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Now Triple-Platinum in Taiwan!
| "There
is no trifling with nature; it
is always true, grave and severe;
it is always in the right, and
the faults and errors fall to
our share."
- Goethe |
Bleeding Wolves is a
collection of epic pieces full of texture
and colour, which celebrate the beauty
of nature, life and love. The title is
both a reference to the Yukon government's
wolf kill program (euphemistically dubbed
the "caribou enhancement program")
and a metaphor for some of the more cataclysmic
dealings of humankind upon the natural
world, which are reflected throughout
the album with moving orchestrations.
Bleeding Wolves involved
more than 30 musicians, with instrumentation
ranging from piano, to Uilleann bagpipes,
to wire harp, to orchestral and other
instruments. Styles range from celtic
("Flying Squirrel Creek" and
"Tears Over Shetland"), to European
folk ("Before the War"), from
world ("And Then There Were None"),
to light jazz ("These Wings"),
and from love songs ("Bressanone")
to classical ("Of Strength And Sorrow").
The
musicians on this album are of the highest
calibre, including such renowned artists
as Peter Sprague, Fred Benedetti, Bob
Magnusson, and Mike Keneally. The album
was recorded at Signature
Sound in San Diego and mastered by
Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering.
Matthew Lien's Bleeding
Wolves is available in Asia through Wind
Records, and elsewhere through Whispering
Willows Records.
Words from
the artist
"I had the matter
of wolves deep in my heart. The Yukon
government's wolf kill program was in
full swing, and Bleeding Wolves became
an especially intense and, at times, painful
effort for me. With the album's recording
completed, I embarked on a journey down
the Yukon's awe-inspiring Coal River.
The Coal was to be the focus of that year's
annual Yukon Wildlands Project. Back home
in Whitehorse, plans were being made for
the Bleeding Wolves concert tour through
Canada's Maritimes. But for now, I was
given the time to cleanse my sprit and
mind by travelling through the powerful
Coal River wilderness.
"It was about halfway
through the two-week journey on a warm,
sunny day. The river was calm as it moved
toward the great canyon ahead. We had
pulled off the river for lunch, onto an
embankment about 10 metres wide. There
stood the forest, thick and dark. We had
just started to unpack the food containers
when we heard what sounded like a cross
between a howling ape and a great bird.
It was loud, and it was right there in
the trees, near us. The sound was so vocal,
almost human-like, and we had no idea
what it was. Then we spotted the shapes
heading towards us from down river. Several
wolves were loping casually along the
riverbank, and they seemed just as curious
about us as we were about them. The lead
wolf, black and shimmering in the mid-day
sun, stopped about 15 metres away and
locked its gaze upon us. There we all
stood, silent and unmoving with even time
standing still, until someone slowly reached
for a camera. As if to confirm that this
shared moment was for the spirit and not
the film, they all bounded into the trees
that lined the riverbank. Not wanting
this magical experience to end, I began
howling, calling to them. And sure enough,
they answered. The wolves and I carried
on in conversation for awhile, as the
others stood by listening. We were all
caught in an eddy of enchantment.
"Soon the river
trip was over, and I was off to begin
the Bleeding Wolves concert tour. We would
start the tour in a most appropriate community—Wolfville,
Nova Scotia."
more
albums...
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Matthew Lien 1995