Goodbye Eilean, Hello Laaps ~ (eilean 100) and The Alvaret Ensemble’s ea

Mathias Van Eecloo’s Eilean Records ended its six-year mission in December, finishing a 100-point map with the massive 82-track (eilean 100).  A new decade has brought a new project called Laaps, launching with The Alvaret Ensemble‘s ea (not to be confused with the band’s AE).  Today we

The Alvaret Ensemble, Kira Kira, Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson, Ingi Garðar Erlendsson, Borgar Magnason ~ Skeylja

Jonsi may have popularized the invented language in modern music, but he hasn’t cornered the market.  Just ask Jan Kleefstra, whose Frisian dialect crashes head-first into Icelandic on Skeylja.  The title itself is a blend of the Frisian Skylge (Terschelling, one of the

The Alvaret Ensemble ~ The Alvaret Ensemble

The Alvaret Ensemble is a modern composition supergroup that features Peter Broderick, Nils Frahm, Greg Haines, Martyn Heyne, Hilary Jeffery (Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble), Jan Kleefstra, Romke Kleefstra, Sytze Pruiksma and Iden Reinhart (Strië).  Most people won’t need to read more.