Hevra (Together)

After the controversy stirred by her debut, Ke‡e Kurdan, in 2004, the title of this album might refer to a general togetherness and not just to the collaboration with Spanish flamenco guitarist and arranger Javier Limón that is the CD's focus. Aynur is today one of the foremost exponents of Kurdish and Turkish music and wisely the sparse, clear arrangements combining traditional instruments with Spanish guitar and percussion allow the listener to focus on her voice, a powerful but subtle instrument whose rich colours are vividly painted across the different songs. The repertoire includes original and traditional songs: the intense, longing ‘Diyarbekir’, the pretty love song ‘Û;rmiye’ and the dancing ‘Min Digo Melê’ (Remembering My Little Angel). The strength of the collaboration is apparent in the inclusion of two live tracks that fit perfectly among the studio recordings: ‘XerŒw’, accompanied only by the piano of Ariadna Castellanos, is outstanding, while the driving closing track, ‘Yar Melek E’, nicely sums up the many charms of the record. A very nice touch is the inclusion of simple translations in Turkish and English of the Kurdish lyrics.