minco eggersman - Kavkasia (2017) [Hi-Res]

Composer Minco Eggersman has created an ode to the country Georgia. Situated between Asia and Europe, the ancient country has been inhabited by the first proto-Georgian tribes who arrived by the 12th century BC. The country came under attack following the death of Tamar, Queen of Georgia, and the Georgian Kingdom collapsed. The country has undergone many regime changes and has fought for its independence throughout history. The people there never gave up and have enjoyed freedom since the 2003 Rose Revolution.

Kavkasia was born from a four-wheel drive trip that Eggersman and his wife took into Georgia. The resulting music on this album is stunningly beautiful and perfectly reflects the search for beauty, fortitude and rest, deep into the Caucasian mountains. The rugged, broken landscape, in which each sound and every impression pervades one's very pores, landed him a mixture of humility and comfort.

Minco's development from singer-songwriter at the crossroads of Americana and alternative into a soundtrack composer has provided a new twist and sharpness to the character of his storytelling. His stories are incisive and picturesque, but he uses even fewer words in telling them. What he does voice, is simple, striking and more finely defined than ever. An impression is enough, just like the entire record is exemplified by the little cross from Gergeti Trinity Church that Minco carries in his purse as a living memory.

The evolution of Minco's musical idiom is equally remarkable. Known for lo-fi in his early career, you will now hear crystal clear recording by i.a. Jan Borger that together with the open arrangements sometimes flows towards jazz. The mixture of neo-classical, a bit of post-rock and avant-garde bring to mind the last works of Talk Talk and Jan Garbarek ('Holy Ground').

Much of the material on Kavkasia has been based on field recordings in Georgia by Minco and director Yaron Cohen; recordings that actually bring Georgia into the listener's living room as if the listener is really part of the songs. A farmer working his ground, a whistling river flowing, bells from afar, the soft ticking of the rain and the birds that flee when the mist quietly unwraps the mountains provide an outstanding space and depth in the mix (with the help of again Jan Borger and René de Vries), as in Minco's earlier sound experiment on Reservoirs.

To provide this extraordinary project with the nuance it deserves, Minco again cooperates with a host of guest musicians. Cellos are played by Svante Henryson (known from his work with Elvis Costello and Ryan Adams), and Jonas Nyström – who worked with Minco on In Blue earlier, just like Svante – took care of the intense organ recordings in one of the most beautiful churches in the north of Sweden. The fantastic bass parts are added by Audun Erlien (known for being part of many ECM albums of Nils Petter Molvaer, Mathias Eick and Silje Nergaard). Vocals on 'Melisma & Gurian' and 'Deda Ena', in two local languages, are provided by Buba of the Iberi Choir. Besides Oene van Geel on violin, and the strings that are contributed by the famous Macedonian Symphony Orchestra from Skopje, Paul van der Feen of the Metropole Orchestra adds the saxophone.

Tracklist:
01. Minco Eggersman - Hidden in Clouds (feat. Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra & Svante Henryson)
02. Minco Eggersman - The Crossing Place (feat. Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Oene van Geel, Jonas Pap & Hanna Ekström)
03. Minco Eggersman - Dance (feat. Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Svante Henryson & Jonas Nyström)
04. Minco Eggersman - The Black Sea (feat. Lincoln Ho & Jonas Nyström)
05. Minco Eggersman - Holy Ground (feat. Paul van der Feen & Jonas Nyström)
06. Minco Eggersman - The Other Side of Dawn (feat. Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Jonas Pap & Hanna Ekström)
07. Minco Eggersman - Stepantsminda (feat. Jonas Nyström)
08. Minco Eggersman - Melisma & Gurian (feat. The Iberi Choir)
09. Minco Eggersman - Deda Ena (feat. Audun Erlien, Jonas Nyström, Oene van Geel & The Iberi Choir)
10. Minco Eggersman - Tbilisi Calls (feat. Audun Erlien, Oene van Geel, Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Jonas Nyström & Paul van der Feen)
11. Minco Eggersman - Mount Ararat (feat. Audun Erlien, Svante Henryson, Oene van Geel & Jonas Pap)
12. Minco Eggersman - Home of the Brave (feat. Lincoln Ho & Jonas Nyström)