Kariti (карити) can be translated to mean “to mourn the dead” in church Slavonic, and is the emotional and creative outlet of Ekaterina, a Russian-born poet and songwriter based in Italy. I am fortunate that I have heard both of the other albums she has released, 2020’s ‘Covered Mirrors’ (which came out through Aural Music, a label normally thought of as releasing mostly black metal) and 2024’s ‘Dheghom’, as I loved them both and am glad to say that this is yet another triumph. Ekaterina provides the vocals and accompaniment, which is often acoustic piano, but she has also been joined by Marco Matta on additional guitar/noise/drone machine. Ekatarina saus, “These songs are the aftermath of being galvanized into a disillusioned reflection on human life and the way it is lived by most of us in the world in its current state.”
Yet again we have a compelling album, beautiful yet full of melancholy and darkness which appears to be heavily layered and arranged yet often these is little in the way of instrumentation, and it is the combination of what is there with space which provides the support for the powerful yet ethereal vocals. I am not surprised that she is often asked to work with black metal acts, yet it is more about feel and connection than pure music, although the introduction to “Suicide by a Thousand Cuts” does very much have that black metal attack. Her music is dark folk, mixing in with dark ambient and metal, even though for the most part there is little in the way of guitars, which demonstrates what can be delivered when there is minimalistic support and it is all about expression.
This is music which takes us to a cold icy cave, and as we huddle in the darkness, wrapping our arms around us as we attempt to stay warm, all that exists is the voice, the wonderful, beguiling, siren voice. Ekaterina continues to deliver and if we want some dark beauty then this is the place to start.
Rating: 9/10
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/karitimusic/
https://laybarerecordings.com/