Stories of Stonia

Singer Mari Kalkun is a native speaker of Võro, an endangered South Estonian language, not easy even for speakers of standard Estonian to understand. This being the case, most of us will have to rely on the notes to learn that her lyrics deal with the fraught relationship between traditional understandings of nature and the modern world, drawing on myth for her explorations. Hence the enigmatic nature of these songs, in which Kalkun's simple but effective piano chords or zither strums are set against a mysterious world of scratches, whistlings and wails.

It has to be said that her melodies are not particularly memorable in themselves. Instead, the fascination of this recording lies in its lapidary arrangements and complex textural interplay, the development of which constitutes the main structural procedure of each song. The outstanding ‘Kui Kivid Olid Veel Pehmed (When the Stones Were Still Soft)’ features brass from Norwegian guest Daniel Herskedal emerging from the singer's multitracked incantations and croonings, while the subtle treatment of a bass ostinato in ‘Maaimä (Mother Earth)’, losing itself and the vocals in a haze of echo, is mesmerising. The production and recorded sound are of Real World's usual high standards, and the details of every song repay close listening.