Peter Ostroushko - Slüz Düz Music

I have already talked about Peter Ostroushko (here), so I'll keep it brief this time. This is, simply put, a totally fantastic album. One of the best I have heard in a long time. If you had to label it, you could call it 'Acoustic World Fusion' or 'Newgrass' or 'Exploratory String Band' music. Peter calls it Slüz Düz music. He plays some 'ukerish' (a combination of Irish rhythms and Ukranian melodies) tunes, some polkas, a waltz, a breakdown, a rag, and a last stand. His 'Sluz Duz orchestra' is a cast of some of the greatest pickers ever assembled: Norman & Nancy Blake, Mick Moloney, Daithi Sproule, Bruce Allard, Butch Thompson, and the entire band of Hot Rize, to name just a few.

Every note on this album sings. Every single melody line shines with the relaxed precision and care for details that comes from a lifetime of playing music. The theme is old-world meets new-world, but it isn't spelled out for you. It's just a natural fusion that occurs in Peter, being a man born of two worlds. In other words, there's nothing exotic here. Nothing sounds out-of-place. It all sounds as though it was meant to be this way. And with our cities becoming increasingly multicultural, with the emergence of the internet as a meeting ground and melting pot of divergent ideas, who's to say it's not meant to be this way?

Listen to this album, and have all doubts stricken from you. This is original music that claims its own place at the crossroads of many traditions. It is as fresh-sounding today as it was 25 years ago when it was recorded.

Peter Ostroushko - Slüz Düz Music
Original American Dance Tunes with an Old World Flavor

Year: 1985
Label: Flying Fish

Tracks:
1. The Last Stand - Ostroushko - 3:45
2. Friedrich Polka - Ostroushko - 3:23
3. Marjorie's Waltz - Ostroushko - 4:55
4. Fiddle Tune Medley: My Love,I Miss Her So/Farewell to Calgary - Ostroushko - 4:19
5. Burnt Biscuit Breakdown - Ostroushko - 4:55
6. Sleepy Jesus Rag - Ostroushko - 3:44
7. Slüz-Düz Polka - Ostroushko - 3:45
8. Katerina's Waltz - Ostroushko - 4:28
9. Christian Creek - Ostroushko - 4:00
10. Co. Kerry to Kiev Medley: Mcintyres Hornpipe/The Mist on the Lake/Mci - Ostroushko - 7:01