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World
and New Age Music Reviews
I
could have reviewed Lumin's
Hadra faster if I could
have stopped dancing! Wow, this
one is fun to dance to! Trance grooves,
Middle Eastern and Eastern European
chants, ethnic percussion -- that
was great enough, but then you get
the exotic voice of Irina Mikhailova,
with overtone chanting. This may
sound silly, but you know that wonderful
chanting they used in the soundtracks
to the tv show, Zena? That's
what this chanting sounds like.
It stirs a feeling of pride for
women, somehow. Mix that with the
near-frantic beat of club trance
dance music and you have an explosive
combination. Lumin co-founder Jeffery
Stott, also a founder of Stellamara,
has been referred to as “the
missing link between goth and New
Age” by Alt-Rock magazine,
Oculus. Stott studied with master
musicians in Morocco, Egypt, Iran,
and Turkey and plays a variety of
traditional instruments. Hadra features
computer programming with oud, yali-tambour,
darbuka, hammered dulcimer and other
ethnic instruments. It's exotic,
erotic, and probably hallucinogenic.
Try it when you're ready for
adventure!
- KS The
late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
was considered by many to be the
greatest qawwali artist of all time,
but he is ably succeeded by his
two nephews, Rizwan and Muazzam
Mujahid Ali Khan. Qawwali is
a traditional form of Sufi devotional
chant, and this new CD, A
Better Destiny, features
qawwali at its best. Though the
two nephews are still young, they
have extensive musical training
and both possess exquisite voices.
They sing songs of romantic love
and of alcoholic intoxication, but
their songs are metaphors for spiritual
enlightenment and mystical ecstasy.
Qawwali performers believe they
have a religious mission to invoke
in listeners a sacred quest for
Allah. In addition to the chants,
the only musical instruments heard
on this recording are the traditional
tabla and harmonium. A Better
Destiny is a hypnotic recording
and sure to induce a trance-like
state in many listeners.
- CS Infectiously
joyous and infinitely danceable
would be two appropriate ways to
describe Somos Gitanos,
the latest CD offering from the
group Gipsy Kings. The group
members originally hail from France,
but have established a worldwidereputation
and have sold more than 14 million
recordings. The Gipsy Kings blend
French, Spanish, and North African
influences in their music. From
traditional Flamenco to Middle Eastern
instrumentation, from impeccable
guitar work to impassioned vocals,
the Gipsy Kings consistently demonstrate
a virtuosity of style that has garnered
them fans around the world. Two
of the most celebratory tracks on
the CD are “Solo, Solo Dire”
and the title track “Somos
Gitanos.” Every track on this
fine CD invites the listener to
get up and dance!
-CS Music article continued next page, click here! |
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