Twigs & Twine started as a good excuse for a group of friends to play music together, but it quickly grew into a fully-fledged folk-pop band with original material.‘ Never was the first sentence of a biography as spot-on as this first line written by
Twigs & Twine.
Somewhere further in the bio the band state: ‘For our music, we use a huge variety of instruments as well as different languages, but most importantly, lots of humor, even in songs that are really about death and tragedy.‘ Again so, so true. Twigs & Twine’s debut album is oozing with good vibes, humor, and positive energy which make it a joy to listen to. So let’s get acquainted with this fun bunch of young musicians.
Twigs & Twine’s story started when five friends:
-Eef – vocals, piano, and bodhrán
-Iris – vocals, cajon, djembe, bodhrán
-Lian- vocals, piano, autoharp, violin
-Luca – vocals, ukelele, lute guitar, mouth organ
-Marijke – vocals, low whistle, tin whistle
came together under the name twibv, short for ‘Tot We Iets Beters Vinden’ (‘till we find something better’), to play Irish folk together. Soon they started incorporating their own material in their music, with lyrics influenced by mythology, old manuscripts, poems, nature, and their own experiences.
In 2015 their first EP, Snippets, came out. In 2017 they won a Dutch street music festival called
‘De Gouden pet’
(the golden cap) and they played the major Dutch festivals:
The Midwinter Fair,
Keltfest
and Castlefest.
In 2019 the band found their way into the studio to record their debut CD.
So here we have it, Long Story Short, the first album by Twigs & Twine and I have to say this is a charming CD. It contains13 fun songs that the band wrote and arranged themselves, carving out their own little niche in folk music I would call theater folk.
All members of Twigs & Twine have a healthy sense of humor and the best example of Twigs & Twines’ sense of humor comes straight away with the first song, Nehalennia. When I first heard it I thought it was an old text put to music, just as it is common in the Medieval/pagan folk scene to do, but I couldn’t be more wrong. The band wrote a song about the ultimate climax between two lovers, and then translated that into Latin! And the best thing about it? it is not a cheese gimmick; it’s really well written. The lyrics are truly poetic, and the music is also well-composed, making Nehalennia a lovely song.
The second song, The Trail, is another pleasant folk-pop song, this time dipped in a wee bit of country sauce, mainly through the vocals. It’s followed by Baídín Fheilimí, a well known Irish children’s tune sung quite often in schools. I love the interpretation of Twigs & Twine. Lian has a lovely voice that blends really well with the piano, low whistle, and autoharp but also with her fellow musician’s voices in this tender ballad.
It says a lot about the band that Lian went to her old Irish teacher to work on her ‘accent’ for this song. The songs and explanations in the extended booklet, (the band actually wrote a separate book for the liner notes called Long Story Longer, as they became too big to fit in the CD), may look witty and fun, but Twigs and Twine do take their music seriously.
‘t Witte Wiefje is a song in Dutch about a farmboy who got caught in a deadly dance with ‘een Witte Wief’ , a cross between a witch and a ghost found in the mist, mostly known in legends in the east of Holland. The whole arrangement of the song sounds so Dutch to me (in a good way though!). In Holland, we have a long tradition of cabaret. Cabaret is a type of comedy similar to stand up comedy, but in cabaret the comedian usually has a general storyline or a main theme flowing through his show, binding the jokes together. Quite often the comedian will also sing some songs that are more serious, more meant to make you think about what the comedian is trying to say with his jokes. Those songs used to be influenced by french chansons, but evolved and became a specific theatrical style of their own, and are usually either voice and piano, or the comedian singing with a small duo or trio of piano, guitar and double bass in the background. For a non-Dutch/Belgium/German reader, think of the song Edelweiss in The Sound Of Music. That comes pretty close to what I’m describing. Many of Twigs & Twine’s songs carry the same ‘klein Kunst’ DNA as songs made by well known Dutch artists like
Acda En De Munnik
or
Claudia de Breij.
Messe Ocus Pangur Bán is the next song with a clear klein kunst DNA. The ukelele and cheerful flute make it a song that could easily be in the repertoire of Dutch comedian
Brigitte Kaandorp.
Just a fun little song to fully enjoy. I really love the bluesy mouth organ in it. And saying all that about a song that is actually a 9th-century poem by an Irish monk put to music. Talking about making a song your own!
The Nightingale is -again- an older text that got the Twigs & Twine makeover. It’s an adaptation of a poem from Brittany, the general melody makes me think a lot of the Dutch folk band
AmmA,
but with that clear Twigs & Twine sauce poured over it.
Maiden in the Mor Lay is probably my favorite song on Long story Short. A song Twigs & Twine found in the back of a book about Middle English. It features all of the beautiful voices of Twigs and Twine, Luca taking the lead in this one and all the others following suit, only accompanied by guitar and cajon, making the song almost a capella and very reminiscent of Omnia
in this specific case. It is sung really beautifully.
As is the next track: Song of the Exiled. A lovely ballad in the style of
|Gwendolyn Snowdon
with some beautiful harmonies: one of Twigs and Twine’s standout trademarks.
Which brings me to the only downside of Long Story Short. I wish that the band would have gotten a better sound on this album. For some reason the studio engineer and mixer decided to use a lot of reverb on the voices, making them sound very indirect. Sometimes there is so much reverb that it seems the microphone is standing in the middle of the room, with the singers standing some meters away from it. I have to be honest, I am not a fan of that sound. In my opinion, it takes away a lot of the beauty of the voices and the fragile yet beautiful piano, harp or guitar arrangements the band so carefully thought out which is such a shame. Songs like This Is Fun, the stunning instrumental Epiphany In D, Mirie It Is or indeed songs like Nehalennia and The Trail could have sounded so much better with a more direct mix.
All in all Twigs & Twine have made a lovely debut. Their Klein Kunst (theater) folk is positive, vibrant and full of energy and I really enjoyed listening to it. People who enjoy the music of AmmA, Omnia’s Poetry album, or the music of theatre acts like Claudia the Brey of
Reinhard Mey
will most likely enjoy Long Story Short too. I myself am already looking forward to the next album of this young band.
– Cliff
– Editor: Gwendolyn Snowdon
– bandportrait: Marlike Marks
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About us
Twigs & Twine’s story started when five friends:
-Eef – vocals, piano, and bodhrán
-Iris – vocals, cajon, djembe, bodhrán
-Lian- vocals, piano, autoharp, violin
-Luca – vocals, ukelele, lute guitar, mouth organ
-Marijke – vocals, low whistle, tin whistle
came together under the name twibv, short for ‘Tot We Iets Beters Vinden’ (‘till we find something better’), to play Irish folk together. Soon they started incorporating their own material in their music, with lyrics influenced by mythology, old manuscripts, poems, nature, and their own experiences.
In 2015 their first EP, Snippets, came out. In 2017 they won a Dutch street music festival called
‘De Gouden pet’
(the golden cap) and they played the major Dutch festivals:
The Midwinter Fair,
Keltfest
and Castlefest.
In 2019 the band found their way into the studio to record their debut CD.
So here we have it, Long Story Short, the first album by Twigs & Twine and I have to say this is a charming CD. It contains13 fun songs that the band wrote and arranged themselves, carving out their own little niche in folk music I would call theater folk.
All members of Twigs & Twine have a healthy sense of humor and the best example of Twigs & Twines’ sense of humor comes straight away with the first song, Nehalennia. When I first heard it I thought it was an old text put to music, just as it is common in the Medieval/pagan folk scene to do, but I couldn’t be more wrong. The band wrote a song about the ultimate climax between two lovers, and then translated that into Latin! And the best thing about it? it is not a cheese gimmick; it’s really well written. The lyrics are truly poetic, and the music is also well-composed, making Nehalennia a lovely song.
The second song, The Trail, is another pleasant folk-pop song, this time dipped in a wee bit of country sauce, mainly through the vocals. It’s followed by Baídín Fheilimí, a well known Irish children’s tune sung quite often in schools. I love the interpretation of Twigs & Twine. Lian has a lovely voice that blends really well with the piano, low whistle, and autoharp but also with her fellow musician’s voices in this tender ballad.
It says a lot about the band that Lian went to her old Irish teacher to work on her ‘accent’ for this song. The songs and explanations in the extended booklet, (the band actually wrote a separate book for the liner notes called Long Story Longer, as they became too big to fit in the CD), may look witty and fun, but Twigs and Twine do take their music seriously.
‘t Witte Wiefje is a song in Dutch about a farmboy who got caught in a deadly dance with ‘een Witte Wief’ , a cross between a witch and a ghost found in the mist, mostly known in legends in the east of Holland. The whole arrangement of the song sounds so Dutch to me (in a good way though!). In Holland, we have a long tradition of cabaret. Cabaret is a type of comedy similar to stand up comedy, but in cabaret the comedian usually has a general storyline or a main theme flowing through his show, binding the jokes together. Quite often the comedian will also sing some songs that are more serious, more meant to make you think about what the comedian is trying to say with his jokes. Those songs used to be influenced by french chansons, but evolved and became a specific theatrical style of their own, and are usually either voice and piano, or the comedian singing with a small duo or trio of piano, guitar and double bass in the background. For a non-Dutch/Belgium/German reader, think of the song Edelweiss in The Sound Of Music. That comes pretty close to what I’m describing. Many of Twigs & Twine’s songs carry the same ‘klein Kunst’ DNA as songs made by well known Dutch artists like
Acda En De Munnik
or
Claudia de Breij.
Messe Ocus Pangur Bán is the next song with a clear klein kunst DNA. The ukelele and cheerful flute make it a song that could easily be in the repertoire of Dutch comedian
Brigitte Kaandorp.
Just a fun little song to fully enjoy. I really love the bluesy mouth organ in it. And saying all that about a song that is actually a 9th-century poem by an Irish monk put to music. Talking about making a song your own!
The Nightingale is -again- an older text that got the Twigs & Twine makeover. It’s an adaptation of a poem from Brittany, the general melody makes me think a lot of the Dutch folk band
AmmA,
but with that clear Twigs & Twine sauce poured over it.
Maiden in the Mor Lay is probably my favorite song on Long story Short. A song Twigs & Twine found in the back of a book about Middle English. It features all of the beautiful voices of Twigs and Twine, Luca taking the lead in this one and all the others following suit, only accompanied by guitar and cajon, making the song almost a capella and very reminiscent of
Omnia
in this specific case. It is sung really beautifully.
As is the next track: Song of the Exiled. A lovely ballad in the style of
|Gwendolyn Snowdon
with some beautiful harmonies: one of Twigs and Twine’s standout trademarks.
Which brings me to the only downside of Long Story Short. I wish that the band would have gotten a better sound on this album. For some reason the studio engineer and mixer decided to use a lot of reverb on the voices, making them sound very indirect. Sometimes there is so much reverb that it seems the microphone is standing in the middle of the room, with the singers standing some meters away from it. I have to be honest, I am not a fan of that sound. In my opinion, it takes away a lot of the beauty of the voices and the fragile yet beautiful piano, harp or guitar arrangements the band so carefully thought out which is such a shame. Songs like This Is Fun, the stunning instrumental Epiphany In D, Mirie It Is or indeed songs like Nehalennia and The Trail could have sounded so much better with a more direct mix.
All in all Twigs & Twine have made a lovely debut. Their Klein Kunst (theater) folk is positive, vibrant and full of energy and I really enjoyed listening to it. People who enjoy the music of AmmA, Omnia’s Poetry album, or the music of theatre acts like Claudia the Brey of
Reinhard Mey
will most likely enjoy Long Story Short too. I myself am already looking forward to the next album of this young band.
– Cliff
– Editor: Gwendolyn Snowdon
– bandportrait: Marlike Marks