Review: Nytt Land ‘Aba Khan’
The tenth full-length record from Siberian folk duo Nytt Land, Aba Khan, sees them back to picking at the threads of 2021’s Ritual album and heading back into the ancient wilderness of Siberia to find inspiration from the indigenous people who live there and their culture.
The duo’s work has held a bit of a fascination for me over the past few releases, and their ritualistic dark folk music obviously comes from a place of passion and deep immersion. Their previous record Songs Of The Shaman was released only last year, and that focus on preserving traditions of music and culture remains strong on Aba Khan. The album is out now through Prophecy Productions.
The eerie and evocative title track whispers us into the ritual circle, like the sliver of an opening into a thick tundra forest. Each track feels like the journey through this forest, with Taiga the swirl of an icy wind through the ancient trees that creak with centuries of Siberian memories. Nytt Land‘s work has always had this real ancient feel about it (I suppose that is the point, really), but even more so on Aba Khan; this feels utterly alien to modern times.
The plaintive swirl of flute drifts with a melancholic charm, while deep drums provide a primal thud, a rhythm of the earth and of time itself. But it is always the vocals that inspire me; the intertwining voices that undulate through various tones and keys, never quite sounding of this earth.
Tracks like Prayer and Mansi are the voices of ancient times, before we became all sanitised and obsessed with melody and tunes; a time when the voice was as much of an instrument capable of dissonance and harmony as the guitar, the flute, the jaw harp, and various others that shake and tremble through their work.
intertwining voices that undulate through various tones and keys, never quite sounding of this earth…
There’s a somewhat natural ambient hum that throbs in the tracks too; it feels like the brush of wind through long grass or the quiet thrum of insects or the babbling of a frozen stream. Sometimes I’m not even sure if it is really there or whether they conjure their music so evocatively that I’m imagining it, such as in Uitag.
Aba Khan feels more focused on the vocal incantations than the music itself, compared with previous releases, and I think it really works to create an incredibly layered and beautiful record. The female vocal work is stunning, drawing every last touch of ancient worlds from each track and leaving you profoundly haunted by what came before us.
Nytt Land are the only band outside Wardruna whose touch with the past feels completely authentic and passionate. If they’d ever like to go on tour together, that could be incredible. Aba Khan is a taste of the most remote, untouched areas of Siberian tundra, where modern man has not visited in centuries. So few albums can give you an experience like this that feels so authentic.
Label: Prophecy Productions
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Sandy Williamson
