Araxes

These tunes are steeped in sadness, arriving from Anatolia, Georgia and Armenia, the homelands of each band member. This is the trio’s second album, featuring Mikail Yakut, whose accordion lies at the centre, like a small orchestra, flanked by the soft-blowing Arsen Petrosyan (duduk) and Deniz Mahir Kartal (kaval). The double-reed woodwind and end-blown flute complement each other on each side of the stereo field. Kartal also plays the divan, a hybrid developed from the saz lute. Introverted and expressive, the performance exposes each instrument, but the combined presence of the three still creates a surprisingly full spread of sound. The compositions are contributed by all three members, sometimes involving an instrument leaning forward to glow individually, the emphasis changing from tune to tune. ‘Dark Elf’ has a slow sway to its melancholic celebration, then ‘Dancing Horses’ has a robust, percussive melody. The accordion is restful on ‘Wind of Araxes’, the duduk and divan highlighted during its slow, mournful development. The most up-tempo prancer of Araxes is ‘Kavkasiuri’ (Caucasian), followed by a closing dance that is known by different names in each of A.G.A.’s three native lands.