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Miquel Gil
Katà
Galileo (www.galileo-mc.com)
Mediterranean Spain is one of the world's most culturally deep areas. Over the centuries it has served as a crossroads for travelers from Northern Africa, Greece, Turkey, and points even further east and south. So it stands to reason that the music of the region would absorb the colors of all of these disparate cultures. Valencian singer Miquel Gil's style, while rooted in flamenco, pulls threads from Greek Rembetika, Turkish Rai, and cabaret. He wraps those threads around the magical realism of the lyrics of several young Catalonian poets. The result is a collection of songs with a depth far beyond that of most flamenco albums.
Bouzouki, tar, bagpipes, accordion, crumhorn, and other sounds both sweet and acerbic provide the backdrop for Gil's impassioned, sandpapery singing. If you don't speak Catalonian, be sure to read the translations of the poetry in the liner notes. They are as surrealistic as any Salvador Dali painting. Drunken moons, dancing couples with their hands on fire, sparrows made of diamonds and silver - it's all so puzzling and seductive. The music reflects the imagery of the words, from the galloping rhythm of "Arabian Horse" to the unsettling, loopy cabaret sound of "And Turn Around." Katà is not just a work of cross-cultural experimentation, it is a profound and artistic merging of voice, words, and music. - Peggy Latkovich
CD available from cdRoots
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