Review: Strunz and Farah - Primal Magic
Category: Music
We come across scores of musical pieces/songs that evoke memories of the good times or make us melancholy, yet, there are other types of music which can induce sheer energy into our system and titillate our inner most feelings. The type we call "nourishment for the soul". Primal Magic by the duo Strunz and Farah positively belongs to the later type.
Flamenco, pronounced FLA-MENG-CO, is described as a type of emotionally intense gypsy song, or the dance performed to it, originating from the Spanish region of Andalusia. ‘Flem’ simply means ‘gypsy’ in Spanish. Primal Magic is an album that is capable of revealing the beauty of the flamenco guitar.
For a true music lover there are no boundaries defined. Excellent albums are found in every genre. The category defined for this album is although New Age, those who like Jazz, Fusion, and World Music or to put it in proper perspective, Afro-American, Spanish, Latin, Brazilian or even Portuguese music will find this album immensely entertaining. This album requires no category and should be part of anyone's collection belonging to the lot marked "Unique Surprise".
CONTENTS AND DESCRIPTION OF THE TRACKS
1. Bola - About an encounter in L.A. with gypsies
2. Twilight at Zuq - The music surges, enchanter of serpents…. fantasy is reborn during twilight at the Zuq
3. Ida Y Vuelta - Of the music that came from Spain to the Americas and returned to its origin, transformed and that again comes and is transformed
4. Rainmaker - From the gathering of clouds that dance over the high mountains of the Copper Canyon and the rain that falls comes the abundance and blessings for the land and the people
5. Huixamatli (Luna Llena) – A mixture of rhythms, under a full moon, from Aridamerica and Mesoamerica, two regions of the continent
6. Canto Al Sol – Song of gratitude to father sun for one more dawn illuminating the face of earth, and a prayer that tomorrow he will again return to shine
7. Anochecer (Nightfall) - The celestial lady spreads her mantle of stars and we fall under her romance of nightfall
8. Tierra Verde – On blossom-laden waters come children with starlight in their eyes to play upon the green earth
9. Zumba – The bee buzzes over the honeycomb
10.Amazonas – What are the birds murmuring with their florid songs over the teeming jungles of the Amazon?
THE PLAYERS AND THE INSTRUMENTS
George Strunz hails from Costa Rica and Ardeshir Farah from Iran, both play the nylon 6 stringed flamenco guitar on each channel. The members of the orchestra hailing from Columbia, Mexico, Cameroon, Cuba and the United States play instruments as varied as Cajon, Afrocuban percussion, Precolumbian percussion, Precolumbian winds, drums, violin, bass and Synth pads.
SOUND QUALITY
The original recording was done in digital domain, however the editing which followed was performed with Analogue equipment. This resulted in a perfect marriage between Digital and Analogue. The sound is open, detailed, free from digital harshness, and in one word “CLEAN”. The instruments in the mix are as distinct as they can be. If one wishes to concentrate on a single instrument it would not be difficult to pinpoint its position on a good system. The separation of the two channels is superb. My head was going from left to right listening to the two guitarists performing on each channel, as if I was attending the final at the Wimbledon.
CONCLUSION
After listening to this album one cannot help but want to give a standing ovation (even if you are alone in the room) for the mind boggling tempo that these two virtuoso's cook up, with an equally interesting melody and to top it off, manage intricately woven complex rhythm patterns all at the same time. A feat few have managed to achieve no matter what music genre they belong to. This album embodies all the aspects of finest guitar playing, 46 minutes and 55 seconds of sheer pleasure and nourishment for the soul! If you have done some good deed lately and feel like giving a pat on your back, do yourself a favour by listening to this masterpiece. If you do decide to get the CD, you can use it to pat it on your back every now and then, titillating your inner most feelings.
