Recordings featuring the hurdy gurdy
Encyclopedia
The following recordings use the hurdy gurdy
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Hurdy gurdy
The hurdy gurdy or hurdy-gurdy is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin...
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- The album In Elven Lands by The Fellowship features a hurdy gurdy played by Ethan James.
- The group BlowzabellaBlowzabellaBlowzabella are an English band who play bagpipes, hurdy-gurdies and an array of acoustic instruments to produce an inimitable, driving, drone-based sound influenced by British and European traditional dance music.-History:...
feature hurdy-gurdies together with bagpipes and an array of acoustic instruments "to produce an inimitable, driving drone-based sound influenced by British and European traditional dance music." - Patrick Bouffard is a master player and composer in the Bourbonnais and Auvergne traditions, and has recorded several albums with Trio Patrick Bouffard, La Chavannee and other groups.
- Gilles Chabenat is a composer and master player of traditional and experimental electronic hurdy-gurdy styles.
- Régine ChassagneRégine ChassagneRégine Chassagne is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist musician and singer, and a founding member of the band Arcade Fire. She is married to co-founder Win Butler.-Life and career:...
, a prominent member of Canadian indie rockIndie rockIndie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Arcade Fire uses a hurdy-gurdy on their 2007 album Neon Bible. Notable tracks featuring the use of a hurdy gurdy are "Black MirrorBlack Mirror (song)"Black Mirror" is the first single by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire in the US from their second album Neon Bible ....
" and "Keep the Car RunningKeep the Car Running"Keep the Car Running" is a song by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It is the second single released from the band's second album, Neon Bible in the UK . This song was #22 on Rolling Stones list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007...
". - The New York ensemble Unto AshesUnto AshesUnto Ashes is a musical ensemble based in New York City that incorporates madrigal, folk, and elements of neo-medieval and dark wave. Founded by Michael Laird and Susanna Melendez in 1997, the band has released five full-length CDs on the Projekt label...
use hurdy gurdy in their funerary song Exeunt Omnia which also features dulcimer and percussion. In Tous Esforcier the hurdy gurdy is used as a drone, accompanied by voice, French horn, and percussion. - Several traditional music groups in France feature a hurdy-gurdy or multiple hurdy-gurdies, including La Chavannee, Dedale, Trio Patrick Bouffard, Tapage and La Machine.
- There is a hurdy gurdy on the MetallicaMetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
album ReLoadReLoadReLoad is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 18, 1997 through Elektra Records. The album is a sequel or counterpart to the band's previous album, Load. It debuted number 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 417,000 copies in its first week....
, played by David Miles on the 11th track, "Low Man's Lyric." - The Rose Ensemble, an early music group based in Minnesota, frequently uses the hurdy gurdy in performances and recordings.
- There is hurdy gurdy and border pipes on the Earthly Delights album Pleasures for Four Seasons and Favourites for Four Settings, played by John Garden and located at Earthly Delights. Each tune is also supplied with sheet music for musicians to use.
- Hurdy gurdies are used in many of the recordings by the Swedish groups GarmarnaGarmarnaGarmarna is a Swedish folk rock band. Their songs are mainly old Scandinavian ballads.- Biography :Garmarna was founded in 1990. Stefan Brisland-Ferner, Gotte Ringqvist and Rickard Westman were inspired by old Swedish music, which they had heard in a theatre. They began searching for old tunes and...
and HedningarnaHedningarnaHedningarna is a Swedish and, for some years partly Finnish, folk music band that mixes electronics and rock with elements from old Scandinavian folk music. Their music features Yoik or juoiggus, a traditional Sami form of song.-History:...
. - In 1999, Stefan Brisland-Ferner of GarmarnaGarmarnaGarmarna is a Swedish folk rock band. Their songs are mainly old Scandinavian ballads.- Biography :Garmarna was founded in 1990. Stefan Brisland-Ferner, Gotte Ringqvist and Rickard Westman were inspired by old Swedish music, which they had heard in a theatre. They began searching for old tunes and...
and Hållbus Totte MattsonHållbus Totte MattsonHållbus Totte Mattson is a multi-instrumentalist folk musician from Dalarna, Sweden. Mattson's instruments include the lute, baroque lute, mandora, bass mandora, hummel, classical guitar, baroque guitar Mora-oud, accordion, Swedish dulcimer, hurdy gurdy and vocals.Mattson was a founding member in...
of HedningarnaHedningarnaHedningarna is a Swedish and, for some years partly Finnish, folk music band that mixes electronics and rock with elements from old Scandinavian folk music. Their music features Yoik or juoiggus, a traditional Sami form of song.-History:...
began collaborating on a musical project that would involve a novel use of hurdy gurdies, which would expand on the idea that the hurdy gurdy was the medieval equivalent of a synthesizer. In 2005, they released their first album under the name "Hurdy-Gurdy", titled "Prototyp". The album consists of twelve traditional and original songs, played entirely on two Swedish hurdy gurdies by Brisland-Ferner and Mattson. Specialized recording and computer editing techniques were used to produce a number of unique musical effects. - The Australian world/fusion group Umanee features hurdy gurdy in many of their songs.
- Nigel EatonNigel EatonNigel Eaton is an English hurdy gurdy player. He originally played the piano and cello but switched to the hurdy gurdy in 1981 when his father, Christopher Eaton, began making them. He performed as part of the dance band Blowzabella from 1985 and recorded five albums with them before their split in...
plays hurdy gurdy on No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant UnleddedNo Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant UnleddedNo Quarter is a live album by Page and Plant, both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by Atlantic Records on 14 October 1994. The long awaited reunion between Page and Plant occurred on a 90 minute "UnLedded" MTV project, recorded in Morocco, Wales, and London, which rated...
, the 1994 album of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's 1990s band Page and PlantPage and PlantJimmy Page and Robert Plant, both formerly of English hard rock band Led Zeppelin, recorded and toured in the mid-1990s under the title Page and Plant. The pair re-united in 1994 and, after recording a highly successful first album, they embarked on a world tour. They then recorded a second album,...
, most notably on their new version of "Nobody's Fault but MineNobody's Fault But Mine"Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a traditional blues song that has been covered by many musicians since the late 1960s. A gospel song under the title "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" is listed in the 1924 Cleveland Library's Index to Negro Spirituals...
, however the most famous use of the hurdy gurdy would be the intro of Led Zeppelin's song "In the light" from the 1975 album "Physical Graffiti]". - The German folk-rock band SchandmaulSchandmaulSchandmaul is a German medieval folk rock band from the vicinity of Munich.As well as using modern instruments like the bass or electric guitar, the band utilizes instruments typically used in Medieval folk songs, such as the bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy or shawm, to produce their trademark folk rock...
uses a hurdy gurdy. - The German folk-rock metal band In ExtremoIn ExtremoIn Extremo is a German medieval metal band originating from Berlin. The band's musical style combines metal with medieval traditional songs, blending the sound of the standard rock/metal instruments with historical instruments...
sometimes uses a hurdy gurdy in their songs. - The avant-garde band Zaar has a hurdy gurdy player.
- The Irish musician Andy IrvineAndy Irvine (musician)Andrew Kennedy 'Andy' Irvine is a folk musician, singer, and songwriter, and a founding member of the popular band Planxty. He is an accomplished player of the mandolin, bouzouki, mandola, guitar-bouzouki, harmonica and hurdy-gurdy....
plays the hurdy gurdy on several tracks, most prominently on the tune "Planxty Irvine". - The multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry is also a hurdy gurdy virtuoso and used one in the live performance of "saltarello" in the 2005 tour of his former band Dead Can Dance.
- Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
can be seen playing a hurdy gurdy in the Zeppelin movie The Song Remains the SameThe Song Remains the Same (film)The Song Remains the Same is a concert film by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. The recording of the film took place during three nights of concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City, during the band's 1973 concert tour of the United States. The film premiered on 20 October 1976, at...
, sitting in front of his 18th century manor at Plumpton, Sussex. The tune played is called "Autumn Lake." Page and Plant are also seen using a hurdy gurdy in a 1994 recording of "Gallows Pole". - The indie rockIndie rockIndie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band The DecemberistsThe DecemberistsThe Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk , Jenny Conlee , Nate Query , and John Moen .The band's...
employ a hurdy gurdy in many of their songs including Sons and Daughters off their fourth album, The Crane WifeThe Crane WifeThe Crane Wife is an album by The Decemberists, released in 2006. It was produced by Tucker Martine and Chris Walla, and is the band's first album on the Capitol Records label. The album was inspired by a Japanese folk tale, and centers on two song cycles, The Crane Wife and The Island, the latter...
. - The line-up of the popular AsturianAsturiasThe Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
folkFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
band La Bandina includes the hurdy gurdy player Merce Santos. - Brendan O'BrienBrendan O'Brien (music producer)Brendan O’Brien is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.At age 14, O'Brien played guitar for the Atlanta-based cover band Pranks. In the late 1970s, he moved on to writing, performing and recording with the Samurai Catfish band...
plays the hurdy gurdy on the track "Into The Fire" from the Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
album The RisingThe Rising (album)The Rising is the 12th studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released in 2002 on Columbia Records. In addition to being Springsteen's first studio album in seven years, it was also his first with the E Street Band in 18 years...
. O'Brien also produced the album. - The folk metalFolk metalFolk metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal with traditional folk music...
band EluveitieEluveitieEluveitie is a folk metal band from Winterthur, Switzerland. The band formed in 2002 and their first EP, Vên came out in 2003. The band then released a full-length album, Spirit in June 2006. In November 2007, Eluveitie was signed by Nuclear Blast....
uses the hurdy gurdy in many of their songs, played by Anna Murphy. - Sting played a hurdy gurdy accompanying Alison KraussAlison KraussAlison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
in the song "You Will Be My Ain True Love" from the Cold MountainCold Mountain (film)Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier...
soundtrack. - David Eugene Edwards of the band 16 Horsepower16 Horsepower16 Horsepower was an American alternative country music group based in Denver, Colorado. Their music often invoked religious imagery dealing with conflict, redemption, punishment, and guilt through David Eugene Edwards's lyrics and the heavy use of traditional bluegrass, gospel, and Appalachian...
plays the Hurdy gurdy (among other instruments). - Loreena McKennittLoreena McKennittLoreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...
has several albums featuring a hurdy gurdy played by Nigel EatonNigel EatonNigel Eaton is an English hurdy gurdy player. He originally played the piano and cello but switched to the hurdy gurdy in 1981 when his father, Christopher Eaton, began making them. He performed as part of the dance band Blowzabella from 1985 and recorded five albums with them before their split in...
and Ben Grossman. A hurdy gurdy is prominently featured (and shown in close-up) in several songs on the concert video/album Nights from the AlhambraNights from the AlhambraNights from the Alhambra is a live album and DVD from the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist, Loreena McKennitt and is her first live concert DVD...
. - The pagan folk band OmniaOmnia (band)Omnia is a self-described "neoceltic pagan folk" band based in The Netherlands and whose members over the years have had Irish, Dutch, Cornish, Belgian and Persian backgrounds...
has hurdy gurdy on many tracks on their album Pagan Folk (2006), played by Jennifer Van der Harten-Evans. - The pagan folk band FaunFaun (band)Faun is a German band formed in 2002 who play pagan folk, darkwave and medieval music. The originality of their music style is that they fall back to "old" instruments, and the singing is always the center of attention. The vocals are performed in a variety of languages, including German, Latin,...
uses hurdy gurdy on their albums. - Jim O'RourkeJim O'Rourke (musician)Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician and record producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene...
's one track album Happy Days features the hurdy gurdy. - Natasa Mirkovic and Matthias Loibner have recorded "Der Leiermann" with a hurdy-gurdy. This SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
song from WinterreiseWinterreiseWinterreise is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert , a setting of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two great song cycles on Müller's poems, the earlier being Die schöne Müllerin...
is about a hurdy-gurdy player. - The 2003 movie Monster has music by BTBT (musician)Brian Wayne Transeau is a classically trained and Grammy-nominated American music producer, composer, audio technician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter better known by his stage name, BT. He is an artist in the electronic genre...
that includes a hurdy gurdy, played by Ben Grossman. It is available on CD "Music From & Inspired By the Film Monster" released by Digital Sound in 2004. http://www.btmusic.com/films.html - The psychedelic stoner rock band Obiat uses a hurdy gurdy played by Zarand Schuller in some of its live concerts and on its second album "Disturbulence."
- The rock band Lazywall used a hurdy gurdy played by Zarand Schuller as an introduction to their concerts on their tour of France in November 2007
- French improviser Dominique Regef plays hurdy gurdy in the Spectrum String Trio on their 2008 release "Spectrum."
- Hurdy Gurdy is used on two tracks of The Civil WarThe Civil War (album)The Civil War is a 2003 album by experimental duo Matmos which explores the boundaries between Americana, Medieval folk music and electronica. It features many live instruments such as drums, brass and guitars. A hurdy-gurdy is also sampled...
album by experimental electronic music duo MatmosMatmosMatmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore signed to the Matador Records label. M. C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their performances, including...
. - Jem Finer plays a hurdy gurdy on the Pogues' "Misty Morning, Albert Bridge," from their album Peace and Love.
- Ritchie BlackmoreRitchie BlackmoreRichard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
sometimes plays a hurdy gurdy with the band Blackmore's NightBlackmore's NightBlackmore's Night is an English-American traditional folk rock duo led by Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night .-Early:...
, as seen on their concert DVD Paris Moon - In the Melbourne based neo-classical/goth project called "The Victim's Ball", Hurdy gurdys are widely featured in various tracks.
- The Broadside Band, a traditional English folk band, features a hurdy gurdy on many of their songs.
- The movie The Polar ExpressThe Polar Express (film)The Polar Express is a 2004 motion capture computer-animated film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. Written, produced, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the human characters in the film were animated using live action performance capture technique, with the...
has a hobo on top of the train playing a Hurdy Gurdy - Keiji HainoKeiji HainoKeiji Haino born May 3, 1952 in Chiba, Japan, and currently residing in Tokyo, is a Japanese musician whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise, singer-songwriter, solo percussion, psychedelic, minimalism and drone styles...
has recorded an album that uses the hurdy gurdy, "The 21st Century Hard-y Guide-y Man". - In the 1937 movie "Captains CourageousCaptains CourageousCaptains Courageous is an 1897 novel, by Rudyard Kipling, that follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the arrogant and spoiled son of a railroad tycoon...
", Spencer TracySpencer TracySpencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
is seen playing a hurdy gurdy. - The hurdy gurdy is played by Tony Berg on the track "Hang On", from WeezerWeezerWeezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
's 2010 album, HurleyHurley (album)Hurley is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer, released on September 10, 2010 on Epitaph Records. The album was produced by Rivers Cuomo and Shawn Everett, and, similar to the band's previous studio album, Raditude, features songs co-written with songwriters outside of...
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