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Homogenic - Björk samples
Scary!
It is a strange look but love the music.
...For this ambitious project, Balke assembled an equally ambitious set of artists. Central to the recording are French-Moroccan singer Amina Alaoui and violinist Kheir Eddine M'Kachiche. These two musicians are the Eastern herbs that give Siwan its most potent Moorish notes. Next in the mix is the liquid mercury tone of trumpeter Jon Hassell, who approximates with brass what M'Kachiche achieves with gut strings. As necessary to this musical image as in Latin jazz is the percussion provided by Helge Norbakken. The wrapping of this musical gift is provided by the guidance of Balke and Bjarte Eike's Barokkosolistene, providing the Western element to this recording...The focus of Siwan is not one of strict musical scholarship, but rather the imagining of what music would have sounded like at a certain place and time lost to antiquity. That time and place is medieval Andalusia, the southern most region of Spain, where Muslim, Christian, and Jewish intellectual cultures mingled unmolested before the Spanish Inquisition. Balke's studies of the history and writings of the region revealed a thematic universality among the Sufi poets and the Catholic and Sephardic mystics, a fact clearly evident in the texts chosen for this special recital: literary works as seemingly diverse as the martyred Moor Al- Aallaj's "Thualthiayat" and San Juan de la Cruz's (St. John of the Cross), ecstatic "Todo ciencia trascendiendo" ("Rising Beyond All Science"). http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=33095
...What began as an imaginary act actually inspired this group of musicians to delve deeper into a culture that shed its light during the "dark" ages. The research for this project has led Balke to many epiphanies. The baroque music, which can be traced to his work with the Magnetic North Orchestra, in its earliest form was enormously influenced by Spanish music. Another key element to this music is vocalist Amina Alaoui, a scholar of philology, linguistics and dance, and a prominent exponent of the ancient music style gharnati (which can be translated as "music from Granada.") Her singing is gorgeous throughout and she took a prominent role in shaping and directing the music on Siwan and its adaptation to the ancient writings.Deceiving in its simplicity, beguiling in its quiet strength, this music is not going to grab you on the first listen. It needs time to build, to enter your consciousness slowly and with feeling. But once it is there it will hold you in rapt attention. The overall feeling is of music with a Middle Eastern feel, but with different flavors as other influences slowly surface. The 11 tracks here exhibit a patient grace as they are crafted in deep tones where the overall feeling is one of shadowy contemplation. This move makes the music consistently intimate and crucially direct. The various compositions are united by a tranquil drifting quality that ebbs and flows in ponderous undulation—very restful, mesmerizing. There are great depths here and strong sonic color....http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=34401
The Blues Project, Lazarus LP
