Post Description

Nee, niet de drummer van Elton John............................ 
Maar wat een beauty.


Is there any more magical sound than that of the cello, embalming the ears of most listeners into a sense of comfort? Ray Cooper’s delivery of the instrument has helped to seal its place in modern roots music, alongside guitars, fiddles and squeezeboxes. Now an unbelievable eight years since he left his 24-year stint with Oysterband, this is his fourth solo recording, and it is a cracker.

Based in Sweden for upward of two decades, a Scandi influence purposefully permeates these songs. Conceived and recorded in a wooden cabin in the forest during the prolonged hibernation brought about by corona, Cooper cites the influence of the Kalevala, a Finnish epic poem of the 19th century, the subtitle of which, in translation, is Land of Heroes, also the name of this collection of songs. The importance of the Kalevala to the Finnish identity cannot be understated, and it was certainly an influence upon J.R.R. Tolkien’s tales of Middle Earth.

Cooper plays and sings all the instruments here, bar the occasional accompanying vocals of Rowan Godel and it is way more than the bass and cello he is celebrated for, playing all manner of other stringed instruments, including the Finnish harp/zither hybrid, the kantele, alongside harmonica, harmonium and piano.

Among Cooper’ cites equally the importance of traditional tunes alongside rock’n’roll and Johnny Cash to his influences, intriguingly also offering the name of Ennio Morricone, and it is that last name that lurks large in the hinterground of the opener, ‘The Burning Pile’. An ominously portentous near instrumental, it was inspired by the Swedish Witch Trials of 1669, with the tension building as harmonica and harmonium sweep in over the kantele, before a combination of a low moaning chorale is met by Godel’s soaring wail. With nary a drop in momentum, this bleeds straight into ‘Whistleblower’. Spoken in tune rather than sung, this is all hell-fire preacher, a suitably funereal harmonium kicks it off, together with some spare acoustic guitar thrashing away as Cooper’s message unfurls with the low drone of cello providing a sturdy foundation. A song to make you think, dedicated to the whistleblowers of the world, it and the track before are as exciting an opening salve as I have heard for some time.

Tracks:  
1. The Burning Pile (4:07)
2. Whistleblower (3:49)
3. Circles (4:05)
4. Eyes Of Mercy (3:47)
5. The Beast (4:19)
6. Canada Hill (3:36)
7. We Need More Heroes (4:23)
8. Dark Father (3:44)
9. Ilmarinen’s Ride (2:14)
10. Brave Wolfe (4:57)
11. Dark Sky Park (3:46)


Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster.