Earlier this year I have been commissioned to mix an album for an interesting electronic/folk fusion duo called Arhai. The album ‘Eastern Roads’ a very tasteful mix between traditional folk instruments with electronics grooves and beats. The folk part is heavily inspired by traditional Irish, English and especially Balkan music.
Although I am less used to electronic music, I found that the beautiful combination and the gorgeous playing was just too nice to resist. I am very proud of this work as it was not only a challenge for me to work with a new style but also because I got to meet two very talented musicians. I’ve never before met someone so immersed in a specific type of music so much as Jovana Backovic and Adrian Lever are. They manoeuvre with ease between between a standard 4/4 rhythm through 7/8 to a finger-breaking 11/8 that I am still trying to learn how to count!
Have a listen to the album preview below (I especially recommend the excellent guitar work on track 10 – Ismail)
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/2503507″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /] [nggallery id=13]I highly recommend catching Arhai live because seeing their music come to life on stage is something special. Have a look on the band’s Facebook page and website for tour dates, and of course don’t forget to buy the album!!!