Portu in Core

Followers of Corsican supergroup I Muvrini (The Mountain Sheep) will know the formula: voices steeped in tradition; an ensemble that's part folk, part world music, part rock band; a vehicle for frontman Jean-François Bernardini's words and music. He's become a spokesperson for non-violent Corsican nationalism and environmentalism… you don't usually come to the Muvrinis for tender love songs, unless they're dedicated to Corsica itself or the planet. Portu in Core is the home port to which a voyager always returns, for it is the Earth itself. When wisdom is quarantined, when greed steals our destinies, our home port still welcomes us, suggests the title-track. Or perhaps not for much longer, if we don't take better care of the planet.

There's a message from World War I; the cry of a child facing an ocean filled with plastic; reassurance that armed struggle is not the only way, that poetry and music have the power to change, and whenever they risk tipping into simplistic balladry, those spine-tingling Corsican voices rise in the mix and pierce the soul. I Muvrini have spent years articulating the trauma of Corsican history and our environmental responsibilities, and Portu in Core is an effective summary and mission statement.