Stranniki – Light Moon (Sketis Music SKMR-106, 2014)
On Light Moon (Светлый месяц), Russian band Stranniki (Странники) delivers an excellent set of traditional Slavic songs with new arrangements that incorporate world music elements.
Stranniki’s sound revolves around outstanding solo and polyphonic vocal work, the gusli zither and an amazing collection of wind instruments from Russia and other parts of the globe supported by guitar, bass and drums.
The lineup includes Elena Chudova on vocals, gusli (traditional Russian zither), ocarina; Nailya Kazakova on vocals; Dasha Kirsanova on vocals; Viktor Klimov on vocals, jaleika (cow horn), whistle, bawu, kalyuka (overtone flute), quena (Andean flute), gusli, bansuri (Indian flute), gajde (bagpipe), kaval (flute), and percussion; Dmitriy Shchukin on guitar; Maksim Frolov on bass; and Viktor Kulikov on drums.
Light Moon is a striking Russian roots album with some stellar individual playing.
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Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.