World > Balkans World

Taraf de Haidouks - Band of Gypsies

Advantages: Fast, lively, talented, rare sounds
Disadvantages: None that I can think of except it might be difficult to understand lyrics

...a little bit about the band as I notice there is a distinct lack of reviews about them. Taraf de Haidouks are the Buena Vista Social Club of Europe, they're unbelievably talented musicians from a small village in Romania. The band line-up changes and they are forever willing to experiment with other musicians. Having been to a few live concerts of them myself, I can say that they are very open, friendly, talented and create a vigour and excitement ...
...on to the album - Band of Gypsies was recorded in Bucharest in the year 2000, it was the 4th album put out by Taraf De Haidouks, looking to integrate other Balkan styles they invited Kocani Orkestar (from Macedonia), Filip Simeonov a clarinet player from Bulgaria and percussionist Tarik Tuysuzoglu from Turkey to play alongside them on this masterpiece. Apart from the aforementioned songs, there are also a collection of live songs taken from a concert ...

dangaroo 28.04.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Band Of Gypsies [Digipak] - Taraf De Haidouks

'JOANNA...A Hymn of Devotion

Advantages: incredibly underrated music very well produced and presented
Disadvantages: none

...Devotion’ James Young's Joanna was made on the battered upright piano in his house - an instrument most pianists would reject without a moment's hesitation. Bad pianos - in pubs, bars, clubs, cafes and the parental home - are the bane of musicians and music teachers: the sustain pedal doesn't work; the felts are worn; mezzopiano is indistinguishable from fortissimo. And that's before you get on to the problem of keeping it in tune. Players develop ...
...wisdom on its head. Joanna is a hymn of devotion that both dignifies and delights in his old piano's imperfections. As Billy Jenkins wrote in Notes on Crap Pianos: "Years of warp and deterioration have ripened each mechanical artefact into its own unique sound. Do not attempt music scored for a good piano." Young describes his piano as "a ready-made that needed to be celebrated for its intrinsic peculiarities". There are antecedents: Virginia Astley's ...

JLWguardian 28.10.2009 · Read full review

Review of Joanna - James Young

"Remembering The Day", thought provoking and uplifting music!

Advantages: Beautiful, thought provoking and uplifting music
Disadvantages: none

"Remembering The Day" is such an evocative, beautiful, touching and sensual album, composed / performed by the multiple award winning violinist / composer Catya Maré. I´d like to recommend it to everybody who likes world / ambient / new age music! It is highly original. A mixture of ambient / electronica / classical / new age and world elements. And, in my opinion, it really touches your soul, leaves you refreshed after listening. Catya´s violin ...
...special. In some of her songs she combines her mesmerizing violin sound with a choir, that adds an ethereal quality to the song. I love it! If you like Deep Forest, Enigma, Delirium or classical crossover artists like Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli you might love this one. Worth the money... Cheapest buy at: http://www.soundloud.com/catyamare.aspx Also check out her websites..... www.catyamare.com or www.myspace.com/catyamar ...

Harry112222 27.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Remembering The Day - Catya Mare

LIGHT LONGING....sensual, gorgeous instrumental songs

Advantages: Original, uplifting, worth the money
Disadvantages: none

Light Longing is such a beautiful, touching and sensual album, composed / performed by the multiple award winning violinist / composer Catya Maré. I´d like to recommend it to everybody who needs some positive energy...it is highly original music. A mixture of ambient / electronica / classical and world elements. And, in my opinion, it really touches your soul, leaves you refreshed after listening. Catya´s violin sounds more like a female voice than ...

Harry112222 27.10.2009 · Read full review

Review of Light Longing - Catya Mare

Laundry Service - Easily Shakira's best album to date

Advantages: Fantastic album
Disadvantages: Need to brush up on your Spanish

It is an unfortunate fact of life for the many thousands of talented latin musicians that, if you want to make it on a worldwide scale, you have to learn to sing in English. This was powerfully illustrated in the late 1990s by Ricky Martin, and in 2001 when Shakira's third studio album - but only her first in the English language - expanded her appeal from the confines of the Spanish-speaking world and sent her global. Of course the fact that the ...
...coupled with the fact that Shakira herself is a multi-talented mega-babe, did her progression no harm at all. The album itself is an appealing mix of traditional latin beats, pop and ballads, with a number of tracks still sung in her native tongue - but not enough to make the album unlistenable to the monolingual masses (of which I am one). OBJECTION - Starting with a typical Tango-Argentino introduction, the song bursts into life with a lyrical ...

rabidbadger 04.10.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Laundry Service - Shakira