I.V.A. - Hyperborean Dreams (2013)

Ancient Roman scholar Pliny the Elder wrote the following about the Hyperboreans in his "Natural History": Beyond these (Riphaean) mountains, on the other side of Aquilo, there is a fortunate people called the Hyperboreans, who live to a very old age and are renowned in marvelous legends. They believe that there lie the circles of the world and the extreme limits of the revolutions of the heavenly bodies. There the sun shines for six months, and that is the only day when it does not hide (as the ignorant might suppose) from the vernal equinox to the autumnal, while the heavenly bodies rise there only once a year at the summer solstice and set only once at the winter solstice. The whole country is under the sun, blessed with a favorable climate, and free from any harmful winds. Their homes are groves and forests; the worship of gods is performed by individuals and by the whole community; there are no dissensions and no diseases known there. Death comes only from satiety with life. There is no doubt about the existence of this people.

The recording also involved Roman Kudrin (didgeridoo), with whom I.V.A. organized the project "Aku-Aku." Aku-Aku translates from Saami as "The Mother of All." The same name is also carried by a gorge located in the western part of the Khibiny Mountains. It connects the valleys of the lower left tributary of the Goltsovaya River and the stream of Yumekorruay, which flow into Lake Imandra.

Interestingly, the same name is given to the ancient spirit of Easter Island, the local Aku-Aku, who, as legends say, created the famous stone statues known all over the world.

Each track on the album was originally an improvisation, which was later "stitched" together with other melodies that came and remained memorable for their unique energy.