The Whole Music Experience

Os Cempés Tentemozo FolMusica Powered by drums and bagpipes--sounds like a marriage of Arabic modes and Celtic marches, Galician Os Cempés Tentemozo offers an uplifting listening experience.   If you are a regular visitor to Whole Music Experience, then you already know about Galician traditional music.   Similar to another Galician musician Uxia, Os Cempés creates a big sound on this recording with 50 traditional musicians bringing their talent to the project. Led by Oscar Fernández, hurdy-gurdies, violins, Galician bagpipes, tambourines, guitars, and the large Galician drum join forces and ignite into popular dances from this region of Spain.   This beautiful album was funded through the generous support of the band’s 740 friends and followers.   And you’ll want to thank these people after giving this CD a listen. The album opens with the rousing Mirandosa and then launches into Pasodoble De Illa which carries some musical reminders of Spai...

Pancho Alvarez Sonche Atlántico Folmusica My sister introduced me to Galicia, a Spanish province, over a decade ago when she loaned me her copy of Paulo Coelho’s The Pilgrimage , but Angel Romero, Founder of World Music Central, introduced me to Galician music several years ago.   When many people think of Spanish music they think of flamenco or gypsy music.   I have not met many people outside of music journalism and world music audiences who even realize the diversity of musical traditions hailing from Spain’s provinces.   For instance, in Asturias and Galicia, bagpipes and large frame drums are prominent, but so are various types of lutes, accordions, strings, and instruments from other folkloric traditions.   The music ranges from jaunty sends-ups to haunting ballads.   At times, music of northwest Spain resembles other Celtic music of Scotland and Ireland. Multi-instrumentalist Pancho Alvarez features mostly original compositions on ...

Aulaga Folk A menos cuarto Armando Records This isn’t the first time a recording by the Spanish folkloric group Aulaga Folk has crossed my path. And once again I feel tongue-tied in trying to describe the folkloric music on the CD. In 2006 I reviewed the group’s no es mala leña which wed jazz to regional folk music (Extremadura, Spain). The CD was easier to describe than the current recording a menos cuarto (a quarter to the hour) which harbors elements of Celtic Spanish with Arab-Andalusian music, and yet is neither. The album comes with a CD featuring an array of special guests including other Spanish folkloric luminaries such as Javier Ruibal and Eliseo Parra, a second disc featuring mixes and a DVD with three music videos so we can see the band in action, and not just performing music, but also collecting it. The musicians feature music from the mountainous region of Spain, Hurdes, which doesn’t have the happiest of reputations and was featured in a 1933 documentary L...

I'm already looking at 2011 and what I seek regional music of France (and Corsica), Italy, Spain, Finland, Norway, and the Americas (especially Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina). I encourage labels that release this regional music to contact me by e-mail and then we'll go from there. I look forward to exploring this music. By the way, I'm always interested in acoustic music from Mali, Senegal, and Cuba. WME

Marina Rossell Clàssics Catalans… Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona World Village Only an accomplished vocalist/folkloric interpreter could open a concert with a fragile love song sung a cappella ( Touch Me ) and nearly bring the house down. However, Mariana Rossell, a Catalan folkloric specialist delivers a commanding performance ripe with heartfelt emotions. On her CD,  Gran Teatre Del Liceu  from the concert released in 2009 on World Village, I could already hear Rossell’s immaculate phrasing, and felt amazed at the life she breathed into 100 year old songs. The DVD concert offers an hour and half of sheer pleasure as the collection of songs reflecting about love, death, patriotism for Catalonia, and defiance. And if that’s not enough, Rossell treats each story as if they’re her own and she’s a consummate storyteller too. The DVD, Clàssics Catalans provides the entire sold-out concert along with a 30 minute documentary about a handful of the songs Rossell perfo...

Mayte Martin Alcantara Manuel World Village Mixing jazz, Latin American new song and flamenco Spanish guitarist/vocalist Mayte Martin celebrates the poetry of Manuel Alcàntar. The flamenco that appears on Alcantara Manuel could be described as passionate, but more melancholic than fiery. The emphasis appears to be on the text and vocals which are framed by 2 guitars (right and left channels), double-bass, percussion and violins with Martin’s voice caressing each word with soulful emotions. I’m reminded of the late Argentine new song performer Mercedes Sosa who also has the gift of igniting text with her emotive voice. Martin also possesses a powerful and sensitive alto voice. And both performers extract the soulfulness of the Spanish language while employing it as a powerful tool that travels into the hearts of their listeners. I actually had to research the Spanish prize-winning poet Manuel Alcàntar whose poems featured on this album focus on death, the sea, heartache, wa...

Photo: Gazpacho Andalu (from Joe's Pub, New York) Gazpacho Andalù Flamenco De Vuelta E Ida Independent Release Juan Manuel Cañizares Suite Iberia (Albeniz por Cañizares) Sony BMG Masterworks Gazpacho reminds me of a scene from Pedro Almodovar's "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," where the most crazed woman of them all splashes a bowl of gazpacho on the lead character. Tomato, garlic and remnants of sleeping pills run down the face of the woman and soak her dress. This is one side of Spain, (over-the-top characters), via the movie business that has shaped my life, along with hearing fiery flamenco guitar and vocals. My ancestral DNA goes on alert and my heart feels energized when I hear sounds of Andalusia. So I am delighted to have received two flamenco recordings recently. The first recording I am going to mention, Flamenco De Vuelta E Ida hails from the New York based, Gazpacho Andalù. This fusion project blends music from North Africa, South...