North Sea Radio Orchestra - Birds (oof!)

NSRO’s eponymous first CD was easily my favourite discovery of 2007.  The term ‘Chamber Folk’ was, and remains, somewhat inescapable, but here is an ensemble in conception, composition and application that legitimately fit the bill.  This is music that really couldn’t exist without an appreciation of either the classical song or folk tradition.  Composer Craig Fortnam has a touch of the genius possessed by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s Simon Jeffes.  They share a knack for joyous, almost naive melodies that drip with a quality that is, well... as English as a buttered crumpet.  They also both have an immediately recognizable style, and I’m certainly getting a sense of the parameters of Fortnam’s compositional range – at least for this ensemble.  Again, most of the songs are settings of texts from the lions of English verse, such as Blake, Hardy, Tennyson and Chaucer.  In many respects Birds feels like the second instalment in a longer work rather than a distinct text.  The revelation of discovery is near impossible to replicate but the fact that Birds sounds so similar to the first record is by no means a disappointment or criticism.  After all Dickens’ met his public’s Great Expectations in weekly instalments.

Ted Barnes - Portal Nou (Mornington)

This is an outstanding record.  Barnes established his reputation as Beth Orton’s guitar player on (amongst others) her breakthrough album Central Reservation.  However, it’s as a solo artist that Barnes has made a record that I can recommend without any reservation whatsoever.  It’s got all the elements for which I am an unrepentant sucker: a carnivalesque and French cabaret atmosphere and an almost seamless cinematic sweep.  Recurring musical themes make Portal Nou sound like a single work in a series of movements, as opposed to a collection of unconnected songs.  Nevertheless, despite this holistic sensibility, each of the fourteen tracks still feels like a musical vignette.  Barnes has injected sufficient sonic variety into the record – the choice of instrumentation and, in particular, the presence of five very distinctive and outstanding vocalists, including Beth Orton – that repeated listening is constantly rewarded.  The overall mood is strongly reminiscent of Calexico in their most European moments (when the frontera flavour is ratcheted down a few notches).  It’s a comparison further encouraged by the presence of a recurring Calexico collaborator, singer Francoise Breut who appears on three tracks.  My only regret is that due to the lack of a domestic release and territorial restrictions on the digital sources I had no alternative but to buy this CD from amazon.co.uk.  Definitely worth the wait and even the customs duty.

Novalima - Coba Coba (Cumbancha)

Coba Coba is the ninth release from Jacob Edgar’s (formerly of Putumayo) Cumbancha label.  A very welcome player on the World Music scene, Cumbancha’s evolving catalogue is particularly rich in artists, such as Dobet Gnahoré, Chiwoniso and Habib Koité, who offer a contemporary, urban twist on deeply rooted musical traditions.  In this spirit, Lima-based Novalima use percussion rich Afro-Peruvian folkloric music as the foundation over which to layer bass, electric guitar, beat programming (courtesy of Nitin Sawhney / Bebel Gilberto collaborator Toni Economides) and the memorable vocals of Milagros Guerrero.  At times Coba Coba strays into Afro-Cuban and salsa territory.  Some of these excursions are less satisfying than others.  On occasion the electronics (which mark particular tracks for inclusion on those ‘global groove’ compilations that seem to be the mainstay of fancy martini vending downtown lounges everywhere) can be a little intrusive and cliché.  Otherwise, particularly on the less ‘busy’ tracks, Coba Coba is a solid recording.  

Trio THG - Tungen ud ad Vinduet (Go’ Danish Folk Music)

It’s easy to get a little smug about Canada’s comparatively enlightened social and cultural policies when you’re watching the US vigourously debate whether or not to include a meagre $50 million for the arts within an $800 billion stimulus package.  To do penance for that feeling of self-righteousness, I like to read about Swedish parental leave benefits and the lengths to which the Danes go to foster their folk music traditions.  Trio THG (Tophøj, Hockings & Graubæk) are an impressive product of that nurturing.  These young, thoroughly energetic, musicians are graduates of the Carl Neilsen Academy of Music in Odense, where they studied their national folk traditions in a formal academic setting that is without an equivalent in Canada.  This recording reveals artists who are clearly schooled in the tradition, without being unduly constrained by it.  Trio THG explore both traditional repertoire and their own compositions and, like the best of their Canadian peers (such as The McDades or Genticorum), they are skilled disciples of their musical roots – reverential but not deferential to the tradition.

Pacific Curls & Sarah Beattie - Pacifi Celta (Mai Music)

This is Pacific Curls third recording and – not having had the opportunity to see them perform in Canada during a BC festival tour in the summer of 2008 – my first exposure to this all-female folk trio.  Ignoring the old adage that you can’t judge a band by its CD cover, I wrongly assumed from the liner notes that the Pacific Curls’ fusion of Scottish fiddling and Maori traditions would prove to be an Aotearoan hybrid of the Wailin’ Jennys and Asani.  There are certain commonalities that sustain the comparison – most notably the rich quality of the two part vocal harmonies which evoke the Jennys; and a lyrical focus on spiritual well-being and the environment which they share with Asani.  However, the choice of instrumentation and the arrangements set Pacific Curls apart.  Close to evenly split between songs (in both Maori and English) and instrumentals, the recording is infused with an intimacy and warmth provided by the ukulele and cajon.  Meanwhile, Sarah Beattie’s expert fiddle is inter-woven with the vocals – sometimes joyously, sometimes in lament – effectively adding a third distinctive voice throughout.

Various Artists - African Reggae (Putumayo)

At their very best, genre-based thematic compilations capture the essence of a local, national or international musical movement at its creative apogee and – depending on the timing of the release – fuel, sustain, or revive an interest in a particular musical moment.  At their worst (think Muchmusic Dance Mix) compilations are a crowd pleasing path of least resistance that simply serve up the hits.  Putumayo World Music compilations, of which African Reggae is emblematic, occupy a solid middle ground.  I can’t think of a Putumayo disc that has achieves the highest possibilities of the thematic compilation; on the other hand I can’t think of a single example that panders.  If you are curious about artists who have as a common denominator both roots reggae and African nationality, then these ten tracks, predominantly from sub-Saharan West Africa, are worth a listen.  However, if you are looking for a rationale that is a little less coincidental, you might find this sampling a little disappointing.

Seprewa Kasa - Seprewa Kasa (World Music Network)

The kora deservedly occupies a special place in the affections of fans of African music. In the hands of a master such as Toumani Diabate, Foday Musa Suso or Ballake Sissoko, the crisp sound of this 21 string instrument is exquisite and unmistakable. With Seprewa Kasa musician Kari Banaman (Osibisa) is doing his best to introduce listeners to the sound of the kora's largely forgotten Ghanaian cousin the seprewa, as played by two of its foremost exponents Osei Korankye and Baffour Kyerematen. Lacking the brightness of the kora, the ten-stringed seprewa sounds warmer, more earthy than ethereal. It is easy to see how the seprewa might have become eclipsed by the guitar as the dominant instrument during the evolution of highlife. Even here, on a recording intended to restore its place in Ghanaian music, the seprewa's acoustics are frequently overwhelmed by the guitar, vocals and percussion. Nevertheless, I'm happy to play lost and found and make a little room in my heart for this ancient stringed instrument.