Dead - A Garland of May, is a celebration of the month of May and the ancient rituals surrounding spring celebrations. This is the title song from the album:
Now London is a hotchpotch of multiple cultures, but South Asians are prevalent in many parts with parts of Hounslow, Tooting or Brick Lane having a distinct Indian feel, with restaurants and ethnic shops wafting smells of curries and blaring out sounds that transport you to Mumbai, Delhi or Chennai. Unnati Dasgupta was born and raised in London being the daughter of late Indian classical vocalist Nitai Dasgupta, with whom she toured in her teens. Now she is forging a musical career of her own with the recent release of her debut album Indigo Soul, where she blends Jazz influences with classical Indian sounds. This is a song from the album called Teri Yaad Aati Hain:
Folk Rock band Steeleye Span started off in London way back in 1969 and have been going strong ever since (with a few changes in personnel of course...). With a back catalogue spanning 50 years, it's difficult to pick just one or two songs from their repertoire. Here's one from their 2009 album Cogs, Wheels and Lovers called Thornaby Woods:
String duo Francesca Ter-Berg and Flora Curzon (cello and violin), known simply as Fran & Flora, combine Eastern European music with original compositions and experimental electronics, making for a fascinating and haunting blend. Their debut album from 2019 is entitled Unfurl. This is a song sung in Yiddish and is called Mayn Rue Platz, which translates as my resting place:
London based band Vula Viel was founded in 2011 by Bex Burch, a percussionist from Yorkshire, who spent 3 years with the Dagaaba People of the Upper West Region of Ghana learning the gyil, a type of wooden xylophone. They blend jazz with electronic and minimal music. Their latest album released this year is called What's Not Enough About That and this is the title track:
[Later edit April 2022]: I now saw them live at the Black Box in Belfast. Here's an extract from that gig:
Stayin on an African theme a brand new international collective just released an album this month called Keleketla. This is how they describe themselves:
Keleketla! is an expansive collaborative project, reaching outward from Johannesburg to London, Lagos, L.A. and West Papua, “Keleketla!” started as a musical meeting ground between Ninja Tune cofounders Coldcut and a cadre of South African musicians (introduced by the charity In Place Of War), including the raw, South African-accented jazz styles of Sibusile Xaba, and rapper Yugen Blakrok (Black Panther OST). From those initial sessions, the record grew to encompass a wider web of musical luminaries, including Afrobeat architects, the late pioneer Tony Allen and Dele Sosimi, legendary L.A. spoken word pioneers The Watts Prophets, and West Papuan activist Benny Wenda.
Here's the opening track to their album called Future Toyi Toyi:
As I am off travelling for real next week, I better finish here, continuing with more music from London next week. As usual you can follow my virtual journey on my tripline map.
