Multi-instrumentalist Michal Wojtas (voice, synths, drums, percussion, guitars, whistle, and cello) is the leader of well-regarded Polish band, Amarok. I heard about this album from a simple mailshot from Oskar Records and went along to the Bandcamp page at https://oskarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lore-cd to give it a listen and ultimately to purchase, because this is a class record. The music was composed for the James Wilton Company production of Lore, and you can learn more about this at https://jameswiltondance.com/shows/lore/ You can, with this album, envisage sitting down in a clearing and listening to ancient stories – indeed, this is the glue which binds us together in a common humanity, despite the earth-shattering modern corporate greed society & culture, something many of us hope will be a thing of the past very soon.
Wojtas is joined by Sebastian Wieladek on kora, hurdy gurdy, lyra, duduk, and shawm; and Kornel Poplawski (who appears with Amarok) on violin.
Lore has atmosphere and quality in spades and is an exceptional album.
This album is, I feel, designed to be listened to as a whole, its moods pulling you into an artistic experience.
To emphasise this, look at the wonderful video embedded below, which has its fusion of the title track of the album with dance, striking visual imagery, combative and emotional dance, Celtic rites, and the painting of the body. It puts across the human condition. This review is being written on Easter Sunday of 2023, and at its heart, the first “Christians” were Jews who believed that Christ was the embodiment of prophecies and promises/rites passed down millennia. Lore, whilst not a Christian work, speaks to the self-same basic rituals and beliefs, the thread which ties us to our ancestors and will do so for our distant descendants. For no better example, listen to the raw emotion of Myth of Creation here. The next time you watch a television nature programme with stags rutting, put on Song of Cernunnos, dedicated to a Celtic horned god particularly associated with this violent exposition of purely male behaviour. Humans trying to make sense of their world and their place within it. The Echoes, an epic track, with bold and naked vocal echoes and primeval thumps talking to us of our hopes and fears with no words whatsoever.
In terms of who would enjoy this album, certainly fans of Mariusz Duda’s Lunatic Soul project will find much symmetry and enjoyment. Also, those who enjoy some meaning with their music, especially with no discernible lyrics to guide them and to allow themselves the space to have music’s joy and themes wash over them – witness Eiocha, who was a Celtic Goddess of deep waters. The percussion and strings on the musical evocation accompanying a gorgeous voice is a joy to listen to. The Oak Tree will remind listeners of the mood Gabriel created on Passion, whilst almost singlehandedly introducing ethnic music to a wider commercial audience in the west, with its strange sounding and haunting noises and voices. Tales of the Woods recalls classic Oldfield with added vocal chants.
All barring one track were mixed and mastered by Wojtas himself, and the whole work sounds wonderful. Embedded below is Ritual. You can see in your mind’s eye the protagonists acting out their ceremony. The earthy funk in the drums and percussion especially bring the ceremony to life.
Close your eyes. Dance in your mind. Allow a superior work to wash over you and take you to a place where you perhaps might have been frightened to visit before, your inner light and darkness.
Very highly recommended.