HOTWORX RECORDINGS
What is Desert House?
Desert Ηouse is a new kind of music, an evolution of ethnic music based only on electronic tunes mixed with natural instruments and real sounds from places and traditions all over the world. Those instruments could be the Oud, the Armenian Duduk , the Cretan lute, the Cretan Lyre and a lot more from the world we could infuse in our music. Desert House is not a formal name for this music right now but we are hoping that with love for this kind of music and the work we are putting to it, it will be recognized in order all listeners have an easy way to search for it. Nowadays you can find this kind of music as Ethnic, World Music, Orient, Electronica, Downtempo e.t.c. As a label we believe that this is not wrong but it is quite chaotic and time spending for someone to track down this particular kind of music we are representing. The actual cause of this birth, Desert music is that it deserves its own category in music industry.
The oud is a short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped stringed instrument (a chordophone in the Hornbostel-Sachs classification of instruments) with 11 or 13 strings grouped in 5 or 6 courses, commonly used in Persian, Greek, Turkish, Byzantine, Arabian, Armenian, North African (Chaabi, Classical, and Spanish Andalusian), Somali and Middle Eastern music. In the first centuries of Arabian civilisation, the oud had 4 courses (one string per course - double-strings came later) only, tuned in successive fourths. These were called (for the lowest in pitch) the Bamm, then came (higher to highest in pitch) the Mathnā, the Mathlath and the Zīr. A fifth string (highest in pitch, lowest in its positioning in relation to other strings), called ḥād ("sharp"), was sometimes added for theoretical purposes, generally to complement the double octave.
The Modern tuning preserves the ancient succession of fourths, with adjunctions (lowest or highest courses) which may be tuned differently following regional or personal preferences. The first mention of an actual fifth string is by 11th-century musician, singer and author Abū-l-Hasan Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn a-t-Tahhān in his compendium on music Hāwī al-Funūn wa Salwat al-Mahzūn.
The first known complete description of the ‛ūd and its construction is found in the epistle Risāla fī-l-Luhūn wa-n-Nagham by 9th-century Philosopher of the Arabs YaꜤqūb ibn Ishāq al-Kindī. Kindī's description stands thus: "[and the] length [of the ‛ūd] will be: thirty-six joint fingers - with good thick fingers - and the total will amount to three ashbār. And its width: fifteen fingers. And its depth seven and a half fingers. And the measurement of the width of the bridge with the remainder behind: six fingers. Remains the length of the strings: thirty fingers and on these strings take place the division and the partition, because it is the sounding [or "the speaking"] length.
This is why the width must be [of] fifteen fingers as it is the half of this length. Similarly for the depth, seven fingers and a half and this is the half of the width and the quarter of the length [of the strings]. And the neck must be one third of the length [of the speaking strings] and it is: ten fingers. Remains the vibrating body: twenty fingers. And that the back (soundbox) be well rounded and its "thinning"(kharţ) [must be done] towards the neck, as if it had been a round body drawn with a compass which was cut in two in order to extract two ‛ūds".
The first description of the "modern" oud is by ibn a-t-Taḥḥān. It is very similar to the construction of modern lutes, and to the construction of Western lutes. The modern oud stems most probably from the barbat which, in turn, stems from the Indian lute-type vīnā. The oud, as a fundamental difference with the western lute, has no frets and a smaller neck. It is the direct ancestor of the European lute.The oldest surviving oud is thought to be in Brussels, at the Museum of Musical Instruments.
What is Oud?
What is Cretan Lute?
The Cretan Laouto is an 8 stringed, 4 course musical instrument of the lute family. The laouto has a multi-faceted voice because the strings are in pairs and tuned an octave apart. The laouto when strummed, has a powerful yet not overpowering voice, and when soloed has a sweetness and depth that can be described as bittersweet, there being an element of melancholy in the sound, our beautiful Cretan music. The laouto, which is a long-necked cousin of the lute, comes in various sizes. The Cretan laouto is the largest bodied of the laouta and lutes.
The neck of the laouto can vary in length from maker to maker, which has a marked effect on the sound and feel of the instrument. This length can range between 680 – 750 mm. The longer the neck, the higher the tension on the strings and the clearer and stronger the tone on the instrument. This is why the laouto and the lute have such varied voices, apart from the increased notational range due to the laouto having a longer fret board.
The soundboard kapaki, is usually made of European spruce, which has a bright and clear tone. There is a selection of different sound-holes used on the laouto, from large single round or oval sound-hole positioned close to the bridge, or two smaller circular sound-holes positioned off-centre. This instrument contributes to unique Cretan music flavour, sights and sounds.
The back of the body skafo, is made of a selection of maple, walnut, ebony and rosewood; often with a combination of darker and lighter woods to give an interesting visual effect.
The strings of the laouto are tuned in fifths. The Cretan laouto is tuned differently to other laouta. From the bass or lowest string it is tuned Gg – Dd – Aa – ee. The strings of the laouto were originally of traditional gut construction, although the modern laouto has steel strings similar to those of the bouzouki. This adds to the unique sound of Cretan music.
The duduk (doo-dook) is an ancient double-reed woodwind flute made of apricot wood. It is indigenous to Armenia. It is commonly played in pairs: while the first player plays the song, the second plays a steady drone, and the sound of the two instruments together creates a richer, more haunting sound.
The unflattened reed and cylindrical body produce a sound closer to the English horn than to more commonly known double-reeds. Unlike other double reed instruments like the oboe or shawm, the duduk has a very large reed proportional to its size. UNESCO proclaimed the Armenian duduk and its music as a Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005 and inscribed it in 2008.
Duduk music has been used in a number of films, most notably in The Russia House and Gladiator. Variations of the duduk exist in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, including the balaban in Azerbaijan and Iran.
What is Armenian Duduk?
What is Cretan Lyre?
The main instrument of Cretan Music is the Cretan lyra, a small three stringed fiddle held upright on the knee, bowed horizontally with a lyra bow. The Cretan lyra is distinctive and inspiring. Its origins are a big mystery although it seems that it comes from the Persian instrument called rebab. These types of bowed instruments were very common during the Byzantine Empire but later, when the Crusaders invaded the Greek islands and the Venetians built their empire in Crete and other parts of Greece, a new type of lyra was introduced called Lyra da Braccio. The Lyra da Braccio sounds and looks like the Cretan lyra.
The Cretan lyra is the most famous musical instrument for Cretan traditional music . It is central to the traditional music of Crete and other islands in the Dodecanese and the Aegean Archipelagos. The Cretan lyra is considered as the most popular surviving form of the medieval Byzantine lyra, an ancestor of most European bowed instruments and equivalent to the rebab found in Islamic empires of that time.
The Byzantine lyra spread westward through Europe with uncertain evolution. A notable example is the Italian lira da Braccio, a 15th century bowed instrument and possibly the predecessor of the modern violin. Bowed instruments similar to the Cretan lyra and direct descendants of the Byzantine lyra have continued to be played in many post Byzantine regions until the present day with small changes. For example the Gadulka in Bulgaria the bowed Calabrian lyra in Italy and the Classical Kemenche in Instanbul Turkey.
The lyra has a body with a pear sharped soundboard or one which is essentially oval in shape with two small semi circular soundholes. The body and neck are carved out of one piece of aged wood.
The Cretans use the lyra to accompany their melodious citations and they improvise a lot both verbally and musically, creating mind blowing songs and verses mostly known as ''mantinades''. The lyra is not played like the violin despite the use of the bow. The player does not press the strings but touches them with the tip of the nail a technique used only in the Cretan Lyra. In the old days the performers would hang small bells on the bow called ''gerakokoudouna''.
There are three major types of Cretan Lyras
1.The Lyraki, a small model of lyra almost identical to the Byzantine Lyra devoted only to the performance of dances.
2.The Vrontolyra, which gives a very strong sound ideal for accommpaniment for songs.
3.The common lyra, popular in the island today, was designed via a combination of lyraki with the violin.