Reviews

Auri
Album: Auri III - Candles & Beginnings
Label: Nuclear Blast
Tracks: 10
Website: https://www.facebook.com/AURlband

The cognoscenti may well be aware that the record label Nuclear Blast specialises in heavy metal bands, but do not fear. Auri are about as far away from heavy metal as you can get. The connection between Auri and metal though is strong. Two of the trio are from the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, a band whose songs are generally classified as symphonic metal, a genre perhaps closer to classical music than to heavy metal, but still metal enough to link them to Nuclear Blast.

When Nightwish first formed, the intention of the founder and main composer, Tuomas Holopainen was for the band to play folk music, and indeed, they even attempted to represent Finland in the Eurovision song contest! However, when their singer showed an aptitude for singing opera, Tuomas realised that her voice would be wasted on folk, so started to compose songs that fused classical music with metal.

I therefore had a preconception that Auri would write and play folk songs. Again that was not really true, though you can feel a Celtic undertone to some of their music. You can also sense an element of classical music so if you wanted to pigeonhole them into a genre it would be something along the lines of symphonic prog folk. Their songs are dreamy, and ethereal and almost by the first note they will hypnotise you into a state of peaceful tranquillity.

The three members of Auri are Tuomas, his wife Johanna Kurkela, (both from Finland) and Troy Donockley (from the UK). Both Tuomas and Troy are members of Nightwish, and Nightwish fans will know Johanna as she read the Shakespeare quote in the Nightwish masterpiece "Shoemaker".

The three decided to form a group back in 2011, but it wasn't until 2017 that commitments first allowed them to create their first album, eponymously called "Auri". "Auri III - Candles & Beginnings" is their third release.

The thing that first strikes you when you listen to Auri is Johanna's voice. She somehow sounds as if her voice is part of the fabric of the Universe. It is a primordial thing created during the big bang along with less important items such as photons, electrons and protons. Her voice is the glue that holds stars to their respective galaxy; the vibrations made by planets orbiting their sun; the harmonies created by light refracting through raindrops. Her voice is amazing.

Although Tuomas composes most of Nightwish's material, he only wrote three of the songs on this album, with Johanna writing another three, and Troy writing the remaining four. All of Troy's recording was done in Yorkshire. All of Johanna's and all of Tuomas's recording was done in Finland, and they all wrote their songs in isolation. The final mastering was undertaken in Peter Gabriel's Real World Studio in Wiltshire.

The theme of all coming together, but being apart is brought out in Johanna's song, "The Invisible Gossamer Bridge". Although Johanna is credited with writing the song, the concept of an invisible gossamer bridge linking Yorkshire in the UK and Kitee in Finland has been something that Tuomas has talked about for years. As every Nightwish fan knows from his song "My Walden", Tuomas is a big fan of Walt Whitman, whose poem "A Noiseless Patient Spider" references a gossamer bridge, so this may well be the inspiration of the theme.

The most metal sounding song on the album is Troy's "The Apparition Speaks" due to Troy's electric guitar bursting in after the first two ethereal verses. Apparently Tuomas, (who normally plays keyboards) plays the Theremin during this track, though he isn't credited on the album sleeve.

"I Will Have Language" was also written by Troy. I imagine that after so many years playing with a Finnish band (who for the last ten years have had a Dutch singer) and who have toured extensively throughout the World, he must be able to get by in most places now, but, to date, he has still not managed to communicate with the birds or the clouds.

Tuomas's song "Oh, Lovely Oddities" was apparently written about a place that is special to all three of them. As it includes the lines, 'Chanterelles from them thar hills. Celebrate with a pint of ale', I'm guessing that the place is possibly on the Yorkshire side of the gossamer bridge. The song includes some haunting violin by Frank van Essen (who used to play in the Celtic prog rock band Iona along with Troy and guitarist Dave Bainbridge who became the guitarist for Strawbs.

Joanna's "Libraries Of Love" seems to be thinking fondly back to a loved one who has died, not with sadness of their passing, but with joy of the memories. It also wishes that any loved one who survives her can similarly remember her with happiness. 'Please take my tears and carry them until I, too, end and become your memory.'

"Blakey Ridge", a song about a place in the North Yorkshire Moors and drinking Old Peculiar ale, with a very Celtic jig played on the whistle, sounds as if this should be one of the songs written by Troy, but it was, in fact, written by Tuomas. The lyrics say 'I'm letting go of yesterday. The last of me is here to stay.' Could it be that Tuomas is thinking of one day retiring to Yorkshire? Amazing, if that's the case, as Kitee looks absolutely beautiful from what I've seen from surfing YouTube.

Troy's song "Helios" is a celebration to sunrise, with the morning dew gleaming like jewels in the rising sun, and a celebration to the sunset, with the darkening light changing the plans of animals. Troy refers to the song of Sulis, which, I'm afraid, I don't understand. Sulis was the Romano-British goddess Sulis Minerva (worshipped at the thermal springs in Bath which was known as Aquae Sulis). The name Sulis may have been derived from the Proto-Celtic word Suli which does refer to the sun.

Many of Nightwish's lyrics refer to figures in literature, (most of which I haven't read). It seems that his wife, Johanna, is similarly more literate in British novels than I am. Her song "Museum Of Childhood" includes the lines, 'Dream big, become The shape of you, Egeria Who knows roads to Terabithia." I had to look up to find out who Egeria was: a Hispano-Roman Christian woman who went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in around 381 Common Era. I also had to look up Terabithia, which comes from a children's novel by Katherine Peterson called "Bridge To Terabithia" about a scared and angry young boy who makes friend with a similarly aged young girl next door and together they create their own imaginary Kingdom called Terabithia. The song is an ode to everyone that fear has wrapped in sorrow and the hand that leads them has pulled them under, telling us to forget the problems, think back on all of the happy and good things that have happened to us, and to become a pilgrim to find our own kingdoms.

The name Auri was taken from a character in Patrick Rothfuss's "The Kingkiller Chronicle" - yet another book that I haven't read.

I've noticed that "Museum Of Childhood" urges us to surrender to catch a sunrise, so providing a link back to "Helios", and "Shieldmaiden" tells us to 'See and remember her The girl next door', thus neatly providing a link back to "Museum Of Childhood", giving the album a consistent thread, even though all three songs were written by different people ("Shieldmaiden" having been written by Tuomas). The Shieldmaiden in the song is long dead, unremembered and unsung and now lives amongst the stars (possibly extending the thread back to "Libraries Of Love"?). Quite possibly, if you look, you'll find links, threads, or Easter eggs in ever song linking to other songs on the album (or to previous Auri tracks?).

"Shieldmaiden" was released prior to the release of the album, so it is the song I've heard most, and that is probably the reason that it is my favourite track on "Candles & Beginnings". Sadly, it is the shortest track on the album.

Troy's "A Boy Travelling With His Mother" is the longest track on the album, but with the fewest lyrics. The lyrics are, I think, quite cryptic, so my interpretation may be wrong, but I think the boy's mother, like the shieldmaiden, is now living in the stars, but although she is no longer there with him, she has left her love to provide him with safety to help guide him through life, as if she had bequeathed him a compass.

Although there are only three official members of the band, they have enlisted the help of a few other musicians for this album, including Kai Hahto, who is the drummer from Nightwish. In addition, Frank van Essen (Violin and viola), Jonas Pap (cello) and Juba Kanervo (bass). Johanna is the main vocalist, and also plays keyboards and violin. Troy plays just about everything including guitars, bouzouki, mandola, uillean pipes, low and high whistles, aerophone, bodhran, keys and vocals. Tuomas, as with Nightwish, plays keyboards and is also credited with vocals, (he sang on Nightwish's first album, but I don't believe he has sung on any further Nightwish album).

Although Auri have been making music since 2017, they have never toured, until now. I am extremely excited to be going to see them at The Union Chapel. I cannot wait.

One last caution before I sign off. There is a Bollywood band also called Auri. They already had the Facebook address facebook.com/auriband, so Auri have taken the address facebook.com/AURlband where the character that looks like an upper case "I" is, in fact a lower case "L".

Pete Bradley

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