Halo Manash - Caickuwi Cauwas Walkeus

Born in Northern Finland in 1998, Halo Manash is an audiovisual, multi-media and performance group tries to value craftsmanship in art among the mass-consumer culture. Not one to call themselves a mere musical group, they reather prefer to describe themselves as an entity through which you can communicate various aspects of other worldly nature to the physical, spiritual and emotional foundations in a sense. They use both traditional and hand made instruments as well as natural sound sources for their music, all packed and ready to go under a ambient and drone like moniker.

Now, what they released is a work that was originally recorded in '08 now re-released for current audiences. The reason being is that this album only had 29 copies at first, and a new edition of them was well worth having. It attempted to give forest music a shot using only acoustic instruments, creating a rich, moisturizing sound that beckons forth mother nature to come crawling from her humble abode.

And though there may be five tracks on this album, each song flows straight into the next, never taking a break for a total run time of around forty three minutes. Tribal sounds flow in and out as each pressing moment passes through your ears; every time a minute passes, a new area of this thick maze of trees and animals is newly discovered.

From track one with the ambient tones and gongs, you get the sense of just discovering something new, the drums add on to the pounding beat of your heart as nature takes over the blood in your veins. Flowing straight into the next, you get relaxed, comfortable with it all, the drone like effects subtle set you in place, And, as the next track hits you, nightfall strikes. A wicked sensation fills your ears as the noise takes them over and fills them inside and out. Daybreak hits with track four, a very light chanting sometimes heard, and the disturbing cries of bugs flying about you send you off on the fifth and final track.

Acoustics well done, the story told, this album was decent. A very interesting way of composing and producing an album, but still not bad. Complaints are little, as the instrumentation was meant to be minimal, but that also left me wanting a bit more than what was presented. Perhaps some sort of new sound to really set me off; this album has a lot going for it, don't let me confuse you, but it lacks something to make it stand out, to make it grand; to make the concept of the album match the grand scheme of what the project intends to do. But, that's my only critique. Other than that, go check out the album and enjoy yourself. Jul 14 2014