In review--Impressions of Multicultural Quebec
Sagapool Coop Faux Monnayeurs Independent Release/Canada Similar to the French music collective Lo’Jo, Quebec’s Sagapool collectively represents a multicultural stew on its self-titled album. However, as mentioned in the press notes, Sagapool performs meditative music. Not to confuse meditative with new age, this sextet lead by clarinetist Guillaume Bourque musically ponders the Great White North, and oddly sounds like Finish or Norwegian folk music. Sure, the musicians toss the words Klezmer and Balkan around in the band’s description, and we do hear an Eastern European gypsy tinge, especially on an upbeat song Marcel , which sounds like the circus rolled into town. However, I can draw comparisons between this Quebecois band and European musical acts, but by the end of the day, the best descriptor is original. Now, I’ve never traveled to Quebec so I am left with a mystical description of the place--some far off land, bordering the US and ...