Varjudemaa (The Land of Shadows) is an instrumental album by the Estonian music artist Mauno Meesit. On this second album Meesit continues with the minimalist acoustic explorations that began on his previous album Closer Also reviewed on our website- http://www.snoozecontrol.be/english/4599/, but this time the vocals are replaced by electric guitar feedbacks and the warm drones of echo machines, accentuating the acoustic guitars.
The album features guest appearances by Tiit Kikas on violin and Jaagup Tormis on piano. Estonian filmmaker Ergo Kuld offered him to write music for his new TV series Varjudemaa and this is the result:
Amulett is slowly and sofly awakening, as like the birth of this project. I hear two guitars: an acoustic and an electric. The fading in and fading out of the music gives it an hypnotic touch, driving us towards an auditive explosion. Varjudemaa contains a great guitar with an 80’s sound whilst the piano is the perfect instrument: it enriches the sound and gives it a warm touch. Palun mine goes deeper down the acoustic path, towards the end some instruments are added but the fading out gives it something spooky. A new and sudden instrumental outburst takes you back into the world of the living creatures before a new fade out kills the light and ends the song. Püünis has a more jazzy and poppy feel. I miss some whispering voices here.
Lained feels like an outtake from the Twin Peaks series: mysterious and scary with a very interesting guitar sound. Varjud has a warm piano sound and a guitar that gently weeps (almost as if I hear some vocals coming out of the guitar). Isa is a more guitar and bass minded track, sound wise it has somehow an American feel and is so far the most vivid track on the album. 20 aastat is a soft/acoustic track that makes you glide into stasis and dream! Võtmed is like a soft sea breeze: refreshing, but too short to keep you refreshed. Yet the waves are coming and going. I even hear some wales. The last track Nõiamets is more into electronics, with some special effects. It’s a strange end, no big bang and rather a fading out.
Normally I don’t review albums with vocals as I’m stuck on good voices, but for this nice Estonian artist I made an exception (as I also loved his previous album). So far I haven’t seen this TV series either, but I hope to watch it someday. It was a nice trip and I hope at least some people are also getting interested in it and check it out!
Guitars, sansula, piano: Mauno Meesit. Piano (Varjud and Nõiamets): Jaagup Tormis. Violin (Võtmed): Tiit Kikas.
Tracklist:
1. Amulett (Amulet)
2. Varjudemaa (Shadowlands)
3. Palun mine (Please Go)
4. Püünis (Snare)
5. Lained (Waves)
6. Varjud (Shadows)
7. Isa (Father)
8. 20 aastat (20 Years)
9. Võtmed (Keys)
10. Nõiamets (Forest)
LINKS:
https://www.youtube.com/maunomeesit
https://soundcloud.com/maunomeesit
