Groovin' On A Sunday Afternoon...
Lili’s Fave Downloads - October 2007 – If you’re having a dinner get- together or a cocktail party, toss one of these selections on. Music and food go hand in hand. I guarantee you’ll dig these sounds and so will your guests.
Hossein Alizadeh & Djivan Gasparyan: “Endless Vision” (World Village)
Alizadeh, an Iranian lute virtuoso and Gasparyan, an Armenian duduk player – (the duduk is a temperamental liquid-toned reed flute)- crossed long-established boundaries to record “Endless Vision” live in Tehran. They were joined in the studio by both male & female vocalists – a rare gender-mixed ensemble. The combination of traditional instruments, evocatively sensual vocals and ancient poetry create a profoundness that nearly suspends time. Track 3, “Armenian Romance” can be piercingly pleasurable and agonizing simultaneously. Like a philosophically weighty opera aria, it’s as capable of bringing tears of joy as it is of bringing tears of sorrow to the listener. This is an unflinching look through a musical lens into the psyche of a culture many of us may not understand. “Endless Vision” is the effort of two artists to stay human in a world that regards their people with suspicion on an almost constant basis. There are no apologizes offered by either Alizadeh or Gasparyan, just the purity of breath, instrument and intention that allows music to heal.
Daara J: “Global Hip-Hop” (Calabash)
Hip-hop artists from Senegal, Turkey, Brazil, Six Nations Indian Reserve and East LA bring their own distinct musical tang to this brilliant alliance. The beauty of “Global Hip-Hop” is what each artist and their respective culture brings to the table in this solid collaboration. Not a hip-hop fan you say? Keep an open mind; these musicians and MC’s aren’t about bitches and bling. This is a seriously fleshy musical gift to anyone who digs an exhilarating exchange of beat, words and verse. Track 5, “La Receta” by Kemo the Blaxican (of Latin hip-hop pioneers ‘Delinquent Habits’ fame) is a hard-hitting beat that attacks at first but then hooks you with Kemo’s powerfully smooth and commanding baritone. “La Receta” is a rapid-fire bi-lingual joint that, like all the other tracks, uses the best lyrical ingredients and technique to create an exciting mix of sounds and emotions.
Hanine y son Cubano: “10908 km” (Elef Records)
Wrap your mind around this: a full Cuban band churns out a mixture sexy salsa, rumba and Latin rhythms while backing the honey-voiced Lebanese vocalist, Hanine, as she sings traditional folk and love songs in Arabic. Behold the latest and sweetest fusion in a long time: Arabo-Cubano. The sounds are evocative, mischievous and dripping with artistic dexterity. The lonely, undulating sounds of the desert winds come together like in a dream, with the ardor and white-hot heat of sexy Havana. Hearing these two manifestly diverse styles unify on “10908 km” is like heaving yourself onto a bed in a steamy embrace with a stranger; exhilarating, a bit risky and impossible to close the senses to. If you need to amp up before a date or just want to roll your shoulders, hips and pelvis in an act of self-love, throw on the last track “Arabo-Cubano Improvisation”. I dare you not to move while listening to this amazingly corporeal cut. BTW – the album’s title “10908 km” is a reference to the distance between Havana and Beirut.
Try cooking a meal that compliments the music - not the other way around. It will open your mind to new recipe searches and ideas.
Hossein Alizadeh & Djivan Gasparyan: “Endless Vision” (World Village)
Alizadeh, an Iranian lute virtuoso and Gasparyan, an Armenian duduk player – (the duduk is a temperamental liquid-toned reed flute)- crossed long-established boundaries to record “Endless Vision” live in Tehran. They were joined in the studio by both male & female vocalists – a rare gender-mixed ensemble. The combination of traditional instruments, evocatively sensual vocals and ancient poetry create a profoundness that nearly suspends time. Track 3, “Armenian Romance” can be piercingly pleasurable and agonizing simultaneously. Like a philosophically weighty opera aria, it’s as capable of bringing tears of joy as it is of bringing tears of sorrow to the listener. This is an unflinching look through a musical lens into the psyche of a culture many of us may not understand. “Endless Vision” is the effort of two artists to stay human in a world that regards their people with suspicion on an almost constant basis. There are no apologizes offered by either Alizadeh or Gasparyan, just the purity of breath, instrument and intention that allows music to heal.
Daara J: “Global Hip-Hop” (Calabash)
Hip-hop artists from Senegal, Turkey, Brazil, Six Nations Indian Reserve and East LA bring their own distinct musical tang to this brilliant alliance. The beauty of “Global Hip-Hop” is what each artist and their respective culture brings to the table in this solid collaboration. Not a hip-hop fan you say? Keep an open mind; these musicians and MC’s aren’t about bitches and bling. This is a seriously fleshy musical gift to anyone who digs an exhilarating exchange of beat, words and verse. Track 5, “La Receta” by Kemo the Blaxican (of Latin hip-hop pioneers ‘Delinquent Habits’ fame) is a hard-hitting beat that attacks at first but then hooks you with Kemo’s powerfully smooth and commanding baritone. “La Receta” is a rapid-fire bi-lingual joint that, like all the other tracks, uses the best lyrical ingredients and technique to create an exciting mix of sounds and emotions.
Hanine y son Cubano: “10908 km” (Elef Records)
Wrap your mind around this: a full Cuban band churns out a mixture sexy salsa, rumba and Latin rhythms while backing the honey-voiced Lebanese vocalist, Hanine, as she sings traditional folk and love songs in Arabic. Behold the latest and sweetest fusion in a long time: Arabo-Cubano. The sounds are evocative, mischievous and dripping with artistic dexterity. The lonely, undulating sounds of the desert winds come together like in a dream, with the ardor and white-hot heat of sexy Havana. Hearing these two manifestly diverse styles unify on “10908 km” is like heaving yourself onto a bed in a steamy embrace with a stranger; exhilarating, a bit risky and impossible to close the senses to. If you need to amp up before a date or just want to roll your shoulders, hips and pelvis in an act of self-love, throw on the last track “Arabo-Cubano Improvisation”. I dare you not to move while listening to this amazingly corporeal cut. BTW – the album’s title “10908 km” is a reference to the distance between Havana and Beirut.
Try cooking a meal that compliments the music - not the other way around. It will open your mind to new recipe searches and ideas.
posted by Lili at 5:16 PM
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