107 f
AMIRA KHEIR Mystic Dance Sterns STCD1129
Not that I’m one to say “I told you so” or any- thing, but… I’ve been singing the praises of UK-based Sudanese vocalist Amira Kheir for some years now, ever since I chanced upon her debut View From Somewhere back in 2011. Mystic Dance is Kheir’s third album and takes her mix of swaying Sudanese rhythms, jazz, soul and folk up into a higher realm.
These 10 tracks combine her own origi- nals with trad Sudanese songs, plus a spare cover of Kurt Weill’s Speak Low and the love- ly Munaya (Dream) written by Nadir Ramzy, the oud player in her band.
The arrangements on here are uniformly excellent, the various East African and West- ern elements combining together like never before. She’s aided by a fine ensemble, including Ramzy, bassist Michele Montolli, Tal Janes on guitar and drummer Leonardo Mancini. Idris Rahman from The Soothsayers is on hand, adding clarinet and tenor sax, most notably on the soaring standout title track, as well as the beautiful Nasaim Allel (Night Breeze) which also features London- based South African poet Leeto Thale. Anoth- er favourite is Zol, an adaptation of a Sudanese women’s folk song which opens with Kheir and Ramzy trading lines a capella before they harmonise over a simple percus- sion backing.
At the heart of all this is, of course,
Kheir’s voice. And what a wonderful instru- ment it has grown into. Rich, flexible, by turns plaintive and cool. Completely in con- trol.
This is world-class music made right on our doorstep. And you can’t say I didn’t tell you so. Hear what I mean on this issue’s fRoots 71 compilation.
amirakheir.com Jamie Renton SOLASTA A Case For The Curious Own Label SLSTA18
Thumbnail sketch – London-based young acoustic trio positively fizzing with great ideas play mainly Scottish tunes. Spellbinding and not to be missed. For those that need more…
While staying firmly rooted in the tradi- tion, fiddler Elisabeth Flett, cellist Hannah Thomas and guitarist Jamie Leaming launch themselves into a diverse bunch of tunes and songs with panache, verve and vigour while drawing on jazz, early music and classical influences. The album wakes you up with some peculiar rasping strings (think Balkan gypsy band tuning up the morning after a heavy night) before launching into Gavin Marwick’s Greek wedding-inspired The Plate Smasher. The 5/8 set which follows includes Gordon Duncan’s wonderful Pressed For Time, and proves that you really don’t need bagpipes, before slowing things down for Lost And Found – an Elisabeth Flett tune that builds slowly and meditatively (you can hear it on this issue’s fRoots 71 compilation). And we’ve barely started.
The trio produce a surprisingly full sound – Thomas conjures up resonant drones and percussive bowing on the cello to wonderful effect, while to contrast, Flett often plucks her fiddle. With Leaming’s sympathetic fin- ger-picking and rhythm guitar blending in seamlessly, it’s easy to forget there are just three acoustic instruments. There are a cou- ple of well-known songs (Bedlam Boys and Ewan McColl’s The Terror Time) that are given
Amira Kheir
unusual and effective readings. They’re not averse to some jolly reels from Maireread Green, or some gentle hornpipes either.
All in all, a consummately professional, beautifully produced and breathtakingly good debut album from only slightly left field, and heartily recommended.
solastaband.com Bob Walton LAU Midnight & Closedown Reveal 078
The more Lau do, the more you realise how genuinely extraordinary they are.
According to Aidan O’Rourke, this is their Brexit album, with references to fear, giddiness, cutting ties with allies, friends and partners, vehement opinion, shoutiness, the rise of the right… and all that. Kris Drever says it’s about islands… “big islands, little islands and human islands”.
And there lies the tantalising key to their hypnotic allure. Their music is palpable and real, vital and urgent; yet it’s as elusive as it is undefinable. There is no band like them – never has been. They may be rooted in tradi- tion – in all its wondrous shapes and angles – and they will happily answer to the descrip- tion of a folk band, but what they do is a unique combination of inspiration, imagina- tion and technical excellence that comes from out there, indeed very out there; and it’s dif- ferent every time they do it. Symphonic. Elec- tronic. Rootsy. Harmonic. Complex. Mysteri- ous. Joyous. Heartbreaking. But nothing with- in is designed or presented as a platform to showcase exceptional technique or instru- mental virtuosity – of which there is plenty. No noodling for the sake of it. It all makes natu- ral, perfect sense and it is deeply emotional.
This time round they’ve enlisted the help of John Parish in producing an album of rac- ing moods and textures – dark rumbling cur- rents flow incongruously beneath the confi- dent swathe of Aidan O’Rourke’s fiddle as Kris Drever serenely sings “there are two sides to this story, both of them are lies”on She Put On Her Headphones; the inherent sweetness of Toy Tigers is offset by a fast- approaching and deeply ominous cavalcade of rumbling Martin Greenery; Itshardtoseem- tobeokwhenyourenot is a constantly moving
maze of shifting patterns and intensity; flirt- ing with prog rock, Dark Secret is a meander- ing masterclass in floating melancholia; and the unsettling I Don’t Want To Die Here is probably the best song of a charged, ambi- tious album bristling with adventure and invention, undercut by sadness.
But it ends in beautiful, sober reflection with the acoustic instrumental Riad to re- state that at the heart of it all, it’s all about three wonderful musicians who have natural empathy and a deep love of playing together.
revealrecords.co.uk Colin Irwin KEVIN BURKE
An Evening With Kevin Burke Loftus Music LM009
The album is subtitled Tunes & Stories, and Burke – one of Ireland’s master fiddlers – remarks, “When I was a young boy I often found that what the older musicians had to say was just as intriguing and enriching as the tunes they were playing. Influenced by those previous generations I often tell stories (usu- ally light-hearted and sometimes true) during my concerts in order to illustrate something about the music.” To this end, and unlike many live albums, An Evening With Kevin Burke includes those stories and introduc- tions, and successfully captures the magical, intimate atmosphere that truly great tradi- tional artists can achieve, whether playing in someone’s kitchen or The Royal Albert Hall.
Within the space of one CD, Burke takes you on a captivating musical journey around Ireland, from Sliabh Luachra territory to Sligo via Roscommon, Leitrim, Portland Oregon and places between. There’s a lovely tribute to Johnny Cunningham too. There’s nothing flash or fast about his performances here; it’s just the man and his fiddle, playing impecca- bly, and somehow being absolutely spellbind- ing without any conscious effort. There are few musicians in any genre who have the charisma to carry it off solo (and if you could bottle it you’d be very rich). Pour out a Guin- ness, press the play button, and relax… when it comes to Irish fiddle music, you really could- n’t ask for a better tour guide.
loftusmusic.com Bob Walton
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 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148
