in which faun makes medieval music a bit more modern

so, i've always had a thing for medieval music. what? you're asking. are you serious?

actually, yes, i am.

(i swear, the husband is rolling his eyes at me in utter disdain right now)

i like me some gregorian chants. i like celtic music that can trace it's roots back hundreds of years. i like it traditional and i like it modernized. and i really like what germany's faun is doing with this genre. i've seen them listed as medieval rock in some places and medieval folk in others, but really, they're a combo of both. utilizing traditional instruments with modern ones, faun makes for a very interesting sound.

a list of some of the instruments they incorporate into their music: celtic harp, nyckelharpa, various lutes, the bagpipes, large japanese taiko drums, cister, the violin, flutes and even arabic instruments like dombra, rebab, riq, oud, darabukka and bendir. all of which, put together, along with boy-girl harmonies and deep, driving drum beats, make for some very cool songs.

here are two songs that i like very much. first up is rad (yes, rad, and no, i don't have any idea what in the hell what it's about, other than thinking it sounds, indeed, rad):




next is lysana, which was also used in the book trailer for melissa marr's final book of the wicked lovely series, darkest mercy:



may i point out how absolutely PERFECT it was for recapping those books? gah! non-faun side note: i actually really liked how darkest mercy ended. i'm a bit of an optimist, so the tidy, happy ending(s) didn't bother me at all, despite the angst, violence, and craziness over the previous four books.

if you head over to faun's website, you can download both rad and lysana for free, along with four other songs. go HERE to do so, and then click on the downloads tab.