Album Songs and Lyrics

Lyrics and facts about the tracks from Astrakan Project’s album.
1. pemp bolot # 3’50
2. tri martolod an oriant # 3’43
3. kreñv ‘veld ar garantez # 6’17
4. twist en-dro war al leur-goat # 5’39
5. 1932 # 4’13
6. barzh an ifern # 4’08
7. mouezhioù [pa garche ma mamm] # 4’17
8. o soñjal [konskriet sant nikolaz] # 5’02
9. 7 hills # 5’27
Album Songs and Lyrics

Barzh an ifern : I’ve been to Hell

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[lyrics, translation & facts for the 6th from our album >here<]

Yes, it’s the real title of the song!

Only the last 3 verses (translation bellow) of this very short piece are traditional. They’re not a song as such, they’re extra verses you may add to the end of another song when you’re singing for dancers and you feel that want to carry on a bit more. Simone learned them from her master Erik Marchand.

We like very much the way you can say/write in Breton, “I’ve been to hell” just like a very normal thing, a place where you can go and come back. Nowadays, things have changed of course, but the relation with the “other world” is still very strong, specially among the old generation.

Brittany, Brenilis
Brittany, Brenilis, entrance to the other world

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Although it may have a “belly dance” flavour, it’s still a Breton dance! The improvisation singing introduction part is more inspired by Kurdish impro like this one from Aynur Dogan:

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Music : Yann Gourvil

Instruments : ‘oud, darbuka, violin

Rythme : gavotte danse.

A live version from the same song:


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E pad an amzer ma yaouankiz, tro ar bed ‘m eus beajet / Istorioù ha kannaouennoù kalz anezho ‘m eus klevet

O nag a breman e deuit din a c’hoan da zisklerian / Da zisklerian istorioù kozh, Dre chañs e veoc’h kontant

Me zo bet barzh an infern e pad mizh gwengolo / O sirañ ar voutou d’an diaoul ha troc’hañ dezhan e varov 

Med pa oant erru eno me zo bet soueset, o wellañ an tud jentil peseurt mod e oen lakaet

Net ket ‘vel pe war an douar a barzh o chatoioù, oc’h evañ d’eus a gwinn mat, hag o kontañ marvalhou


When I was young I’ve been travelling around the world / I’ve heard so many stories and songs

And now I’m feeling like telling old stories, If I’m lucky enough, you even might enjoy them

I’ve been to hell last September, polishing the devil’s shoes and pulling his tail

But once I got there I was surprised to see how gentlemen were treated

It was not like when they were on earth living in their castles, drinking nice wine and telling unreal stories

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Notes: As usual, it’s a personal translation, with no attempt to translate the poetic style, it might not be fully accurate, the purpose is more to give an idea about what it is.

 Astrakan world music album on band camp

Album Songs and Lyrics

Pemp Bolot

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[lyrics, translation & facts for the opening song from our album >here<]

The opening of the album, Pemp Bolot (five bullets) is a composition from Yann with traditional lyrics. In Brittany, we have lyrics and tunes, and they’re in most of cases not connected to each other, indeed, you may pick up some lyrics and use almost any tune with it. There’s of course some rules regarding their geographic origin, but once you get it, it provides musicians a lot of freedom to use them.

pemp bolot - five bulets
five bulets…..

“An Dezertour” is quite popular among singers most probably because it has a very good inner rhythm. It’s one of the first songs Simone remembers having learned. Regarding the story, it may relate to the 19th century Napoleon’s wars, it may also be older but with late changes, the topic is quite a common one in French traditional music, even with the details regarding “the blue scarf to close my eyes” (see translation below) is to be found in French language versions.

The introduction was initially just an idea for a short sequence that Simone wanted to use for this video, she wanted something very ceremonial to go along with the sun dawn, and on which she could add kind of mystic voices.

 

Only a week before sending the album for manufacturing, we thought that it could be a nice introduction, both for this song and for the album.

Instruments : guitar, violin, darbuka, percussion sounds on introduction : davul samples.

Rythme : gavotte danse.

This slightly different version was recorded live in Beirut last spring.

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Album Songs and Lyrics, DIY Album

The album’s out… today !

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Our album is now released !

You can buy it from here (it will use PayPal), for 12€, shipping included for any destination.

First tune is called “tri martolod an oriant” (3 young sailors, some facts and a translation here)

Promo Video & Contest

If you hadn’t yet seen, here’s a short video where we share some steps during the recording process. The sample track is the “mouezhiou“, based on a traditional dance from the Vannes’ area (South of Brittany).

If you watch carefully the video, you’ll see Yann holding a notebook with different languages statements. If you’re able to recognise those 6 languages, (appart from “the album is out” in English!) , enter the contest and get a chance to win your personal copy of the album ! If you’re following us either on FaceBook, on YouTube or here, you might already have some clues…They are all related to our personal journey, and we both can at least communicate in any of them.

Rules are very simple : (1) find the correct answer (2) share this video with your friends and let us know. Who knows? They also might like it too! (3) fill in your contact to enter the contest.

[ contest dead-line was 8th of October, and the winner was… ]

You want more ? If not done yet, you can follow our thoughts during the recording on the blog section.

Album Songs and Lyrics

Tri Martolod An Oriant

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[lyrics, translation & facts for the 2nd song from our album >here<]

A version of this song became very popular since Alan Stivell sung it in the 70’s), and today many bands are still playing it, mostly under the name “tri martolod yaouank“. During a recording break, we watched a video from Kevin Camus playing it on the Irish bagpipes together with Nolwen Leroy.

tro martolod an oriant astrakan project single
. . . 3 boats . . .

While wondering about the origin of the song, that is, before Stivell’s version, we found a very nice and interesting version sung by an old woman (from whom unfortunately we don’t even know the name). We found that version so nice and delicate that we immediately started to work on it, and we arranged this tune very quickly.  The lyrics we’re using are a mixture of both versions.

In our version (you can hear it here or get a free mp3 if you sign-in for our newsletter here), extra beats take it away from the original rhythm that to our hear could well be a dance from the Breton coast(s), but we’re not really specialists about those facts… Yann got inspired for the rhythm by Balkan pop music (Albanian ?)

Instruments used : ‘ud, guitar, darbuka, bendir, violin, and a pack of Nescafé Gold (yes it’s true! you can see it yourself on this >video<)

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