With lyrics from a 1915 Kazakh language poem and 2022 loops, it's a Summer groove
Track: Summer Ritual
Band: Milk Harbour & Liana Forte
Released: July 1 2022
When DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince talked about people responding to Summer madness, they probably didn't have this in mind. An Irish musician living in Chicago (Milk Harbour) laying down an electronic track for a Kazakhstan-born singer living in Finland (our very own Liana Forte) to add her vocals with lyrics from a 1915 Kazakh language poem. A language she doesn't speak as she is a native Russian speaker. Well this unlikely, eclectic combination has come up with a spellbinding rapture of (Summer) magic - what a track Summer Ritual is.
Milk Harbour is the project of Anthony Wall and he kickstarted this track based on a conversation he'd had with Liana in a podcast. She related how she use the free samples in her music production software for inspiration so he thought he'd do the same with the freebies in his.
He built up a repetitive, trance like track based on a looped Cubase sample. Struggling to add a vocal melody he turned to Liana and asked her if she could come up something reminiscent of a spell or a ritual. And she truly worked her magic by wrapping her unique vocals around the lyrics of a poem called Summer, written in 1915 by Kazakh poet Sabit Donentaev. Not to be confused with Summer by Abai Kunanbaev obviously.
Sabit seems likes a man ahead of his time. He supported the revolutionary movement in Kazakhstan and in his poems called for a radical change in the way of life of the Kazakh people. In 1924 published an article titled "How to understand the equality of women". His ode to Summer is translated thus:
How good is the tenderness of your embrace?
You, summer, delight the eye.
From the close darkness comes the soul
To God’s blessed place.
Like paradise our summer
Free gifts for us prepared by him.
And the birds chirp in honour of the summer season
Why are we silent with you?
Hypnotic and entrancing, magical and mysterious, it puts us in mind of the new Sun's Signature project (vocalist Elizabeth Fraser and percussionist Damon Reece) and their recent release Underwater.
Praise higher than the Summer sun.
You can find a special Liana Forte remix Dust Out Of Your Disorder on this compilation vinyl
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and never miss out on gig info and our latest deals
Comments