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Dartmoor Roundhouse by Nigel Shaw

This beautiful new album features ancient flute songs recorded in a Dartmoor Roundhouse with instruments made from the wood of thirteen indigenous trees. The journey to create this album has taken over a year to complete. Each of the twenty or so flutes featured was specially made for this recording from indigenous woods sourced on Dartmoor. Each flute has its own voice within the grain of the wood and each flute was recorded around the roundhouse fire, usually at night. These source recordings were then taken to the studio where some overdubs and effects were added to enhance the different atmospheres of each track. There are no other instruments used to create the sounds on this album, as the intent was to make a recording of pure acoustic sound in a natural environment. All the flute designs were based on a Native American style but many are tuned to typically European keys. In total there are thirteen keys used on the album. They range through a full octave from a low C (Oak) to a high C (Willow). The result is one of the purest and simplest of recordings that carries with it the spirit of the Dartmoor Roundhouse and of our ancient ancestors.

Track list - Oak, Yew, Thorn, Beech, Rowan, Alder, Elm, Holly, Scots Pine, Hornbeam, Ash, Silver Birch, Willow.