Label: Estoterix – EX 006 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album Country: Australia Released: 1988 Genre: Electronic, Folk, World, & Country Style: Folk, Rune Singing, Choral, Experimental, Downtempo
What do an ex-prison warden, a microbiologist, a builder and a retired diplomat have in common? Well, for one thing, they sing in a Sydney-based vocal group called KIRI-UU.
This is how the press release (found inside the record) first introduces this record, which is quite unlike anything else. KIRI-UU is a choral-singing choir established in Australia by the children of Estonian refugees perpetuating the Finno-Urgic language and tradition. Folk song often carries messages, stories, fables and perspectives of the times, it’s the perfect conduit for passing on tradition and keeping the spirit alive. It’s quite touching that many of the choir members may have never stepped foot in their Estonian ancestral homeland some 8,000 miles away, but singing like this, with their fellow ex-pats, they can feel their roots take hold. Based around the contemporary arrangements of natural treasure Veljo Tormis, bandleader Olev Muska gave the recordings an electronic facelift, adding a weird and unusually glassy edge to these ancient choir pieces, adding another stage of evolution and tangential, diasporic variation to this rune singing tradition. Genuinely nothing like this one anywhere. (NM/NM - unplayed deadstock with insert and original promo sheet).
Tracklist A1 Sakste Sōim = Cursing The Landowners 0:27 A2 Viemevaka Jagamine = Distributing The Dowry 1:20 A3 Mis Sa Kavva Kodun Teid? = What Were You Doing At Home So Long? 1:52 A4 Kitsas Kiik = The Narrow Swing 1:14 A5 Kiigel Kartlik = Timid Girl On A Swing 1:30 A6 Pihlapuu = The Mountain-Ash Tree 2:53 A7 Piirileikilaulu = Roundelay 1:41 A8 Röntyskälaulu = Röntyskä 5:04 A9 Viru Polka = Viru Reggae 2:30 B1 Kutse Jaanitulele = Call To The Midsummer Bonfire 1:18 B2 Tants = Dance 0:54 B3 Ōunapuu = The Apple Tree 1:15 B4 Ilus Neiu Kiigel = Pretty Girl On A Swing 1:53 B5 Harjumaa Lepikud = The Alder Groves Of Harjumaa 3:21 B6 Hällilaul = Lullaby 2:48 B7 Meri Kiige All = The Sea Under the Swing 3:26 B8 Viire Tagant Tulevad = From Beyond the Horizon 2:10 B9 Mure Murrab Meele = Worry Breaks The Spirit 1:05 B10 Kiik Tahab Kindaid = The Swing Yearns for Gifts 1:37
