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of the carols without being obtrusive. The Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan” will not help. (Hem of tracked, overly guest-appearanced jam that,
singing and intonation are tuneful and mea- the garment and touching springs to mind.) despite its title, feels mannered alongside the
sured. All words are beautifully clear and the Kailash Kher is one of many – no matter if he joyous tone of the rest of the album. Béla
overall effect is, to coin a hackneyed phrase, sings mock-Hindi-reggae on Tauba Tauba should hold off from his threat to unleash a
‘pleasant and delightful’. (Mercy, Mercy) or walks the pedestrian walk
22-minute version of this rather contrived
Now this, for me, is the problem. The per-
on Kar Kar Main Haana (I Am Lost). Mercy,
number – he could probably cover at least a
formers all give polished performances but
mercy, indeed. www.cumbancha.com
couple more countries in that time to far bet-
there is something generic about the out-
Ken Hunt
ter effect. A small wrinkle in an otherwise
come. The fiddle playing is solid and work- excellent soundtrack. www.rounder.com
manlike yet undistinctive, similarly the pulsing
stabs on accordeon and choppy guitar chords
Con Murphy
BELA FLECK
reflect more of the current fashions among
young folk musicians than any attempt to ‘live Throw Down Your Heart Rounder 11661-
dangerously’. There was nothing here that I 0634-2
LA TALVERA
had not heard before, both in terms of con-
tent and style. I had hoped for something that
When considering past western artists’ team-
Sopac E Patac Cordae/La Talvera TAL15
would make me think ‘Wow!’ but it never
ups with African musicians, it’s hard to think
La Talvera’s associated organisation Associa-
came. The album is safe and stylish and left
of a better example of how to tap into the
tion C.O.R.D.A.E. (The Occitan Research Cen-
me feeling that this group of talented per-
collaborative nature of African music than
tre For Ethnographic Resources & Activities) is
formers had much more to give.
that displayed on this addictive album by
surely one of the most admirable of its type
American banjo player Béla Fleck.
www.kerfuffleonline.co.uk; via Proper.
anywhere in the world. Since the early 1980s,
The back-story to this recording and the
under the directorship of Daniel Loddo, it has
Paul Davenport
accompanying film is told elsewhere in this
done a great deal to promote the develop-
edition of fRoots, so readers may already be
ment of Occitan language and folk culture in
aware of the impressive continental spread of
VARIOUS ARTISTS
all its many manifestations.
this part field recording, part studio, part
Sark Voices La Societé Sercquaise SARK01CD
concert work which, despite lacking any logic
Alongside the vibrant organisation,
in its sequencing, avoids the trap of becom-
there is the excellent band who make such
Ken Lees, London folk club organiser and
ing a hotchpotch of intermittently coherent
great ambassadors, advocates and proselytis-
Posh Bandsman, has been a long-term visitor
aural sketches that certain big-name pop
ers for this culture with their succession of
and enthusiast for this small island communi-
stars have been wont to deliver in the past.
superb albums. This one sees them taking a
ty of around 600 people. It’s only in later
Indeed the broad palette and rambling geog-
different direction: all the songs are composi-
years that he became aware of the rich song
raphy only seems to underline the impressive
tions by Daniel, set to traditional tunes on a
heritage of Sark through recordings made for
chameleon-like nature of Fleck’s fretwork.
couple of occasions. They are nearly all quite
the BBC in the 1930s by some unidentified
Whether trading sprightly acoustic riffs with
wordy and delivered in a rapid-fire manner
person and in the 1950s by Peter Kennedy.
Malagasy guitarist D’Gary, providing sympa- by their outstanding singer Céline Ricard.
Ken has selected from these for this release.
thetically sparse accompaniment to Oumou Overall they have a very engaging, quite jolly
The language of the island, now fast dis-
Sangare’s gorgeous rendition of Djorolen, sound and the songs sound as though they
appearing, has been Sercquiais, a Norman-
adding subtle bluegrass flavours to the clos- have been devised for her crystal-clear diction
French patois and most of the songs are sung
ing moments of the exultant stop-you-in- and superb tone. The usual very high stan-
in this. Most of the 1930s recordings are
your-tracks opening song by Uganda’s dard of the arrangements associated with
labelled ‘Chorus’ and it is these that make the
Nakisenyi Women’s Group, or fighting for their albums is maintained here. Based on the
most satisfying listening. They have some-
space with ghostly giant marimbas, buzzy
instruments and rhythms of Occitan tradi-
thing of the feel of the pub carol recordings
bowed lyres and spiritual choirs, Fleck man-
tional dance music, they incorporate percus-
from around Sheffield, perhaps a bit more
ages to flavour the whole enterprise with a
sion from all parts of the Mediterranean area
laid-back. There is a feeling of comfort and
desire to adapt to those around him rather
as well as some ‘actuality’ recordings of rural
tightness about this singing that suggests
than impose his own musical ideas. And the
life and they also fit very well.
that it happened pretty frequently.
plucked pursuit of the crazy melodies pro-
duced by the almost comically elastic falsetto
Looking through the booklet before lis-
The one song in English is also a gem.
of blind Tanzanian thumb pianist Anania is
tening to the album and seeing that the
Philip Hamon and Hilary Carré sing The
pure innocent delight – virtuosos at play!
songs were composed by the band brought
Whale Fishers’ Song, having their whaler set the feeling that La Talvera might be moving
sail from Jersey, and a couple of melodeon
In keeping with the spirit of the enter-
away from what they have always done so
instrumentals from Leonard Baleoil are inter-
prise, Throw Down Your Heart comprises
well, but this is quickly dispelled by listening
spersed with the singing.
mostly traditional fare or that written by the
local artists. The title track and D’Gary Jam
to this delightful offering; probably their best
Ken produced and designed the album
are the exceptions, the latter providing the
album to date. www.talvera.org
and tells us that the initial sales have already
only really jarring note. A six-minute, multi- Vic Smith
covered production costs and that profits will
go towards a second CD. It will be something
to look forward to. www.veteran.co.uk
Bela Fleck & Djelimady Tounkara
Vic Smith
KAILASH KHER & KAILASA
Yatra (Nomadic Souls) Cumbancha CMB
CD-14
When an album’s booklet notes, as opposed
to the press release, start with saying, “There
is no greater star in Indian popular music
today then [sic] Kailash Kher, a revered singer
whose prodigious vocal gifts and inspiring
personality have made him a household
name across the subcontinent,” surely any
sober person will feel the quicksands of hype
closing in on them?
Yatra is a perfectly decent recording but
it is all things to all men – people, if you want
to get non-specific and pc. The singer was
born in July 1973 in Delhi “to a family with
Kashmiri roots”. There is no real sense of per-
sonal identity – or regional – to his music. If
hope springs eternal, Kailash Kher’s hope
springs from Bollywood. And no doubt that is
where his future lies, if Tauba Tauba (actually
very interesting) is anything to go by: in
today’s Bollywood mishmash morass. Further-
more, panegyrics saying he has been “often
compared to the late qawwali maestro Ustad
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