Tur Kur Mīti

Latvian post-folk group Iļg‘i have been around for over three decades, tracing their heritage back to the folk-oriented musicological researches into traditional music that had been heavily discouraged during the period of Soviet control over Latvia. Since then, they have followed a path of atmospheric acoustic arrangements of folk melodies, latterly branching out to compose new music, entwining it with the old. Here they remain on familiar ground, with mostly straightforward and clear material being arranged in imaginative and well-tried fashion.
A combination of transparent textures, delicate slide guitar, kokle (zither) of Laima Jansone and androgynous vocals makes the opener ‘Laima’ the most memorable. It's succeeded by the more staid but still pleasant ‘Istabā’, and the rest of the CD follows much the same pattern: delicate restraint followed by rather more muscular dance-oriented material. Even these are firmly reined in – the gently rollicking workout ‘Koki’, for example – with the prominent accordion and solidly rooted drumming from Māris Muktapāvels and Mārtiņš Linde never losing its head. Its pervasive coolness and tight organisation makes this album both intelligent fireside listening and a fine soundtrack for a brisk winter's walk.