Top of the World

Son de la Frontera
Son de la Frontera
Nuevos Medios NM15856CD
Full Price (45 mins)
*****

Son de la Frontera hit 2006 running with this disc, intensifying the energy generated by a recent spate of innovative flamenco recordings from artists young and old. Things get off to a scintillating start with the staccato, metal-tipped heels on wood of Pepe Torres, accompanied by the rasping rhythmic comp·s hand-clapping of Manuel Flores. To follow with plangent Arabic modal riffs played by Raul RodrÌguez on a metal-strung Cuban tres rather than a flamenco guitar is to celebrate vintage traditions and the radical present in the same moment.
Compositions and popular pieces associated with late guitar maestro Diego del Gastor are given an emotional attack and some brilliantly resonant colours. Moi de Moronís rootsy voice and the devilishly mature playing of the five MorÛn de la Frontera musicians belies their age. Those involved bring blues and rock to a pedigree of growing up in flamenco (RodrÌguez is singer Martirioís son and Torres is Gastorís grand-nephew).
Cuban sensibilities lie deep inside a Spanish-Moorish core while at times South American traces conjure up everything from tango to Venezuelan harp to Mexican music. There is a bucolic, open-air aesthetic within the profound dynamic created between tres, flamenco guitar, feet, voice and percussion that evokes something primeval. As their name testifies, Son de la Frontera push hard and deep at flamenco frontiers.
Jan Fairley

Salsa Celtica
El Camino
Discos Leon DSLCD001
Full Price (48 mins)
*****

Hybridity (or fusion) in music, art and food is about as fashionable as it gets. Bands like Ozomatli (rap-rock-salsa), Ojos de Brujos (flamenco-dance) and Ska Cubano (work it out) are pushing boundaries and gaining plaudits. But a 13-piece salsa-Scottish folk hybrid? It sounds about as likely as a banana-producing heather plant.
Salsa Celtica were formed in 1996 as a Scottish salsa band performing in the clubs and pubs of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Traditional Scottish musicians would sometimes play along and the band realised that bagpipes, fiddle and whistle worked well with more conventional salsa instruments such as trumpet, piano, timbales and congas. Three albums and countless tours later, Salsa Celtica have released El Camino (the road), their most potent so far.
The opening track ëPaíl Rumberosí (for the partygoers) is a typically exuberant good-time salsa track. It starts with the upbeat rhythms of timbales, piano and trumpet before fiddle and tin whistle are seamlessly stirred into the mix. Like virtually all the songs, it is sung in Spanish and initially one might think that it was simply salsa played with traditional folk instruments. A closer listening reveals a Scottish reel played on fiddle and pipes overlaid onto Latin rhythms in midstream. One or two tracks seem to owe more to the reel than the rumba. The sublime beauty and dignity of Eliza Carthyís voice on ëThe Grey Cockerelí (the only song in English) is such that the pianoís rolling Latin rhythms barely tiptoe into the song.
Unlike some salsa artists, whose repertoire is limited to either high-energy exuberance or schmaltzy crooning, Salsa Celtica have real emotional range. ëLuna Llenaí (full moon) is plaintive and measured whilst ëFuego, Alma y Pazí (fire, soul and peace) is a gentle, understated song whose delicate harp playing adds an ethereal tone. El Caminoís passion, energy and virtuosity suggest that Salsa Celticaís form of fusion has far to go. A road well worth following.
Roland Howard

Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Long Walk To Freedom
Heads Up HUCD3109
Full Price (55 mins)
****

Itís been two decades now since Paul Simon introduced Ladysmith Black Mambazo to Western audiences through the Graceland album, and since then they have become one of the most successful live acts in the world. It seems they are performing almost every night this year, with yet another British tour slotted in between April and June. And yet they still have a problem ñ how can they keep recording new CDs to match their concert appearances? Theyíve tried a bit of everything, including the dreadful Chillout Sessions, and the curious 2004 No Boundaries collaboration with the English Chamber Orchestra, in which they attempted Bach and Mozart. Now comes a reworking of their old favourites, in the company of both Western and African celebrities, and itís a marked improvement ñ though there are still occasional problems when the stars join in.
ëDiamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoesí is still a delight, but Melissa Etheridge doesnít add anything of value, and the same is true for Sarah McLaughlanís appearance on the over-recorded but charming ëHomelessí. Natalie Merchant makes an agreeably low-key contribution to ëRain Rain Beautiful Rainí and Emmylou Harris leads off on a pleasantly cheering version of ëAmazing Graceí, while Taj Mahal adds growled vocals and an unexpected burst of bluesy guitar to ëMbube (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)í. The best is left until the end, with a glorious treatment of the anthem ëShosholozaí, featuring such celebrated South Africans as Hugh Masekela, Lucky Dube and Thandiswa. Itís followed by the patriotic title-track and one new song, ëThula Thulaí, in which Ladysmith prove that their harmony singing is still as glorious as ever.
Robin Denselow

Frigg
Oasis
Northside NSD 6086
Full Price (47 mins)
*****

Oasis is a stunning album. With three members of the J‰rvel‰ family in the band, quality is guaranteed and the Larsens, from the heart of the Norwegian tradition, bring wonderful Hardanger fiddle playing especially in the beautiful ëToastmasters Marchí. Thereís a breathless bluegrass-style Swedish polka, a tip of the hat to Quebecoise brilliance in ëTepeqí (inspired by the sounds of Ingrian shepherd music), and a deeply moving version of the traditional ëPeltoniemen Hintriikin Surumarssií (a folk musicianís funeral march). The latter features a chamber orchestra led by one of Finlandís top violinists and conductors, Pekka Kuusisto. Thereís a dobro in there, nyckelharpa and Estonian bagpipes ñ a real mixture lovingly crafted together with a wicked twinkle in the eye. Not to mention space for everyone on the dance floor.
Fiona Talkington

Ion Petre Stoican
Sounds from a Bygone Age Vol. 1
Asphalt Tango ATR 0805
Full Price (45 mins)
****

ëGolden Agesí are all the rage these days. Networkís Golden Afrique discs are bringing treasures from the 70s and vintage Cuban recordings display the Buena Vista stars in their youth ñ so why not a Golden Age of Romanian music? Indeed, the early years of Ceaus?escuís regime (from 1965) were a breeze compared to what came later, and Henry Ernst of Asphalt Tango has licensed a gem here from the Romanian state label Electrecord.
The disc opens with a marvellous cimbalom flourish from Toni Iordache, actually the most celebrated musician in the band who brought the musicians together and made the arrangements. The story behind the recording is extraordinary. Stoican played fiddle in the coastal resort of Constant?a and was not well known in Bucharest. But in 1965 he apprehended a man behaving suspiciously and took him to the police. The man turned out to be a sought-after spy and the securitate offered a reward. What Stoican wanted more than anything was to make a record. This is how he came to perform with a large lautari band of the top musicians, such as Iordache on cimbalom (who comes across marvelously) and Costel Vasilescu on trumpet.
Stoican is a good player too with a strong lyrical line in the opening hora and virtuoso flair in the fast ëBriu din Oltenit?aí, from his home town. The success of the record earned Stoican a firm place on the Bucharest wedding circuit and he played successfully in the capital until his death in 1990, shortly after the revolution.
Simon Broughton

Mariem Hassan
Deseos
Nubenegra LC12703
Full Price (55 mins)
****

One plaintive wail into Deseos and weíre in the western Sahara ñ all cruel beauty and vast nothingness ñ contemplating our insignificance and, indeed, whether this very personal album will finally see Mariem Hassan crowned queen of the desert blues. It should ñ those who caught her showcase at last yearís WOMEX expo were blown away by the powerful, confident delivery of Hassan. Wearing a blue jeweled headscarf, she sang in her native Hassania (the language of the nomadic Saharaui people, latterly of the refugee camps of southern Algeria) with a voice as raw as gravel. The Barcelona-based mother of five led her quartet through a modernised version of the haul style of music. Few watching knew that she had recently beaten cancer, but Hassan has always been a fighter. When her first husband refused to let her sing, she divorced him, joining a touring group whose lyrics were aimed at motivating social and political action.
Produced by the late Baba Salama, streaked with traces of reggae, rock and, of course blues, Deseos conveys the dignity and determination of the displaced through songs of love, faith and resistance. ëLa Tumchu Annií (donít desert me) is a reminder that her peopleís situation remains unsettled, ëMagat Milkitna Dulaaí (Never) is a riff-heavy take on ëlove-thy-neighbourí sentiments, and the well known ëLíIntifadaí is an electrified number about the occupied territories. A feminist icon if ever there was one, Hassan has an entire desertís worth of cred.
Jane Cornwell

Maurice El MÈdioni & Roberto Rodriguez
Descarga Oriental
Piranha CD-PIR2003
Full Price (62 mins)
*****

What a blindingly obvious idea, in retrospect. El MÈdioni, the sprightly 77-year-old Algerian Jewish exile (probably the sole exponent of the Arab-Latin-jazz hybrid he terms ëoriental pianoí) forged his style under the influence of black and Puerto-Rican GIs in the nightspots of 40s Oran. Here he is teamed up with a Latin band. Simple. But who would have guessed it would turn out to be this good?
El MÈdioniís rippling oriental keyboard riffs rise to the occasion so buoyantly and gracefully that he sounds at times like a North African Eddie Palmieri. That thick, measured New York Latin bass, so different from any bass El MÈdioni has previously recorded with, is perfect. The richly syncopated percussion ñ totally distinct from El MÈdioniís usual straight ahead darbuka and drum kit ñ is subtle and powerful.
There are few other embellishments: a tres as piquant as the rouille in an Oranais fish soup; a trumpet redolent as much of the banda in Oranís bullring as of a Cuban septeto; and a grainy electronic organ in the moody guajira-ised ëTu NíAurais Jamais Duí. Roberto Rodriguez, notable for his outstanding work with Marc Ribot, leads the accompanists on percussion, and the rhythms are grippingly well-adapted, ranging from son and guaracha variations to a hypnotic shekere-boosted dengue. The nine satisfyingly meaty tracks are partly instrumentals and partly vehicles for El MÈdioniís gruff amiable voice, crooning the praises of ëbelle Èpoqueí Oran ñ the aperos, the nougatiers, the Casino de Canastel with the great entertainers who gave it ìla classe et le prestigeî. Qualities this record exudes with every note.
Philip Sweeney

Toumani DiabatÈís Symmetric Orchestra
Boulevard de LíIndÈpendance
World Circuit WCD074
Full Price (53 mins)
*****

As the worldís greatest kora (harp-lute) player, Toumani DiabatÈ is the guardian of a profound musical heritage. But that doesnít prevent him finding new and exciting ways of presenting the Mande tradition of West African music. This reviewer first saw him playing with the Symmetric Orchestra at the Hogon club in Bamako about 18 months ago, and it was a thrilling experience. Seated centre-stage with his kora and surrounded by electric guitars and a battery of five percussionists, it sounded like an Africanised-version of a Grateful Dead jam. Yet fantastic as it was live, it was difficult to see how such a freeform approach would transfer successfully to the recording studio.
I should not have worried, for producer Nick Gold has focused the project quite brilliantly. DiabatÈís playing is full of virtuoso technique in which he seems to be picking out bass, solo and rhythm all at once, yet thereís no showboating. His kora is joined by other traditional instruments such as ngoni (lute) and balafon (xylophone) as well as electric guitars, bass, keyboards and drum kit but the blend lives up to the bandís title and everything fits with perfect symmetry. Itís topped by sublime vocals (both male and female), a string section, and funky brass led by Gorillaz musical director Mike Smith and Pee Wee Ellis. Standout moments include the sinuously twisting rhythms and punchy horns of ëYa Famaí, the more reflective ëHoundotií (which features some sublime vocal harmonies) and the dramatic Afro-pop closer ëAwoutuí. Is it too early to venture a contender for album of the year?
Nigel Williamson

V‰rttin‰
Miero
Real World CDRWX135
Full Price (46 mins)
****

Potent vocals and quirky inventiveness have been V‰rttin‰ hallmarks since Finlandís leading band burst onto the scene in the early 90s. Their witty, quasi-feminist take on ancient songs coupled with a dynamic stage presence have taken them far. Their untiring musical energy belies the fact that theyíve notched up nine great albums in what is now an astonishing 23-year history.
Miero (outcast), their tenth album, does not disappoint and runs the gamut of their intriguing styles. ëRienaí (anathema) opens with the bandís signature, sharply-close harmonies spat out as if the three singers personified wild creatures weaving dangerous spells, and the vocals are offset by fiery fiddles and rock-edged guitars. ëValheí (the lie) slows the pace down and the rock elements gradually mellow for the swingy ëMataleenaí and the gorgeous ëMaariaí. A host of influences texture the extraordinarily rich sound tapestry, from middle and Eastern Europe to Bulgarian and Celtic fringes. By the time we reach the bittersweet ëLupausí (the promise) with its interwoven gleaming threads and the tongue-twisting patterns of the game song ëEeramaí we have heard a V‰rttin‰ that is as fresh and feisty as when they first formed. Itís a great ploy to end with the wistful ëVaiten Valvoiní (I lay awake) as it makes you want to start all over again.
Not one Finnish group sits on its laurels. Miera, alongside the music V‰rttin‰ recently co-composed for the forthcoming Lord of The Rings stage production, will no doubt deservedly bring them to an even wider public.
Jan Fairley

N. Rajam and Sangeeta Shankar
Violin Dynasty
Sense 073
Full Price (54 mins)
*****

The two exceptional musicians on this disc, N. Rajam and Sangeeta Shankar (mother and daughter respectively) have virtually become ambassadors of North Indian violin playing. After being so used to hearing great violinists from the South, this Hindustani recording is a revelation. The playing style of N. Rajam and Sangeeta Shankar obviously owes a great deal to the sarangi, and what is near miraculous is how mother and daughter retain elements of the vocal style of this other bowed instrument but remind us that they are playing the violin through little characteristic quirks or tricks. Some of these are reminiscient of South Indian violin playing ñ especially the gamaka (ornaments) ñ which is not surprising considering the two womenís family heritage (N. Rajamís father, A. Narayana Iyer, was a well-known Karnatic violinist). Interestingly, these ëSouth Indianismsí become more noticeable as things speed up, especially on the faster gats (compositions) of tracks four and five. The move from a slow sarangi style to fleeter South India-inflected playing is particularly effective, and it adds greatly to the interest and contrast between the different sections. The playing in the first raga, ëBageshrií, is particularly exquisite, especially during the slow gat in the ektal (a 12-beat tal). The sparse but ringing tabla playing here, by the wonderful Ramkumar Misra, is a perfect accompaniment. They finish off with a lighter, but no less charming, performance of ëRaga Mishra Khamají. All in all, this is a wonderful disc that I canít recommend highly enough.
Maria Lord