After a solitary wind chime hit, the song opens with a melancholic creak of the violin, an instrument that has seen centuries’ worth of life and the entire scope of human toil and triumph; joys and sorrows. Every bit as earthy and grounded as the violin, the pulse of a single echoing drum joins in and anchors the music into place for a breathy, light-as-air dyad of enchanting female vocals to enter. Like sprite twins straight from a fantastical fairy tale, they whisper in celestial unison. Close your eyes and the song takes us into an unreal realm where just a little is everything and nothing is overdone. A minimalistic soundscape, almost stubborn, perhaps Celtic at heart – ancient, timeless and contemporary, all at the same time.
A momentous melody – a simple piece of music written out of the complexity of emotions – touches the soul, and a heavenly harmony takes the piece into its heart-warming chorus. Suddenly you can’t remember when – if ever – you’ve heard something so otherworldly yet so profoundly human. Optimism and wistfulness intertwine, grief and hope become one.
Altamullan Road, consisting of Johanna Kurkela and Johanna Iivanainen, conjoined sisters connected by their souls and musicality gear up for the release of their enthralling eponymous debut album, to be released in the fall of 2020. But now they’re whetting our appetite with their 1st single “When It’s Time”, that shows but one facet of their sensational, unparalleled sound.
Two brilliant musical minds and divine voices unite in one that, in a better world, would make armies lay down their arms.
“When It’s Time”
Altamullan Road is the sound of love and letting go, the voice of larks, poets and scallywags. Altamullan Road is cinematic dream pop.