The Spy from Cairo
by Alex on May 25, 2012
The Spy from Cairo aka Zeb releases his latest album, Arabadub, May 29th on Wonderwheel Recordings. Zeb is Italian by birth, Gypsy by heritage and a New Yorker by residence. Music played a big part in Zeb’s upbringing as his father was a musician and would bring his friends over to play music until dawn. Zeb would stay awake to be a part of the festivities, getting his real education before he even got to school that day. Zeb has been associated with many acts in NYC, including Turntables on the Hudson for close to twelve years. In addition to the Spy from Cairo, Zeb has produced dozens of album under his name and the Organic Grooves Project. He has also remixed everyone from Baba Maal to Tosca to Billie Holliday to Novalima.
Zeb has always appreciated Middle Eastern folk music and Jamaican music. It seems it was only a matter of time before he merged the two distinct sounds into his own organic dub. Zeb didn’t want to make a sample-heavy dub album and instead he decided to play the traditional stringed instruments himself, including the oud, chifteli and saz. He also does all the programming himself, without excessive knob twiddling. Arabadub is the result of a lot of work that pays off. The Spy from Cairo has produced an incredible album that sounds open with space, not suffering from over production or a reliance on keyboards. Right from the start, Arabadub impresses with “Alladin Dub.” The deep bass lines and acoustic strings blend perfectly in a ska-infused opener. The video for “Alladin Dub” is equally as brilliant, with its artistic tribute to the adventures of Prince Achmed. This fine record proves that Middle Eastern and Jamaican music can groove harmoniously in a tight, natural dub. Grab Arabadub at your local record store on May 29th and celebrate the release with the Spy from Cairo at Nublu in NYC on June 7th.
Sarah Aroeste
by Alex on May 24, 2012
Sarah Aroeste released a new album entitled Gracia this past week. This is Sarah’s third album released on her own label, Aroeste Music. Sarah is an American-born Ladino singer and songwriter. She has spent a decade expanding upon contemporary Ladino music. Classically trained and pop-savy, Sarah mixes flamenco and pan-Mediterranean melodies on her new record. Her emphatic vocals are backed by strings and guitars in a well produced set. For those who don’t know, Ladino is the Judeo-Spanish language born in the Middle Ages. Spanish Jews were forced from Spain in the late 15th century and scattered across Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean. Sarah believes that listeners don’t need to understand Ladino in order to relate to the topics covered in Ladino songs.
“It doesn’t matter that 99.99% of the world doesn’t understand Ladino. The themes are universal, the same themes people explore today: going off to war, unrequited love, crushes, death, family dynamics. The music has crossed geographic boundaries and political ones, and the songs are often very celebratory of women – and very sexy.” – Sarah Aroeste
While Sarah was studying classical voice in Israel, she came across some Ladino music and became very interested in the language and culture of her roots. She taught herself Ladino and researched Sephardic songs. She hung out with Ladino poets as she saw the klezmer movement gain momentum. Sarah was surprised to see only a few artists were working in the Sephardic traditions. So she picked up a guitar and decided to forge her own path and write Ladino rock songs instead of becoming an opera singer. The Ladino that Sarah sings today has evolved over time, incorporating bits and pieces of languages from the different countries where Jews settled after they were forced out of Spain. “Our version of Ladino is Castilian Spanish mixed with Italian, Arabic, Portuguese, Turkish and Hebrew,” Sarah explains. It’s no surprise this pan-Mediterranean language lends itself to an eclectic album, filled with many musical styles. Listen to the fiery passion in “Gracia,” the title track from the album, below. Sarah will celebrate the release of Gracia at Joe’s Pub with Oudblues on May 31st. Catch her at the show and get your hands on a copy of Gracia today.
Niyaz
by Alex on May 23, 2012
Niyaz – “Parishaan”
Sumud
Niyaz released their third album entitled Sumud this week on Six Degrees Records. Sumud, which translates from Arabic as “steadfastness,” focuses on the ethnic and religious plight of minorities around the globe. Lead singer Azam Ali chose the title to remind people that, as she explains, “every human being should inherit the right to live with dignity and freedom upon the land on which they are born.” Niyaz, which means “yearning” in Persian and Urdu, was formed in 2005 by Ali, multi-instrumentalist Loga Ramin Torkian and two-time Grammy nominated producer and electronic musician Carmen Rizzo. Over the past seven years, Niyaz has drawn strong support from music critics and fans alike. Besides features on NPR and PRI, the Huffington Post declared the band to be “an evolutionary force in contemporary Middle Eastern music.” Niyaz has toured the world over and during their voyage, the sights and sounds of different places had a profound impact on the recording of Sumud.
“We have now traveled across the world, and those experiences have affected the journey that we are on and the direction we’ve taken on this album. We’ve performed in the Kurdish parts of Turkey during times of major conflicts, as well as other parts of the Middle East. Obviously that has affected this project. We wanted to focus on the ethnic and religious minority groups in these regions, because they have really struggled to maintain their identity. It started from us wanting to tell our story, and it has evolved into this humanitarian social message, embracing regions around Iran.” – Azam Ali
Sumud reveals a more electronic approach than Niyaz’s previous effort, Nine Heavens. A collective decision was made to give the kick drum more kick on this record. With more electronic elements and textures, the band merges acoustic and electronic sounds together in a neat collage. Kurdish, Turkish, Afghani, and Palestinian material as well as folk songs from Iran find their way on to the album. Traditional folk music as well as secular and mystical poems from the 11th to 17th centuries complete this sonic collage. Deep grooves surround Ali’s majestic voice and the harmony of electronic and acoustic music makes for an enticing listen. Oscar-winning Indian composer, musician and singer AR Rahman sings exquisitely alongside Ali on “Mazar,” an homage to Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan. Niyaz is currently on tour and they will be performing at Drom in NYC on July 22nd. Listen to “Parishaan” above and buy Sumud at your local record store.
Billy Martin & Wil Blades
by Alex on May 22, 2012
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Billy Martin & Wil Blades – “Pick Pocket”
Shimmy
Billy Martin, the drummer and percussionist for Medeski Martin & Wood, has been collaborating with Bay Area B3 Hammond organ champion Wil Blades for the past year. The two first got together at San Francisco’s groove shack, Boom Boom Room. The duo performed an impressive set at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2011. A West Coast tour followed and while on the road, the two decided to stop in Berkeley to cut Shimmy, their debut album out today on The Royal Potato Family in collaboration with Amulet Records. The duo share an appreciation for in the pocket grooves, which serve as the perfect foundation for their improvisations.
“Musically, we’ve tried to stay as loose as possible. Often we get onstage without a plan and just throw different ideas at each other. It’s rare to have that kind of trust with other musicians, where you can make something out of nothing and just see what happens. Some of the songs on the record, like ‘Deep In a Fried Pickle’ and ‘Give,’ were born out of these live improvs. I think our overall concept is to stay in the pocket and groove, but keep it open and loose at the same time.” – Wil Blades
As you’d expect, Shimmy serves up a heavy dose of organ-jazz blues and funk, harking back to the glory days of Charles Earland, Brother Jack McDuff and Groove Holmes. Wil Blades shows his mastery of the B3 all over this record. Instead of playing riffs that made the instrument popular in the 60s, Blades reveals new ideas and motifs that keep the listener guessing. Billy Martin delivers some of the tightest drumming you are likely to hear all year, as he usually does in Medeski Martin & Wood. It’s hard to believe Billy and Wil are only a duo as there is so much sound coming from the two of them on this record. For a taste, listen to “Pick Pocket” above or download the song. You can also hear “Les and Eddie” at soundcloud. Get out to your local record store or the Amulet Records’ store and grab the LP / CD today.
Some other titles released 05/22/2012:
Harmonia – Hidden Legacy
Hi-Fi – The Complete Collection
Joey Ramone – …Ya Know?
John Zorn – Templars: In Sacred Blood
Magic Sam – Raw Blues: Magic Sam Live 1969
Michael Bloomfield – Blues at the Fillmore 1968-1969
Niyaz – Sumud
Ravi Shankar – The Ravi Shankar Collection
Sarah Aroeste – Gracia
The Cult – Choice of Weapon
The Knack – Havin’ a Rave-Up! Live in Los Angeles, 1978
V/A – Turkish Tradition: Masterpieces of Turkish Musical Culture
Harmonia
by Alex on May 21, 2012
Harmonia release Hidden Legacy, their latest album on Folk Sounds Records, on May 22nd. This group from Cleveland is well versed in the traditional folk music of Eastern Europe, ranging from the Danube to the Carpathians. Hungarian, Slovakian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian and Gypsy traditions are represented in Harmonia’s beautiful music played on authentic instruments. Styled after turn of the century East-European Gypsy bands, Harmonia’s musicians have performed in many settings, from Carnegie Hall to community balls. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, many talented musicians migrated from Eastern Europe to the United States. They came with a passion for keeping traditional music alive and have succeeded in cities such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Chicago. Alexander Fedoriouk, who plays cimbalom in the band, notes that little has changed in the music that Harmonia perform.
“Someone writes a pop tune and it’s gone. But this music is still with us and still popular. You could have heard the music on the album, the music we perform, centuries ago. We put our little twist on things, but the core, the root remains the same.” – Alexander Fedoriouk
Harmonia uses instruments as varied as accordion, upright bass, violin, panflute, and cimbalom (the East-European 125 string hammered dulcimer). On Hidden Legacy, Harmonia even incorporate a six-foot-long shepherd’s flute into their music. The band is lead by their founder, Walt Mahovlich, who plays accordion. Joining him are Alexander Fedoriouk (cimbalom), Beata Begeniova (vocals), Steven Greenman (violin), Jozef Janis (violin), Andrei Pidkivka (nai & sopilka), Branislav Brinarsky (bass, fujara, gajdice, vocals), and Ken Javor (bass). The musicians come from different Eastern European backgrounds and are all accomplished performers. Hidden Legacy takes listeners on a journey behind the unmarked doors of halls and churches, down into the basements where traditions are kept alive with music and dance. Check out a video of Harmonia playing “Kolomyjka” on Baltimore TV below. Celebrate a legacy of Eastern European culture and pick up Harmonia’s latest effort at your local record store.
