Kramies
Forêts Antiques
Hidden Shoal Recordings

Dutch-American Kramies Windt has presented his romantic, big-and-open-hearted pop songs through a line of fine EPs: The European (2011); The Wooden Heart (2013, promoted by its title track The Wooden Heart); and the splendid The Folklore Sessions (2014). This spring, Kramies launched a brand new single, The Fate That Never Favored Us (produced by Jason Lytle) before he went on tour in France and recorded this live EP called Forêts Antiques.

Forêts Antiques (in English: 'Ancient forests') was recorded live on April 8th at The Grand Théâtre in Angers, France in front of a crowd of 700. The singing and playing, or the performance by Kramies is so laid-back and relaxed, yet he's so present and focused with his songs. "Sea Otter Cottage" (from The Wooden heart, reworked on the acoustic Folklore Sessions) opens the show (or the recorded part of the show), and it's followed by "The Fate That Never Favored Us". These songs shows the enigmatic intensity and the vibrant excitement of Kramies' music. "The Fate..." shows some relation to Jason Lytle's music, even though the two gents have quite different voices. "Ireland" is a brand new, never before released song and it fits quite well into Kramies' songbook. "The Wooden Heart" works well, but the closing "Antiquarian Days" (from The European) is probably the best track this time. At first listen, Kramies' songs appear quite anonymous and somewhat grey. However, when you let the songs spin to grow and fly, they come straight at you. They grab you, hold you, and they never let you go. You'd better give them a try. The man, his voice, and his acoustic guitar. Simple as that.

Copyright © 2015 Håvard Oppøyen