Album Notes

The Lazarus Harps is the brainchild of Californian folk harpist Kyle Wohlmut, who has been described as 'the world's only real rock harpist.' A fifteen-year veteran of Northern California's cutting-edge folk harp scene, Wohlmut is one of the most prominent proponents of the wire-strung harp, and known for taking this ancient Celtic form of the instrument into the future using innovative playing techniques and electronic effects. He is now based in the Netherlands and performs and teaches in Europe and the US. The Lazarus Harps project pits Wohlmut's harp pyrotechnics against an ever-changing tapestry of innovative folk and rock musicians.

The album 'Old Loves' showcases the more sentimental moods of Wohlmut's repertoire, dealing the listener a heaping (60-minute) helping of love songs, moody jazz, originals and traditional tunes in unlikely settings. The first track, Vltava, revisits the theme of the second movement of composer Bedrich Smetana's work Ma Vlast, bringing the folk melodies that inspired the composer back full circle to a folk arrangement of the symphonic composition. Track two is a wildly chromatic arrangement of the guitar piece Scherzino Mexicano for two harps and electric upright bass. The third track, Tense and Aspect '99, is an all-new version of a Wohlmut original tune first recorded for an earlier harp project, The Telltale Harps.

Track four, She's late but she's timely, features wire-strung harp and electric guitar trading solos in a jazzed-up version of the tune by Scotland's Battlefield Band. The mood of the album takes a turn for the dark with the addition of Solongo Damdin on traditional Mongolian fiddle, for Gobi Dick Set (a medley of Mongolian tunes) and a jazz standard, Wayne Shorter's Prince of Darkness (featuring Wohlmut on electric harp).

The CD then returns to a more playful mood with jazzy renditions of the Irish traditional My Lagan Love and She likes what I do, a re-working of a Moravian love song. Wohlmut then lets his rock colors show on The Gift, a composition by harpist Leslie Currie, followed by another romantic original composition, The ides of May, with soulful viola playing by guest musician Jennifer Arnold. Track 11, Canco del Lladre is a somewhat abstract musing on a traditional Catalan folk song, here arranged for gut-strung and wire-strung harp. The album's final, epic piece, Bridget Cruise Set, is an ambitious journey through four tunes written by seminal Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan, all of which were dedicated to the harper's great love Bridget Cruise. This medley progresses from stark, solo wire-strung harp to full ensemble, finally fading out on a reprise of the wire-strung harp once more.

Soundbite-sized reviews (full reviews can be read on the Lazarus Harps web site, www.lazarusharps.com):

"While other harpists may just give us an obligatory re-hash of the Irish classics, Wohlmut shows us here that he has something new to say in the genre."
-- Ray Ashley, Touchstyle Prophet

"Very impressive... 'Gobi Dick Set' is magical-the Mongolian violin works so well with the harp... very cool!"
-- Margie Butler, professional harpist of the group Golden Bough

"Sounds great-- someone did a very good job on this recording..."
-- Andy Wallace, editor-in-chief of the internet 'zine ScroomTimes (www.scroom.com)

"It's like East meets the Atlantic Islands... brilliant. Exquisite harp playing as well."
-- Kerry Kirkham, film director

"(Well, my wife hates it, so)...it clearly ranks with some of the greatest albums of all time."
-- Alan Smithee, noted Hollywood producer & film mogul