Grúňom Hore

What I like about this Slovak band is their total faith in the pastoral culture of their region. Take their record sleeve: shepherds' pipes, leather belts and sheep. So many groups modernise their music with keyboards, electronics and rappers, and destroy its identity. Trombitáši, going since 2010, celebrate the shepherd traditions of the southern foothills of the Tatras, and with good reason. Every note of this album resonates with the wide open spaces of the region. Their main instrument is the trombitsa, the Slovakian alphorn which, rather like the Swiss version, creates a rich sonorous space for the music. They use four or six at a time to create spectacular fanfares and sonic structures. They also sing and include the unique Slovakian fujara, a 2-metre long shepherds' flute, played by Ivan Bobot, which adds an immediately-recognisable Slovakian identity, plus accordion and bells. Fittingly, the album begins with the sound of sheep.

But I'm glad I've seen this group live, because the album really doesn't do them justice. As their music is so linked to the pastoral environment, it probably would have been better to record in the open air, to hear the nature and the echo and reverb.