As
the group Electric Kulintang, Roberto
Rodriguez and Susie Ibarra have combined efforts to create
a hypnotic album of soundscapes based on the traditional
Philippine instrument Kulingtang (a gong instrument not
unlike an Indonesian gamelan). While this is clearly created music, constructed with the magic of multitracking, it
maintains a sense of acoustic, organic playing. Percussion
fans will eat this up, but the tones of the Kulingtang
(along with vocals by Ibarra on a few tracks) make it melodic
in a trancey, swirling way. The album wobbles a bit in
figuring out what it wants to be: the wonderful opening
track "Anitos (Spirits)" could hardly be more different
than the free-floating vocals on "Bangka." But inconsistency
aside, Rodrigues and Ibarra deserve kudos for an album
that sounds
like nothing else out there, and invites new possibilities
for an old folk instrument.
©2007
Scott Allan Stevens, Earball Media
|
Rajery: Sofera (Marabi)
buy CD/hear samples
Madagascar's
amazing valiha player Rahery returns with
a richer sound more like the arrangements of Oliver Mtukudzi.
This is Malagasy Afropop at its finest, a wonderfully accessible album that one
doesn't need an ethnomusicology degree to appreciate, yet
will please long-time fans as well. You don't need to know
that Rajery makes all this beautiful music with just one
hand, but his tragic-triumphant personal story and his
advocacy of the disadvantaged makes his work that much
more compelling. Highly recommended!
Cocoa
Tea: Biological Warfare (minor7flat5)
buy CD/hear samples
From
the outset it's clear that this is a very conscious album,
as Cocoa Tea launches into "Poverty" and rips into income
disparity, and its role in causing crime. This CD combines
the sparse groove of dub with richer arrangements to emerge
as one of the freshest, most righteous reggae albums to
come across my desk in recent months.
Luis
Villegas: Guitarras de Navidad (Tenure)
buy CD/hear samples
Every
year, the holiday albums flow in. And it's a rare one that
catches my ear, rising above the ranks of rehashed carols.
Luis Villegas accomplishes this with an album of traditional
carols mixed with a couple less familiar tunes. "Peces
en el Rio" has a flamenco-rock vibe without becoming too
slick. "Jingle Bells" gets downright danceable with its
Afro-Cuban rhythms and a tight horn section. The traditional
Mexican tune "La Rama" sounds like a village celebration
('cause that's where it's from!). Fine, creative arrangments
with variety in the instumentation and vocals make Guitarras the
freshest holiday offering I've heard this year.
Sursumcorda: L'Albero
Dei Bradipi (Passion)
buy CD/hear samples
For
reasons that aren't clear, the booklet to this Italian-language
disc includes lyrics only in English. This odd surprise
gives a welcome insight into the music of this group whose
credits might make you think they're a classical music
ensemble, with instruments including cello, salterio (an
Italian zither), recorders, oboe, slide flute, English
horn, and classical guitar. While the music is intricate,
precise, and beautifully played, the arrangements (and
the inclusion of other instruments including kalimba, berimbau,
hand drums, and mouth harp) put this more firmly in the
world
music pasture.
The band's name is Latin for "Lift up your hearts," and
I suppose they do at that. Not in a bouncy, pop-music sort
of way, but with a sort of melancholy that befits the
gray area they occupy between classical and folk styles.
It took me a couple listens to really appreciate this album,
but I was won over by the crazy teetering of "La Notte
Degli Oscar (The Night of the Oscars), and the blend of
strings, accordion, and kalimba on the tango-rooted "Mi
Hanno Perso (They Lost Me). The album name, by the way,
translates as "The Tree of the Sloths."
©2007
Scott Allan Stevens, Earball Media |
