Label: Estoterix – EX009
Format: CD, Album
Country: Australia
Released: 2000
Genre: Electronic, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Rune Singing, Choral, Vocal, Experimental
00ies compilation of Kiri-UU!!! (Mint / New)
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 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. (Mint / New - ex-deadstock)
Tracklist
1 Creak-Whoosh = Kiri-Uu
2 A Dance Song = Röntyskälaulu
3 The Black Loorgin = An Lurgainn Dubh
4 Eee = Iii
5 A Village Party Song = Chastushka
6 Slave Wages = Orja Palk
7 Come To The Midsummer Bonfire = Tulge Jaanitulele
8 Sleeps The Noon In The Deep Blue Sky = Ossian's Daydream
9 A Roundelay = Piirileikkilaulu
10 Am Dam Doribhi
11 The Hopping Dance = Hüppetants
12 I Sang, My Heart Sank = Suu Lauloi, Süän Murehti
13 Harp = An Clasair
14 The Wild Swan = Eala Foleón
15 The Power Of Song + Going West = Laulu Võim + Aignish
16 Lay Me To Sleep = Mairead Og
17 Harvesting Song = Lõikuse Laul
