CD “Grief” by Farwest Mandolinistic Orchestra

At it’s very core, “Grief” stands out as a lonely, isolating experience in a strange land, sometimes meditative, but gently building and falling with every step into a world of emotions. “Grief” is the sophomore album of Farwest Mandolinistic Orchestra, that with their eclectic instrumentation paint a dark, brutal, unforgiving sonic landscape that could remove the listener from its geographic equation at any single moment’s notice.

The tranquil, aching beauty of the album lingers all over the place and evokes the warm texture of a twisted mandolin ensemble with hints of twentieth century avant-gardism.

The whole atmosphere is breathing a somber air, with moody keys and electric custom mandolin creating a cloud of ambient melancholy that drifts hazily through to the back of your mind while the instruments absorb your attention greedily, and deservingly so.

Strangely beautiful and above all adequately introspective “Grief” is a superb sonic adventure featuring a few threatening passages, made of soft industrial-noise use of electric guitar, with the addition of a prepared piano, live electronics, and insistent sound drones. It is solemn build up from a darker mood into something that could be perceived more tripping, yet it still carries a heavy burden that brings it down once again. Not always a happy experience, but certainly, a mesmerizing one.

Sotiris Debonos – midi mandolin and guitar, loops
Stathis Ioannou – acoustic guitar
Konstantinos Tsiolis – prepared piano, viola, synths
Manolis Aggelakis – electric guitar