PUULUP  (Estland)

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A pinch of surrealism, modern folklore and talharpa revival! The old and the new stick together like water and sleet in Puuluup’s oeuvre. They play talharpas – a traditional bowed lyre, popular in Northern Europe since the early middle ages and played on Western Estonian islands until the beginning of 20th century.

Puuluup directs the vibrations of talharpa’s horsehair strings through effect blocks and looper, uses alternative bowing and drumming techniques and sounds. The mellow sighs of talharpa are paired with electronically amplified echoes, knocks, creaks and crackles, while still maintaining the instrument’s natural sound.

The lyrics and melodies are a mixture of their musical memories and improvisation. The music may have a dancing beat, or resemble a dark film soundtrack, spy around in the chambers of ancient talharpa players, or travel to far-away lands. They sing about wind turbines, heroes from Polish TV series, fat cakes and the uncomfortable feeling that your neighbor’s dog might try to bite you while you take out the trash.

They play with music as they play with words, sometimes creating their own language. As the band states: “We draw inspiration from Vormsi nights, trams in November, junkies in love, criminals from Odessa and Antonio Vivaldi”. As a side dish, when giving live concerts they also offer choreographic flittering which emerged on its own during the numerous days these two man spent in the rehearsal rooms.

Weird and charming.