Stream Moura’s Axexan, Espreitan in Full; Track-by-Track Posted
Moura release their second album this Friday on Spinda Records. And yes, at this point I’ve gone on a fair bit about Axexan, Espreitan (review here), between that review, putting up the videos for “Romance de Andrés d’Orois” (posted here) and “Baile do dentón” (posted here), having frontman Diego Veiga do an Obelisk Questionnaire, and back in February, putting up the first announcement of the release. It’s a lot. All of it has been with the hope that, eventually, you’ll take a listen to the full record.
So here’s the full record.
I gotta be honest, when Spinda first asked if I wanted to host the stream, I said no. Felt like overkill, given the above. Then I thought about it for a couple minutes and realized how fucking stupid that was. Somehow, I was going to spend months hyping up a thing, spitting hyperbole into the gaping, godforsaken void of disinterest that is the internet hoping to attract a few ears to what mine were hearing, and then pull back from having the entirety of the release featured here just because I already had something booked that day? Obviously not.
Don’t let me keep you. There’s a track-by-track that follows the player, but make no mistake, the highlight here is Axexan, Espreitan itself and while I’m interested in knowing what’s behind the songs and hope you are too, it’s Moura‘s finished product that I’m telling you you should hear. I do not finish usually more than two or three of the hundreds of reviews I do in a given year with the word “recommended,” and I only do it when the recommendation is universal. This is one of those albums. I am looking forward to living with it in the years to come.
Please enjoy:
AXEXAN (Side A)
I. Alborada do alén
“Cosmic dawn inspired by old melodies which awaken memories, rites, spirits and the memory of the intangible heritage that lurk and watch from the beyond to remind us who we are as individuals and as Galicians.”
II. Romance de Andrés d’Orois
“Ballad in the style of a romance told by a blind storyteller in which I tell the story of my maternal great-grandfather Andrés, a cattle dealer and native of the parish of Orois (Melide) who was killed in the early twentieth century by two thieves in the oak grove of Ribadiso (Arzúa) while returning from the fair.”
III. Pelerinaxes
“A spiritual journey through different musical landscapes that pays tribute to the pilgrimage made by Otero Pedrayo, Vicente Risco and Xosé Ramón Fernández-Oxea from Ourense to Santo André de Teixido in 1927 and collected in the book of the same title.”
IV. Baile do dentón
“Dentón, cornecho, caruncho, gran de corvo, cornizó, etc, are some of the names given to an ergot fungus that grows on the ears of rye and related cereals with medicinal properties and from which LSD has been synthesized. It was responsible for the intoxication of many peasants when baking bread causing delusions and hallucinations, known as sacred fire or San Antón.”
ESPREITAN (Side B)
I. Alalá do Abellón
“The funeral rite of Abellón was described by the poet Alfredo Brañas in a poem in 1884. This consisted of relatives and neighbours doing a circular dance around the coffin, imitating with their mouths the sound of bees as a ritual of purification and to help the soul cross over to the world of the dead.”
II. Cantar do liño
“Traditional rhymes inspired by work songs sung in small villages during the long and different processes of the elaboration of linen, which helped to make this hard community task bearable.”
III. Encontro cunha moura fiadeira en Dormeá
“Inspired by some old rhymes collected in my mother’s parish (Dormeá, in the municipality of Boimorto) this is a tale about a moura (a Galician mythological fairy) casting a love spell on a young lad.
IV. Lúa vermella
“Sleigh bells of Celtic torcs sets the scene for a moonlit night in a village in which one senses and later invokes the presence of the procession of sorrowful souls going down a path, a night in which the boundaries between the world of the living and dead fade.”
Probably my most anticipated release this year so far. Their last one was just incredible in so many ways. Magical, mystical, mysterious vibes with just enough of the heavy to balance it all out. These folks are on a different level. I don’t speak the español but I feel it. Another stunner for sure.
Quite likely that I miss this one if not for you polishing its balls every couple of weeks, and my life is better for it. Thank you for doing what you do! Peace.
Very glad you found your way to this one. Makes all the ball polishing worthwhile haha.