Cianalas/Tãsknota
After much thought this week, and with loving tenderness in my heart, I have decided to give my upcoming folk opera/concept album a new name. And in the process, I may even put a deeper name for myself on the cover - that of taking both my mother’s name and my father’s name (but with the traditional feminine spelling).
So the album will be Cianalas/Tãsknota and it will be offered by me, also acknowledging my matrilineal line, Alana McRae Lewandowska
(This isn’t the album cover, just an example for you to see).
Cianalas is a Scottish Gaelic word for homesick and longing.
And Tãsknota is a Kashubian word for homesick.
I am in the process of building a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the album-length music video production. It will be a critical component for this work of art. The Kickstarter campaign does not launch until August 11th, but I wanted you to see the above video, to begin gently considering joining me in this work.
The perks are simple:
a digital download of the album Cianalas/Tãsknota,
and a few lovely acknowledgement tiers for the rolling credits of the video.
In the meantime, here are some other exciting announcements about the project:
I am pleased to announce that Carnyx horn player John Kenny will be guesting on this album. He is heading into the studio in Edinburgh on August 13th to add the carnyx horn to my version of Song of Wandering Aengus.
I am deeply pleased to announce that my dear friend and colleague Phyllis Sinclair will be not only guesting on the album, but has co-written a song with me
And I’m also pleased to announce that Feminine Wisdom and Ancestral teacher (of the Irish/British pantheon) Tara Wild, has joined me by keening at the end of a song called Bean Sidhe (Banshee).
This album continues to be a deep work, and the mixes are sounding so exciting.
We are aiming a release date for February 1st, releasing some songs initially in the month of December.