Salzwelten by Delago

With his really unique mix of alpine folk music, Asian and African Austrian elements and modern ambient/electronic styles on his three albums „Didge Goes World“ (1996), „Gado Gado“ (1998), and most of all „Trance Alpin“ multi-instrumentalist, music conductor, Didgeridoo-player and composer Hermann Delago has created himself a very special place in Europe’s music scene. With „Salzwelten /Saltworks“ Delago now presents the music for a truly unusual project: In april 2005 a spectacular multimedia show called „Salzwelten“ was opened in a salt mine in the beautiful historic village of Altaussee in the heart of Austria. The show is centered around a huge salt lake, situated 700 meters below daylight. At the day of the shows opening, Delago and his fellow musicians performed parts of their soundtrack to show live on an island in the midst of the lake. It is easy to imagine the effect of Delagos complex music in this amazing location, but it also displays its beauty independently from this setting - starting with the playful use of marching band motifs and parts of the famous traditional „Erzherzog Johann Yodel“ in the opener „EHJ Saltmarch“ to the symphonic structures in „Frozen Light“, the sacred music tendencies in „St. Barbara’s chapel“, or the Floydian space rock including Mussorgsky-quotes in „Endangered Art (WW II)“. Three very special guests added their unique talents to this amazing album: Delagos friend Alex Mayer, one of the world’s premier Didgerido-virtuosos, the charming singer Zabine, who started her career with her innovative and sensual yodeling in Hubert von Goiserns Band Alpinkatzen and has since successfuly toured in Europe, Africa and Asia, and last but not least Delagos son Manu, himself an accomplished percussionist. After listening to this wonderful album we once again are thrilled by Hermann Delagos ability to create music so varied in its moods (from thrilling to meditative) and at the same time so deeply soulful.