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Tri Muzike
Un vègh pes marii
Felmay (www.felmay.it)
Tri Muzike always manage to surprise. With Un vègh pes marii (a strange ocean fish), they present a varied repertoire that is not fishy at all but rather fluid like an eel, calling in at ports in Turkey, Greece, their native Occitania, Romania, Cyprus and Bosnia. This flexibility is not restricted to the choice of the material but carries itself over to the entire presentation: there are traditional oriental tunes, Slavic Balkan sounds and finally a return to their roots in the Occitanian. Not that this is the complete story, as the music cavorts and caresses, getting you off your seat or forcing you into inane air-guitar poses without really knowing why, until it leads you into quite a pensive retreat. The music continually changes, evolves and gets you involved. On "Oriental Rumba" the esteemed members of Tri Muzike have certainly done their fieldwork, and executed what they found with zeal and zest. Their interpretation is spot-on, even if the heavily accented vocals create a heavily dystopian feeling in this song about "exotic women from the Orient/who are like cold water," sung by a Western European woman, Paola Lombardo.
The seven members of Tri Muzike combine percussive instruments with a lot of horns to achieve their unique and deeply gratifying mix of jazz and Balkan/Oriental music. A darbouka, a trumpet, clarinet, oboe, sax, nay, kaval and zampogna as well as acoustic and electric bass, electric and classical guitar, bouzouki and laoud feature among the instruments used. Particular mention should be made about the vocals of Lombardo, who provides a constant in the rhythmic metamorphoses of the musical background.
Tri Muzike create a musical canvas that has an continuity that, despite being loyal to the original versions, still sounds exotic. Their optimism and love for their repertoire is deeply contagious and although this record has its pensive, melancholic moments, it maintains a highly energizing and joyous feeling. A daring proposal, but one that succeeds on all counts, and is recommended for anyone interested particularly in Greek, Turkish or Balkan music. - Nondas Kitsos
Visit the artists' web site: www.trimuzike.it
CD available from cdRoots
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