Wow. Despite never hearing of this record label or the artists, I knew even before listening that this was going to be incredible. Chalk that up to absolutely beautiful artwork by Solange Gularte, printed beautifully by the fine folks at Stumptown.
It took some time to figure out what the situation was here, exactly. Turns out that this is a double-CD three band split by three bands - Twinsistermoon, Isengrind and Natural Snow Buildings. Twinsistermoon is the solo project of Mehdi Ameziane, Isengrind is the solo project of Solange Gularte and Natural Snow Buildings is a collaborative project for the two.
The album's first disc opens with the magical, haunting, snowy forest-psyche of Isengrind. Reference points include Fonal Finnish forest folk, Digitalis, and of course Jewelled Antler. Very earthy, natural sound but also has a really cold, chilling vibe appropriate to the subject matter, thanks to lots of icy upper-register tones and drones that conjure landscapes of ice and wind. A primitive human element comes into play with simple meandering flutes. Buzzy drones and yipping/chanting vocals come into play on the sixth track making me think of In Gowan Ring, Tirath Singh Nirmala and Islaja. Really beautiful.
Twinsistermoon takes over midway and comes off at times like a much darker Vashti Bunyan - the soft wispy voice is juxtaposed on top of haunting, distorted lo-fi drones. With the vocals, and fingerpicked acoustic guitars peppered throughout, Twinsistermoon is geniunely more connected to a traditional folk music than Isengrind but does have extended periods of abstract drones and soundscape, much like In Gowan Ring and Current 93.
Natural Snow Buildings is a bit of a combination with a skew more towards the Isengrind sound - less folky more soundscapey, with some beautiful chantand drum parts that evoke a religious ritual feel. The last track They Do Not Come Knocking is a truly epic track that puts one into a very specific headstate - relaxed, dreamy, detached - this should come with a 'warning to do operate heavy machinery' sticker.
All told, a very beautiful record from three noteworthy new acts on the psyche-folk/free-forest-folk scene and what looks to be a great new record label along the lines of other like-minded labels like Fonal, Jewelled Antler, Ache and Digitalis. These are available in limited quantity so snap one up quick - and for god sake don't download this on Soulseek - the package is too beautiful to not hold this record in your hand and it really makes the listening experience so much more magical.
