Yagoda Galo - Yagoda Galo - Polar (2013)

Yagoda Galo (Halo Berry) is a band from Arkhangelsk, with more than 10 years history. The band represents contemporary vision of one of the most beautiful areas of Russian folk tradition – Pomorje (shores of the White Sea). Turning to the traditional material of the Russian North, the musicians introduce their joyful world music songs.

  The sound of the band is created with a virtuosic domra (Russian folk string instrument), ethnic percussion and wind instruments, expressive rhythm section and original sound effects. Those, who know the name of Russian folk-musician Sergey Starostin and the band VA-TA-GA, will surely like this balanced mixture of ethnic music, author lyrics and fusion improvisations.
  "Polar" — is an anthology. These songs, traditional and modern, folk and author, coming from the North and from the other parts of Russia, are bound by the vision of the place — Arkhangelsk region, estuary of the Northern Dvina and the shores of the White Sea.

album credits:
Nikolay Vymorkov – voice, acoustic guitar, hyperborean domra (2, 4), mandolin (9)
Vera Larjushina – domra-primo, domra-alto (9)
Maxim Iliyn – flute, zhaleyka (4, 5), clarinet (6), hulusi (9), no-no-no (10)
Artur Rozhkov – percussion sampler, bongo (5, 8), djembe (1), jew’s harp (1), chinese bamboo masseurs (3), udu (4, 6)
Vjacheslav Pronin – bass-guitars, sound effects
Oleg Chaikovsky – drums

Alexey Rychkov – didjeridoo (1)
Alexey Mochalyn – back-vocal (3)
Michael Starozhylov – bass-guitar (4)

About tracks:

1. Vorozhba (Sortilege)

The song is made by the formula of a folk spell, protecting from harm and evil. This spell appeals to one the most important entities for life, Water, for help and courage: “My words are the key and the lock. Put the key into the sky, and throw the lock into sand. Make a step, make another one – save me, water, hold me, water!”

2. Ne Veli Vetry (The Winds Were Not Blowing)

A traditional bridal song of the Summer Shore of the White Sea (to the West from the Northern Dvina estuary). “The winds were not blowing, but started to blow. The unexpected guests came…” In this song the bride weeps for her youthfulness. The groom persuades her that their life together will be even better, and finally she marries him.

3. I’ll Stop Going To Work

A downshifter’s song: “I’ll stop going to work, turn off the phone and start dreaming of moving to the place by the river, where I can be awake at night, meet the dawn over the woods at cockcrow and listen to the shepherd’s loony blues”.

4. By The Sea

A spiritual verse of Siberian Old Believers. Angels, sailing the sea on a ship, meet the God on another ship. The God wonders, where they have been. The angels tell that they were in a village to visit a funeral feast for a man called Ivan. Then the angels ask the God to be kind to Ivan’s soul.

5. Christmas Song

A folk Christmas song: “Here it comes, the Holy Christmas! They burn candles in the first house. They ring the bells in the second house. They pray the God in the third house. Oh, the Holy Eve!”

6. At Ivan’s Gate

A traditional bridal song of the Summer Shore of the White Sea (to the West from the Northern Dvina estuary). Ivan wants to leave his home for a long time. However, his wife Praskovya wants him to stay. She promises to bear him a son. But Ivan tells her, that the son will grow up and say by their side as Ivan’s heir. So, it does not matter, if he leaves now. Then Ivan’s wife promises to bear him a daughter. This time Ivan decides to stay, because the daughter will grow up, marry someone and leave the family soon.

7. Far Away

The author of this song, Sergey Starostin, is a well known Russian folk musician, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. This song is about immensity and beauty of the world, and about happiness and love, which are even higher and deeper.

8. Dreamboat (The Beauty)

The author of this song is Andrey Barbashov, a musician and songwriter, who comes from the Russian North. The text of the song is deeply symbolic. The main message can be expressed by the words of the refrain: “That is repeated again and again, that continues, and that is on the way… - here comes the Good Man, followed by the Beauty, reminding us all about the essential things of the life”.

9. Around The Town

A traditional song from the Pinega river region (the right tributary of the Northern Dvina river). This is a khorovod (round dance) song for youth festivities. It is about a guy, looking for a girl-friend and his future wife.

10. Carpet

A traditional khorovod (round dance) song. The girls sew a carpet and wonder who it shall be given to – to a man, who feels himself old and important, or to a man, who feels himself young and joyful. Of cause, the carpet goes to the young one, because when he starts to play music, it makes the girls happy.

11. Taya Ledentsem (Melting Like Ice)

The author of this song is Vjacheslav Agapitov – poet, translator, landscape painter, regional ethnographer, writer. This poem is written in Zaonezhye district dialect language (the northeast part of Onego Lake). It is a lyric poem about the grief of separation, and about love, which is stronger than anything, even death.