Tracklist:
01. The Space Between (5:01)
02. I Hope Your World Is Kind (5:03)
03. Skeleton Tree (4:19)
04. Desert Flower (6:03)
05. Night 13 (4:24)
06. See (5:13)
07. The Name Of The Wind (3:53)
08. Aphrodite Rising (5:33)
09. Savant (4:27)
10. Underthing Solstice (7:07)
11. Them Thar Chanterelles (feat. Liquor in the Well) (5:22)
Об альбоме (сборнике)
Auri начал свою жизнь как три человека, объединённые общей потребностью услышать музыку, которую невозможно описать только словами - музыку, которую ты слышишь "словно во время падения в кроличью нору Алисы".
Первая песня "Aphrodite Rising", рождённая с этой идеей, появилась в 2011 году. И земля медленно разверзлась, и еще десять композиций вышли из земной тверди.
Так образовалось трио. Куркела дала группе свой уникальный голос, в то время как Холопайнен и английский композитор и мульти-инструменталист Трой Донокли (также из Nightwish) наложили свои заклинания с помощью различных музыкальных инструментов. Благодаря приглашённым музыкантам и друзьям, альбом, наконец, принимает свою окончательную форму под руководством звукорежиссёра Тима Оливера в пасторальном великолепии студии Real World в Южной Англии.
"Auri - результат общей музыкальной страсти. Все были вовлечены во всё". Однако Туомас Холопайнен не хочет слишком много рассказывать о песнях и их историях: "слушатель сам должен привнести свою историю в композиции - ведь именно это делает альбом таким красивым. Он живёт благодаря воображению каждого отдельного человека!" - говорит композитор. "Но я могу сказать вам, что часть содержания и тексты песен написаны под вдохновением от книг Патрика Ротфуса. Может быть, люди, которые знают эти книги и их истории, увидят некоторые параллели и определённые сценарии, но поверьте мне, альбом - это намного большее."
Когда Туомас описывает "Auri", он не может не улыбаться. "Всего несколько дней назад у нас был разговор в группе, и мы подумали о том, как лучше всего его охарактеризовать", - говорит он. - "Нам пришло в голову два термина: музыка кроличьей норы и небесный метал. Очевидно, вы можете услышать влияния фолка, кельтской музыки, саундтреков - всё это музыка, которую мы все безумно любим, но дать жанру какую-либо категорию действительно невозможно. Я оставлю это слушателям."
Тур в настоящее время не планируется, но одно уже точно: "Это определённо будет не только один альбом!" Так что сядьте поудобнее, закройте глаза и позвольте себе упасть в глубину. Мир волшебства и чудес ждёт вас по ту сторону зеркал.
Состав группы Auri:
Йоханна Куркела - вокал, виола
Туомас Холопайнен - клавишные, бэк-вокал
Трой Донокли - акустическая и электро-гитары бузуки, ирландская (иллианская) волынка, лоу-вистл, аэрофон, бодхран, клавишные, вокал.
Холопайнен и Куркела женаты с октября 2015 года.Perfect symbiosis
AURI made its way to life through the faith of three passionate artists who felt the need for music to exist which they could not describe, formed simply by a harmonious symbiosis. In 2011 the band came up with the idea of creating something in common for the first time. „We have known each other for a long time and we are really good friends in our free time as well. We see each other constantly and realised early on that we share a preference for similar musical landscapes. We think the same about music, we enjoy the same music and love to create music. So it was an obvious thing for us to start a joint project to find out what we can do together. We were just curious. By that time Troy had already written a song called `Aphrodite Rising´. We made a demo of that song and were totally enthusiastic, as we knew immediately that this would work and that we should definitely record a full length album.”
Unfortunately, there was no time then so the project had to wait for some years. “The band was busy with NIGHTWISH and also Johanna was hooked up with her solo albums, the time just wasn’t right but the idea never let go of us”, recalls Tuomas. “But when we decided to take this year off of NIGHTWISH in 2017, it was clear that the time was right to put it all together and see what we came up with. We wrote new songs, flew to Cornwall for the photo shoot and recorded the album over the summer at my place in Finland. Troy played his parts in England. We also had some selected guest musicians from the Netherlands and the UK on board. Everybody did a great job and we mixed the whole thing in September.”
A whole new world
What characterises AURI and what is always apparent is the beautiful connection which unites the talented trio. “One of my favourite quotes comes from British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), who once remarked in an interview: `It never seems to occur to people that a man just wants to write a piece of music´”, quotes the Finnish sound artist. “That was his philosophy for writing music and that is pretty much the thing with AURI as well! There is no hidden meaning; we just enjoy creating music together. What you hear is what you get. It happens by itself. Basically it’s the same process with NIGHTWISH. I do not see a big difference in that, except one thing; NIGHWISH have just grown into a giant behemoth, it’s a completely different dynamic. And then you have AURI - a whole new project with just three people, who are starting from scratch.”
The main reason for Tuomas to let NIGHTWISH pause for a year was that he felt he had reached the absolute creative peak as a songwriter and composer with the current masterpiece “Endless Forms Most Beautiful”, especially with the last track `The Greatest Show On Earth´”. He sighs. “I could not feel anything song writing wise and tried to write some tracks during the break, but got stuck. It seemed that nothing could help me out. I felt like I had no more stories to tell, it was weird. I didn’t feel like working on music at all during that time, I didn’t feel like working on NIGHTWISH at all. But with AURI I found focus again. And the moment we held the final master in our hands, all the dams seemed to break and for the next two months I was doing pretty much nothing except NIGHTWISH and working on a lot of new songs. A whole new world opened up for me. I cannot even say what exactly happened but working with AURI has given me a lot and I feel inspired again.”
Celestial Metal
AURI is the result of a shared passion. Everyone was involved in everything. However, Tuomas Holopainen does not want to reveal too much about the songs and their stories, “since the listener should bring their own story to the songs - after all, that’s what makes the album so beautiful. It lives from the imagination of every single person!” says the composer. “But what I can tell you is that some of the content and the song lyrics are inspired by the Patrick Rothfuss books. Maybe people who know those books and those stories will recognise some parallels and certain scenarios, but believe me; the album equates to so much more.”
If Tuomas describes “AURI” in his own words, he cannot help but smile; “Just a few days ago, we had this conversation within the band and we thought about the best way to describe it. Two terms came to our minds; Rabbit Hole Music and Celestial Metal. Obviously you can hear influences from folk music, Celtic music, soundtracks - all that music that we love and adore, but categorising the style is really impossible. I’ll leave that to the listeners.” A tour is currently not planned but one thing is already certain: “This is definitely not just a one album thing!” So sit back, close your eyes and let yourself fall into the depths. A world of wonder and miracles awaits you behind the mirrors. Are you ready? Цитата:
Nightwishers explore Celtic dreams
Fans of symphonic prog metal will be no strangers to Troy Donockley and Tuomas Holopainen, both core members of Nightwish. Vocalist Johanna Kurkela will also be known to some for both her guest spots with Sonata Arctica, as well as solo work. Auri brings all three together in a project that fuses elements of Nightwish’s expansive sound with modern minimalism and Celtic folk. The effect is often arresting and always fascinating. Opener The Space Between – which showcases Kurkela’s soaring voice – gestures to symphonic rock. It’s lovely and comforting, but arguably doesn’t break the new ground promised by this trio. It soon becomes clear that this is a palate-cleanser. As Auri unfolds – especially on tracks such as Desert Flower, which weaves the classical, folky and strange with ease – the more it takes hold. By the time of the spooky Savant and the meditative Underthing Solstice, Donockley and co have created a sound world that fuses menace with lullaby. It could be a mess – not everyone could team uillean pipes with Kurkela’s spectral voice and Holopainen’s left field keys – but the understanding between the Nightwish confrères makes this work.
[center][media=https://youtu.be/IMGykxseAlc][/center]Auri is the shared brainchild of Finnish singer Johanna Kurkela, Tuomas Holopainen and Troy Donockley from Nightwish. Like most acts from Finland, I expected very rich melody filled soundscapes and strong rhythms. I was not only satisfied but also blown away.
Their debut record titled ‘Auri’ is a balancing act of symphonic, electronic, folk and pop sounds with a fantastical theme. Without giving too much away of the plot, ‘Auri’ is based on Patrick Rothfuss’s books. It is also a Finnish maiden name and derives from the Latin term Aurora, which means dawn.
Themes aside, the music itself is a treat to the ears. The album opening track “The Space Between” starts with a percussive beat on the floor toms and shifts into a mid-tempo beat with Johanna Kurkela lending here wonderful voice. She reminds me a lot of Aurora Askenes. The chorus is an epic symphonic passage with folk melodies played through the flute. “I Hope Your World Is Kind” is a dramatic song with tragic strings and a painted sense of urgency and changes the mood contrasting from the first song. “Skeleton Tree” continues the heavy folk influences and almost left me slack jawed when the sound shifted to a middle-eastern scale and then back to Celtic. Mind you, this is just the third song.
“Desert Flower” and “Night 13” are slow-candlelit ballads and bring you back into folk fold and toss you between middle eastern and western scales. It’s done so flawlessly and does not sound out of place at all. That is a difficult task to achieve and this record does it without breaking a sweat.
“The Name of The Wind” a symphonic masterpiece with great soaring strings and gives credence to Tuomas’s abilities as a gifted composer. Same can be said about “Aphrodite Song” and “Underthing Soltice” which feature heavy focus on Johanna’s singing prowess.
The final song off the record “Them Thar Chanterelles” re-enforces the entire theme of the record. I don’t want to spill the beans because stumbling upon the story while you listen to the music and read the lyrics is so much more rewarding than reading a review and someone spoil it for you. I’ll just say that this song is playful, young and full of innocence.
There are very few records that keep me engaged throughout their run time and then make me come back for more. ‘Auri’ is all of that and so much more. The production is ridiculously good, songwriting and composition is beyond belief, the singing is on point and emotive. There are moments of joy and sadness in equal measure. I’ve been a huge fan of folk melodies played through metal and rock sensibilities and this album is everything that I like about those genres but with an added helping of symphony and majesty. To top all of that, the story is rich and picturesque.
All I can say is that if you like a spacey-cosmic feel to your music, a dreamlike sound profile and rich folk melodies, this record will keep you happy and satisfied. If any of those things are alien to you, this record will give you a proper introduction. It’s a winner, all the way through.
Состав
Johanna Kurkela (Sonata Arctica, Tuomas Holopainen)
Tuomas Holopainen: keys & backing voices (Nightwish)
Troy Donockley: acoustic and electric guitars, bouzouki, uilleann pipes, low whistles, aerophone, bodhran, keys, voices (Nightwish)
Доп. информация
Auri - это новый проект лидера и клавишника симфоник/ пауэр-метал группы Nightwish Туомаса Холопайнена и его жены, популярной финской певицы Йоханны Куркелы. Группа выпустит одноимённый дебютный альбом 23 марта этого года на лейбле Nuclear Blast. Auri начал свою жизнь как три человека, объединённые общей потребностью услышать Мелодию, которую невозможно описать только словами - музыку, которую ты слышишь "словно во время падения в кроличью нору Алисы".... Красивая, спокойная, приятная музыка – вам понравится.
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发表于 2021-9-25 13:32:26
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