Muunduja

Many years ago, Songlines used to feature quotations from some of the more preposterous press releases that arrive in the magazine's postbag. This album came with an example of quite rococo splendour. ‘A state of being between states, the warping of time's arrow using sound,’ apparently the music on Muunduja is intended to ‘lure us into unimagined conversations with elements of our psychic selves.’ Notwithstanding, the Estonian duo of singer/violinist Maarja Nuut and electronic auteur Hendrik Kaljujärv (aka Ruum) have made a bold and fascinating record. Gorgeously ethereal Baltic folk voices with a touch of Björk weirdness float over shifting electronic tones and looped textures. ‘Kosmische’ grooves and primeval ambience co-exist in hypnotic soundscapes that are alternately unsettling and warmly enveloping, rich and then minimalist.

The sonic experimentation is all processed seamlessly by the expert production of Howie B and if, by chance, the music should move you to hold an unimagined conversation with elements of your psychic self, please don't allow my earthbound cynicism to stand in your way.