Bel Canto
A chamber-rock unit drawing its members from Tromso, Norway, Bel Canto (Italian for "beautiful song") forge a blend of alternative pop rock with medieval atmospherics recreated by synthesizers. This is often an effective combination, producing an aural assimilation of the past hallmarked by an evocative sense of loss and sadness (similar to Scotland's Cocteau Twins). The idea behind Bel Canto's songs was drawn from energy fields, be they female power or the earth's gravitational pull, with vocals delicately etched by the alto of Anneli Drecker (b. 12 February 1969, Tromso, Norway). The orchestration by Nils Johansen and Geir Jennsen on Bel Canto's 1987 debut White-Out Conditions combined electronics with traditional instruments, sometimes departing from the pious imagery for upbeat Arabic numbers ("Agassiz") or cultured ambient soundscapes ("Blank Sheets"). Guest musicians for the follow-up Birds Of Passage added flugelhorn, bouzouki and dozens of other instruments to achieve a bold, decidedly unusual, though not necessarily uncommercial, sound.
Listen to Bel Canto
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Albums
- (2008) Magic Box
Top Tracks
- Big Belly Butterflies
- Bombay
- Kiss Of Spring
- Rumour
- Paradise
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