Manu Delago’s music never obeyed any strict law. If there was anything consistent, it was the fact that the Tyrolean Hang player never imposed stylistic chains on his compositions. This has always made him push boundaries. His new album “Snow From Yesterday” is artistic border crossing in its purest form. Today, February 29th, the sought-following musician is a Alex Reed at the Linzer Posthof.
Never expect the expected. Anyone who thinks like that can easily be guided by “Snow From Yesterday” as a listener, even if the Tyrolean’s music always claimed not to be easy-to-consume functional music. And yet, right from the start, there is something there that was previously unknown. Voices, specifically three in number, which can give Manu Delago’s sometimes magical hanging game a great deal of depth.
Mad About Lemons is the name of the vocal ensemble that has been around for four years. The Tyroleans Heidi Erler, Mimi Schmid and Anna Widauer have an aesthetic in their voices that fits wonderfully with the sound worlds of their Grammy-winning compatriot.
Fascinating start
“Modern People” is the fitting start to the eleven-song album. It’s musically captivating, has this fascination that you can’t explain, but you also can’t escape. The content is regarding the question of what significance today’s technology will have in a period of 100 years. A question that can certainly be asked given the many crises in our current world.
Right up to the narrative quality of the final title track, in which the circle of a special sound journey closes, Manu Delago knows how to celebrate the magic of music and words in his inimitable way. And words are not always needed to understand.
“Little Heritage” is one of those beautiful instrumental pieces where your own stories start spinning in your head. The baby that raises its voice here in between also represents the changing times, in which perspectives on this world, on our lives, can change so massively without you immediately noticing how much they lead you in a different direction of thinking.
Pause, think, enjoy, surf on a wave of emotion, and with your eyes closed forget regarding all the madness that is currently sweeping over us all – if music has such an effect, then it can’t be wrong. Neither is she. Manu Delago knows why he doesn’t follow any laws, only himself and his musical standards.
Manu Delago: „Snow From Yesterday“ (One Little Independent Records)
Author
Reinhold Gruber
Local editor Linz
Reinhold Gruber
