"On The Shoulders Of The Great Bear" - Andrew Cronshaw

• artist:
  Andrew Cronshaw
• featured artist:
  Andrew Cronshaw, Heikki Laitinen, Hannu Saha, Jenny Wilhelms, Ian Blake, Minna Raskinen, Bernard O'Neill
• release year:
  2000
• country:
  United Kingdom
• formats:
  • CD (Compact Disc)
• record submitted by:
  Cloud Valley Music / SANS
• label:
  Cloud Valley Music
• publisher:
  Cloud Valley Music / SANS
• 
  buy this record

Finland and Finno-Ugrian musics have long been an influence on Cronshaw, and occasionally have appeared on his albums, but this, his seventh album, is devoted to them.

:::::: The tunes are mostly taken from traditional Finnish and Ural airs, along with a few others of Celtic derivation, but in each case Cronshaw blurs the borders to produce something unique, whether it is the layers of shawm, sax and concertina adding warm, Celtic textures to Halullinen Sielu/Käin Minä Kaunista, or the Finnish singer Jenny Wilhelms offering a vocal interpretation of a Gaelic lament. Most striking of all is the title track, in which jew's-harp sets up a hypnotic resonance behind the bizarre growled rap that Heikki Laitinen constructs from mythological runic imagery. Even at this early stage, it's safe to say you'll hear nothing else like it all year. - Andy Gill, The Independent

:::::: One of my top CDs of 2000, from anywhere in the world. Inspired composition, inspired music... - Fiona Talkington BBC Radio 3 Late Junction

Links

• Cloud Valley Music
• Andrew Cronshaw website
• Andrew Cronshaw MySpace