You already heard Colin talk about his ability to rely implicitly on the combo of genre and label when in doubt about what to review, and for what it’s worth I agree with him wholeheartedly.  I found myself in a similar position this week in wanting to review something a little on the lighter side (*ahem* I did write three metal reviews last week, after all), and when I saw we got a new batch of Fiadh Productions promos in, I knew I had to bite.  Thus, I bring you Taurwen and their (I think) fourth full-length Palingenesia.

Taurwen is the brainchild of one Oguzhan Durukan, who hails from Istanbul and handles every aspect of the project, from songwriting to performing and mixing and mastering.  All of Taurwen’s albums are labors of love, both of music and of the natural world.  “Our mission is holy, and our cause is sacred!  For this reason, we shall not fail.  As humans, we must seek meaning both in this world and beyond, as an integral part of nature.  Palingenesia teaches us to embrace our earthly lives fully and to live in harmony with the natural world,” says Durukan.  Almost all of Taurwen’s music is accompanied by similarly flowery prose as this, so you know the guy stays consistent with both messaging and branding.  Musically, Taurwen is not at all what I expected in the best way possible.  It was sold to me as “neo-folk” and it is definitely that, but my expectation of neo-folk is some kind of fingerpicked acoustic guitars and maybe field recordings.  Palingensia sounds a lot like if Osi and the Jupiter and Heilung had a fucked up little baby.  There is heavy reliance on strings as the main instruments, backed up by flutes, percussion and other folk instruments, some dungeon-synthy, uh, synths, and a whole lot of throat singing.  Always more throat singing is what I say, and what you get here is really quite cool at the end of the day.  Simple, repetitive phrases droning over and over really do wonders to put the brain in a sort of trance, and almost all of Palingenesia has a very calming, soothing presence in my mind that lulls me as soon as I put it on.  These compositions take their time and the layers each build on each other until a satisfying climax is reached.

Palingenesis is an interesting, overarching concept in a lot of different areas of study, from history to politics to biology to theology and philosophy.  In each area, the word has something to do with rebirth, especially rebirth into a specific set of ideals or into a better form.  Palingenesia the album features much of the cyclic and idealistic traits inherent in its etymology.  Take, for example, the rather joyful “Ethereal,” which trades out some of the somber nature of death and reincarnation for an upbeat and rousing melody that is light on the ears and a genuine blast to take in.  Of course, the darkness has its say here too, from the pulsing, booming synths in “Palin” to the wailing guest vocals in “Molten.”  The eight tracks that make up Palingenesia do a great job of each having their own identity, character and flow, all tied together by the immaculate vibes provided by the unique instrumentation and titanic throat singing.

Palingenesia is an album of contrasts, which I think perfectly suits the nature of its title.  It’s an album that has grown on me more and more the more it ends and restarts in my ears.  I also think this is pretty fitting.  On top of that, it really does have its own cool little space in the neo-folk world, and if you find yourself in a similar position to me where you want something new but don’t know what, you could do a whole lot worse than Taurwen.

— Ian

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Palingenesia is available now on Fiadh Productions.  For more information on Taurwen, visit their Facebook page.