References:
Dead can Dance, Azam Ali, Le mystères des voix bulgares...
Octobre 2007 - 9 Titres (digipack)
5 années après la sortie de leur 1er album, retrouvez le
son mystique et puissant du groupe bulgare. La voix exceptionnelle de
Denitza Seraphimova rappelle Lisa Gerrard ou les chansons orientales d'Azam
Ali. Entre le folklore antique bulgare, les chants mystiques orientaux,
les choeurs balkaniques et la musique sacrée, Irfan stupéfie
avec des compositions brillantes et mélodiques. Une nouvelle étoile
est née.
9 Tracks: 1.Simurgh - 2.Invocatio - 3.Hagia Sophia - 4.Vernal Garden -
5. Fei - 6.Los Ojos de la Mora - 7. Star of the winds - 8.Invocatio II
- 9. Return to Outremer
D-side :
« Les Bulgares viennent sans doute de commettre
le coup de maître qu'on attendait d'eux avec 'Seraphim'… une
musique hypnotique dont les parures orientales dévoilent en douceur
un grave folklore… un son posé et obsédant et sur lequel
se pose la lumière des chants bulgares. Au final, il s'agit d'une
des plus belles collections de titres jamais sortie par Prikosnovénie,
une référence qui, au fil d'orchestrations senties et retenues,
promet de devenir un nouvel incontournable heavenly.»
Emmanuel Hennequin
Elegy : « …Les sonorités d'une tradition
bulgare ancrée dans le mystère de ses voix, à la
fois slave, orientale, le charme des Balkans, mystiques et lumineux. On
pense parfois à Dead Can Dance (voix féminines/masculines
et un certain côté transcendantal), mais aussi à Deleyaman
(utilisation du saz et du doudouk) ou, pour revenir à l'essentiel,
à Hildegard von Bingen. Pourtant on ne parlera en aucun cas de
copie tant le groupe sait développer son propre langage. A la fois
solennel et ensorcelant, Irfan fait sortir de l'ombre les contrées
obscures où reposent les cendres des contes et légendes
inachevées, à l'abris des maux de nos mondes contemporains,
tel précieux sanctuaire. » wqw…
Khimaira : …Irfan apprécie les longs morceaux où
l'exceptionnelle voix de Denitza Seraphimova se veut souvent mystique
et ésotérique, surtout quand une voix masculine vient renforcé
ce caractère sacré « Hagia Sophia »… Seraphim
s'impose comme un deuxième chef d'œuvre pour Irfan. Guillaume
L'henaff
'Irfan'
Digipack
ref
: Dead can Dance, Arcana,Le mystère des voix bulgares...
Révélation Bulgare de la compilation Fairy
World. La musique d’Irfan mêle instruments balkaniques, percussions,
chœurs puissants et une superbe voix orientale entre Lisa Gerrard,
Sœur Marie Keirouz et Sarband. Un goût d'orient, des volutes
d'encens, la transe, l'exaltation de la beauté, il y a du divin
dans ce groupe bulgare qui nous embarque vers des rives mystérieuses
et superbes. Mêlant solennité, voix ensorcelante, mystique,
tribale, cette découverte nous a laissez unanime à Prikosnovénie,
cet album est un joyau, un éclat !!! `
La
petite Histoire :
"A l'automne 2001, Ivailo, Kalin et Kiril se sont rassemblés
autour d'une idée, d'un projet d'avant garde musico-visuel. Les
jours mystiques de février 2002, nous ont rassemblés avec
Denitza et c'est à ce moment là que l'idée d'Irfan
/ en langue arabe et perse, en soufisme - "gnosis", "connaissance
mystique" est née. Nos intérêts vers l'art, la
philosophie, la théologie, l'histoire et l'ethnologie ont orienté
nos recherches musicales. L'impulsion est née de la fusion de nos
idées artistiques, est devenue un message, une approche d'une sensibilité
passée, un voyage à travers et même hors du temps.
Une musique qui s'étend au-delà des mots et des lettres,
qui ne se crée et ne se comprend qu'avec le coeur."
"
Irfan is a Bulgarian Ethereal wave, World and Medieval music band that
was founded in 2001. The band's name is borrowed from the Sufi terminology
and can be translated from Persian and Arabic as “gnosis”, “mystic
knowledge” or “revelation”. Irfan’s music is an invitation
for a mystical trip in and beyond time, a message, poetically extended
in the language of the heart.
World reviews are hesitant about the genre categorization of Irfan’s
music, determining it as Neoclassical / World Music / Sacred Music / Ethereal
Music / Heavenly voices. Irfan’s music is strongly influenced by
the sacred and folk music traditions of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Persia,
Caucasus, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as by the musical
and spiritual heritage of Byzantium and Medieval Europe, yet it retains
its own original sound. The musicians use traditional (Bulgarian, Balkan,
Oriental, Persian, Indian) and medieval European instruments and vocal
techniques from the same regions and historical periods, skilfully woven
into a delicate electronic sound. Irfan is also known for its extensive
use of a choir of strong male vocals in addition to the ethereal and mystic
female vocals of the talented singer Denitza Seraphimova in combination
with an assortment of traditional and medieval string, wind and percussive
instruments including the oud, saz, santoor, viola da gamba, tambura,
duduk, darbouka, daf, bendir, zarb and riq.
Irfan was founded as a side project of musicians from Bulgarian bands
like “Isihia”, “Om” and “Zarathustra”, but
soon it became a new, independent and promising music team. The band was
first signed by the French label “Prikosnovénie” and
made its debut appearance on “Prikosnovénie”'s Fairy
World compilation of various medieval and heavenly voices bands in 2003.
“Prikosnovénie” declared the Bulgarians as the “discovery
and revelation for 2004”. Ifran's debute (self-titled) album was
also released in Europe that same year by "Prikosnovénie",
and released in North America by “Noir Records” in 2005. Several
recently released compilations include new and unreleased songs by Irfan,
which appeared along with tracks by artists like Loreena Mckennitt, Stellamara,
Qntal and Estampie.
Recently the band finished its second album ("Seraphim") for
the French label “Prikosnovenie” that is going to be released
simultaneously in Europe and in North America (through the US label “Noir
Records”) in October 2007. In the summer of 2006 the singer Denitza
Seraphimova gave birth to her child and is currently devoted to motherhood.
Since then Irfan is working with a new vocalist - the Bulgarian traditional
(folklore) singer Vladislava Todorova (http://myspace.com/vladislavavlada)
with whom the band performed in its recent concerts. In 2003-2006 Irfan
toured and performed live in Switzerland, France and Bulgaria. '
Would you like to introduce us the band with your
history?
In the very beginning Irfan was planed to be a side project of Ivaylo
Petrov(solo artist at that moment), Kiril Bakardjiev(from the band “Zaratustra”
at that moment) and Kalin Yordanov (from the band “Isihia” at
that moment).It was ment to be an experimental audio and video project,
but when we met with Denitza Seraphimova ( from the band “Om”
at that time) and started to record the song “Monsalvato” with
her in February 2002, the real Irfan band was to be born. Soon each one
of us left his previous projects and bands and we began to create our
music in this very new project.
Can you tell us about the songs of the new album?
Our second album will be quite different. A lot of oriental moods and
flavours from one side, and lot’s of medieval sensibility on the
other, but in a new and quite different way.
How do you manage the compositive process?
The four of us are equally involved in it.
What kind of music you are shooting for?
We collect and listen to a lot of world music, early music, jazz, industrial,
new and dark wave, ambient and electronic music and even hardcore.
In the album there are a lot of folk/traditional
influences, can you tell us more about your interest in folk music?
We’re quite connected to the Bulgarian folklore traditions, but also
have a deep interest to those of the Balkans, Asia Minor, Caucasus , Near
East, Central Asia , North Africa , Northern Europe, Central and North
America. We believe that those disappearing traditional cultures are the
last surviving elements the spirit of the old sensibility and view of
life, of the old, archaic models of thinking, ethics and behaviour. That
is why we’re so much interested in exploring it.
Listening to your music I've found also a lot of
spirituality and I believe that this is an important key to understand
your musical project,can you tell me more about?
We believe that the composing and performing music is a spiritual act.
In the medieval art of the eastern Christianity, every act of the artist
was thought to be a spiritual action in which the artist/composer was
just a vehicle and a mediator of the supernatural message. That is why
most of the authors were anonymous.
How important is for you the spiritual aspect of life? Would you like
to tell us more about your beliefs?
For us, life without it’s spiritual aspect is quite senseless. It’s
like an empty form without a content…
Do you have a philosophy?
Your vision of the world is...…that it is an interesting place to
live in…
What kind of response are you experiencing from
the audience to your music?
We hope that the wordless message of our music will reach the hearts of
the people that are going to listen to our album.
How have you get in touch with the label Prikosnovenie?
We like the style and the line of this label, that is why we’ve sent
them a demo with our first songs. They liked it and invited us to participate
in their label compilation “Fairy world Vol. I “. And after
that came the contract.
Which artists have inspired you most?
There are lot’s of different artists from the Antiquity to the present
days that have inspired us. But you probably are asking about the music
composers and performers Here’s just some of them(past and contemporary):
Ioan Kukuzel, Hildegard von Bingen, Kassia , Jaufre Rudel de Blaye, Walther
von der Vogelweide, Alfonso X El Sabio, Luis del Mila, Alonso Mudarra
, John Dawland etc.; Luis Delgado, Soeur Marie Keyrouz, Jordi Savall,
Jan Garbarek, Mari Boine, Brendan Pery and Lisa Gerrard, Susan Deyhim,
Anouar Brahem, Hector Zazou , Vas, Denez Prigent, Madredeus, Massive Attack,
Depeche mode , Ministry, Faith no more, Coil , Swans , Bill Laswell etc.
What is the music scene like in your country today?
The Bulgarian music scene is a pure reflection of a post-communist Balkan
society in a hard period of passage and transition…
What we can expect from Irfan for the future?
A second album from the label Prikosnovenie, and let’s hope a little
European tour.
Commander CD
Achat
MP3
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