Robert Jurjendal - Water Finds a Way

by Nicky Crewe

published: 5 / 5 / 2021

Label: New Dog Records
Format: CD

Imaginative fourth album from Estonian guitarist Robert Jurjendal which continues to explore the concept of instrumental exploration that is so much part of his solo work

Review

Based in his home country of Estonia, Robert Jurgendal has worked with his family on this album. His wife Signe Jurjendal is on vocals and his son Anti is on cello. They are joined by Venezuelan synthesist Miguel Noya on piano, who composed the track, ‘Grey and Blue’. This is a concept album by a guitar virtuoso, whose approach to instrumental music explores the power it has to fire up our imagination. Jurjendal combines natural guitar sounds with guitar synth, creating beautiful and soothing harmonies and melodies. This music speaks through sounds not lyrics. “One can take the album as a coded story”, writes Jurjendal. “It carries a secret...I’m sure a sensitive listener will find his/her own way into this complex world of music and art.” Robert Jurgendal’s career as a musician has included work for theatre and film, across genres as varied as folk to post rock and ambient jazz. He has worked with many musicians and been involved in over fifty albums. In the past Jurjendal has also worked with Robert Fripp and Toyah Wilcox. Many of those influences rise to the surface on this latest release. The mood is timeless, spacious and expansive. My understanding of the title is that water is always on the move, dripping its way slowly through rock, flooding river valleys, lapping on the shore. Underwater vibrations of sound waves echo and amplify. It will find a way to flow through or round any obstacle. That’s something we can remember and identify with in our lives. It will help us deal with anything life throws at us. This kind of beautifully crafted instrumental music finds its way into your subconscious. Listening to this album took me back to my younger days, to a time when I listened to guitarists like Carlos Santana, Mark Knopfler and John MacLaughlin. It helped me recall and connect my journey from then to now. Is that the secret Robert Jurjendal is referring to? Who knows? Take a listen and find your own.

Track Listing:-

1 Trust
2 On the Heights
3 Morning Land
4 Grey and Blue
5 Hikers
6 The Lake Freezes
7 For the Bees
8 On the Border of Sleep
9 Come Back Free
10 Before and Now
11 Air
12 The Clock Ticks-Time S Wind Beat
13 Water Finds a Way
14 Everything Goes On