BASTARD ETNO

"Bastard Etno" is the 4th full-length studio album by Danish avant garde/ethnic folk music act Afenginn. The album was released through the TUTL label in Denmark in November 2009 and in january 2010 through Westpark Music in the rest of the world. The album features both new tracks and re-recorded tracks from the band´s first three studio albums.

The title of the album pretty much says everything about the musical content. The style of music on the album is a mix of several ethnic traditional styles, classical chamber music and a touch of avant garde. Traditional styles of the Balkan and the melancholy of Scandinavian folk are represented here. The instrumentation on the album include Klarinettes, Violin, Mandolin, Mandocello, bass, drums and percussion. This means that the sound on the album is very organic and warm. A very pleasant sound, which suits the music perfectly. The band vary their style and there are both fast played parts and more subtle melancholic parts on the album. The music is fully instrumental save for a few shouts here and there.

Compared to the band´s last album "Reptilica Polaris (2008)" which featured a grand choir as one of the dominant musical elements, this album is a much more down to earth experience, but that also means that it´s not as original as it´s predecessor. To my ears that´s a bit of a shame. With all the re-recorded versions of older tracks "Bastard Etno" works a bit like a "best of" compilation and less like an original studio album, and while the re-recorded versions certainly are enjoyable I would have preferred to hear completely new tracks. Still "Bastard Etno" is undeniably a quality release and while I´m not as excited about the album as I was about the two direct predecessors a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.