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by Genevieve Williams
Much like this time of year, this edition of Earth Tones explores music that is about boundaries: national, cultural, tragic, comic and just plain odd. Russian singer Ella Leya brings the Romantic movement of her home culture to the U.S.; Scottish troubadour Alasdair Roberts obeys one of the requirements of traditional folk music; Mare Edstrom gets inside the blues; role-playing games become suitable themes for compilation CDs; local band Fear of Dolls unearths the beauty of the bizarre.
When we talk of the Romantic movement of the nineteenth century, we tend to talk of its influence on Western music and literature, particularly those aspects that echo in these media even today (consider the Wagnerian movie scores of John Williams and Howard Shore, for example, or the Romantic elements in fantasy literature as derived from Tolkien). However, these influences were not confined to Europe, the British Isles and North America, and the new CD from singer Ella Leya, Russian Romance (B-Elite), is a good example of the intriguing and at times surprising ways that artistic movements can spread.
Leya grew up in Azerbaijan when that country was part of the U.S.S.R., but the music on this CD reaches even further back, to the mid-nineteenth century and the Russian Romance cultural movement. If you hear French and gypsy influences on Russian Romance, you're not imagining things; these were strong elements in the cultural genre from which Leya draws both poetic and musical inspiration. Most of the lyrics began as poems by Leya's favorite writers. The music is her own, but comes from the same expressive well.
One might think that by tying Russian Romance to a particular stylistic and cultural thread, Leya is limiting the range of her expression, but this is not so. Instead, she explores the breadth and depth of that movement through a twenty-first century lens and a life experience that has brought her from Moscow on the eve of perestroika to the United States in a time of global uncertainty. Russian Romance is by turns soothing and tumultuous, meditative and danceable, diminutive and forthright. From this particular musical root grows a tree of many branches.
It's been said of folk music -- by me, among others -- that it's about two principal topics: love and death. For preference, both in the same song.
Scottish singer and multi-instrumentalist Alasdair Roberts has apparently taken this to heart; his new CD, No Earthly Man (Drag City), consists entirely of songs about death. Now, by my previous assertion regarding folk music, this could have come about entirely by chance, but it is in fact a deliberate decision on Roberts's part. As aesthetic choices go, it's a rather unusual one, but the results aren't that depressing. Quite the opposite, in fact, which should surprise no one who's ever listened to Scottish folk music -- or indeed, any folk music from the north and west of Europe -- in their lives. Roberts makes use of simple arrangements and a traditional approach to performance to get at the dichotomy that lies at the heart of this music: in the act of acknowledging death, it celebrates life.
If there's a better emotional cast to accompany the turning of the year toward darkness, I haven't found it yet. Roberts' selections contain stories of tragedy, of events that, if we read them in a newspaper headline -- even in a fictional story -- we would find alternately horrifying and unbelievable. But the spell that Roberts weaves is utterly convincing. (The CD may be hard to find; if you're having trouble, try www.dragcity.com/dragcity.html)
Solstices and sun tides notwithstanding, it is still high summer, which demands a certain kind of music: the kind that has the lethargy of a beer-soaked afternoon coupled with the brimming energy of summertime fun. I've always liked the blues for this, and in this respect, Mare Edstrom's Inside the Blues (Spiritone) is perfect. It's a bit unusual, because Edstrom is a singer-songwriter, and she sounds like one; there are no gut-deep growls here, and Edstrom owes more to Bonnie Raitt than she does to Koko Taylor. And yet, Edstrom clearly has the blues in her blood, and a woman who's willing to pay homage to her heroes with the likes of "The Thrill is Gone," "Can't Be Satisfied," and "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" has to have a certain amount of guts. Edstrom's voice has a power and expressiveness all its own; the clarity of her enunciation and her willingness to reach for the limits of her range give the listener a refreshed perspective on these songs. Plus, even if Edstrom doesn't sound much like Memphis Minnie or Bessie Smith, there's something of them in the passion that she brings to their material.
Edstrom also isn't afraid to be a little unconventional, and that puts just a little spin on even the most familiar of songs. She does it with a confidence and cleanliness of execution that integrates these original details into the material and makes it her own. As long as there are musicians like Edstrom around, the blues will remain a living art form, one that preserves its own tradition while allowing room for innovation. Her cover of Blind Willie Johnson's "In My Time of Dyin'" is worth the price of admission alone.
Next up is a compilation CD so odd, I just had to share it with you. Movie soundtracks are par for the course these days, of course, and even soundtracks for computer games aren't unusual (speaking of which, the rumors about a Final Fantasy symphonic performance at Benaroya Hall are true -- see http://www.seattlesymphony.org for details, although single tickets aren't available yet). And folks such as David Arkenstone have composed music inspired by favorite novels and legends.
Even so, a selection of music designed to go with a fantasy-adventure game seems both novel and retro. Or perhaps it's just that Musica Aventurica (Dred Fox) consists mostly of folk-rock, mostly in German, that explores peculiar territory somewhere between Tempest and the Scorpions. If you find this appealing, or even amusing, you might want to go to the trouble of visiting www.fenn-music.de to order yourself a copy.
It's not a bad CD, actually. The folksy, quasi-medieval bent might be a little much for those who want something a little more authentic, but Musica Aventurica is entertaining for what it is, and like all compilations, it has the advantage of allowing you to check out several different bands for the price of one CD. If some of them sound like they're stuck in the 1970s with early-edition D&D manuals, others, such as Potentia Animi (who contribute the lively instrumental "Schattentanz") or Filia Irata ("In Gottes Namen"), are more intriguing. One note-- the liner notes are almost entirely in German; however, there's enough info in English that if a particular band interests you, you can find out more about them.
Finally, fans of the strange and creepy are encouraged to check out the latest CD from local band Fear of Dolls. If the title, Lullabies for Aborted Children (self-released), doesn't turn you off, you'll probably enjoy the deliberately bizarre, spookily obfuscatory soundscapes created by a regularly rotating cast of musicians. Let's be clear: This ain't your mama's deathrock. Sure, chances are that batcavers will enjoy "Screaming Inside Her" and a fantastic cover of the Rolling Stones' "Sister Morphine" (penned by Marianne Faithfull), and it's goth music in the sense that it's really only going to appeal to a certain kind of aesthetic sensibility.
If it's your sensibility, though, regardless of whether you consider yourself goth or not, then it's worth your while to locate a copy of this CD (try MusicWerks on Capitol Hill, if you're in Seattle, or other indie music stores around town, or go online to www.projekt.com). The reason is that Lullabies for Aborted Children is not unremittingly dark or negative. And a good thing, too; art without contrast tends to be boring and one-dimensional. Fear of Dolls, however, understands texture, depth and contrast, and how to make them work in its music. The result is surprisingly multilayered, drawing the listener's ear into a surreal auditory landscape that's worth visiting more than once. (On a more pragmatic note, picking up this CD isn't just a way to get your hands on some good music, but also supports a good cause: Fear of Dolls lead singer Bonni Suval was struck by a car back in February and is still recuperating. If you want to hear before you buy, some song samples are available on the band's website at www.fearofdolls.com)
That's it till Lammas, but here are some shows you should know about in the meantime: Gaia Consort has two shows coming up in July; see www.gaiaconsort.com for details. Celtic duo Pipeline performs at Conor Byrne Thursday, July 7. The Triple Door has a bunch of great shows coming up in June and July, including Slaid Cleaves, Kelley Hunt, and Hassan Hakmoun; see www.thetripledoor.net for a schedule. The Lake Union Civic Orchestra performs Beethoven's Ninth at Seattle's Town Hall on June 24. The Nordic Heritage Museum presents Tivoli Viking Days July 9-10, see www.nordicmuseum.com. Also, keep an eye out for the new CD from local Celtic ensemble Coventry, which will be reviewed next issue.
Genevieve Williams is a Seattle freelance writer and drummer. She can be reached at rimrun@drizzle.com with feedback, suggestions or recommendations. Local musicians and pagan groups are encouraged to submit material for review and show listings.
Copyright © 2006 by the article's author