By Iminza Keboge and Khalifa Hemed
Published April 23, 2020
A band that has wowed audiences–from The Carnival in Rio, a private wedding in India and to London’s Royal Festival Hall–with its diverse technical skills is set to launch a new music album.
The London (England)-based iyatraQuartet (pronounced eye-at-ra) that takes its name from a Hindi word ‘yatra’ meaning ‘travel’ with a sense of a ‘pilgrimage’, shall launch Break the Dawn, its album that is inspired by English Poetry, Indian Ragas, Memorial Plaques and Arabic Love Songs, on April 24, 2020.
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“Break the Dawn has little pieces of unusual English history throughout with compositions inspired by a classic English poem (Black Seas), a Renaissance keyboard manuscript (Dompe) and memorial plaques from Oxford’s Somerville College (Alpine Flowers),” say Angie Lemon PR who are handling the publicity of the event.
The album’s strong opener, Black Seas, is inspired by the poem, Sea-Fever, that is penned by the British Poet Laureate, John Masefield OM. This iyatraQuartet’s emotive composition includes an engaging percussive intro followed by unique twists and turns on violin, cello and bass clarinet found in no previous work. It is a beautiful and evocative instrumental of the original theme.
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Directed by Andrew Spicer, the official video for Black Seas received an Honourable Mention in the UK Seasonal Short Film Festival 2020, was a Rolling Stone Germany Song of the Day and Folk Radio UK Tune of the Day.
Two members of the quartet – violinist Alice Barron and percussionist Will Roberts – both recently returned on one of the last flights out of India back to the UK before lockdown started. Barron had been studying violin with the Mysore brothers, two of the world’s finest exponents in Carnatic classical music.
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“When you receive the nod for a solo live on stage with violinist Nigel Kennedy, then you have to perform!” says Barron of her touring with Nigel Kennedy while performing at Le Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, France. “Sometimes I would do a kind of Indian-inspired solo … sometimes Nigel Kennedy would point to anyone in the band and you just play! For me that felt like a point where all the work I have done with musicians in India, started to make sense for me… helping me find my own voice on the violin.”
For the launch, iyatra Quartet invites friends along to a live listen along online and to follow stories behind each track on Break the Dawn album.
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iyatra Quartet comprises:
- Alice Barron: (Nigel Kennedy’s UK tours 2016, London Sinfonietta, Quincy Jones, Talvin Singh, Sam Lee) violin, scordatura violin, kalimba, rice bowl, vocals
- George Sleightholme: (Club Inègales with Peter Wiegold and Notes Inègales, A wedding for A R Rahman in India) Clarinet, bass clarinet, singing bowls, floor tom, half clarinet, toy mbira vocals
- Rich Phillips: (Hofesh Shechter Company, Heritage Orchestra, Nigel Kennedy’s Orchestra of Life) Cello, scordatura cello, charango, vocals, and
- Will Roberts: (The Scorpios, Tonzee – Brazilian samba rock band, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre) percussion setup, bodhran, clarinet, singing bowl, frame drum, tabla, muted djembe, charango, vocals.
The track listing on the 52-minute long Break the Dawn album are:
1. Black Seas 3:47
2. Dompe 6:59
3. Chandra 5:07
4. Lama Bada 3:50
5. One Step, Two 2:53
6. Bhairav (Break the Dawn) 7:32
7. Maria 4:25
8. Caravan 5:15
9. Alpine Flowers 5:45
10. Fives 6:18.
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Meanwhile, a spellbinding love song, Armasta Mind (Love Me), has climbed to the number 1 spot on Estonia’s Singles Charts! This song by a band called Trad.Attack!, is a love incantation from a small place in Estonia called Häädemeeste.
But, unless you say the words ‘Armasta mind armsamini enesest, armsamini emast, isast, päikesest ja kuust’ (Love me more than you love yourself, more than your mother, father, the sun and the moon) three times, the Tradition says the spell will not work.
The video of the song premiered on April 3, 2020.
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Trad.Attack! are a much-beloved band at the forefront of the Estonian music scene, their upcoming album – Make Your Move – represents the tireless effort and determination they have in their music. Armasta Mind is lifted from Make Your Move. From the sampling of Estonian heritage audio, to their live prowess, Trad.Attack! take pride in capturing these sounds in Make Your Move.
Make Your Move is a collection of brilliant, timeless, energetic songs that leave you yearning to see the band live and is being released physically through Trad.Attack! and digitally through Made in Baltics.
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The track listing for Make Your Move album are:
1. Rikas sittus – (Rich Man Shat) Lyrics by Sandra Vabarna based on traditional songs – 03.26
2. Pass-pass – Lyrics from Kuusalu 1963, Viljandimaa, Lääne-Nigula 1937. 03.07
3. Vanamees – (Old Man) – Lyrics from Kolga-Jaani 1886 & Ambla 1894. 03.53
4. Tehke ruumi! – (Make Room!) – Lyrics by Maria Koert from Mustjala 1961. 03.35
5. Saada vihma – (Send Rain) – Lyrics by Jalmar Vabarna and traditional songs 03.08
6. Miks te ei laula? – (Why Don’t You Sing?) – Lyrics from Tõstamaa 1921. 02.53
7. Kus mu süda on… – (Where Is My Heart…) – Lyrics by Sandra Vabarna based on traditional songs 04.52
8.Armasta mind – (Love Me) – Lyrics from Häädemeeste 1963. 03.45
9. Haned-luiged – (Geese And Swans) – Traditional lyrics 03.03
10. Varesele valu – (Pain To The Crow) – Lyrics by Sandra Vabarna based on traditional songs 03.12
11. Siberi unelaul – (Siberian Lullaby) – Sung by Olga Matvejeva from Haidak village, Siberia 2007. 05.57
The musicians who make up Trad.Attack! are:
- Sandra Vabarna- Estonian bagpipes, Jew’s harp, vocals
- Jalmar Vabarna – 12-string guitar, vocals, and
- Tõnu Tubli – drums, percussion, trombone, glockenspiel, vocals.
