Soetkin Colliers first CD "Nocturne" is a collection of songs about
love, hope, despair and faith in an romantic-dreamy atmosphere. She is
accompanied by Tom Theuns on guitar and Didier François on nyckelharpa
(Swedish violin). Own compositions vary with arrangements of
traditional songs from Flanders and Sweden.


The
fascinating harmonies between guitar, vocals and nyckelharpa lead you
on a journey to the north with songs about musicians, nightserenades
and lovestories. On your way back home the ferryman sings about his
destination and his love for the water, a mother cradles her child, a
woman weeps for the loss of her lover, a snake hypnotises his prey, two
men are fighting for the same girl and everything goes around, without
ending and we keep on turning around and around...



Soetkin Collier started as a singer with Laïs and later on with
Ambrozijn. In Sweden she followed vocal courses with Lena Willemark and
Malin Foxdal and in Belgium with Yvonne Walter-De Kock, Hille Bemelmans
and David Davidse. On the moment she takes part in a serial of
workshops lead by Walpurgis, a musictheater in Antwerp. She is
wellknown as singer of Urban Trad.



Guitarist Tom Theuns went to Brittany to learn DADGADtuning and to
India to learn sitar. He's the guitarplayer-singer and composer of
Ambrozijn and plays together with Aurelie Dorzee and Stephan Pougin in
"Aurelia". He also plays guitar in several theatreprojects.



Didier François studied classical violin in Brussels and composition in
Amsterdam and specialised himself in Swedish nyckelharpa. In 2007 he
will be touring with the "Grappelli-tour" to commemorate the death of
Stéphane Grappelli. He's also a composer of filmmusic, theatre, musical
and ballet.

"There's an unusual mix of Swedish and Flemish songs here with
arrangements that evoke America (the title cut) and, at times, Scots
pipe music ("Trallvisa") as well as a trip across Europe.

Collier
has a very warm, appealing voice, and her basic group - Didier François
on nyckelharpa, the Swedish keyed fiddle, and Tom Theuns (of Ambrozijn)
on guitars, harmonica, cittern, sitar and vocals - fills out the sound
beautifully with the help of a few guests. Collier sounds most at home
on the Swedish songs - her voice is somehow just a perfect fit - but
even they take odd turns (and sitar sounds surprisingly good in one,
for instance).

The trio brings a surprisingly contemporary and
intimate sound to the music, and by refusing to readily settle into one
style it keeps the listener's interest."

CN - Sing Out, vol.52#2