Husband and wife duo, Irena and Vojtěch Havlovi, met in the mid-80s as part of the experimental collective, Capella Antiqua e Moderna – reinterpreting classical music from all over Europe to success and acclaim. In 1990 the couple branched out on their own. For the next 2 decades, releasing tens of albums, right up until 2010 – with their output increasingly influenced by ancient India, Hindu spirituals and devotionals, and Jainism. The pair frequently traveling to the deserts of Rajasthan to record – something reflected in the title of this new retrospective, Melodies In The Sand. 

The fragile pieces, selected by Jonny Nash for Melody As Truth, all have their foundation in heavily reverb-ed cello, piano, and viola. The lovers exchanging instruments across the 10 tracks. Cyclic, cinematic, dramatic, I hear the music of The Havlovi`s echoed in that of modern “ambient” exponents such as Visible Cloaks – particularly VC`s collaboration with Miyako Koda – and in the string-driven elements of the relaunched 130701`s contemporary roster. Artists like Clarice Jensen, Maarja Nuut, and Resina.

White Andalusia adds temple bells, and Spanish acoustic strum. Vanity Of Wings dances, while Light Circles drops into disorienting delay. Tenderly Blue harbours harmonium drone, and traces a twilight between night and day. The magical hours of dusk and just before dawn. Throughout, the plucked, picked and bowed strings intertwine with ethereal multi-tracked vocals to create a kind of enchanted folk. Rising from whispers to wordless exclamations of joy. The overall effect like a calming “Om”. Yogini breath and Gurdjieff`s “Work”. 

Irena and Vojtěch Havlovi`s Melodies In The Sand can be ordered directly from Melody As Truth.