Furthermore, pagans (defined as "the folks we hang out with") love this stuff.
I hope to prove this in subsequent issues by having other reviewers join in with coverage of material from Celtic, African, Asian and South American cultures, as well as the latest from Reclaiming or Kenny and Tzipora.
First up is a lively CD from Romania, Taraf de Haidouks (Nonesuch). It's a selection of songs and dance tunes from a number of earlier albums by a multi-generational group of Gypsy musicians. (The name means "Band of Brigands.") The melodies are carried by mournful violin, accordion and zitherlike instruments called cymbulums. Men sing most of the songs, though one, the lovely "Dumbala Dumba," has a female lead. The songs are mostly contemporary ones about dictators and love; the informative liner notes explain that the more traditional songs would have been about pirates and princesses. The notes also include translated lyrics. Some of these songs rock and would also do well as accompaniment to a circle dance.
More than one culture has developed the strange form of vocalization called throat singing, including the Inuit and Tibetan monks. On Back Tuva Future (Warner Brothers), we meet Ondar, the best-loved proponent of this style from the Siberian Tannu Tuva region. You'll be hard pressed to believe that what you hear isn't just studio enhancement or synthesized. Throat singing doesn't exactly have a wide range, but Ondar also sings in other Tuvan modes, sounding like a jolly Popeye. Yet the sounds grow on you, and are enhanced (to my taste, at least) by the Western musical settings producers David Hoffner and Jim Ed Norman have added: some electronica here, some bluegrass there, whistling wind and hoofbeats throughout.
They've added a few notable guest performers such as Willie Nelson (providing a English translation of a wistful recital about changing times in Tuva). The strangest guest is the late physicist Richard Feynman. Feynman was fascinated by Tuva after running across its exotic postage stamps, though he never visited the area. His chants, drumming and story-telling are featured on several cuts. The liner notes, with some lyric translations, are useful and entertaining.
Ondar sings primarily about horses: getting them, having then, riding them across the steppes. His music, and the music of Tuva generally (according to the notes), are about horses and the land, which is presumably why his music melds so well with bluegrass and Native American music. Some of the slower pieces probably would do well as ritual mood-setters. (" Tuvan Groove," which opens the album, has already found approval from Madison Avenue -- I've heard it in a Mervyn's California television ad.)
Finally, the CD that jumpstarted this column, from local Cajun group Les Femmes d'Enfer comes Hot Flash! (Swing Cat), their debut. About time, too, say their fans. Les Femmes have been around since 1994, so they haven't exactly rushed things. (My French isn't strong, but doesn't their name translate as Women from Hell?) They play pretty hot fiddle, accordion, guitar, bass and frottoir (sounds interestingly naughty, but their Web site reveals this to be a "rub board"). If your rituals consist of two-stepping, waltzing and generally rollicking, you need this album. Unfortunately for us Anglophones, song lyrics aren't included, except for a cute waltz about Alexina Rie, daughter of one member.
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