Music from the Heart

Slow Moving Clouds - Os

Have you ever thought about combining Irish and Nordic traditional music? It may sound impossible but Dublin-based trio Slow Moving Clouds crossed the border and made it a reality. Their debut album Os is like a breath of fresh air on the music scene. Something you don't come across too often but when you do, you remember it. Slow Moving Clouds de-construct traditional tunes and piece them together again in their own characteristic way.

The opening track The Conquering Hero reminds you of the relaxing music. And also, when you close your eyes, you see the lakes and also the fog and almost feel the cold of the Nordic landscape. That's what this music does to you, produces such a vivid feeling. This feeling only intensifies with each song on the album.
The songs are instrumental and those with lyrics are in Finnish and this only adds to the certain mystery of the music itself. In more temperament, even dance tune Devil's Polska you feel the obvious contrast between the fire and ice (look at the album cover). It lifts up the darkness of the remaining tunes. Darkness that is typical for Scandinavia.
Not only their music show the connection between Irish and Nordic music but the musicians of this experimental trio as well - both Danny Diamond (fiddle) and Kevin Murphy (cello) are Irish, whereas Aki who sings and plays the nyckelharpa, is Finnish. Diamond's fiddle is high and clear while Murphy's cello goes deep down. You don't need to know what the songs are about, just let yourself inmerse into the beauty of the music. Whatever effect it may have on you, one thing is for sure: these tunes will stop the crazy world around your for a while and give you the much-needed calm and peace. Another highlight of the record that captures the image of the fire and ice is Aki's original song Suru Suuri. An uplifting melody where Danny Diamond's fiddle plays an irreplaceable part.
It may seem there are more differences between Irish and Nordic traditional music but Danny, Kevin and Aki were able to find the similarities and create something truly remarkable.

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