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WAER000
Full length CD, 11 Tracks
Chapter 1 in the Za Frûmi Saga, the Cult masterpiece filled with soundscapes and more ethnic and medieval instruments than one can count, dialogue in Black Tongue.
Tracklist
1. Intro
2. Dushatar
3. Za Kala
4. Za Shulg
5. Nudertogat
6. Albai
7. Vrapogat » Listen to MP3
8. Interludium
9. Za Ismael Kala (Act 1)
10. Za Ismael Kala (Act 2)
11. Knish Requiem (Outro)
Reviews of Za shum ushatar Uglakh (click highlighted text for full review)
"Imagine the No Neck Blues Band jamming with Jonathan Coleclough or Andrew Chalk, with Chris Barnes (Cannibal Corpse) or Glenn Benton (Deicide) grunting the dialogue with the Thai Elephant Orchestra as their rhythm section. It's that weird. It's that cool."
- Aquarius Records - San Fransisco
"Eine Mischung aus Hörspiel und grandioser Musik. Für die, die des orkischen nicht mächtig sind, findet sich im Booklet der CD eine Übersetzung der Dialoge."
- Elbenwald - Germany
Translated: A mix of Theatrical dialoge and grandiose Music. For you that not finds the orcish powerfull as it is, finds a translation in the booklet.
"Flöjt och trummor för fram en suggestiv och nästan hypnotiserande musikform som både fungerar som avslappning och kreativ tankeväckare. Jag har nog lyssnat på skivan 25 gånger, och den håller verkligen."
- Bo Kjellson, Syskonskapet - The largest LRP site in Sweden
Translated: Flute and drums make way for a suggestive and almost hypnotic musical form that works both as relaxation and creative inspiration. I have listened to the cd 25 times and it´s still great.
"The most intresting recent recordings out of middle-earth is the Swedish orc group Za frumis debut CD Za shum Ushatar Uglakh"
- Erik Davies - Wired Magazine
"Za shum ushatar Uglakh certainly is a unique and intresting one"
- Roberto - Maelstrom Magazine
"The best cd of the year 2001 in dark beautiful music!"
- Jim Dickinson - Dark treasure Magazine
"A must for ALL fans of The Lord of the Rings. I was swept away in the same way as when reading Tolkien for the first time"
- Greg Brooks - Transformation Magasine
"Njutningsbetyg 5 av 5... Skivan är underbar att bara lyssna på, slappna av till eller ha gåendes i bakgrunden eller när du skriver äventyr eller skapar rollpersoner."
- Christer Sahlén - Codex - The largest Roleplaying magazine in Sweden
Translated: For pleasure 5 out of 5... The record is wonderfull to listen to, relax to or to have in the background or when you write adventures or create roleplaying characters.
Full Reviews:
Aquarius records:
Let me preface this review by mentioning that Allan has never read The Lord Of The Rings (even with his extensive D&D experience...hmmm). Za Frumi is a group of Swedish musicians, disenchanted with the black metal scene, and the music scene in general, who were compelled to look elsewhere for the magic and mystery they felt was lacking in modern music. The result is 'Za Shum Ushatar Uglakh', a musical tale of a clan of orcs and their battle against a mighty vampire lord! That's right, orcs.
The story goes like this (from the liner notes):
"Join the epic voyage of the orc leader Uglakh and his compatriots. Their adventure begins in the deep lustrous forest filled with the sounds of the wild and the roar of a great fire. Around it sit the Uruki Uglach, awaiting the mysterious primal dance of their shaman. The morning after, the uruks, compelled by their mystic shamans advice to Uglach, attack an old castle. After the raid, the subservient Golug Fachtal and his more adventurous kinsmen Yagul forage the forest, and set out to build a watch tower. After a frustrated argument about a toadstool, the wet Yagul and the other orcs begin building a tower, while the dagalush Knish and his kapuli friend go further afield, and find a deep sea beach, where the melodious elves are making sweet music. Later, we join the clans march during a night filled with wonder. They press constantly on, sometimes marching, sometimes sneaking. After a short stroll in the forest, Uglakh and his clansmen happen upon the dark, brooding castle of the dreaded vampire Ismael. The journey through his dark castle has two parts, with mysterious subterranean chanting and majestic orchestral sounds. They face many perils there, and end in the final battle with Ismael in his greatest chamber."
Much like a radio play, the whole drama is played out via dialogue (more on that later), ambient sounds and incidental music.
So simply as a musical story, utilising dark ambience, cinematic soundscapes, the sounds of life in the forest (sticks crackling, wind blowing, water splashing, swords clashing) and a litany of grunts and growls, which is the dialogue spoken entirely in orcish (for real! -- a handy translation is included in the booklet for those not fluent in the tongue). It's really interesting and quite entertaining.
But the music, taken on its own, is quite an epic dronescape (albiet littered with very un-drone like segments). 'Za Shum...' is a strange mix of dark rumbles and throbbing pulses, simple clattery rhythms and tribal workouts, grunting and growling and roaring (that could be electronic rumbles or misplaced death metal vocalists if you didn't already know it was orcs) and the occasional folky flute interlude.
Imagine the No Neck Blues Band jamming with Jonathan Coleclough or Andrew Chalk, with Chris Barnes (Cannibal Corpse) or Glenn Benton (Deicide) grunting the dialogue with the Thai Elephant Orchestra as their rhythm section. It's that weird. It's that cool.
Aquarius records is a great store in San fransisco and they sell Za frumi records
Elbenwald (in German):
Za Frûmi ist eine Gruppe von Künstlern, die sich auf dieser CD von den Uruk-Hai haben inspirieren lassen. "Za shum ushatar Uglakh" ist die Geschichte eines Ork-Clans im Kampf gegen einen Vampir-Lord. Eine Mischung aus Hörspiel und grandioser Musik. Für die, die des orkischen nicht mächtig sind, findet sich im Booklet der CD eine Übersetzung der Dialoge.
Transformation Magasine - by Greg Brooks:
When I first heard Za Frûmi I understood what I had been missing! I adored Mortiis but this was something else. Not so simple and with the absence of obvious keyboard sounds. It appears that Za frumi have not used any electric instruments at all.
This is a must for ALL fans of The Lord of the Rings. I was swept away in the same way as when reading Tolkien for the first time.
The Album is called Za shum ushatar Uglakh which means "the great warrior Uglakh" and the band come from Sweden. There is a huge dark choir on three tracks and that really blows you away. It´s so dark and so intense! I turned all my lights off and only lit a single candle. Then I turned the volume to almost the maximum. Readers, this cd will make you forget about everything in this world we live in.
On Za shum ushatar Uglakh we follow a group of orcs on there journey. The orcs sneak, hide, fight (twice), build a tower and more. It´s a mystical and dark world you glimpse for about 55 min. when listening to Za shum ushatar Uglakh.
Dark Treasure Magazine - by Jim Dickinson:
When this cd first fell into my mailbox, I was amused and slightly sceptical as to the musical quality of the music. It seemed such a crazy idea that there must be a catch somewhere. If not, why hadn't I heard of these guys before? A Swedish band, Za Frûmi are new to the world, although the minds behind the project have been making music in various forms for over 10 years. They have roots in such diverse musical styles as Psychedelic trance, classical music, black metal and fantasy/ambient. While flicking through the CD booklet my interest was piqued. Orcish? Would this be sung or spoken? I had no idea, but I was eager at once to find out. I was going to need the translation to understand what was happening. The first thing I noticed when the music started was the dark, suggestive undertone. Slowly I felt myself slipping away as the story began for real. The next thing I knew, an hour had passed, and something weird had happened. I was TOTALLY immersed in the sequence of events that lead up to and include the orcs confrontation. The music was fascinating, original and sometimes terrifyingly intense. Flutes, drums, didgeridoo, and anything else you can think of combine masterfully to create a unique musical experience. I listen to the cd often, and it has great replay value. I still get as lost in the tale as the first time i listened to it. This is absolutely, in my opinion, the best cd of the year 2001 in dark, beautiful music!
Codex - by Christian Sahlén
"Skivan alla borde ha?" (Only in Swedish)
Njutningsbetyg 5 av 5 (Till rollspelsmötet 3 av 5)
Ljudet av fotsteg, en gnäggande häst och en orchs grymtande. Så börjar skivan som alla fantasyrollspelare bör ta sig en titt på. Skivan heter Za shum ushatar Uglakh och är den första från gruppen som kallar sig Za frumi. Den låter oss följa med på en resa tillsammans med orchledaren Uglakh och hans grupp när de attackerar vampyren Ismaels slott. Givetvis är det på svartiska, men man behöver inte oroa sig. I häftet finns allt översatt till Engelska. Za frumi är visserligen en svensk grupp, men har lyckats sprida sin musik bra mycket längre än så. Skivan säljs över hela världen och många tidningar och medier har börjat uppmärksamma den. Att Wired med en upplaga på 2,1 miljoner är bevis nog på det. Hur låter den då? Som sagt introspåret börjar med fotsteg, hästar och lite grymtanden, snart kommer dock historien igång och vi bjuds på orchvrålanden, trummor, didgeridoo och en massa annat. Extra noterbart är mötet med alverna på spåret Albai (alver). Vi bjuds här på härlig sång och flöjtspelande. Medusa körens arbete på Za Ismael kala är också en härlig upplevelse. Simon Kölle, Simon Heath och Donald Persson, tre lajvare och musiker som står bakom namnet Za frumi. De har skapat en fantasy som skiljer från mängden. Men passar den för att använda som stämningsmusik till rollspel? Nja blir mitt svar. Precis som de flesta skivor som recenserats i denna tidning så har den sina brister. Spelleder du en svartfolkskampanj i en gammal version av drakar och demoner eller kanske Dungeons & Dragons så är den här skivan ett måste, i annat fall klarar du dig utan den. På spelmötet vill säga. Skivan är underbar att bara lyssna på, slappna av till eller ha gåendes i bakgrunden eller när du skriver äventyr eller skapar rollpersoner. Eftersom skivan är så speciell får den två olika betyg, ett som går att jämföra med de andra betygen i tidningen och ett som grundar sig på hur bra skivan är och inte hur den passar till spelmötet.
Codex is the most read rolplaying magasine in Sweden
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