The Oak Tree will remind listeners of the mood Gabriel created on Passion, whilst almost singlehandedly introducing ethnic music to a wider commercial audience in the west, with its strange sounding and haunting noises and voices. The percussion and strings on the musical evocation accompanying a gorgeous voice is a joy to listen to. Also, those who enjoy some meaning with their music, especially with no discernible lyrics to guide them and to allow themselves the space to have music’s joy and themes wash over them – witness Eiocha, who was a Celtic Goddess of deep waters. In terms of who would enjoy this album, certainly fans of Mariusz Duda’s Lunatic Soul project will find much symmetry and enjoyment. The Echoes, an epic track, with bold and naked vocal echoes and primeval thumps talking to us of our hopes and fears with no words whatsoever.
Humans trying to make sense of their world and their place within it. The next time you watch a television nature programme with stags rutting, put on Song of Cernunnos, dedicated to a Celtic horned god particularly associated with this violent exposition of purely male behaviour. For no better example, listen to the raw emotion of Myth of Creation here. Lore, whilst not a Christian work, speaks to the self-same basic rituals and beliefs, the thread which ties us to our ancestors and will do so for our distant descendants. This review is being written on Easter Sunday of 2023, and at its heart, the first “Christians” were Jews who believed that Christ was the embodiment of prophecies and promises/rites passed down millennia. To emphasise this, look at the wonderful video embedded below, which has its fusion of the title track of the album with dance, striking visual imagery, combative and emotional dance, Celtic rites, and the painting of the body. This album is, I feel, designed to be listened to as a whole, its moods pulling you into an artistic experience.
Lore has atmosphere and quality in spades and is an exceptional album. Wojtas is joined by Sebastian Wieladek on kora, hurdy gurdy, lyra, duduk, and shawm and Kornel Poplawski (who appears with Amarok) on violin. The music was composed for the James Wilton Company production of Lore, and you can learn more about this at You can, with this album, envisage sitting down in a clearing and listening to ancient stories – indeed, this is the glue which binds us together in a common humanity, despite the earth-shattering modern corporate greed society & culture, something many of us hope will be a thing of the past very soon. I heard about this album from a simple mailshot from Oskar Records and went along to the Bandcamp page at to give it a listen and ultimately to purchase, because this is a class record.
Multi-instrumentalist Michal Wojtas (voice, synths, drums, percussion, guitars, whistle, and cello) is the leader of well-regarded Polish band, Amarok.
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