Christopher Tin. He’s the guy who composed Calling All Dawns, one of my favourite albums of all time and whose first track is Baba Yetu from Civilization IV, the song that was Tin’s claim to fame.
I was looking for an older post where I must have written something about Calling All Dawns but I could find nothing. Now’s the time then! What I adore about Tin’s music and what makes it unique is that every song is sung in a different language and has a different style. At the same time, however, it’s all miraculously held together by something as straightforward as a classical symphonic orchestra. I find this blend quite fresh and satisfying.
His new album, The Drop That Contained The Sea, another concept album of classical music mixed with ethnic, adds another level of metaphor by bringing in the circle of water. There are songs in Ancient Greek, Old Norse, Brazilian and other languages in there, some of which I don’t recognize. It’s quite good, almost as good as Calling All Dawns.
From the whole album, Темен Облак stands out for me (at least for now, because my favourite songs from individual albums tend to go through circles). It’s in Bulgarian which is a heavy bonus, but anyway I find it incredibly powerful! Lots of choir or vocal-heavy songs are dominating my earworm garden lately.