Spilar - Stormweere (2020)

Music doesn’t recognize boundaries. It’s a language defined by eight notes (thirteen if you count sharps or flats). The only boundaries tend to be artificial, imposed by people. Such is the case with Spilar. Theirs is the language of folk music, the difference due to the fact that the language of choice is Flemish. On their debut album, Stormweere, Spilar proves that despite what separates us, more holds us together.

The echoing guitar notes of Klacht immediately create the kind of familiarity that is extended in the vocals of Eva Decombel. Singing harmonies with Eva, brother Marrten, establishes a melodic blend confirming the familial bond. The mandolin of Ward Dhoore (Trio Dhoore) and Maarten Decombel’s mandola, along with his (or Jeroen Geerinck’s) guitar, generate a luxurious acoustic framework for Myn Herte, pushed forward by the drumming of Louis Favre.

All the members of Spilar also play in other contexts, making the sheen of their West Flemish folk music something very special. As Maarten Decombel explains, “folk is pre-eminently music in which you look at our own musical heritage with contemporary glasses.” Rather than being a rejection of the past, it’s a modern-day celebration. Eva has sung in an old-time and swing band, Louis Favre comes from the jazz and improv scene. Maarten’s background is in classical music, while Jeroen and Dhoor’s are rooted in folk and roots and they also both founded Trad Records label.

The loose swing of De Derde Man, written by Maarten, illustrates the intersection of the folk and jazz worlds in a tune written for his young son. While both Suver Maecht and Steere are Christmas songs, to anyone who doesn’t know the language they are simply traditional songs, nothing reveals the seasonal lineage.

An insistent snare drum leads into Voor Marie-Louise, yet everything is stripped back when Eva’s vocals enter. Her singing is flanked by lightly strummed guitars before a flute-ish synth enters. The push and pull of this song continues between sections. Taking the lead on Roosendaal, Maarten’s voice begins the track as synths build in the background before an insistent bass drum enters the fray alongside mandola.

Folk music has always been rooted in two differing camps. Tied to the past by its very nature, yet as a people, we are also fixed on the present day. There is a constant push and pull between the two. Spilar sees the divide, but rather than allowing it to define them Stormweere allows the band to revel in their diversity and we are the recipients of their musical largess.