ELINA DUNI “Reaching for the Moon”

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ARTIST

Elina Duni

ALBUM TITLE

“Reaching for the Moon”

LABEL

ECM
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Today, more than ever, we find ourselves navigating stormy waters. Which is why we need sirens. Benevolent ones, of course. Mythical figures whose enchanting songs, unlike those of the sirens who sought to lure Odysseus to his doom, might help us make peace with ourselves and find our bearings again — a sense of direction we seem to have lost in recent years. It is therefore time to restore the voice to its central role, in all its many facets.

This is Elina Duni’s mission: “For me, there are two important aspects to the development of a voice. The first is technical, the work of a craftsman; the second is the soul.”

And so, exactly three years after A Time to Remember, the Albanian-born singer, guitarist, pianist and percussionist, born in Tirana but raised in cosmopolitan Geneva, releases Reaching for the Moon, her tenth album as a leader and the sixth in her fruitful association with ECM.

Duni is an artist, and a woman, constantly seeking the ideal balance between the singer-songwriter tradition, the rediscovery of Eastern Europe’s folk heritage (though by no means exclusively, given her longstanding desire to broaden her musical and cultural horizons) and fresh interpretations of standards and jazz ballads.

Whereas her previous album featured English pianist Fred Thomas, Swiss trumpeter Matthieu Michel and London-based guitarist Rob Luft, this time Duni opts for the intimacy of a duo, choosing a stripped-back approach alongside the guitarist who has been her musical partner for eight years. Luft proves an exceptionally responsive accompanist and conversational partner, bringing an atmospheric style that, at certain moments, recalls the musical world of Bill Frisell.

“Our project is a musical journey. Different styles and languages to bridge the gap between people,” explains Duni, who moves between Albanian, English, French, Italian and Persian across the album’s eleven tracks.

The title Reaching for the Moon suggests both the literal act of reaching towards the moon and the ambition to dream big. Throughout the album, nocturnal imagery provides a recurring thread, from the Irving Berlin evergreen that opens the programme and lends the record its title to a rendition of Pino Daniele’s “Cammina cammina”, performed with an admirable Neapolitan inflection and emotional commitment, and Fauré’s “Les Berceaux”, alongside original compositions by Duni and Luft.

This twilight journey, steeped in reflection, draws to a close with an original reinterpretation, bringing a lyrical conclusion to an album that is difficult not to love.

Ivo Franchi

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