f54
Mercedes Péon
MERCEDES PEÓN Sós Do Fol Música 10002048
There’s nobody in Galician music like Mercedes Peón. She graced the cover of fR214 back in 2001 at
the time of the release of her first album Isué, which is still a magnificent landmark, and there’s a new feature upcoming, so I’ll spare you the explanation of just why here.
She’s not a prolific releaser of albums; they come out when she has something new to say, and a new one is an event. Galician label Do Fol, to which she’s moved after the debut on Resistencia and two more on Dis- cmedi, celebrates Sós (which in Galego means ‘Alone’) with a limited-edition black metal box bearing the letters SOS in Morse code.
In sound it’s perhaps her most urban yet; the huge strength and sensitivity of her singing is surrounded by hefty and upfront use of the sampling tools of dance-music or hip- hop, but they’re bent to the will of her deeply Galician music and shot through with the sounds and rhythms of stone on metal spade, squealing gaitas, and the skittering rattle of pandeireta. She has an archetypal Galician tra- ditional voice, an absolute expression of the strength, shapes and sounds of the village tra- ditions of the pandeireteras and gaiteiros she’s so familiar with; a voice of the rocky places that has resounded throughout time.
Sós reflects her move in live performance from fronting a band to an extraordinarily powerful solo show, showcased to acclaim at Womex, in which she plays clarinet, gaita, pandeireta, snare drum and spade while trig- gering intricate samples, a demanding, com- plex task but none of it distracting her from the raw wildness and intense focus of her singing. Her taking on of the whole sound- creation process extends to the album too; her usual co-producer Nacho Muñoz wasn’t
Christi Andropolis
available this time, though he plays key- boards and samplers, so she did it all herself, and played most of the instruments.
All the songs, while rich in traditional shapes and turns, are her own compositions, and while they’re entirely enjoyable to the wider world just as music, for a Galego-speak- er her lyrics are a major factor. With an econ- omy of words, the music resonating their strength, she sings of connectedness with Portuguese, Moroccan and Berber music and people, reflects on rich and poor, street demonstration, home and the warmth of family, and the Babel of internationalism, language and travel.
Like Mercedes herself, Sós is dramatic, bold, and individual, breaking with the usual folk-revival ways while embracing and cher- ishing the characterful, lined faces of deep tradition.
www.folmusica.com
Distributed in the UK by Discovery:
www.discovery-records.com Andrew Cronshaw
CHRISTI ANDROPOLIS Rust & Holler Furrow Records FURCD003
Emily Portman’s American bandmate in Rubus makes her own distinctive entrance into solo
territory with a forthright, supremely confi- dent album. Originally from New York state, Andropolis draws her influences far and wide and isn’t afraid to display them, peppering variations on the tradition with her own bold songwriting, a voice of unusual strength and some determinedly original arrangements. Her extraordinary funky version of Marrow- bones, bustling organ and all, shouldn’t work, but somehow does. Similarly, her perfor- mance of the opening track Cambric Shirt has her belting out the lyrics like a nascent Janis
Joplin over thumping banjo and The Dead Horse is delivered like a steamy blues over Dave Hart’s wailing harmonica. And when she’s not slinking ‘n’ hollering, she’s giving us some pretty dynamic fiddle to add solid musi- cality to the fierce intent; a couple of spacey instrumentals underline the point.
At times it threatens to get a tad over- wrought, but there’s formidable salvation in her own songwriting. Good Morning, Mr Hughes is a mysterious slow burn of a song constantly threatening to explode into a nasty narrative, Emily Portman style, but ultimately leaves you in the lap of the mundane, which is ultimately just as scary. You could even imag- ine Another Way Down, the growly country blues that closes the album being covered by Robert Plant. But even these retreat into insignificance alongside Winter Soldier, a beautifully weighted, emotionally draining tribute to Iraq war casualties backed only by insistent acoustic guitar and churchy organ.
So it’s quite an album that’s soulful, bluesy and a lot else besides, but hops some- where else whenever the categorisation police come knocking. Those are often the best sort.
www.furrowrecords.co.uk www.christi-
andropolis.com
Colin Irwin VARIOUS ARTISTS
Outsinging The Nightingale: Lost Treasures Of Bulgarian Music 1905-1950 JSP Records JSP77134 ABCD
There can be few who are quite unfa- miliar with the sound of Bulgarian music, whether the plan- gent harmonies of the Mystère Des Voix Bul- gares, or the rocket-fuelled instrumentals of the wedding band movement, but even the most assiduous devotee will find plenty of
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100