Denovali presents NANOOK OF THE NORTH - Baltic Stories

CLOT Magazine

Our next Mixtape comes from Nanook of the North, the duo of composer and violinist Stefan Wesołowski and electronic producer Piotr Kalińsk, with a small introduction to their music and the music of their friends. Taking the name of a 1922 American silent film that follows the struggles of the Inuk man named Nanook and his family in the Canadian Arctic, the two Polish musicians merge compositional roles blending as seamlessly as their use of acoustic and electronic sounds, with Stefan playing the violin and piano parts with additional synth touches and Piotr taking care of electronics, more synths and the final mix. Their first album, with an eponymous name (published by Denovali), arrived after the pair were invited by the Sopot Film Festival in Gdansk to perform an improvised score to a film screening; they the classic silent movie ‘Nanook of the North and travelled to Iceland to record the album. Despite the icy expansive isolation captured from the movie, the album is also transferrable in scenario and evocation, equally omitting the dangerous allure of dystopian cityscapes or even the 80s sci-fi horror menace of Maurice Jarre, Howare Shore and Jay Chattaway. Nanook of the North are now back with their second album Heide (Denovali, 2022). Their new material is a raw and minimalist sonic landscape, practically devoid of percussive elements but featuring vocals by an acclaimed mezzo-soprano Margarita Slepakova. As with the debut, the music on "Heide" is rooted in nature and its primordiality. The title of the album alludes to wildness and untamedness. The material was recorded last winter in a village in the middle of forests in northern Poland, which is clearly felt in the atmosphere of the 9 new tracks on "Heide". The mix they have prepared is aimed to be an introduction to their craft and the music of our friends and collaborators from other projects - such as Jacaszek or Olga Markowska (also the author of the cover of Heide). 100% Polish music. Including "Hinode Tapes #05" (the second song), which was recorded by Piort’s new improvising trio Hinode Tapes (released on August 26 by Instant Classic), a great and very inspiring Krakow label.