Tag Archives: bouzouki

SeeD – Through The Veil (2017)

06 Mar
celtadmin
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Well, I tried. I really tried… I tried to make a impartial, objective review of the New SeeD album Through The Veil and I couldn’t. It didn’t work. Why?
Since 2015 I have been following SeeD and I just love them. I love the positive, cheerful energy they spread on stage. I love their ‘outside of the box’ thinking. Recording your debut CD in a forest? Why not! Energy breakdown on a Spanish Festival??? Just step off the podium and build the biggest party ever I front of it! (see picture on the right) Swapping instruments and play a song like that ‘life on air’ during a CeltCast interview? Sure we dare to do that!
I love to see their friendship on stage and I love the way they interact with the crowd, with the fans. Ánd I LOVE their music!! I’s so cheerful and positive. It gives you a smile the minute you hear it. And after all that, they recorded Through The Veil together with my favourite sound ‘artist’ Fieke van den Hurk, at the Dearworld studio. I give up. I’m biased. Big time!


After the intro -with impressive singing from Sara- the first notes of the title song Through The Veil take you into the magical realm of the fae, the gnomes, the goblins and seedlings. Just as Portal To Elfland before it, the CD is a nice mixture between instrumental songs and vocals. With a big role for Koen van Egmond on solo flute. He, in my opinion, is one of the best solo flutists in the scene. Having the ability to tell a whole story with only his flute. Just listen to the titel song Through The Veil, Seedling, or FFuya and you’ll know what I mean. As a band SeeD epitomize the spirit of the pagan folk scene. Their approach to music is free spirited, sometimes a bit unconventional, but always pure from their hearts. It says enough that the band sees friendship as the main force behind their music. In a way SeeD reminds me of the way music was made in the 60’s at the height of the flower power. It has that same sense of freedom, that same feel of love and that same captivating happiness running though it.

For those who don’t know SeeD yet, they play pagan folk using Flute, percussion, bouzouki and slidgeridoo as their main instruments. The lyrics are musical fairy tales. Telling the stories of gnomes, goblins, seedlings and all the other creatures that life in the magical world of SeeD. Just as a proper fairy tale is a bit gruesome and has some life lessons hidden in it, SeeD is not afraid to pack a serious message in their stories as well. De Gnoom, De Heks En De Boom -sung in Dutch- or Thorny Vines are good examples of that. Giving the band’s lyrics an extra quality. As mentioned Through The Veil is recorded in the Dearworld studio with Fieke van den Hurk at the controls. She managed to give the CD an open, crisp and fresh sound. Almost as if it was recorded life in one take. Something that works well with SeeD’s style of music.
All the songs on the CD are lovely, but The Heron deserves a special mentioning. The heron -the bird that is- is Koen’s totem animal. And in this song he honours her. The song itself is an earworm that you really can’t get ride of, and features some stunning flute improvisation from Koen in the middle of the song. Making it one of my highlights on the CD, actually one of the best instrumental pagan folk songs I’ve heared. Stunning.
Another highlight is Lullaby. A love song that shows how much Koen has grown as a singer in the last years, performing on stage. His voice and Sara’s blend beautifully. And it is already a favourite among the fans.

But I shouldn’t focus too much on Koen alone. All play an important part on this CD. Just listen to the percussion and slidgeridoo on The Heron. The song wouldn’t have the impact it has, if it wasn’t for the rhythm section behind it, setting the tone in the intro. Same goes for The Hobgoblin’s Gift or The Goblin’s Pogo. The percussion in those songs is so important, they wouldn’t work without it.
Now what more can I tell about Through The Veil? I could tell about the good vibes it spreads. Play Seedling, Roots, the Goblin’s Pogo or The Hobgoblin’s gift and I guarantee you an instant smile. Or I could mention the tender part of SeeD, the songs Winter, Lullaby and The Heron are beautiful examples of strong powerful pagan folk ballads. Now I could go on and on but I won’t . Bottom line is: SeeD made a strong pagan folk CD with Through The Veil. One that I can highly recommend, with a huge smile on my face!

Cliff

PS: After proofreading the review Koen told me that 10 of the 13 goblin voices were done by Robin Dekker. Robin kept coming up with new goblin voices he could do, and then would rush back behind the microphone to do yet another one. Koen also confirmed that the fujara flute solo in The Heron was indeed an improvisation. ‘The heron was actually 90% written ánd improvised on the day of the recording’ Koen told me. Two lovely behind the scenes ‘fun facts’ I didn’t want to keep to myself.

– Text editor: Diane
– Sleeve art design: Robin Dekker
– Photo of SeeD in Spain by SeeD pagan folk.
– All other pictures taken at Castlefest by Cliff de Booy

Cesair – Omphalos (2017)

26 Dec
celtadmin
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Cesair is a six-person band that blends Classical together with Pop (World) music, giving it a nice Eastern-European feel as they go along. Together, this makes for a unique sounding band. Cesair themselves describe their sound as ‘Epic Folk and Mythic music´. I would say Carl Orf meets Vivaldi meets Rastaban meets Faun equals Cesair. They are one of the few bands that really manage to marry Classical skills with Pop music and get away with it.

With Dies, Nox et Omnia Fieke, as a producer, recorder, editor and mixer, gave Cesair a real powerful sound. Just as Carl Orf‘s Carmina Burana blows you away with the bold sounds of a big orchestra playing at full strength, Cesair managed to do the same. The accordion and hurdy-gurdy themselves are already instruments that can fill a room and Fieke made good use of the surround sound to give the whole band a overpowering impact. Hearing the main instruments in front of you, but nice bouzouki and violin accents coming from all sides. Just listen to Cansa and you’ll hear the violin playing in the corner of your ear. Or Graeica where Thomas’ bouzouki is placed in the same way that gave Dies, Nox et Omnia a really big orchestral sound.

As most of you will know, Fieke van den Hurk left the band last year to focus on her career as a producer and sound engineer at her Dearworld studio. The band was extended with new, but well-experienced band-members Luka Aubri (Rastaban) and Faber Auroch (Sowulo). With this change, there was no way around it… the big question with Cesair‘s second album was: “How would they sound with their new line-up?”. The pre-CD-release concert at Castlefest 2017 sounded very promising. Visually the band was as entertaining as ever. During the concert there was even that bit of ‘Fieke magic’, with her standing in the audience and singer Monique van Deursen and Violinist Sophie Zaaijer goofing with her from off the stage.

But what about the album? Well, Fieke is still part of the band on Omphalos!

Although saying her formal goodbyes to the audience on stage in March of 2017, with a wonderful concert in the Peppel in Zeist, the band decided Fieke was so involved writing the Omphalos songs that she still deserved to be named as a band-member in the credits, next to new members Luka and Faber.

Therefore she says her official goodbyes to us, the fans, with the album Omphalos. A fitting and touching tribute to Fieke from the band, showing how beautiful a friendship in music can be.

Onto Omphalos.

With this album the band went a different route. This time the mix is more open. Fieke, also producing, recording and mixing this album, plays with the volume in stead of putting up this impressive wall of sound. Listening you can discover little pearls. Lead soloists are pushed forward and supporting instruments are less pronounced in the mix, leading your ear through the music. New band-members Luka and Faber fit well within the music.

Fieke took on a more supporting role which made room for my personal highlight on Omphalos: the string section. Both Sophie and Faber play wonderful string melodies. Their solos and melody lines really take the lead role together with Monique’s voice. While Dies, Nox et Omnia focuses on the band as a unit, with Omphalos the talents of each individual musician comes out. And they are talented! Monique has a wonderfully pure and powerful, classically trained voice with an impressive range. One of the strong-points of Cesair. In this more open sound Thomas Biesmeijer really gets the chance to colour the music with his guitar and bouzouki chords. This new sound also means Jan de Vries can shine more as a percussionist. His drums don’t disappear in the overall sound, but are a main feature. Just listen to him drive to music on Troll Kala Mik.

With Dies, Nox et Omnia Cesair took us on a journey through classic texts and history. Quoting and interpreting passages of Babylonian, medieval Dutch, 7th century Greek and 16th century Spanish texts to name a few.

On Omphalos, Monique takes us with her on a similar journey through old and modern literature. The inspiration while writing this album came from the Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (a.k.a. Horace), the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, the Romanian poet George Coșbuc, some anonymous sources and the poetic Edda, an anonymous collection of Icelandic medieval poems.

As always I don’t want to go through all the songs on the CD. It’s way more fun to discover the music yourself without me spoiling everything. But still, here are some I really wanted to high-light.

Erda, the first track of the album: a first class earworm. Straight away, the more open sound of this album works it’s magic. Monique and Sophie shine in this song. As said, Monique is such a skilled mezzo-soprano, she impresses throughout the whole album, as does Sophie. Hearing her taking the lead solo so clearly and often, I suddenly realise how amazing she is as a violinist. Stunning. In all, if you listen to Erda and like it, you can safely buy the whole album. The song is a perfect representation of Cesair anno 2017.

Many of you will already know Chorihani from various concerts: a cheerful, fast song with, again, a beautiful solo from Sophie, this time straight from a gipsy party it seems. Good old Fieke and her accordion make it even more Eastern-European.

Troll Kala Mik we also know from the Cesair concerts. It´s a duet (or is it a duel?) between the beautiful poet Monique and the ugly troll Thomas. Pick your own favourite, but mine would be… …Jan. His percussion work is the foundation of this song. You could even say he plays the lead instrument on this.

Another duet is Ahes. It’s Cesair’s interpretation of a medieval love story from Brittany. It tells of a forbidden love between princess Ahes (a.k.a. Dahut) and a lover she invited in, before being married. A great sin in medieval times. Of course the whole city was punished and swallowed by the sea, as would happen in old times. Faun‘s Stephan Groth takes on the role of the lover from the ocean, who persuades Ahes to open the gates of her city. A guest appearance to look forward to should Faun and Cesair play the same MPS festivals the coming season.


Mardochaios is the Greek name for the Mesopotamian god Marduk. The song is an anthem for him, again driven by the powerful drums of Jan, followed by some beautiful violin melodies and vocals. My personal favourite song of the album.

Yet another song that has an interesting musical feel is Boudicca. The intro with the strong, almost threatening, male/female vocals make it sound like an menacing Enya or Clannad on their very best days. Sophie´s violin solo pulls you straight back into the Cesair world but the song keeps that eerie feel to it… A real tribute to the lady who dared to defy the Romans.



As i said, I could name all the songs because they all are equally good. Omphalos is an album that you need to get if you love an impressive mix of classical and folk/world music. It’s an album that will mesmerize you, make you want to play it again and again. One piece of advice: play it loud and get the whole impact of the album. It’s going to be worth it. At full volume is where the true beauty of Omphalos appears in all its glory… or live on stage of course!!



– Cliff


– Pictures 1, 3, 4 and 7 taken at Castlefest 2017 and picture 2 taken at the Gothic & Fantasy Beurs 2013,
courtesy of: Cliff de Booy

– Pictures 5, 6, 8 and 9 taken at the Omphalos release party at the Willemijn, Almere 02-12-2017,
courtesy of: Kees Stravers


EMIAN – Khymeia (2016)

21 Dec
celtadmin
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Six years ago on December the 21th 2011, the day of the winter solstice, EMIAN was formed. To celebrate that moment, we have decided to write an introduction for their latest album Khymeia. Way overdue of course, but better late then never.

From the moment I put Khymeia, the second album from the Italian Pagan Folk band EMIAN, in my CD-player, it started to grab me. At first it surprised me, then their music started pulling me in… note by note. By the time the 5th song La Cama Nupcial was playing there was no turning back. I was hooked! The musicality, the originality, the talent. This is a CD well worth buying… But now I’m getting wàààày ahead of myself, so first things first.


EMIAN is a 4 person Pagan Folk band from Italy. As it was formed at the winter solstice 2011, it’s no big surprise the band get its inspiration from their own southern Italy Pagan roots, Mother earth, nature and ancient cultures. They do so with songs by their own hand, inspired by Celtic, North-European and Mediterranean folklore, and songs they collected from those periods, be it in Italian, Finnish, French, English or Gaelic (Both Scottish and Irish Gaelic), taking influences from shamanistic chants to medieval ballads.

The band members are:
– Aianna Egan (Anna Cefalo) on vocals, celtic harp and castanets (those are fun).
– Emian Druma (Emilio Antonio Cozza) on vocals, hurdy gurdy, nyckelharpa, fiddle, flute, percussion, medieval bagpipe and the Persian santur, an instrument that looks a lot like a hammered dulcimer.
– Rohan (Danilo Lupi) on acoustic bass, Irish bouzouki, the tin and low whistle and backing vocals.
– Mártín Killian (Martino D’Amico) on drums, percussion, guitar and backing vocals.



The intro song Tribus Hirpeis is followed by a vocal piece written by themselves. Hyria starts with an enchanting harp melody supported by the Persian santur, giving the song a Greek feel. Anna quickly joins in. She has a beautiful warm yet strong voice. A pleasure to listen too. After this ballad-esque start the acoustic bass joins in, giving the song a surprising modern feel. This in contrast to the use of the tribal bass sound from the didgeridoo, well-known from other Pagan Folk bands. Surprising at first, but it actually fits perfectly. With the violin joining in with the harp melody, the band captivates you. Without warning you drift into Khymeia‘s musical world. One you will enjoy.

La giga del lupo starts with a Celtic harp jig that takes me back to the Pagan folklore days of OMNIA, but a loud ‘yehaa’ brings in Emilio’s violin. Playing a lovely Irish folk melody and making it into a perfect instrumental Balfolk dance song. Short, but therefore more powerful.

Rebys is a strong, cheerful and up-tempo song with Spanish Sephardic lyrics, driven by the rhythm of the drums. The Italian language just works wonders in this style of music. Again Anna Cefalo shows she is a really good singer, but she is not alone. It becomes clear that all the band members are talented musicians. A lot of things are happening in the music: harp, Irish bouzouki, hurdy gurdy, percussion, castanets, but also musical breaks, sudden twists in the rhythm, it’s all there. This is really a CD you want to listen to with headphones, just to be able to hear everything that’s hidden in the music (or play it very loud in the living room… when the neighbours are not at home). Midway through this song there is a sudden break in the music, taking it back to only Anna Cefalo’s voice and harp, before the band kicks in again. This build-up is repeated at the end of Rebys.

The next song La Cama Nupcial starts off as if it’s another break, with only Anna’s harp again. If you wouldn’t look at your display at that point, you would certainly think you were still listening to Rebys. Brilliantly done. It clearly shows EMIAN’s compositional skills.

La Cama Nupcial itself is a beautiful duet between harp and flute, a bit like the instrumental duets Sowulo are known for. I always make notes while listening to an album for a review, and at this point I wrote: “I’m now officially hooked!”.

Khymeia is a beautiful album that fits well in the realm of OMNIA, Faun, Sowulo and Rastaban. Not that EMIAN is a copy of any of those bands. They have their own unique style. It’s just to give you, the listener, an idea of what to expect.

The first song not written by EMIAN themselves, and the 6th on the album, is El Viaja de Maria. To show how diversely skilled the members of EMIAN are, it starts with a bit of overtone singing by Emilio Cozza. This is a singing technique where you sing a low tone while making an ‘oe-oo-eu’ sound. When a singer is skilled and has had a lot of practise, his or her vocal chords can make a second tone, higher then the first. The song itself is a well-known traditional (In Extremo recorded a nice version), but EMIAN re-arranged it so it fits their style perfectly. The long instrumental intro will draw you into the song.

Níl Sé’N Lá is actually a Scottish Gaelic song but in the arrangement of EMIAN it becomes a Greek traditional, driven by the percussion. Weird in a way, but it works. It works really well actually. It’s something that EMIAN does so well: they blend their influences together, not only in their song choice alone but also within the songs themselves, making them way more interesting.



I’ll stop here because I don’t want to give away every song on this album. It’s much more fun to get Khymeia yourself and start discovering EMIAN’s musical world . Just listen to the instrumental song La Gavotte for instance. A fun French Balfolk song that, again, finds itself somewhere between the music of Omnia and Faun. Chêne blanc is another up tempo, instrumental dance song. My personal favourite. Kuulin Äänenn is a Finnish (!) ballad, beautifully sung by Anna and Martino D’Amico, but then, halfway, turned into a cheerful Balfolk song. Listen to that flute solo in the end! Surely this song is the high-light of every concert they play. My last personal tip is Le Due Sorelle, an Italian translation by Anna Cefalo of the famous song The Twa Sisters. I have to say the Italian language is very suitable for a ballad like this.

With Khymeia, EMIAN has put themselves right in the top of the pagan folk scene. In my eyes a must have album for everyone who loves this particular style of music.

– Cliff

– Concert photos taken at Castlefest 2017, courtesy of:
Mariëlle Groot Obbink








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