For quarter of a century now, Alexander Balanescu has been finding ways to synthesise facets of his Romanian heritage with those of contemporary music – for example, ‘The Island’ which takes in new and unexpected directions. The project came about when the violinist and composer encountered the work of guitarist and songwriter Ada Milea, engendering a mutual respect and an ongoing collaboration. As it currently stands, this project consists of 18 numbers ranging from a few seconds to several minutes in length, and taking as its basis the play of that name by surrealist writer Gellu Naum. Setting a Romanian subject – one that deals with minutiae from that country’s post-war history – to an English text is merely one of the fascinating dichotomies here.

Although it uses the outline of the Robinson Crusoe story, ‘The Island’ quickly sets off on its own course in which the humorous, the bizarre and the fateful are brought into effective accord. Playing as well as singing, the main performers are joined by string trio and percussion in music whose ‘alt‑folk’ qualities are manifest from the outset. Most of the individual items are dialogues of greater or lesser theatricality, though there are several whose appeal marks them out as pop songs pure if not so simple (for which sample ‘Sheep Shelter’ and ‘Another Pirate Song’). Finely recorded and stylishly presented, the sequence makes an absorbing and affecting listen. If Balanescu and Milea have yet to perform it live, they should certainly consider doing so.