Happy New Year - "Novorichna"

 

Lockdown has given me the opportunity to delve into the past and rediscover a lot of material I'd forgotten or half finished. "Novorichna" falls into the former category, it was recorded as Astarta/Edwin  but left off the finished album as it really didn't fit, not surprsing really as it's a traditional New Year's Greeting song,  created in our "collision music" method.

 Note that this would refer to the Eastern Gregorian Orthodox New Year, so as of now,  I am not late in sharing it out with all the usual New Years wishes, add to that that 2020 has been so dire for most of us that the opportunity to say goodbye to it twice should perhaps be welcomed.

2021 has already got off to wild start,  so I thought it best to offer this as a free/pay what you like download to spread a little bit of extra positive energy.....click the player above.

Happy  New Year to all.

Burnt Belief - Anniversary of the End of the World

It's been quite some time since Burnt Belief decided to mark the end of the world with the release of our eponymous debut album.

For us Armageddon certainly proved to be an auspicious event since Jon Durant and myself have completed a further two full length albums, and Jon also played a huge part in shaping my collaborative album with Ukrainian vocal duo Astarta, …and it's not finished yet, our collaborative journey into Ukrainian music is still ongoing, but more in that in due course.

For now, we've chosen to mark the anniversary of the end, by setting up a Bandcamp page where all three albums - Burnt Belief, Etymology and Emergent - are now available in the usual audio format options.





Happy Solstice to all....

"Novorichna" - Happy New Year

It appears Ukrainians celebrate the festive season a little later than the rest of us, something to do with the Gregorian calendar.



I am hoping to have some news about the Astarta/Edwin project at some point in the not too distant future, but for now it's probably appropriate to share the song "Novorichna" , a Ukrainian NewYear song, not part of the forthcoming album. The lyrics and language may be unfamiliar, but as an expression of hopefulness for the coming year it's easy for anyone to relate to.

Jon Durant is on guitar, Inna, Yulia and Eduard Prystupa on vocals with bass, programming etc, yours truly.

All the Best to all for 2015…..


Colin

Astarta/Edwin track for compilation album

I am sure it will come as no surprise to say that my ongoing collaborative project with Ukrainian vocal duo Astarta has been held up by the chaotic events taking place in Ukraine over the last few months.

Work on the album (...and hopefully plans for further live performances too) should recommence soon, but in the meantime, we are happy to donate one of the completed tracks to a fund-raising compilation album to benefit EuroMaidan SOS, an organisation which is helping the victims and families of those killed during the recent protests in Kiev.

Please check this Facebook event page for more about the release, featuring acts from all over Europe:

https://www.facebook.com/events/618570681562266/

You can read organiser Mich Rozek's eloquent statement about what the compilation hopes to achieve, please note that there's no political message, purely a desire to improve the lot of those affected by the crisis.

The track we are donating is called "Kalina", which is arranged around an existing folk melody, originating from the Sumy region of present day Ukraine, and is sung in the local dialect, I am led to believe it's closer to the Russian language than Ukrainian.

The lyrical content concerns the Guelder Rose (or viburnum opulus for any horticulturalists..), which as well as being a national emblem, much used in folk art, embroidery etc, also has a symbolic meaning in the pagan traditions of the area, connected with the birth of the universe,  feminine beauty and also blood and family ties.

As well as the beguiling vocals of Astarta (Yulia Malyarenko and Inna Kovtun), "Kalina" also features my  "Burnt Belief buddy" Jon Durant joining us on guitar and the marvellous Pat Mastelotto is on drums.

Anyway, please follow the link below to purchase the album:



I'd like to encourage anyone who feels moved to support the album to also hit the share button.

Also, those inclined can visit the new Astarta/Edwin Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/astarta.edwin

…..which will hopefully be updated before too long...

Best,

Colin

Days of Ukraine in London

Below, two tracks from the material I've been working on over the last year or so with Kiev based female vocal duo Astarta. 

We'll be performing live together this coming weekend, Saturday 19th October, as part of the Days Of Ukraine Festival, a wide cultural event showcasing a selection of Ukrainian literature, cuisine, fashion, art, and music of course, in London.

I heard Ukraine described on the BBC the other day as "...a large country in Eastern Europe about which most people know nothing" and to my (limited) knowledge, this is the first time any sort of  cultural event focussed around it has happened in London.

 I have never had any sort of personal or family connection to the place, and in fact I only first visited in 2011 to play a one-off date with Ex-Wise Heads, but since then, I have developed an interest in the vibrant and soulful sounds of a lot of the folk music I have been introduced to.

Our performance, and others, will take place at Potters Field Park, right next to the River Thames, and we are scheduled to play around 4.15pm, and admission is free, and there's more information here and also here.

I am also pleased to report that my Burnt Belief partner Jon Durant will be joining us on guitar, as fortuitously, he will also be in the UK working with me on a follow up to our last album Burnt Belief.

Best,

Colin

Astarta/Edwin live photos.

Some photos from the debut Astarta/Edwin show at the Kraina Mriy World Music Festival in Kiev at the beginning of this month.

Despite logistical hassles, limited prep time, a language barrier, all the problems inherent in doing an open air show (....in this case a rain shower which appeared out of nowhere just before we were due to play) and an hour long set of brand new, for the most part previously unplayed material, I am happy to say, everything came together really well.

Line up (above left to right Eduard Prystupa (keyboards/guitar), Inna and Yulia (vocals), Dima (flutes, ocarinas and beatboxing), Bogdan (Drums), Jon Durant (guitars) and the bass player.

Below standing in almost the exact same order on stage:

By an amazing coincidence the EBS TD650 amp I used was the same one which I had previously taken as a spare on the Incident tour with Porcupine Tree. 

Eduard and Inna.

Inna and Yulia

Punking it up for the last couple of tunes.

As well as it being a great opportunity to test out in a live environment the "work in progress" (and in some cases as yet unrecorded) tunes, Kriana Mriy was also a very enjoyable place to be.

In addition to a general wandering about, absorbing the uniquely Ukrainian atmosphere, I took some time to share a brandy with the guys from Kozak System, and take in their high energy show.

Big thanks to the "supporting cast" who made the show possible, especially Igor Romanov from Igromart music,  Dima for his invaluable translation, Nataliia for her space and Sacha from Lakeside Studios for live sound and also the most pleasant rehearsal space I've been in a long time.

More to follow I am sure.....

Best,

Colin

Live in Kiev with Astarta

I've never seen my name written in Cyrillic before, but if you're able to read it, then you'll hopefully see from the poster above that I'll be guesting with Ukrainian Folk Duo "Astarta" at Bochka in Kiev, Ukraine on 8th of April 2013. Doors open at 19.30.

I've been steadily working towards making a full length album with Astarta, things have been progressing, and we're well on the way.

There's some great contributions from some fantastic musicians on the material we've been recording, I'll hopefully be sharing all the details before too long, but for now, you can read my previous blog entry about the collaboration, and hear some of the music by clicking here.

Best,

Colin