Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices / Lisa Gerrard - Pora Sotunda [Limited Edition]

Seven inch vinyl pressing. Over the course of the choir's 65-year existence, The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices has left an indelible mark on popular musicians and popular culture. Though the choir became widely known when English alternative record label 4AD reissued a pair of anthology albums in 1986 and 1988 with the now famous title Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, their recordings date as far back as 1957. 4AD founder, Ivo Watts-Russell, was introduced to the choir from a third or fourth generation audio cassette lent to him by Peter Murphy, singer from the band Bauhaus, who himself had become thoroughly entranced by the music. Simultaneously ancient and post-modern, the sound of The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices reminds us that the human voice on it's own is still the most powerful, versatile instrument ever created. Unadorned and transcending both cultural and language barriers, the ensemble's performances provide one of the most unique and compelling experiences in music: The choir did not only win a Music Grammy for best traditional recording in 1988 with their second release on 4AD, it also made it onto the golden record that was put into the Voyager spacecraft in 1977 in search of extra-terrestrial life as one of the remarkable cultural heritages of mankind. The choir has subsequently worked with or been sampled by artists as diverse as Kate Bush, VAST and Drake. "Pora Sotunda" is the first release with new material from the choir written in over 20 years, featuring another outstanding vocalist: Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance is featured on the A-Side as guest solo vocalist of the choir, rendering this release a unique joint recording of some of the most extraordinary vocalists in the present. The single is physically released in a limited edition 7" vinyl format only, and is bound to become a collector's item in the near future. It precedes the release of the 2018 The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices album.