JAHRTAL

Jahrtal biography
Formed in 2007, Jahrtal is the one-man psychedelic folk project of Austrian multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Ewald Spiss. Having had prior experience with his two sisters in a folk music quartet in the 1970s, Jahrtal is primarily Spiss' solo project, for which he sings and plays guitar, violin, harp, sarod, flute, duduk, organ and percussion, among others. Jahrtal's style is a gentle, krautrock-inspired acid folk, with Spiss claiming influence from the Incredible String Band, Dr. Strangely Strange, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, the Strawbs, Fotheringay and Amazing Blondel.

Jahrtal began life during Spiss' search for a record label to distribute his experimental electroacoustic work from the 1980s and 90s. Spiss submitted the Zwei Lieder single to Steinklang Records, featuring reworkings of William Blake poems set to song which Spiss originally recorded in the late 1970s. At the encouragement of label head Max Percht (who was collecting material for a sampler compilation and would later distribute Jahrtal's first two albums), Spiss set to work recording more tracks which would eventually form the basis of his debut LP, Lichtbuch, released in late 2007. Lichtbuch presented interpretations of Austrian, English and Tibetan folk songs as well as the poetry of Joseph von Eichendorff. Spiss' wife Christine would contribute vocals for Lichtbuch as well as its 2009 follow-up, William Blake - Lieder von Unschuld und Widerfahren, a complete digital re-recording of his forty-year old Blake-inspired songs, for which Spiss translated the original poems into German. 2011's all-instrumental Reprisen und Instrumentalstuecke would follow via the Sloow Tapes label, and Jahrtal's fourth album, Lictbuch 2, was independently released in 2020, with Spiss once again interpreting Eichendorff as well as Franz Shubert and Alpine folk tunes.

An heir to the soporific kraut-folk spirit pioneered by Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser's Pilz label, Jahrtal has garnered comparisons to In Gowan Ring, Forseti, Fit & Limo, Stone Breath, Witthüser & Westrupp, Sergius Golowin and the Incredible String Band.

Bio courtesy of Gordy