Describing themselves as one of the most interesting and intriguing musical projects of the year, IANAI is the name of a new neofolk project aiming to bring together elements of folk music from Scandinavia, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. An ambitious project given the obviously wide ranging differentiations between these genres of folk music. It should be therefore stated from the beginning, that IANAI is not attempting to provide any kind of authentic experience of the traditional music of these cultures; merely creating something new from them.
“An ambitious project”
IANAI claim that their music comes from communion with an entity called Trevenial, a multi-instrumentalist voice from the other side of the veil, and that speaking to this entity is to transcend the veil of this world, crossing borders beyond time and space. It is a pretentious opening that may immediately put the listener off before even hearing the music. Even after realising just how ambitious a project it is, to bring together folk music from the Sahara up to Scandinavia and across to East Asia, the audience is now forced to question whether they believe this music is coming from some other worldly dimension. Pretentious and unnecessary, it is. Is it not possible anymore for people to create beautiful music, without the need to pretend it is being dictated by some benevolent spirit? Yes, it is possible.
“Pretentious and unnecessary”
But how does it sound? From the opening notes of “Savoj Icoil”, Sunir is an immersive album, that does indeed succeed in transporting the listener to another time, another place, beyond the veil of pretentiousness. It is a mellow and interesting sound, somewhat unique, that succeeds in providing a fresh voice to the world of neofolk music. Whether it will appeal to the band’s stated target audience of metal listeners is another matter, but for fans of acts such as Wardruna or Heilung, there will be much to enjoy in Sunir. The music is simultaneously intriguing and relaxing, piquing the interest of the brain whilst also providing a soundscape that one may use for meditation or reflection.
As such a soundscape, Sunir is a wonderful album, thankfully saved by its sound and musicianship after such an introduction. After the opening track and lead single, the progression to the percussive “Manda Navaja” is a highlight, as well as the slowly built crescendo of “Khaalo”, though it strikes out a weird choice for the title track, Sunir, taking essentially the place of an ambient break. Throughout the album, the atmosphere remains consistent, and succeeds in the neofolk objective of creating a soundscape that sounds ancient whilst simply feeling new. Pretentious introductions aside, Sunir is a fascinating listen apparently many years in the making; it will be interesting to see which direction IANAI takes in the future.