Last month I purchased RAINDANCER, a debut album of original songs by an amazing your singer-songwriter named Erutan. Never have I been so excited about a new cd! And only now, after hearing the album close to 30 times, do I feel I can begin to comment with clarity on what I have heard.
The songs---there are 11 of them---are delightfully rich in melody with gorgeous bursts of polyphonic vocal layering. They are exquisitely beautiful to say the least. Being the lifelong professional musician that I am, I found myself trying to categorize what I was hearing so that I could properly understand it. I was asking myself questions like...What scale or mode was this or that song written in? (Erutan doesn't always stick to modern scales.)...or...Exactly what style of music is this? Certainly a strong Celtic influence can be observed as well as elements of several other styles. In the end I decided that Erutan has a unique recognizable style that is hers alone.
The artist composed, sang, performed instrumentals, recorded and mixed this entire album at home in a converted clothes closet, a magnificent endeavour, the culmination of 5 years' work.. and all with breathtaking musicianship. She played all the instruments herself---including several drums, violin, piano, recorders, dulcimer, harp, some smaller percussion instruments, guitar, ukelele, and lute. My God!! It would take a normal person several lifetimes to master so many instruments.
With this new album (and with her much loved YouTube uploads---see katethegreat19@youtube.com) Erutan has established herself as an accomplished lyricist. The RAINDANCER song lyrics are full of surprising contrasts---some written strictly with sparse simplicity, some with florid abandon, and all with references to nature. In Erutan's own words, they are "songs of joy, love, and sorrow inspired by the divine beauty of nature".
