Eira/Snow

Playing atmospheric music drawing on Scandanavian, Celtic and Middle Eastern influences, whilst having a clear new voice in contemporary music.

Eira/Snow is a collaboration between Caractacus Downes and Lyndon Owen. Having worked closely together in a variety of musical forms over the years their close understanding, improvising spirit and shared joy of playing coupled with a harsh winter demanded action. Eira/Snow was born out of bad weather, warm fires and a long relationship and the resulting trust and understanding between two very individual multi-instrumentalists.

Many parallels are drawn with the ECM stable, focussing on the space and freedom of reeds and bass carefully intertwined with mesmeric tanpura drones and similar repeating motifs.

The group plays atmospheric music drawing on Scandinavian, Celtic and Middle Eastern influences, whilst having a clear new voice in contemporary music. The sound is contemplative; both gentle and strong with the ability to both relax, challenge and please. Improvision plays a key role in the band’s ethos often producing mesmeric pieces, occasionally underpinned with indian tanpura or founded on multilayered figures.

Eira/Snow embodies a wide range of instruments giving an amazing range of timbres. Instruments include Double Bass, soprano, alto, tenor and baritone Saxophones, Armenian Douduk, Turkish Mey and Zurnah, Hungarian Tarogato, Clarinet, and a range of percussion.