Nynke
Album: Alter
Label: Cramnmed Discs
Tracks: 11
Website: http://nynkemusic.com/

Unless you've spent a lot of time in Northen Holland, "Alter" is going to sound like nothing you have heard before and the reason for that is that Nynke, has recorded the album in Frisian, her native language, one of the most endangered languages in Europe, if not the world. Even if you have spent a lot of time in Northern Holland, it's very unlikely you would have heard Frisian in a setting like this.

To paraphrase the press release, "The word 'Alter' has various meanings - in Latin in means other, English to change or transform and Frisian altar and takes a place in the rituals of life." It's a lot for any album to live up to.

Linguistically, Frisain, falls partway between Dutch and English and that really does make a different as it makes the layout of the songs very familiar, if not the words themselves, this is not the same as listening to a song in, say Gaelic, whilst you are still relying on picking up the inflections it does feel more familiar, you get a better sense of the poetry of the construction of the songs.

That Nynke appears to be blessed with a golden voice also makes a massive impact on the listening experience, as she draws you into each song and makes you feel a part of it. The thing that I really like about this is that she also composes her songs for the here and now, "Alter" is not a traditional folk album, it overflows with rich elements from pop music and even Mediterranean influence.

There is one song on the album sung in English, "Awaiting" which actually doesn't distract from the musical landscape, but does give a sense of just what a high quality vocalist Nynke is in a more familiar environment. Apart from that it's running with the English translations in the cd booklet like an opera score. That said the feelings the songs envoke do reduce the necessity. The exception is "Efterreach" which was co-written with Frisian poet Tsjebbe Hettinga and features spoken word elements by him as well as a different rhythm to other parts of the album.

I found myself totally absorbed by "Alter", it's an album that invites you to immerse yourself in it. Nynke has a voice that really carries the poetry of the language and the emotion of the soul, top notch.

Neil King