RECORDINGS - KELPIE

Kerstin Blodig: vocals, acoustic guitar, bouzouki, bodhrán

Ian Melrose: acoustic guitar, low whistles, seljefløyte, vocals, synthesizer, electric guitar, bouzouki, percussion, programming

Guest musicians:

Urs Fuchs: double bass, percussion
Peter Jakk: fretless bass, electric bass
Leiv Solberg: hardingfele (hardanger fiddle)

The duo Kelpie consists of two renowned musicians from the Celtic-Scandinavian world-music scene. As well as concerts at major festivals and venues world-wide, they are in demand as composers, producers, arrangers and session musicians.

All this experience condenses into this exciting new album, which is a combination of two things: new Kelpie pieces, which have become part of the Kelpie live repertoire, and pieces specially composed as soundtrack music for phothographer Kai-Uwe Küchler’s wonderful slide-show about Norway.

The album title ”Var det du – var det deg?” – ”Was it you or was it you?” is a wonderful mixture of easily singable mouth music (in the old Norwegian tradition of sung dance music) and cheeky dialect.

The outside cover shows, as on Kelpie`s previous CD, a painting by Norwegian artist Theodor Kittelsen: „Nøkken”-“The Water Sprite”. “Kelpie” is the Scottish equivalent, a mystic water horse in Scottish mythology.

Kelpie`s fascination for mystical creatures is evident in their choice of repertoire. “Troll expert” Kerstin had already dedicated her latest solo album “Trollsang” to those living under the ground…

 While the first CD, “Kelpie”, was strictly acoustic and as performed live, this new CD shows the whole spectrum of their creativity – allowing them to fully exploit their multi-instrumental and compositional talents, using overdubs and samples as well as acoustic instruments and voices. Fantastic guest musicians, Peter Jakk, Talking Water`s bassist and percussionist Urs Fuchs and Norwegian multi-instrumentalist, radio and record producer Leiv Solberg – here on the Hardanger fiddle, brought in exciting new flavours and  ideas. This means that the CD is very diverse- and Kerstin and Ian love to accentuate this variety: from typical intimate Kelpie arrangements through to almost orchestral works, from rough (for the middle-European ear unusual  micro-tonal singing and playing) traditional music to beautiful melodious ballads, from religious psalms to wild and wonderful troll festivities.

 This work conveys feelings and emotions which fit the various inspirations, be they old Norwegian folk ballads or  pictures of the vast grandness of a Norwegian fjord or range of mountains.

A cutting-edge audiophile acoustic sound, created by master sound-engineer Jörg Surrey, rounds off this stunning new album. Achieving new depths of emotion and dramatic tension, this CD displays beautifully crafted arrangements, sublime layered vocal harmonies, haunting flutes, virtuoso guitar work and the ethereal, soaring lead vocals of  Kerstin Blodig.