Wildbirds & Peacedrums are charismatic singer Mariam Wallentin and drummer Andreas Werliin. Together the Swedish duo have forged an extraordinary hybrid of spiritual pop, primal blues and ecstatic soul music. Seesawing between pagan rhythms and sparse, bewitching ballads, their self produced debut is a declaration of intent: immediate, exhilarating, and just plain new. After hand-sewing fabric covers for two limited edition CDRs, the duo recorded their debut album Heartcore in Gothenberg in the summer of 2006. They used a mobile studio, allowing for a variety of intimate spaces with different acoustical elements. Having never used any of the equipment before, Mariam and Andreas were forced to keep the recording as spare and live as possible, using just vocals and drums, with a handful of additional instruments like glockenspiel and zither. “We tried to rely on the energy we create on stage. It was so hard to know what the result was going to be like because we had no references or ideal - we just tried to record as we played the music live at that time. We had just the feeling and goal of trying to capture some honest and intense musical state of mind.” Mariam’s uninhibited, skin-prickling vocal expressions invoke vintage blues performers like Bessie Smith through to the spookily evocative folk singing of Mary Margaret O’Hara. With a fiery passion all her own that encompasses moods from the heavy spiritual lament of ‘I Can’t Tell in his Eyes’ to the raw gospel exclamation of ‘Bird’ with just pulsing bass drums accompanying Mariam’s ululations, to the rock & roll handclaps, crash, bang and wallop crescendo of ‘Doubt/Hope’, she is a mercurial talent with a breathtaking emotional depth. Indeed, Heartcore could not be a more apt album title. Largely stripped bare with only the most potent, select sounds remaining behind Mariam’s transporting voice, the effect is luscious, enveloping and mesmerising. Heartcore was originally released in Sweden in 2007 on Found You Recordings, now licensed for worldwide release by The Leaf Label. After a year of shows in Scandinavia, Wildbirds & Peacedrums will bring their powerful live show to the rest of Europe this spring, and to North America and Asia later in 2008. With a brand new album of songs already waiting in the wings, this very special duo has even more spectacular musical revelations to come.
