ERYNNIA
– cavern of victory
(CD, self
released)
The voice is the most directly accessible instrument
there is, the primordial instrument, so to say. Erynnia takes it one step
further back even, into the realm of greek mythology. I am unable to
remember correctly what kind of function the Erynnia(s) had in greek
mythology, but I have the feeling they were not too friendly. And
consequently the five songs on this CD range between eerie and spooky on the
one hand and sombre and melancholic on the other hand. Sparsely arranged,
with only a little percussive noise or simple recurring notes doing the
rhythm parts, the focus is clearly on the voice itself. Sometimes Erynnia
puts two or three layers of her voice on top of each other to great effect,
sometimes she leaves all the unnecities aside and there her voice an nothing
else to be heard. Rightfully “cavern of victory” starts and ends with
songs that are layers of voice and nothing else, with all the songs that
peruse electronics or instruments stuck in between.
It is definitely an interesting voice, though I am not
sure if it is a classically trained one. Either way, she is a specifically
talented artist. And this is not only meant for the range of her voice but
also for her ability to arrange and construct her songs. Some people I talk
to really seem to think that classical training is bad for “true art”
– whatever that means – because it destroys original thought. I don’t
think so. I am sure that if you know your handicraft then you are much
better prepared to bring the kind of sounds or artistic vision from your
head to reality. Of course, there have been a lot of great artists that have
produced remarkable work and never saw any kind of training, but those are
few and between. For anybody else, depending of what they set out to do,
getting to know the basics of their art can never be wrong.
For years now, ever since I heard Shainko Namchylak for
the first time, I have been fascinated by what is possible to do with the
human voice. From the gregorian singing of the Anonymous 4 (special hint at
“Origins of Fire – music and visions of Hildegard von Bingen”) to Nina
Simone to Kate Bush to Mike Patton’s purely vocal work to Iris Garelfs and
Meredith Monk and ever so on. My reception puts Erynnia into the same line
of artists, her voice ranging from the lower tones that ring with melancholy
and depth to the higher notes.
And really there is a little something to be found of
the long history of singing in all of the songs. Especially the last song
“Dirty confessions” rings with hints to gregorian chant singing as well
as a little gospel – a truly intriguing mixture. “Pressure” is a
wonderful late night piece of piano and singing, the most traditional piece
on the CD. The one being closest to what is traditionally regarded as a
song, playing with the opposition of the monotony of the piano against the
rich tonality of the voice.
Encountering a special singer I first listen to the
tones and the sounds of the voice, only later on and with some kind of
effort being able to concentrate on the content of what they are singing
about. Sometimes I even prefer the purely avantgarde play with vocal sounds.
The most songs on “cavern of victory” seem to be about personal or even
intimate experiences that find their way to the outside on an almost
subconcious level via singing. Yes, every heart is weak in its own special
way and we all got our secrets to hide somewhere and the devil has a look at
all of us. And everything that starts will end at some point. Fortunately,
though, unlike live, you can replay a song over and over again. Maybe
that’s why people prefer the representation of life in art to real life.
