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EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Kanaan and Ævestaden Travel Wide With Langt, langt vekk

I am here today to tell you about one of the albums that have pierced me the most deeply this year so far: Kanaan and Ævestaden's Langt, langt vekk

4 months ago

I will admit - from time to time, I mess up. I forget to post things or get overwhelmed and have to postpone. I try to forgive myself, as I am only human. But it's hard because, on the other side, there is great music waiting to be heard and I feel like I've gotten in the way of it. This time, it especially hurts because I was supposed to post this album yesterday and I couldn't and it is so so good and lovely. But, here I am today telling you about one of the albums that have pierced me the most deeply this year so far: Kanaan and Ævestaden's Langt, langt vekk (which translates to "far, far away" from both bands' native Norwegian).

If you don't know who Ævestaden are, I shall forgive you since we have yet to cover their deep and resonating neo-folk on the blog before. But if you don't know how Kanaan are, I shan't forgive you since I have been absolutely in love with their expansive and intricate psychedelic jazz for years now and have posted about them extensively on the blog before. Now that I have refreshed your memory, put your hands together and witness something marvelous being born. Langt, langt vekk is a collaboration between these two groups and features both original compositions and traditional songs and psalms rendered in a heady, whirling mix of the two sounds. And I get to premiere it in full below.

Where to start? "Habbor og Signe", the second track, is perhaps the best example of this unique blend of sounds. It prominently features the enchanting vocals, in the equally enchanting Norwegian, of Ævestaden, which form the center of the track. Around it glisten the delicate stringed instruments of their folk sound, together forming a sort of double circle, painted in warm colors of longing and wander. But we're not quite done as, around this core, whirls and dances the unleashed psychedelic sounds of Kanaan. They do what they do best, which is inject the composition with their unmistakable groove and momentum.

I could go on. There's so much more on this album; fiddles, cow’s horn, kravik lyre, mouth harp, synths, more riffs than you can count, and through it all an impressive musical feat in melding the two sounds of these bands. Instead, I shall treat you to one more thing: a live rendition of the aforementioned second track from the album, recorded at the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo. All of this goodness releases this Friday, October 11th, and you can pre-order it right here.

Apologies from keeping this from you for even one day. Please rejoice in it now.

Eden Kupermintz

Published 4 months ago