Tattar-intro - Retrograd track by track, 4/15

Tattar-intro

The fourth track on "Retrograd" is "Tattar-intro," which serves as a prelude to "Tattar-humppa," the following track. These two pieces are meant to be experienced together, forming a musical two-pack.

"Tattar-intro" begins with a slow 7/4 pulse, featuring a dotted rhythm in the pizzicato violin accompaniment, and is set in the beautiful key of A minor. The melody is first presented on the mandolin in all its simplicity. It then passes to the clarinet, which adds ornamentations, and later the violin joins the party as well.

The transition to "Tattar-humppa," which shifts to G minor, involves a series of chords that introduce the new key and build up to a climax. This progression sets the stage for the humppa shebang in the new key—but more about "Tattar-humppa" in the next post.

Both "Tattar-intro" and "Tattar-humppa" have remained pretty stable in our live performances over the years—a bit on and off, though. Usually, we've taken them out when we've presented a whole album in the live production (such as the Reptilica Polaris shows, the OPUS shows, and the Klingra shows—which then gave birth to a new band altogether, but that's also another story). In between, the Tattar-pack has usually been on the setlist.

We also re-recorded them on our fourth album, "Bastard Etno," which is a bastard of an album where we revisited several oldies-goldies alongside new compositions.

On the "Retrograd" version, we had various guest musicians with us, including a brass quartet. In contrast, the "Bastard Etno" recording was produced entirely in-house, without guest artists. However, Aske had a go at it after the initial recording and added a guitar part, giving the piece a fresh breath of life.

Listen to "Tattar-intro":

Play it yourself:

If you'd like to play "Tattar-intro" yourself, here's a piano sheet to get you started: