Kristian Blak – Addeq
Label: Tutl – HJF 22
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: Faroe Islands
Released: Jun 1989
Genre: Jazz, Rock
Style: Contemporary Jazz
Bizarro wide-referencing contemporary jazz from the rocky volcanic Faroe Islands of the North Sea. Who’d have guessed it!
We don’t know much about the Faroe Islands. Only that they occasionally play in international football matches, it’s home to lots of Puffin colonies and has some incredibly dramatic scenery. But as it turns out, it’s also host to a very active music scene centred around the national Tutl label and its founder Kristian Blak in the capital Tórshavn.
This 1989 LP Addeq from Blak and others spreads itself across vast territory. Drawing on the indigenous folklore of the islands, sounds of ancient daily activities and wildlife together with African Kora notes from Malang Cissokho, it’s a delicately percolated, wonderfully constructed spiritual jazz that sounds like nothing we’ve really encountered before. There’s a gently ecstatic feeling in the atmosphere, recalling the sort of rapturous encounters with eclectic Polish group Osjan, in particular their Rytuał Dźwięku LP, or even Nenad Jelić’s Opera LP. But I dunno, despite loose comparisons, we’re really in unknown territory here and genuinely more surprised that this actually exists. It’s always nice to be reminded that scenes can spring up in the most unlikely places and the quest for musical discoveries is infinite. (Mint / New – unplayed deadstock)
Tracklist
A1 Addeq 3:51
A2 Kamutseq 8:47
A3 Piiseq 5:22
A4 Parnaaliraaingaase 6:53
B1 Nanoq 7:22
B2 Piniartoq 1:28
B3 Malersartaq 3:56
B4 Addeq II 4:59
