67 f


and the arts. Lakshmi or Laxmi, associated with bountifulness such as wealth, prosperi- ty and fertility, is represented by Laxmi taal, an 18-beat pakhawaj (double-headed drum) rhythm cycle. That gives an indication of Goddess’ cleverness.


Now, the entire project could have stuck to Hindu goddesses and covered every aspect of female divinity from the warrior via the diaphanous to the numinous. Instead, Shri- vastav, sometimes assisted by Linda Shanovitch on vocals and/ or Andy Williams of Doves on percussion, has produced a series of Indianised portraits of female deities. These include the pan-Asian, Taoist-Buddhist deity Guan Yin and Amaterasu, one of the principal deities of Japan’s Shinto religion. Beyond, from Africa and the African diaspora come the Yoruba ocean goddess Yemanja and Haiti’s Goddess of Love Erzulie. For me, the project actually works better freed of the religious associations of its inspirations as plain music – examples being the brooding surbahar-led, Inuit interlude Journey To Sedna and the dilruba and swarmandal piece about the multiple-identity Polynesian deity, Hina In The Moonlight. Ultimately, what you have is crossover concept album.


www.arcmusic.co.uk Ken Hunt TIM O’BRIEN


Chicken & Egg Howdy Skies Records HS CD 1005


PETER ROWAN BLUEGRASS BAND Legacy Compass Records 7 4543 2


Two singers, writers, players who are still at the forefront of American acoustic music with cutting-edge recordings. Both have strong bluegrass roots. O’Brien from his many years with Hot Rize and Rowan with a long pedi- gree that dates back to a stint as one of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys. Since then they have both been musical explorers, O’Brien to most- ly find his Celtic roots and Rowan just about everywhere, including a semi-permanent reg- gae band. Now O’Brien is back with what is simply a typical Tim O’Brien record. Clever songs, mostly his own, superb players and understated exuberance as he bounces from one song to another. Knowing exactly what textures he wants, O’Brien leads musically on guitar, bouzouki, mandolin and banjo from the old-time styled rendition of Suzanna to the bluegrass of Sinner right through to the moving country ballad Space Between The Lines. Quality and entertaining with it.


www.timobrien.net


Rowan’s wheel on the other hand has turned full circle and persuaded him, I think for the first time, to form his own bluegrass band. Not flash young players, but a group who have also been around the block a few times and must be pleased to play with such a top singer that Rowan still is. The songs are mostly all his, and if they do drift into the world of bluegrass cliché, what is a man sup- posed to do? One superb gospel quartet, God’s Own Child, enlists Del McCoury to sing the high part which serves to remind that you could well be listening to a re-run of one of Monroe’s classics, and a cover of a Stanley Brothers gem sits well alongside Rowan’s Turn The Other Cheek, The Family Demon and the cleverly repetitive So Good. Bluegrass music has never run short of amazing players, but there is a dearth of instantly recognis- able, exciting singers and writers. Welcome back Peter Rowan, your genre needs you.


www.compassrecords.com – distributed in the UK by Proper.


John Atkins


VARIOUS ARTISTS Shangaan Electro Honest Jon’s HJRCDDJ52


Recorded over the last few years in Soweto, the record is fine and lively, but incomplete: it will make a whole lot more sense if you hunt for ‘shangaan’ on YouTube and marvel at the dancing that goes with it. Brilliant, like some down-home Cotton Club, the view opens on an earth-floored compound and we see the young stars doing their Fred Astaires with rubber-limbed style, strange little hand codes, still heads, dance as personal individu- al expression. This is some seriously nice foot- work, as one comment-writer has it.


Without the dancing, what you hear with ears is less, an accompaniment of bubbly, tin- pot simplicity, all from marimba and Casio- type organ. It doesn’t hit the normal buttons; more like some ghostly hybrid from the future, with mostly choral vocals that sound very much rooted in traditional melody. So, odd, but quite conservative, really, and con- taining almost nothing that refers to western pop. No jazz, no hip-hop, no funk, no soul – just African roots and a wash of kiddy disco, all played at ridiculously heady speed. Youth, stamina and bodily ease required.


www.honestjons.com Rick Sanders NATACHA ATLAS


Mounqaliba: In A State Of Reversal World Village WVF479048


It takes a while to tell the story of Natacha Atlas’s nationality – ‘internationality’ is prob- ably a better word. In any case, her solo career has had a shifting, transglobal narra- tive of its own. Traditional Arabic sounds met funky electronic beats in her three nineties albums, reaching a logical conclusion in 2001’s wonderful Ayeshteni. Slicker pop entered the equation with Something Dan- gerous, along with a hefty cast of guest musi- cians – and for many fans, a slight sense of disappointment. Electronic production was turned down a notch on Mish Maoul, and she went fully acoustic on her most recent album – the graceful, enchanting Ana Hina.


Atlas has described Mounqaliba as a con- tinuation of the ground explored on that last record. Poetic Arabic lyrics are set over classi- cal strings, restrained piano, jazz double bass and traditional Arabic instrumentation. In a


Natacha Atlas


way, it’s as much of a daring cultural clash as the techno beats and Arabic fanfare of those early albums. But in this gentle acoustic set- ting, the divergent sounds take on a bewitch- ing and subtle character. Atlas has a habit of reinventing classic western songs throughout her career – including her fantastic I Put A Spell On You, a Nina Simone-inflected version of Black Is The Colour and James Brown’s Man’s World. On Mounqaliba, she turns her hand to Nick Drake’s River Man – another tri- umph, with Atlas putting her own jazzy twist on the dark languor of the original.


It’s not all good, though. There are five interludes – six if you include the post-fade intermission at the end of Batkallim. Most of these include samples of speeches from the leading figures of the Zeitgeist Movement and Venus Project (the latter organisation hopes to lead humanity into a Jetsons-esque future of self-contained residences, oceanic cities and cars with “magnetic levitation or air-floatation capabilities”). These excerpts are played out over whispering voices or muted instrumentals. But rather than adding to the jazzy suspense, or bringing some worthwhile thematic point (or counterpoint) to the lyrical content, these interludes tend to slow things down in a most irritating manner. Especially once you’ve examined the “3D ren- derings” of our future utopia on thevenus- project.com. If you import this CD into your iTunes library (or equivalent), be sure to uncheck these tracks with extreme prejudice. You’ll be left with the next great stage of Natacha Atlas’s meandering musical journey.


www.worldvillagemusic.com – distribut- ed by Harmonia Mundi.


John Ridpath LITTLE JOHNNY ENGLAND


Tournament Of Shadows Talking Elephant TECD150 10 Years On… Talking Elephant TECD142


They say the fate of bands is written on the wind, no one knows where they may blow. Little Johnny England have been tossed about more than most in the past few years, from great white hope to an on/off existence that saw them touring acoustically and swapping rhythm sections like socks. Finally they’ve found a stable line-up and a new, supportive home at Talking Elephant and it’s a pleasure to report that Tournament Of Shadows is not only a welcome return for Little Johnny Eng- land, it’s a welcome return to form!


Kicking off with a trio of absolute bel- ters, they sound as fizzing here as they did on their debut. Tournament Of Shadows, the opening track, is not only real English rockin’ it’s also spot-on politically: if ever history gave us an eye on the future then surely it’s through events in Afghanistan; Pete Scrowther’s anti-war opus is delivered with a cynical, weary vocal by PJ Wright, who then tears into the historical ballad Lily Of Barbary. Welcome To The Sparrow Club thumps home the way an armchair carer’s skewed view of the world seems to be gaining credence with certain sections of the British press and just how dangerous that can be. Not known as a band for pointing the finger, on this album LJE do it in a big way, offering reflection on the later Random Acts Of Kindness, where the unknown heroes of every day are cele- brated. In point of fact, PJ Wright and Gareth Stevens are turning out some cracking songs, not only Kindness but The Falling Down Man where current economic woe and its effect on Mr Average come under the microscope, running a waltz rhythm. Casting their net wider, Steve Knightley’s Cutthroats, Crooks & Conmen sits squarely in the mix with some tunes that pump out that old polka groove with forceful finesse.


Photo: Judith Burrows


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