It's uncommon, in these days and age, to find artists willing to push the boundaries of their music to a point where, together with their inner talent, they just rely on their instinct and on the natural flow that they see only in their minds, perhaps even playing with their eyes shut, so to immerse themselves further into the music that is pouring out of their souls.
To us at Bluebird Reviews, it was an indescribable joy to discover an artist that describes the aforementioned concept so well and in full, like the Danish Violinist and Composer Bjarke Falgren does so beautifully on his brand new album recently released and called Turkis (Turquoise in English).
Admittedly, our website doesn't come across very often to many violin playing artists and their records but, when we heard Falgren's new album, we were hugely impressed not only by the palpable talent of the Danish artist and the formidable musicians accompanying him on this record, but also by the immediacy and the hypnotizing power that each of the 10 pieces part of Turkis emits.
The message of Bjarke Falgren and his new record was clear from the very beginning, right from the album title; Turkis, seen beyond the concept of being a colour, to the artist himself Turkis represents horizons, open spaces, a place where Falgren's music can fly free without any pre-plan or guideline, relying solely on great musicianship and allowing plenty of space for improvisation.
The result is simply stunning; Falgren doesn't attempt in the slightest to pigeonhole his music in any specific field but instead, it allows his almost 300-years-old violin to create refined and passionate layers of free-formed music that switch from New Age to Latin, Jazz and even Pop, specifically on the closing piece of the album called Hora Azul.
The 10 compositions included in Turkis are always warm, melodious and unpredictably mesmerizing, thanks also to the remarkable craftmanship and phenomenal interplay expressed by the musicians accompanying Bjarke Falgren on this record, namely Heine Hansen on Piano, Anders Holm Jensen on Drums and Percussion, Jakob Riis Holm on Guitar, Morten Lundsby on Double Bass and Eliel Williams Lazo Linares on Congas, Bongos and additional Percussions.
Every piece is a journey into the life experiences of Falgren and his travelling the world, with each piece played with enormous style and class, while the Danish Violinist and Composer takes the listener on a sonic joyride where he would, at times, apply some Eastern European flavour in his violin playing (Il Posto Del Padre), or, some other times, exploding in exuberant up-tempo Violin Solo moments on Latin-American layers of music (Cigarillos Por Favor and Rossignol), always with great results.
In the sleeve notes of the album, Falgren mentions that "Music is something we share. It creates connection, when words fall short". The perfect introduction for an album like Turkis that won't only transport you into a sonically perfect record, but also into the magical world of a talented, visionary artist like Bjarke Falgren and his compelling approach to music in its entirety. A Must-Have album in your personal collection.
Turkis is out now and it is available to be purchased via Bjarke Falgren's Official Website
