The development of the folktronic sound, that is, the creation of folk music using, in part, digital processes, has not only kept folk traditions alive in the modern, more commercial world but brought such timeless sounds to whole new audiences, audiences who might, up until now, have been put off by the music’s ancient ways. And what we find with Дeva (or Deva in Western lettering styles), the new album from Avar, is precisely that process of reengagment and revival at work.
Taking the music traditions of her own Hungarian home, she deftly weaves through digital beats and seductive sonic washes to create and accentuate those sounds’ natural flow, beauty, atmosphere, and elegance.
The result reminds us that European music traditions come from shared sources. At times, the mystique and mastery of the music seem to hint at everything from Irish keening, Nordic ballad traditions, tribal rhythms, Breton harp, shamanic rituals, oriental-infused flutes, and any number of choral sounds. If you needed any more proof that it is music that truly connects us in a way that other aspects and elements of our culture don’t, this is it.
There are tracks such as “Folyo” are drifting soundscapes, atmospheres pulled together in music form, “Orison” seems to evoke a more primeval time; “Ket Szal,” which is the perfect blend of timeless sonics and modern creativity, and the majestic “Kis Kece” which blends all of these elements into one sublime experience.
To call this world music would be to reduce it to a niche label, which it is not; nothing could be further from the truth. But if this is world music, then it is world music embracing the sounds of now, world music evolving, finding its full potential, and reaching out to a whole new audience for such beautiful creativity.
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