Hala Strana
Encyclopedia
Hala Strana is the name of a recording project of American musician Steven R. Smith
. Smith began recording under the name in 2002 as an outlet which allowed him to explore the traditional music of Eastern Europe
more fully than possible with his solo work. Although numerous musicians have contributed to the project, including Glenn Donaldson
, Loren Chasse
, and Darren Ankenman, most Hala Strana recordings are solo productions. His recordings have included such diverse instruments as hurdy gurdy
, bouzouki
, harmonium
, spike fiddles, bul bul tarang
, the optigan
keyboard, xaphoon
, and field recordings. Hala Strana’s releases have featured arrangements of traditional music from Hungary
, Romania
, Croatia
, Albania
, Ukraine
and Bulgaria
as well as original music influenced by the music of these areas. Hala Strana has recorded for a number of independent labels such as Soft Abuse, Last Visible Dog, Jewelled Antler
, and Emperor Jones
.
Steven R. Smith
Steven R. Smith is an American musician, instrument-builder, and printmaker often associated with the Jewelled Antler collective. Born in Fullerton, California and based in San Francisco and, more recently, Los Angeles, his musical output began in the mid-1990s and continues on at the present...
. Smith began recording under the name in 2002 as an outlet which allowed him to explore the traditional music of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
more fully than possible with his solo work. Although numerous musicians have contributed to the project, including Glenn Donaldson
Glenn Donaldson
Glenn Donaldson is an American musician most notable for his association with Jewelled Antler and his collaborations with Loren Chasse, Steven R. Smith and others in such projects as Thuja, The Skygreen Leopards, The Blithe Sons & Flying Canyon as well as his solo projects The Birdtree and The...
, Loren Chasse
Loren Chasse
Loren Chasse is an American musician, sound artist, field recordist and teacher, most notable for his association with Jewelled Antler and his work with Thuja, The Blithe Sons, The Child Readers, Of and many others...
, and Darren Ankenman, most Hala Strana recordings are solo productions. His recordings have included such diverse instruments as hurdy gurdy
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...
, bouzouki
Bouzouki
The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
, harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, spike fiddles, bul bul tarang
Bulbul tarang
A bulbul tarang literally "waves of nightingales", alternately Indian banjo is a string instrument from India and Pakistan which evolved from the Japanese Taishōgoto.The instrument employs two sets of strings, one set for drone, and one for melody...
, the optigan
Optigan
The Optigan was an electronic keyboard instrument designed for the consumer market. The name stems from the instrument's reliance on pre-recorded optical soundtracks to reproduce sound...
keyboard, xaphoon
Xaphoon
The Xaphoon is a single-reed keyless woodwind instrument. Its construction is very similar to the chalumeau, a European keyless single-reed instrument that was the ancestor of the clarinet. The tone color produced by a Xaphoon is somewhere between that of a saxophone and a clarinet, and the...
, and field recordings. Hala Strana’s releases have featured arrangements of traditional music from Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
as well as original music influenced by the music of these areas. Hala Strana has recorded for a number of independent labels such as Soft Abuse, Last Visible Dog, Jewelled Antler
Jewelled Antler
Jewelled Antler is a musical collective created in 1999 by Loren Chasse and Glenn Donaldson as an extension of their work in the organic drone folk-noise group Thuja. The idea was to release handmade CD-R's of various solo and collaborative projects and one-off bands, encompassing drones, songs,...
, and Emperor Jones
Emperor Jones
Emperor Jones is a small Austin, Texas based independent record label founded in 1995 by Craig Stewart. It has released albums by acts such as Alastair Galbraith, The American Analog Set, Roky Erickson, Thuja, ST37, The Mountain Goats, Stick Men with Ray Guns, Peter Jefferies, Pip Proud, Rusted...
.
Discography
- Karst E.P. – 3”CDr (Jewelled Antler, 2003)
- Hala Strana – CD (Emperor Jones, 2003)
- Fielding – 2xCDr (Jewelled Antler, 2003), 2xCD (Last Visible Dog, 2004)
- These Villages – CD (Soft Abuse, 2004)
- White Sleep - 7" lathe cut (Soft Abuse, 2006)
- Heave the Gambrel Roof - LP/CD (Music Fellowship, 2007)