Ancient Finnish Karelian songs, sweeping Armenian and English melodies in a timeless, gravity-free music of powerful, fluid beauty. Magnificent Finnish diva Sanna Kurki-Suonio with electric zither, Armenian duduk, bass clarinet, fujara, marovantele.

Andrew Cronshaw: electric zither, fujara, marovantele, kantele etc.
Sanna Kurki-Suonio: vocals
Tigran Aleksanyan: duduk
Ian Blake: bass clarinet, soprano sax

Following the release of their CD "SANS Live" in April, which entered the World Music Charts Europe top 20, and very successful shows in the UK, Finland, Norway, Belgium and Australia including WOMAD UK, SANS have three more UK shows in October:

Oct. 2: Cecil Sharp House, London
www.efdss.org/whats-on

Oct. 3: The Welfare, Ystradgynlais, Swansea www.thewelfare.co.uk/events/sans/

Oct 4: Colchester Arts Centre, Essex www.colchesterartscentre.com/events/world-music/sans/

The ancient Karelian songs that became Finland's Kalevala, the sweeping melodies of Armenia and English folk-song combine to make a genuinely new music of extraordinary beauty and fluidity.

"Beguiling and unnerving soundscapes:
Andrew Cronshaw is a celebrated multi-instrumentalist and composer, a man always willing to boldly explore largely uncharted musical territory. Over the past couple of decades, he's been particularly fascinated by the music of Finland, an attraction that's fed heavily into his own work, including this latest project SANS, which finds him in the company of Armenian duduk player Tigran Aleksanyan, reeds player Ian Blake and Finnish singer Sanna Kurki-Suonio. The quartet play timeless, gravity-free pieces that hang mysteriously on the air, rich in both melody and atmosphere. Of Sanna's voice, the Canberra Times was particularly taken, hearing it as "elemental, summoning mythological beings in a way that has you looking over your shoulder long after the song has ceased". That's no bad description of the overall sound, an otherworldly, ethereal whole that beguiles and unnerves in equal portions."
– Written for WOMAD by Nige Tassell, 2014

"A subtle, at times gently unsettling album in which ancient laments from around the Baltic are fused with themes from England, Scotland and Armenia. Exquisite."
– Robin Denselow, The Guardian, April 17th 2014

"An entrancing and majestic weave of influences"
– World Music Charts Europe, 2014

"Beautiful, spacious, haunting, visceral"
– Rachel Nelken, Arts Council England, 2014

More information at
www.cloudvalley.com/SANS.htm
www.facebook.com/SANSmusik