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Follow on Google News |  Mircan - OUTIM Once Upon a Time in MingreliaMircan’s most avant-garde music yet -- Westerners will hear jazz with vocals in the Laz language -The human voice at its most flexible, most emotional, most rebellious, most mournful and most extreme - The “coolest” Laz, the most extreme jazz
By: UCM Production With these words Sagredo praises the alphabet as the greatest human invention. Being able to speak to those who are not yet born and will not be born for a thousand or ten thousand years… On her latest album OUTIM, MIRCAN uses the incredibly beautiful language of Megrel/Laz, a language that has been spoken for centuries but which is now only used by a handful of people in some parts od Georgia and Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey and which faces the threat of not being passed on to those who are not yet born. Written with an alphabet of not twenty, not thirty, but thirty-nine letters, this language is melded with English language and English artists, launching the language and Mircan herself on a journey into the distant future. Like an otherworldly, mystical voice from the past echoing through space, trying to connect with others who are unique… On each album, MIRCAN transports the listener to different worlds with unique stories. This album opens with a ghost story told in Megrel, a Southern Caucasian language, accompanied by nighttime background sounds, drawing the listener once again into a tense, mysterious journey of expectancy. It is a journey that begins calmly but increases in intensity and is full of surprises. It is a musical journey that sometimes wanders over broad plains shadowed by mountains in some unknown land with the mystical sound of bagpipes and at other times embarks on a journey of awareness that heads toward Orthodox roots with lonely organ sounds that linger after a song has ended. In a duet with English theatrical actor/director Gerald Tylor written for a lover who sleeps in death, her voice becomes a breeze that is afraid to blow. OUTIM could be described as MIRCAN’s most avant-garde album. Chinka’s Laugh features a ghost laughing hysterically, while Chuta Nusa (Little Bride) is a cool jazz number performed in bossa nova style and sung in Megrel-Laz. In Mingrellian Lullaby, MIRCAN is a gentle young mother and in Yamo, she is a woman who has joined a work crew in the mountains of the Eastern Black Sea region accompanied by an impressive jazz band from Bristol. In her duet with Roger Mills’ trumpet on this piece, it is sometimes hard to distinguish which is the trumpet and which is her voice. Before this album was released, Yamo was already on the play list of Furthernoise, an avant-garde music broadcasting organization based in London. OUTIM features the most modern interpretation ever of lyrics written by Xelimishi Hasani, most of whose poems have been lost during his tragic life. On the lyricist’s song titled Mupat E Skiri (What Shall We Do, Son?), MIRCAN cries out, “I’m not rich. What can I do, son?” as she hearkens back to her university days as a rocker. On Xopurepe (Hopa Villagers), she turns into a banshee that proves Vivienne Jepsen right. There is an interesting story to the second song of the album - MIRCAN wrote the words to this song surrounded by the laughter of the people living in a home she was invited to stay at during one of her trips to the Eastern Black Sea region. It was written while sitting on a balcony that looks down Fırtına Creek and looks out on the ill-fated waters of the Black Sea. OUTIM was recorded in Bristol with the Jazz group Limbo. Jim Barr, bass guitarist for PORTISHEAD, accompanies MIRCAN once again on bass. Production was done by MIRCAN, together with Roger Mills and Osman Kent. MIRCAN’s albums feature the unique touch of Osman Kent, the co-founder of 3Dlabs who started Songphonic with the incredible studios formerly owned by Roxy Music. Osman Kent did the final editing and mastering for the album in these studios. The album also features a booklet containing short stories written by MIRCAN during trips she took in the Eastern Black Sea region. The book is related to the CD and also features contributions by Vivienne Jepsen, an author from New Zealand. The book will feature a mixture of stories and song lyrics from the CD, presenting a synthesis of past and future that represents a living culture. The book uses humble personal stories to portray a way of life that has not only been forgotten in the booming metropolis but also in the Eastern Black Sea region. The goal is for this book to be a valuable reference that its authors will be proud of and its readers will enjoy. The positive side of globalization in art is access to a richer scope of imaginative material for artists, not just because of the virtual environment but also because of enrichment through local and regional lifestyles and more prolific output. Not only are artists ranging from England to Istanbul and from Istanbul to the Eastern Black Sea enriched with new friendships, they are also able to easily engage with cultures from far away places, help protect a heritage that is disappearing and focus on leaving a strong foundation for the future. Visuals in the OUTIM project consist of original paintings by famous Turkish artist ARZU BAŞARAN and photographs taken by MIRCAN in the region as she travelled. The goal of the OUTIM project is to make a contribution by fostering a rich awareness of local cultures as an alternative to urban values where the language of artists is becoming more monotonous. MIRCAN has dedicated her life to thinking, working and creating. She is a wandering soul who searches for lost treasures deep in the cloisters of solitude and tries to bring them to light. In October, 2008, MIRCAN will begin working on a master’s degree on historical artifacts with rotations in universities in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Czechoslovakia through a European Commission grant. She will also perform master’s level studies in ethnomusicology in England. Music is a refuge for her soul, and no one can tell where this soul will travel to next. Where to now? MIRCAN www.mircan.net www.ucmproduction.com www.myspace.com/ DISCOGRAPHY Bizim Ninniler / Our Lullabies 2005 Kül / Ashes 2005 Sâlâ 2006 Kül & Ashes 2007 Numinosum 2008 OUTIM (Once Upon a Time in Mingrelia) 2008 # # # UCM produces music independently with an ideaslist an amateur musical approach to respect and protect music, musicians and the art. www.ucmproduction.com www.mircan.net End
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