Babel

Ruela, Babel [for Babe(b)logue]

More at Neo Artes

Diana Baroni & Sapukai - Son de los Diablos: Tonadas afro-hispanas del Perù (2002)

«On sait que le recherche de Diana Baroni cible les intonations justes, au carrefour du respect des indications des manuscrits abordés, et de la pratique encore actuelle dans la rue péruvienne. De fait, qui a assisté au carnaval de Lima, serait frappé de retrouver ici les consonances et la vitalité rythmique pourtant vielles de plus de deux cents ans. La « danza de carnaval » : son de los diablos qui donne le titre de l’album est le parfait révélateur de cette tentative réussie. En plus d’une attention particulière à l’expression, aux accents, les instrumentistes recomposent un instrumentarium superbement ciselé, théâtral, précis. Des partitions écrites par Don Balthazar Martinez, évèque de Trujillo (une cité de la côte nord du Pérou) qui fut fasciné par la richesse des chansons populaires du XVIIIème siècle, Sapukai ressuscite l’esprit de la musique, musique habitée par les percussions et le grain de la harpe et de la voix, celle de Diana Baroni, véritable instrument fluide et imagé. Il faut beaucoup de liberté dans le geste, et d’imagination grâce à la culture et la connaissance des populations dont il est question, pour dépoussiérer ces anciennes chansons populaires, pour leur redonner vie. La musique de ces valses créoles péruviennes baroques nous rappellent que l’art est ici fruit des métissages entre esclaves noirs, colons espagnols et indigènes andins. Nostalgie de Vals peruano (flûte et harpe, jubilatoires respectivement de Diana Baroni et de Lincoln Almada). Souvent la rage cadencée compense une douleur d’ancienne mémoire, celle des esclaves et des indigènes soumis aux lois de la colonisation.Insouciance tout apparente qui inspire une superbe berceuse (Zana negra), ou des sections au dramatisme quasi théâtral (No, Valentin) Par « tonada », il faut comprendre une chanson jouée et dansée. Le choc des cultures s’exprime totalement dans ce brasier des rythmes et des balancements pointés. Ni vraiment baroque au sens classique du terme ni musique du monde, le présent album ouvre une voie médiane, celle du baroque populaire tout aussi honorable que la musique des salons. Or les grands compositeurs, de Haendel à Bach, de Vivaldi sans omettre Lully, ont souvent puisé dans les chansons de la rue pour écrire leur propre opéra. Nul doute que Diana Baroni, avec une intuition délectable, nous offre la découverte d’un répertoire à retrouver d’urgence.» (Lisez l’entretien: Classiquenews)

English Biography here

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Various Artists - A... Canzoni per l'Ambiente (Songs for the Environment) (2000)

Hello everybody,

although mine is mainly a music blog, I adhered gladly to the Blog Action Day campaign because, as a citizen of this planet, I am profoundly concerned with the actual conditions of its natural environment. We live on the thin-like-a-record surface of the only known world able to support life as we know it, and yet we continue to hurt it in every possible way and treat it as mankind’s dustbin. Well, perhaps the American/Western way of life is not that blessed as Mr. Bush and his fellow oilmen would say, and it’s time to let them go back to their ranches and villas (usually, please note, located quite far from polluted and wasted areas…) and begin to change our lives. Well, I don't want to be annoying. Let me just add that protecting the environment is a political issue, absolutely crucial for our future. And when we come to politics, the most crucial point is information. So, I warmly invite you all to dig the Internet, for example, also to discover what’s really happening right now (don’t expect they'll tell you on the TV…) and what you can do to improve the situation.

One last thing: before downloading this nice collection of «Canzoni per l’ambiente» (Songs for the environment), featuring some of the best names in the Italian “alternative” pop scene (Africa Unite, Agricantus, Nidi d'Arac, Bandabardò, Mau Mau, Max Gazzè, Subsonica and so on...), please leave a green message for everybody to read!

That’s all, folks! R.

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Blog Action Day

«On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

Blog Action Day is about MASS participation. That means we need you! Here are 3 ways to participate:

• Post on your blog relating to the environment on Blog Action Day
• Donate your day’s earnings to an environmental charity
• Promote Blog Action Day around the web» (http://blogactionday.org/)
  

Also watch the promo video on You Tube

United We Can!

Açoriana: Landscape (São Jorge)

Věra Bílá and Kale - Rom-Pop (1995)

«Věra Bílá and Kale (Vera White and the Blacks as it translates) come from a small town in Bohemia about 70 kilometers west of Prague in the heart of Eastern Europe. As with most Romany groups, all of the band are related family members.

Věra Bílá 's music is deceptively simple and sophisticated at the same time. It's exotic yet homey, Central European yet Latin American. Partially due to the deplorable attitude of many Czechs towards Romanies, it's only ironic Věra Bílá & Kale are better known in France than in their own country.
It wouldn't be surprising for a casual listener to confuse this recording with “The Best of Gal Costa”. Only after examining the album cover he would then realize instead of the willowy Brazilian star, he's really listening to a 5 feet tall, 350 pound (150 cm, 150 kg) Gypsy from Southern Moravia! While Ms. Bílá may sound like a Brazilian pop singer, her band sounds remarkably like Gipsy Kings. And no wonder, this Romany band (as Gypsies prefer to be called) also uses acoustic guitars and layered male vocals, although the sound is often augmented by additional instruments.
Gypsy music when performed by true gypsies has a special quality that stems from the performers' easy, rambling way of life. As with the blues, where you can't sing them if you've never felt them, you can't perform gypsy music if you have not led the life.
When it was time to record Rom - Pop, Věra Bílá and Kale had to choose from their vast catalogue of playable repertoire. With the help of the producers, Zuzana Navarova and Vit Sazavsky from Nerez, they selected sixteen songs which they felt represented their roots as well as songs which represent a development and natural progression of traditional gypsy music. Lyrically the songs describe the trials and tribulations of gypsy life. Most songs incorporate the use of fiddles, violas, accordions and a Hungarian instrument called cymbalom. Unlike the commercialized, heavily spanish influenced songs recorded by acts such as the Gypsy Kings, the contents of Rom - Pop are songs written and recorded for gypsy ears that an outsider can now have the chance to listen to.» (Calabash Music)

«Profilo di cantante blues, Věra Bílá è una star gitana dell'est europeo. Incanta con la sua voce vellutata e intensa, stupisce, come un personaggio di Botero, con un fisico imponente e si lascia guidare dalla musica balcanica tradizionale rom per chitarra, violino, cymbalon e voce: la cymbalova muzica. Definita "la rumba gitana venuta dall'est", questa musica è frutto di continue migrazioni che si incrociano con il "gipsy-manouche", le evocazioni sonore delle tradizioni indo-europee, i richiami asiatico-porteghesi e gli accenti dell'America Latina letti in chiave surreale. Bílá, (che significa "bianca"), reinventa la musica gipsy insieme al suo gruppo Kale macinando chilometri, e nutrendosi delle culture dei popoli incontrati.» (Mentelocale)

Many thanx to my friend Giuliano Contardo for this post (and some other gems to come…)!

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Devendra Banhart & Friends - The Golden Apples Of The Sun (2004)

Some of the best acts in the US neo-folk scene gathered together in an excellent (and not so easy to find) compilation assembled by Devendra Banhart.

«How classic is this – the compilation that defined a genre. I get asked time and time again ‘what the hell is this New Weird America thing?’ well, beardy bloke Devendra Banhart managed to put together this disc in 2004 when the scene was just a murmur on the lips of David Keenan and looking at the tracklisting now you’d think the man was Nostradamus. It’s a veritable who’s who of the scene, with Six Organs of Admittance, Espers, White Magic, Diane Cluck, Joanna Newsom, Josephine Foster, Vetiver, Jack Rose, Matt Valentine, Cocorosie, Antony and many more. It’s hard to comprehend how Banhart roped all this stuff together so early on in the scene’s inception, but hearing it now it hasn’t dated one bit and surely stands as a museum piece which will be remembered for a long time to come. Compilations this important don’t come around so often any more, and not since Warp’s ‘Artificial Intelligence’ has one so clearly defined an entire genre.» (Boomkat)

Longer reviews on Cokemachineglow and Pitchfork.

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Açoriana: Landscape (São Jorge)

Idir - A Vava Inouva (1996)

«Author of one of the first world music hits, Idir has been an ambassador of the Kayble culture (Berber people inhabiting Northern Algeria) since the Seventies. Idir, whose real name is Hamid Cheriet was born in Aït Lahcène, a Berber village in Haute-Kabylie, in 1949. This farmer's son, raised by the Jesuits, started studying Geology and was destined for a career in the petroleum industry. In 1973, he stood in at the last moment for a famous artist on Radio Algiers and sang a lullaby. He recorded this song called "A Vava inouva"(my little father), as a single before leaving for his military service.

This Kabyle song with only vocals and guitar stands as one of the first big hits coming directly from the Maghreb, long before the success of a Khaled or a Mami. He stood for the affirmation of a definite identity, the return to the roots anchored deeply in the history of Algeria. It would be translated into seven languages. After his military service, Idir was contacted by the record company Pathé Marconi. We had to wait until 1976 for a first album to come out on which we also found "A Vava inouva". After notable success, Idir wrote and recorded "Ay Arrac Negh" (to our children), an album which came out in 1979.

For this discreet man with a serious look, it was difficult to blend into the world of show biz and if he enjoyed composing, which he did for others, his stage appearances rarely satisfied him. As a result, he slipped away for about ten years nevertheless giving some recitals. His career started up again with the release of a compilation in 1991 of seventeen songs from his first two albums. After a drawn out lawsuit against his former producer, Idir had the chance to re-record some songs like the famous "A Vava Inouva". Backed by this recording success, he came back to the stage and performed at New Morning in Paris from February 7-9, 1992. He remained the ambassador of the Kabyle community and was now recognised as a forerunner to world music. […]» (RFImusique, read more. Also in French version)

«Idir, nome d'arte di Hamid Cheriet, cantante algerino, nato il 25 ottobre 1955 a Aït Lahcène, un villaggio degli At Yenni in Cabilia. Idir è un nome tradizionale berbero, che significa “vivrà” e viene dato a scopo beneaugurante. È il cantante cabilo più conosciuto all'estero. Deve la sua fama soprattutto a quello che è stato il suo pezzo d'esordio, “A Vava Inouva” (1973), che è stato tradotto in numerose lingue. Si tratta di una composizione molto orecchiabile, composta a partire da una ninna-nanna tradizionale e con le parole del poeta Ben Mohamed, che Idir eseguì alla radio quand'era ancora studente liceale, inventandosi lo pseudonimo che lo ha reso celebre per non far capire ai propri genitori che stava intraprendendo questa carriera. Il successo fu immediato. Da allora Idir ha prodotto un numero tutto sommato limitato di album ma dallo standard qualitativo molto alto. Molti dei suoi pezzi sono su testi di Ben Mohamed. Benché animato dalla intenzione di mantenere viva la propria lingua e le tradizioni della Cabilia, Idir è molto aperto all'incontro con altre lingue e culture, e spesso si esibisce insieme ad altri artisti.» (Mondosalento)

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Lo Ka Ping - Lost Sounds of the Tao (2004, recorded 1970-71)

«An album of qin music collected from archives and attics alike, comprising the whole of the known recordings of Lo Ka Ping, a lost qin master privately active before his passing in 1980. A small number of other surviving recordings were unusable due to the poor sound quality. What we have here are a number of traditional works for the qin, as well as a number of original compositions by the performer himself. Also included are two performances taken from Chinese radio around the time of the second World War and delivered to American archives by a Chinese fighter pilot. The ability displayed here by Ping is something quite worth hearing. While the recording quality tends to ebb and flow, the technique remains at a high constant level. There are other recorded qin masters available, and one should certainly avail themselves of any opportunity to pick up a number of them. Ping places himself firmly in their company with these recordings.» (AMG)

Read more about Lo Ka Ping and the Qin

Arbiter Records Catalog

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Nightshapes II

Fenja Menja - Fenja Menja (1999)

«Listen to this nine-track self-titled debut recording by Danish band Fenja Menja and you're sure to hear echoes of Sweden's Hoven Droven, with whom they share a commitment to a high-energy, virtually demented take on Nordic folk music, supercharging the tradition's naturally driving, spinning cadences and furious fiddle melodies with wailing wah-wah electric guitar and thumping bass. You'll hear a distinct instrumental approach dominated by the gripping fiddle of Katja Mikkelsen and widened by Morten Lolk Rasch's piano and some fine vocals by Mathias Grip.

"Den Grove (The Crude One)" begins innocently enough with a quiet little fiddle tune whose devilish underside rapidly gets the better of it, eventually summoning the whole electric crowd to a spooky cavort, kept crazily spinning by the tight rhythm section of Johan Ahrenfeldt on bass and Søren Andersen on drums. The maelstrom metamorphoses into waltz time in "Orkanens øje (Eye of the Storm)," Kenneth Hermansen's trebly electric guitar pacing Mikkelsen's violin in an exuberant melody, picked up in the middle by piano to give listeners, and perhaps the band, a breather. The pace slows a bit but the drama if anything rises in "Tidmand," featuring Grip's vocal in a characteristically Nordic polyrhythm which will have you checking your CD player, or ears, for skips. "Den Længselsfulde (The Yearner)" introduces more Fenja Menja instrumental sophistication; another stuttery beat, 5/4 at times but with enough dropped and inserted beats to addle all but the most inspired dancer. The piano and fiddle share the melody, sounding a bit like new age jazz with gumption. "Djævlen i øret (Devil in the Ear)" is another surprise, a standard Bahian drum intro leading into a sinuous fiddle meditation to Brazilian percussion. Galloping bass ushers in "Månedans (Moon Dance)," which accelerates into another exhausting swirl, fiddle, bass, and drums in competing dementia behind Grip's multi-tracked trolls' chorus: a busy night at the monthly bonfire. The record winds up with a live track, "Stridsøksen (Battle Axe)," a decidedly unswinging waltz featuring guitar solo and a Mikkelsen bagpipe fling to the surprisingly accurate clapping of band and audience. Even on the final live track, production is excellent: every instrument can be heard clearly, and each is in proportion to its role at the moment, no doubt also a tribute to the band members. The contemporary Nordic folk music of Fenja Menja is a joy, albeit a strenuous one, to experience.» (Jim Foley, Rootsworld)

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Afia Mala - Angelina (1997)

A great singer from Togo.

«Afia Mala a une voix limpide comme les eaux du fleuve Mono qui irriguent le village de Vogan, au coeur du Togo, où elle a grandi au sein d'une famille polygame avec vingt-quatre autres enfants. Surnommée «la Princesse des rives du Mono», elle a fait ses premières armes aux côtés de sa mère dans un groupe de femmes Habobo et au cours des fêtes annuelles de son école. Afia subit, très jeune, l'influence de Bella Bellow, célèbre blueswoman. Elle remporte en 1974 le troisième prix de la chanson togolaise. Mais sa carrière décolle en 1984, avec le tube « Ten Homte », qui lui vaut le Prix découvertes RFI. Sur des airs afro-cubains et des rythmes qui empruntent à l'Europe et à l'Amérique, elle ne tarde pas à conquérir le public africain. Dans sept dialectes béninois et togolais et en swahili, Afia chante l'émotion, la foi, l'amour, la souffrance, le plaisir...» (Jeuneafrique)

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Nightshapes

Stary Olsa - Kelih Kola (Loving Cup) (2001)

«Stary Olsa is a band of mediaeval Belarusan music. It was founded in 1999 by its present leader Zmicier Sasnouski and now consists of 5 musicians. It takes its name from a brook in the west part of Mahilou Region (Belarus). The band’s repertoire includes Belarusan folk balladry and martial songs, Belarusan national dances, works of Belarusan Renaissance composers, compositions from Belarusan aulic music collections (e.g. Polacak Notebook, Vilnian Notebook), Belarusan canticles of the 16th – early 17th centuries, as well as European popular melodies of the Middle Ages and Renascence. Stary Olsa cooperates with many knightly clubs from Belarus and Europe, museums and research centres, masters of early instruments, bands of folk, aulic, sacred and city avital music, as well as with solo performers using old instruments.

The band’s music makes it possible to restore sounding of many forgotten instruments. Stary Olsa uses for its performances maximally exact (in appearance, technology and materials) copies of the age-old Belarusan instruments such as duda (bagpipe), lira (lyre), husli (psaltery), svirel (pipe), drymba (jew’s-harp), akaryna (ocarina), surma (trumpet), bierascianaja truba (birch bark trumpet), hudok (rebec) and baraban drums). The purpose is to reconstruct completely (whenever possible) the musical traditions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where Belarus was the basic cultural and geopolitic part in the 13th-18th centuries, and where there was a unique synthesis of Belarusan folk and aulic music with the European musical achievements of that time. In order to revive this cultural feature the band’s members mix early Belarusan instruments’ sounding with the all-European mediaeval instruments such as lutnia (lute), flejta (flute), mandalina (mandolin), arabski baraban (Arabian drum).» (Stary Olsa)

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Putumayo Presents: Republica Dominicana (2000)

«Putumayo's compilations are known for making unlikely choices; so when the label released a collection of Dominican music in 2000, it was safe to assume that the CD wouldn't emphasize the really big names in neo-merengue. And sure enough, Putumayo Presents: Republica Dominicana is hardly a collection of recordings by Olga Tanon (the top young female merengue star of the 1990s). This album isn't the place to go in search of the type of slick, high-tech neo-merengue that was incredibly popular among young Dominicans in the 1990s. Instead, Putumayo surprises us by emphasizing the Dominican Republic's earthier, less-produced bachata sounds. Though this CD contains a few examples of merengue (including the late Alberto Beltrán's "Caña Brava"), it pays a lot more attention to the bachata or bachata-son of such artists as Bolívar Peralta, Raulín Rodriguez, Juan Manuel, Juan Bautista, and Luis Vargas. "Los Bodegueros" is a 1999 bachata that finds veteran merengue singer Joseito Mateo joining forces with fellow Dominican legend Luis Kalaff and exalting owners of bodegas (small Latin corner groceries) as working-class heroes. The only piece on the CD that was recorded long before the 1990s is "Caña Brava" by Beltrán (b. 1923, d. 1997), who Cuban salsa lovers know for his work with La Sonora Matancera in the 1950s. If you've lived in an area with a large Dominican population and have spent any time listening to Latin stations that play a lot of tropical music, chances are you've heard the slicker, more electronic sounds of modern neo-merengue. However, if those airwaves haven't exposed you to a lot of bachata, Republica Dominicana can be a very nice revelation.»

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Açoriana: Landscape (Terceira)

Musafir - Gypsies of Rajasthan (1998)

«The title comes from the supposition, since borne out by linguistic and DNA evidence, that the Roma, or Gypsies, originally migrated from northern India. Just why they left their homeland over a millennium ago to wander the face of the earth is not known. Musafir, who are often described as "proto-Gypsies," consist of singers, dancers, instrumentalists, fakirs, and Sapera snake charmers. They are led by Hammed Khan, a non-Roma tabla virtuoso. The music is Indian folk, with sinuous vocals, harmoniums, and flutes built over a framework of Khan's virile drumming. While it is possible to glimpse assorted Roma traditions in embryo, a lot has happened since the tribes embarked on their endless walkabout. It is probably best to avoid speculation and simply enjoy Musafir based on their own merits, which are considerable indeed.» (Christina Roden, Amazon)

«“La vita per me è un viaggio gitano; per alcuni la vita è un fatto pratico, per noi è possibile entrarci solo attraverso lo spirito del viaggio”, dice Hammed Khan, leader dei Musafir. Il Rajasthan, la terra dei principi, è il punto di partenza della migrazione del popolo rom verso l'Europa. I Musafir, che discendono da alcune caste di musicisti e poeti, con artisti sufi, musulmani e indù, portano in scena un vero e proprio circo musicale: canti, danze e numeri circensi della festa popolare, amalgamati in un repertorio in cui traspare l'influenza delle culture gitane, araba e indiana. I molteplici influssi popolari sono sostenuti dai rigorosi canoni estetici della musica dotta indiana, anche grazie alla direzione artistica di Hammed Khan, maestro di tabla alla Rajasthan University di Jaipur e studioso di musica popolare della sua regione. Hammed, infatti, lavora con i maggiori maestri della musica dotta e popolare del suo paese e rivisita il repertorio delle tipiche fanfare dell'India settentrionale con la big band Jaipur Kawa Brass Band; inoltre, ha collaborato con molti artisti occidentali, da Thierry Robin e Erik Marquand nell'ambito della musica folk ai jazzisti Henry Texier e Syslain Kassap e la coreografa Carolyn Carlson.» (Portale di Venezia)

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Lura - M'Bem di Fora (2006)

«Funana, batuku, and mazurka are Cape Verdean words – the names of traditional island rhythms. They don't exactly roll off the tongues of most English speakers, but Lura, whose ancestors are from the region, is an especially capable and captivating translator. The songs collected on M'Bem di Fora, the Portuguese singer's second North American disc, sound less like examples of a new exotic strain of music than a pot stirred with pinches of samba, flamenco, jazz, R&B, and conjunto; it's a pan-Latin sound that alternately makes you want to twirl seductively and shop for fresh tortillas. Lura's voice is also an accessible thing, throaty and warm and confident. According to the album notes, the songs tell stories of life on Cape Verde: "Bida Mariadu" is about the limitations of island living, "As-Água" explains the summer thirst for rain, and "Fitiço di Funana" explores the potency of a traditional sensual voodoo dance. You don't need a grip on the culture or its values, though, to fall in love with the music. Lura presents a range of moods and styles any listener could get lost in. She also lends them a singular depth that should keep world music fans awaiting her next dip into foreign climates.» (AMG)

«[…] Lura è esplosa sui palchi internazionali come l’unica vera erede della grande Cesaria Evora, nonostante tra le due artiste esistano differenze stilistiche notevoli. Nella musica di Lura il pop d’autore e il jazz si fondono con i ritmi dell’isola, il funana, un ballo tipico dell’isola di Santiago suonato con la fisarmonica e il ferrinho, uno strumento tipico di capo Verde. Cola sanjon invece è un ritmo suonato durante la festa di San Giovanni, nel mese di giugno; mentre la mazurka è una variante del celebre ballo portato nell’isola di Sant’Anton dai francesi. Un altro grande ritmo rielaborato da Lura è il batuque che tradizionalmente era suonato dalle lavandaie dell’isola di Santiago con una sorta di cuscino di panno, tchabeta che Lura porta sempre con sé in ogni esibizione.

M’bem di Fora, ovvero “Vengo da lontano”, è il nuovo album di Lura. Un disco provocante e sensuale, capace di fare sognare. […] I ritmi del batuque compaiono in “Galanton” mentre “M’bem di Fora” e “Fitiço di Fumana” sono etichettabili come fumana, e “Romaria” come cola sanjon. La mazurka è presente in “Mari d’Ascenson”, e “No Bem Fala” è invece una coladera. In “As-Agua” Lura racconta l’attesa della popolazione di Capo Verde del ritorno delle piogge - un evento particolarmente lieto per gli abitanti dell’isola. Mentre in “Ponciana” racconta la storia di una donna il cui futuro sembra compromesso, accompagnata da una suggestiva chitarra flamenco. La tradizionale melodia della gaita compare in “Festa di Nha Cumpadri”, una tipica melodia che accompagna le feste di villaggio. […]» (Lo sguardo di Ulisse)

For another fine album by Lura, check L’arbre de les 1000 musiques

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Pictures of Greece: Varlaam Monastery, Meteora

Courtesy of JTC

Songs of Greece's Gypsies (1996)

«This is an album that could be a source of influence for blues, jazz and even some rock musicians. Though it is ethnic folk style music, it's a hauntingly beautiful journey through minor keys with (for western listeners) unusual chord changes. The album cover states that these are live recordings. They are, actually, taken from a live concert where a variety of Greek Gypsy musicians were brought together on the same stage (as opposed to field recordings). There is a beautiful rendition of the Macedonian/Albanian song “Ederlezi” sung by Chrisoula Christopoulou (“Endelesi” on the album jacket). “The Song of the Gypsies” sung by Eleni Vitali and “Don't be Sad That I Leave” sung by Yiannis Saleas are two other noteworthy tracks. Track number 11, an instrumental improvisation, I'd recommend to any jazz, blues or rock musician. Having said that, this is primarily folk music in its style of delivery and a good example of it. I hope this album will be kept “in print” because it is such a fine example of unpolluted contemporary Greek music. This album ranks #2 in gypsy albums most frequently borrowed by my friends.» (Anonymous reader, Amazon)

«An exceptional and rewarding introduction to the music of Greek gypsies. Although the contribution of Greek gypsies has often been overlooked, their influence on Greek folk music is clear. There are twelve cuts, of which two are [marvellous] instrumentals; the remaining ten songs are vocals with musical accompaniment. The first song on the CD, “The song of the gypsies” by Eleni Vitali, is a haunting lament which showcases her fine talent. Two of the songs on the CD (“Jastar Amenge Dur” and “Good Luck”) showcase the very talented Kostas Pavlidis. In “Jastar Amenge Dur”, an introduction of strings is followed by a quickening intensity of song and guitar with a flamenco-like flavour. Pavlidis also shares the vocals with C. Christopoulou on an exceptional rendition entitled “Rom”. Other singers on the CD include Yiannis Saleas and Vassilis Paiteris. Vassilis Saleas is the clarinettist on certain cuts. The vocalists’ presentation are reminiscent of Greek singers of years past, and not the more homogenized European style characteristic of today’s Greek popular music. This CD is a worthwhile addition to the collection of anyone interested in the music and talents of the Eastern Mediterranean.» (Louis Alexander, Amazon)

Many thanks again to JTC for this post.

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Mojave 3 - Excuses for Travellers (2000)

Simply one of the best albums of the last decade, «heroically tragic» in its outdatedness, which is the reason why it does appear so relevant today. An homeopathic cure for the autumn blues, particularly useful to those who still believe in joy and are not willing to give up to cynicism, «cos anyday will be fine, still some distance to run, keep moving on». Very highly recommended. R.

«I Mojave 3 sono uno strano gruppo inglese, innamorato dell'America e dei suoi suoni, di canzoni classiche come le scrivevano Nick Drake e i Velvet Underground più riflessivi, Bob Dylan e Gram Parson. Anche in questo terzo disco ripercorrono le stesse strade incontrate nei dischi precedenti, ma mai come in questo caso le loro canzoni affascinano irrimediabilmente, mai come adesso sanno incantare. Continuano a inseguire gli stessi miraggi di sempre, soltanto con più decisione.
Basta ascoltare il brano di apertura, "In Love With a View" coi suoi echi del Dylan di "Blonde on Blonde" e un crescendo che non può che stregare o abbandonarsi alla spoglia e fragile "Prayer for the Paranoid", con Nick Drake nel cuore. Sono canzoni malinconiche, storie di fallimenti, lettere non arrivate, di sogni inseguiti invano e di amori persi per strada. Come i miraggi inseguiti nell'avvolgente "Life in Art", racconto dolce amaro degno del miglior Raymond Carver, o ancora la scarna storia d'amore di "She Broke You Softly". A sorprendere e a colorare il disco sono i fiati e l'energia che illuminano "Any Day Will Be Fine" e "When You're Drifting", e il coro gospel nella conclusiva "Got My Sunshine". Un disco da favola.» (Kalporz)

«Le groupe de Neil Halstead sait bien ce qu'il est en train de faire : écrire des chansons qui ne se soumettent pas à l'air du temps, qui, bien plutôt, tracent une voie intemporelle et mélancolique vers ce que l'on pourrait appeler la sérénité. Ici la longueur des chansons ne se ressent pas ("My life in art" fait plus de sept minutes, assez rare pour une chanson "pop"), et le chant est surprenant de simplicité et d'émotion. Souvent composé de deux voix qui se mêlent l'une à l'autre et se soutiennent, le timbre en varie imperceptiblement suivant les morceaux. Tout se joue d'ailleurs dans l'imperceptible et dans une douce communion. Dans "My life in art", sommet génial de l'album, les magnifiques arpèges de la guitare et l'accompagnement discret, serein, de l'harmonica et du clavier portent avec langueur le chant évasif, cette lancinante et fugitive mélopée. Et si le rythme se fait plus rapide, plus entraînant, si les chansons, plus concises, retrouvent un format pop familier ("Return to sender" et "Anyday will be fine"), elles se changent alors en irrésistibles envolées d'espoir, en jaillissements effrénés de vie. Ca et là, un glissement de cuivres, ligne chaude et sinueuse, ou d'inattendues voix féminines : celle de la bassiste Rachel Goswell sur "Bringin' me home", ou, pour clore l'album de façon majestueuse, un choeur gospel sur "Got my sunshine", chanson frissonnante et aérienne. "Excuses for travellers" est un fruit doux souvent, amer rarement...» (Sefronia)

«Con su tercer trabajo estos tres supervivientes de la banda británica shoegazer Slowdive han confirmado su definitivo abandono de las guitarras graníticas para, mezclando influencias de la psychedelia, el folk y hasta el country, rematar una obra memorable impregnada de una fascinante y ensoñadora belleza. He tenido que remontarme hasta Septiembre de 1998, concretamente al "Deserter's Songs" de Mercury Rev, para toparme con otro disco que no sólo me haya dado tantas "excusas para viajar", sino que me haya arrastrado tan firme e ineludiblemente, como éste lo ha hecho, a los misteriosos vericuetos de un viaje en toda regla. Un disco para escuchar con los ojos cerrados y dejarte transportar por el balsámico efecto de sus canciones, plagado de melodías evocadoras de esas que te retuercen sin piedad las vísceras y que, en perfecta armonía con las atmosféricas guitarras y teclados que llenan sus surcos, te atrapan sin remisión. Desde el sobrecogedor tema inicial "In Love With A View" hasta "Got My Sunshine" que lo cierra pasando por ese acariciador susurro que es "My Life In Art", "Excuses For Travellers" ofrece 10 perfectas excusas para viajar sin necesidad de aditivos ni moverte del salón de tu casa. Corre a la tienda más próxima y quedarás eternamente agradecido a Mojave 3 por regalarte tanta belleza contenida en un solo disco.» (Terra)

«[…] Mojave 3 puts an English spin on country, essentially creating country-informed English pop music as opposed to hardcore traditional American country. Mojave 3 has been criticized on occasion for their “too polite” approach to country music, but that argument really misses the point entirely. Excuses for Travellers – and Mojave 3’s previous work – isn’t meant to be heart-wrenching, cry-in-your-beer type of stuff. It’s pastoral, complicated pop with an innate sense of melancholy that draws more from the Nick Drake school of songwriting than the Merle Haggard school of classic American country.» (Popmatters)

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