LISTEN THE ALBUM
內容：15首樂曲＋精裝小說（中、英、西）、外盒
Árcaron, the first music album ever to include the Tartessian lyre (an instrument that had vanished from the face of the Earth for centuries before being recently brought back to life), focuses on the West African 21 strings kora and ancient Mediterranean lyres, embellished with digital sound. It has opened up a new horizon unrestricted by the stereotypical limits of traditional instruments. The 15 songs, which inspired a mystery novel we have written (also entitled Árcaron), are arranged in an order that follows the plot, progressing from quiet tranquility to the magnificence of epic poetry. These songs represent the same ancient music sheet that protagonist received in the story. In the episode I, they don’t explain about the meaning of the songs, but they want the listeners traveling with protagonist in the story, and finding the meaning for all these 15 songs in the process. The book contains English, Spanish, and Chinese versions.
Árcaron is in fact a series of eight albums. The first, Árcaron – Under Twin Moons I – The Rise of a Myth, combines the aspects of myths of the ancient world, epic fantasy, and science fiction. In the story, the protagonist searches for the truth of the world via a book of mysterious sheet music. The storybook cover design is made to look like that of the book of sheet music, and the printed aqua pattern on the album cover comes from Árcaron folk tradition as presented in the story. There is also an image of an ouroboros based on a drawing done in the third or fourth century by Cleopatra the Alchemist. Its archaic look was achieved through a combination of foil stamping, four color-process printing, and varnishing before finally being embossed, and like books of old, it is perfect bound with an exposed spine. In addition, the page sides are smudged with red, echoing the bloodstains on the sheet music. The CD sits inside the front cover of the book, the notches holding it having been made to look like the full moon and crescent moon in the story, visually bringing you further into the world of Árcaron.
Instrument- 21 strings kora
The Kora is the harp of West Africa, or more specifically of the Mandinka ethnic group and the lineage of the Djelis, which means “those who tell stories or sing poems”. They are focused in an area that currently extends throughout parts of Senegal, Casamasce, Gambia, Mali and Guinea. The sound of the kora resembles the celtic harp on the low notes and the Spanish flamenco guitar with the improvisation of the high notes.
There are a few historical records that say mention the first recognized kora player. This man was Jali Madi Wuleng. Some say that Jali appears in the era of emperor Sundjata Keita (1217 – 1255 AD) and others Kaabu o Gabu empire (1537 – 1867 AD).
The Kora in Árcaron – Under Twin Moons I – The Rise of a Myth is Modern Kora. The “kónsuls” (language in Mandinka) are replaced by wooden tuning keys, of the Spanish guitar, electric guitar or bass. They say that the first koras with tuners were built by Catholic monks installed in West Africa for a French priest.
The priest wanted the sweet sound of the kora in songs in Mass, but for the musicians it was not easy to be continuously changing tuning between songs. So to meet this need they became pioneers in the construction of the first kora with tuning keys as well as the first chromatic kora.
Instrument- Tartessian lyre
The ancient Mediterranean lyre is an instrument that has become well known thanks to the few instruments found in archaeological sites, similar to the countless portrayals in Sumer, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Celtic, Tartessian cultures, etc.
The Tartessian lyre in Árcaron – Under Twin Moons I – The Rise of a Myth is the recreation of one of the oldest string instruments of the Iberian Peninsula. It was created based on an engraving representing a string instrument similar to an ancient Mediterranean lyre. This engraving is on an anthropomorphic funeral stele dating back three thousand years that was found in the town of Luna (Zaragoza) in 1975. The characteristics of the engraving are very similar to the style of the Tartessian period (10 to 6 B.C.), hence the name of the Tartessian lyre or the Spanish name for its place of origin: lira de Luna (lyre of Luna).
Thirty-nine years after it was found, Yerko Lorca funded and directed the recreation of the fifteen-string Lune stele lyre, forming part of the Grupo de Recreación de la Música en la Iberia Antigua (GReMIA), which includes musicologists, researchers, luthiers and musicians.
Music Artist Info
Music Producer：Yerko Lorca
Executive Producer：Huang Kuan Yin
Music Composer：Yerko Lorca
Recording：Blackbird Studios / Fernando Redondo (Dinki)
Mix：Slow Walk Records / Fernando Redondo (Dinki)
Mastered：Alex Psaroudakis
Album Design：Wei Chia Lu
Uroboros Illustrator：Toni Moll
Original Novel
Principle Author：Yerko Lorca
Adapted Text：Ángel Román Ramírez
English Translation：Borja Roca
Árcaron, the first music album ever to include the Tartessian lyre (an instrument that had vanished from the face of the Earth for centuries before being recently brought back to life), focuses on the West African 21 strings kora and ancient Mediterranean lyres, embellished with digital sound. It has opened up a new horizon unrestricted by the stereotypical limits of traditional instruments. The 15 songs, which inspired a mystery novel we have written (also entitled Árcaron), are arranged in an order that follows the plot, progressing from quiet tranquility to the magnificence of epic poetry. These songs represent the same ancient music sheet that protagonist received in the story. In the episode I, they don’t explain about the meaning of the songs, but they want the listeners traveling with protagonist in the story, and finding the meaning for all these 15 songs in the process. The book contains English, Spanish, and Chinese versions.
Árcaron is in fact a series of eight albums. The first, Árcaron – Under Twin Moons I – The Rise of a Myth, combines the aspects of myths of the ancient world, epic fantasy, and science fiction. In the story, the protagonist searches for the truth of the world via a book of mysterious sheet music. The storybook cover design is made to look like that of the book of sheet music, and the printed aqua pattern on the album cover comes from Árcaron folk tradition as presented in the story. There is also an image of an ouroboros based on a drawing done in the third or fourth century by Cleopatra the Alchemist. Its archaic look was achieved through a combination of foil stamping, four color-process printing, and varnishing before finally being embossed, and like books of old, it is perfect bound with an exposed spine. In addition, the page sides are smudged with red, echoing the bloodstains on the sheet music. The CD sits inside the front cover of the book, the notches holding it having been made to look like the full moon and crescent moon in the story, visually bringing you further into the world of Árcaron.
專輯概念
《Árcaron方舟》為原創長篇小說音樂專輯，全系列 共 8 張原創小說專輯，結合世界各地遠古的神話，融合科幻與解謎，歷時多年籌備打造，《雙月樂途首部曲：神話的崛起》為全系列首張發行。
「媽媽，烏伍尼老師說阿卡隆只有一個月亮。」凱萊爾一臉好奇地說。
「你聽人這麼說，我也聽人這麼說……。可是事實上天空有兩個月亮啊！兒子，一直以來，我看到的都是兩個。我想，不管是一個或十個月亮，都只是凱爾圖祖先告訴子孫的眾多傳說之一罷了。」艾露娜回答。
傳說如此之多，卻從沒有人知曉故事從何而來？
一本加密樂譜的解碼，即將翻轉整個阿卡隆世界……
千年器樂傳承
首張專輯內，主要運用到兩個在文化傳承中擔任重要地位的世界器樂：西非吟遊詩人21弦科拉琴、古地中海塔特西里拉琴。
21弦西非豎琴，又稱科拉琴Kora，流傳於曼丁文化裡，僅有特定血脈的孩子才能學習到正統的科拉琴，並肩負傳承部落歷史的巨大任務，部落早期尚未擁有文字得以記錄歷史時，這些家族的人們就如同部落的歷史學家，他們吟唱故事，訴說歷史，讓眾人不忘記屬於自己的原初。
專輯概念
里拉琴為古地中海琴種，經時間流逝，多數琴種皆已絕跡，僅剩希臘、埃及、衣索比亞等仍保有傳統，琴亦在流入不同國家後擁有各自別名。塔特西里拉琴，已絕跡，為Yerko與考古團隊根據西班牙當地三千年歷史的石碑Estela de Luna復刻出來的古樂器，石碑於1975年在西班牙當地Luna小鎮被挖掘。他為目前全世界唯一演奏此15弦塔特西里拉琴的音樂家。
精裝版專輯介紹
專輯設計由台灣設計師呂瑋嘉製作。特殊盒裝設計，盒上尚有水藍色特色金刷紋。盒內小說書封銜尾蛇，為巴塞隆納畫家Toni Moll原創畫作，並採用印刷加上3D雕刻版壓印，呈現古老銜尾蛇上特殊的細節紋路，是為目前鮮少能見的裝幀方式。書封採硬殼設計。音樂專輯藏於書籍的最開端。共列含中文、英文、西語，三國語言，是為首部曲小說。書籍為更接近古書作法則運用裸背膠裝，整體包裝精彩呈現故事劇情。
音樂製作
全系列15首歌曲皆為原創樂曲。專輯錄音、混音出於西班牙巴塞隆納Fernando Redondo ( Dinki )，並由美國三度入圍葛萊美的Alex Psaroudakis母帶後期製作，是首張已絕跡的塔特西里拉琴再現世人的原創專輯。結合古老吟遊詩人的西非科拉琴，原創獨一無二的小說樂曲。
如果你喜歡神話，
好奇絕跡遠古器樂如何給你不同的想像，
那你一定要收藏。
