During all the decades I lived with various rock music genres, very, very few artists and bands I paid any attention to came from the Netherlands and, even less, Belgium. In the prog front, I knew Focus, of course, and some friends were nuts about the Nits, the Dutch alt-rock band. But that was about it.
So it’s been a great pleasure to listen to the Belgian acoustic, instrumental, folk-rooted Naragonia (sometimes appearing as Naragonia Quartet) and the Netherlands-based but, I believe, pretty multinational Omnia.
Omnia I have been listening to since last summer when Deezer, my streaming platform of choice, recommended them. Some of their album covers suggested death metal, or at least Sepultura-style “World Metal”, so I was fascinated and intrigued by the global audio adventure I found.
The more recent Omnia albums are indeed happily limitless in terms of picking influences and tunes from almost anywhere; great stuff warmly recommended. But a few days ago I checked out their albums #3 (Crone of War) and #4 (PaganFolk) and they are notably more Celtic and/or Northern.
The production may be on a bit smaller scale than on the later albums but there’s very impressive musicianship, so much drive and passion, they just sweep you along for the ride. I’m sure the Pagan or Dark Folk fans are well familiar with Omnia’s music but in case you are not, check it out. Good stuff there – and one of the songs on Crone even has part of an ancient Finnish chant, or spell, as its lyrics – well done! 🇫🇮👍
Naragonia, on the other hand, I just discovered maybe a few weeks ago. Absolutely lovely music they make, I fell for it instantly. Not folksy folk, neither too far refined “chamber folk” but something between the two. Modern chamber neofolk? Oh dammit, who needs all the labels when it’s just brrrilliant music?
Most recently I listened to their Mira album where each piece is its own being and yet the album is coherent and flows along nicely like a mountain stream, up there down here, speeding up and slowing down, always dynamic and vivid.
They are excellent musicians but absolutely awesome tunesmiths. For example, the blindingly beautiful Fere-Poirot, on Mira, is a tune that makes me want to sell my soul in exchange for the gift to create music like that.
So yeah, this was no review time, just a happy rant about some non-British but, in Omnia’s case, partly Celtic music I have well and truly enjoyed in these first weeks of Nordic spring. And it’s a season that seems to fit the music of both these bands perfectly: Omnia for the again awake and beating heart of the wilderness, Naragonia for the grace and special light of this season in the North. Luckily, in the world of music, I don’t have to choose between the wild and the elegant – I can have them both 🙂
FolkNotes 