Elina Duni Quartet - Dallendyshe (2015) [Hi-Res]

On 'Dallendyshe' ("The Swallow"), her second ECM album, Elina Duni sings songs of love and exile. The troubled history of the Balkan regions has inspired many such songs and the pieces here, primarily from Albanian traditional sources, are interpreted with intensity and insight by Elina and her band.

The Tirana-born and Swiss-raised singer has become an exceptional musical storyteller embodying the songs' narratives, in a way that transcends genre definitions and language limitations. "This time there is a sense of lightness to the feeling and energy of the album," says Duni. "Even though we are dealing with tragic themes of exile it is not as dark as 'Matane Malit' [her ECM debut]. One of the fascinating things about music of the Balkans, in a lot of the folk music, is the idea that the pain has to be sung. And in singing you go beyond it. That's what the blues is about, of course, and you find a similar sensibility in these Albanian songs about exile and lost love."

Duni's journey to the emotional centre of Albanian song began a decade ago, when she and pianist Colin Vallon were students at Berne's Hochschule der Kunste. Looking at Albanian folk music rather than jazz standards as an improvisational resource led them to a whole range of discoveries. Elina found her own voice in the old songs, and in reclaiming them could also free them: the quartet's experimental yet pure acoustic versions have been received with gratitude in Albania where folk themes were once harnessed for propaganda purposes.

'Dallendyshe' was recorded in July 2014 at Studios La Buissonne in Pernes-les-Fontaines in the South of France, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Personnel: Elina Duni (vocals), Colin Vallon (piano), Patrice Moret (double bass), Norbert Pfammatter (drums)