Celtique by Michael Brückner
(4) CELTIQUE (1994 - 1996)
This album is built around a nucleus of four or five "celtic" pieces which I recorded in early 1996 after purchasing some new sample sets of my Yamaha PSR 2700 keyboard, including some flute samples and also "ethinc" percussion in better quality than I had before (but still rather poor compared to todays standards) and inspired, I think, by Mike Oldfield's then recent album "Voyager".
But also earlier I had already experimented with a mix of (my naive take on) Irish folk music and electronica, sometimes leaning towards new age (in fact I listenend to quite a lot "celtic new age" in the early 90s, but also real Irish folk or celtic music from France or Spain.)
My favorite in that field being the album "A Celtic Breeze In The Antipodes" by Australian folk band Scirocco (still highly recommendable!).
Of course, celtic elements could also be found on many albums of my musical heros (like the already mentioned Mike Oldfield, Jan Garbarek, Andreas Vollenweider, Dead Can Dance, Sting - and so on...).
I think I also read one or two books about the topic back then.
Plus, when improvising back in those days, a (fairly simple) version of "Greensleeves" was part of my daily routine (of course that's no Irish folk but a traditional English ballad).*
So, it's no big surprise that I started to dabble in pentatonic melodies and triolic rhythms for some time, in search of that specific expression of longing mixed with heroism, medieval fantasy with 19th century urban realism, melancholy with joy - and so on. Not that I ever came close to the real thing, but some of the resulting tracks turned out nice enough for some (rather innocent) listening fun, I think...
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* Two examples for that are included in the bonus track (plus one "proper" studio version in the main section.) They are rather messy, though.
I remember to have played my little version of "Greensleeves" often to better success when improvising on my wife's baby grand piano, but actually never recorded that...
Tracklist
| 1. | The Raven King | 3:05 |
| 2. | Celtic Pipes | 1:45 |
| 3. | Whistle Harp | 3:41 |
| 4. | The Haunted Village | 1:01 |
| 5. | Roses Of The Valley - Part 1 | 4:34 |
| 6. | Flutes And Water | 3:36 |
| 7. | Far Open Skies | 4:01 |
| 8. | Green Leaves | 2:10 |
| 9. | Roses Of The Valley - Part 2 | 7:24 |
| 10. | Maiden Fair | 3:40 |
| 11. | Raga | 7:25 |
| 12. | Pinksleeves (Bonus Track) | 0:43 |
| 13. | Kerrygold Fair | 5:21 |
| 14. | Improvisation 1 | 9:00 |
| 15. | Improvisation 2 | 4:48 |
Credits
License
All rights reserved.
Born in Heidelberg, Germany, later settled down near Mainz.
Earns a living as a graphical designer and social worker.
Ambient and other electronica since 1992.
Extended back catalogue (more than 150 albums by end of 2024, number still growing).
Since 2007 offers his music in the internet, via the usual platforms.
Sometimes gets reviews + airplay.
Plays live now and then.
More is to come...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Brückner-Ambient-Electronica-more/177377481303
Michael Brückner
Bridge To Imla
P'Faun
La Mansarde Hermétique