Beneath a Sardinian Sky

I very much enjoyed recording with Hungarian band Djabe in Sardinia this past week. It’s exactly ten years since we last joined to record… Djabe always come up with interesting sounds and the sun blessed landscape there inspires many musical ideas.

In the few available days to sightsee, acoustic musical ideas have been flooding into my imagination as well…

The farmlands with rolled bales of hay have a restful feel, contrasting with the wonderful hills surrounding them with their wild rocky crests. As Attila drove Jo, me and Djabe saxophonist Zoli through the small roads winding through this landscape, we came upon several beautiful medieval churches with gorgeous hilltop towns and villages. The church close to the rehearsal place is particularly interesting as it’s so old, going back over 1000 years.

Even older, was the extraordinary Bronze Age Nuragic fortress we visited which I believe is over 3000 years old! It was built with huge stones reminiscent of the Mycenean walls which the Ancient Greeks referred to as Cyclopean because they imagined they must have been built by giants! The neragu is full of winding, labyrinthine corridors and steps on more than one level, leading to several rooms. There are many of these prehistoric fortresses throughout Sardinia.

From the hills to the sea… We enjoyed walking through the narrow streets and steps of the beautiful historic hilltop town, Castelsado, overlooking the deep blue Mediterranean. Attila also took us to the fabulous resort of Alghero. It was particularly special to take a ferry ride to the totally magical Neptune’s Cave, with its fantastic formations reflected in water.

It’s been a wonderful combination of work and sightseeing, and always a joy to connect with all the Djabe guys. With thanks to them all, and in particular Attila Égerházi.