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MARIEM HASSAN El Aaiun Egdat Nubenegra INN1137-2
AZIZA BRAHIM & GULILI MANKOO Mabruk Reaktion RE24
A pair of larger-than-life Western Saharan soul divas. One familiar, the other a new name to me.
Mariem Hassan has been based in Spain for some while now and impressed with a
couple of albums on the Nubenegra label a few years back. This latest is probably her strongest and finds her backed by a mixture of West African and local blues musician, the raw majesty of her voice matched with a range of bluesy, rocky, jazzy arrangements that never lose sight of her Saharawi roots. Special mention for saxman Gabriel Flores who blasts and wisps as the mood requires (and adds flute to the bubbling Legneiba.) The closing Siyant Laydad features the kind of psychedelic blues that wouldn’t have sounded out of place at a ’60s ‘happening’, whilst Eftaht Almayal is hypnotic desert blues at its best. Throughout Hassan does what she does best, delivering her lyrics of Saharawi culture and defiance with fire- power to spare.
Hassan was always going to be a hard act
to follow, but new Saharawi belter on the block Aziza Brahim makes a good go of it. She’s got a fine voice, high and blessed with a soulful ache, her backing musicians are good and there’s impressive songcraft on display. The sound is guitar-based, and on some of the faster songs sails closer to generic rock than anything on Hassan’s album (although Aziza’s voice always provides a strong Saha- ran flavour). The slower and mid-paced tunes work best, especially the mournful Wilaya Blues, just acoustic guitar and percussion, allowing Brahim’s voice to breathe. This album suggests she’s certainly one to keep an eye on and from what I’ve seen and heard on YouTube, even better live.
www.nubenegra.com www.re-aktion.com
Jamie Renton
MAGPIE LANE The Robber Bird MLCD08
Stylish and competent are both words that work well here. The latest album by this experienced band covers a number of very good interpretations of some well-known and some less familiar songs. Diction is clear and there are no fumbled lyrics while the accompaniments reflect the high level of musical competence in the band. There is much to like here.
The album begins with a lovely version
of The Lark In The Morning, although I have reservations regarding an intro lasting two minutes. The pace is maintained with the Poaching Song and proceeds via morris tunes, played impeccably, before a rather strange version of the Highwayman Outwit- ted. I say strange because the tune and words sit uncomfortably together as the very articulate Sophie Thurman occasionally has to resort to a Gilbertian ‘patter’ in order to shoehorn words into the fast moving melody. If this is, in my opinion, the weakest track then the following one, Travel the Country Round, is the most successful. Here the melody, A Pilgrim Blythe and Jolly, enjoys a rare traditional outing and works extremely well. It’s a lovely marrying of words and tune from Henry Burstow via the collecting of Lucy Broadwood.
Pelios
The album romps along at a goodly pace and is an uplifting affair with tunes and songs balancing each other. It was a joy to hear York Winter Assemblies which has rarely, if ever, been heard on a commercial recording. The whole thing is rounded off by Graeme Miles’ Snows Of Winter.
For fans of traditional music and song, quality intonation and clear presentation, this is a gem. On another tack, however, there is little risk-taking and the album is exactly what one would expect from these performers, high quality in all areas. There are several pieces which the band has worked with previously and recorded on earlier CDs. Which leaves one to ask whether, in these highly competitive times, it mightn’t be time to try something a little more radical?
Paul Davenport
PELIOS Gourmet! Suvi Sounds SUVISCD02
Either everybody in Scandiwegia is mak- ing fiddlesinging CDs, or the knowledge that our man at the
Nordic desk will give them a sympathetic and knowledgeable listen serves to propel lots in our direction. And grateful we are that
Mariem Hassan
OMATND has such a dedication to them because, in all honesty, the no-doubt philis- tine fRoots office staff tend to find that a little goes a long way.
So it was notable when the reviews edi- tor popped her head around my monitor screen, after a hard day with headphones forcibly clamped to her ears from burrowing into the foothills of the review CDs mountain, saying “This one’s rather good – I think you’ll like it.” And, by crikey, she wasn’t wrong.
Pelios – singer Josefin Peters and singer/fiddlers Anna Lindblat and Suvi Oskala (I think you can work out where their band name comes from) – are a Swedish/Finnish mix: Oskala is the Finn in the soup, with an extra string to her fiddle. Their biog points to them doing that music academy thing, and also playing out in other styles (jazz, Quebe- cois and Irish music mentioned), but one cer- tain thing that they have a skill at, other than having fine voices and strong instru- mental chops, is how to put together a well- sequenced album full of variety. You think you’ve got the measure of their appealing mix of polskas, waltzes, ballads and general playfulness and they promptly slip you the torchy Bara Du / Only You. Oddly, Peters’ slow vocalised polska Ljusgangar keeps mak- ing me think it’s a morris tune, one that the Offspring might dance to.
They have a nicely funky, bow-bouncy approach to the faster pieces like opener Sys- trarna / Sisters and Elverumsvisan which occa- sionally brings to mind the twin fiddle leads of Western Swing, but they are just as capa- ble on slow evocative tracks like Vals Om Kvällen / Waltz In The Evening and Fyra Flick- or / Four Girls. Their harmonies are sweet and light but very attractive, and the closing Rod- darvisa / Rowing Song could be an instant Unthank hit with an English lyric.
Oddly enough, OMATND was rather dis-
missively sniffy about it, muttering some- thing about “lightweight tralling” (no, me neither). Well, that’s good because yours truly gets to keep the review copy and has been playing it rather a lot as a result. I sup- pose this might get it classified it as “Scandi- wegian fiddlesinging for people who don’t like Scandiwegian fiddlesinging,” but as I imagine I’m not alone, that could be some sort of high recommendation. In the words of the great TV prophetess of yesteryear, “Oi’ll give it foive”.
www.pelios.se Ian Anderson
Photo: Sami Perttilä
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