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Album Pick
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Muzik Fan , Album Pick >>
AURELIO
LARU BEYA (Sub Pop NXA002)
2011 kicked off with this fine disc from Aurelio, a Garifuna singer-songwriter. The album is dedicated to Andy Palacio who was about to conquer the world when he suddenly died in 2009. Honduran music was not widely known until the Paranda album on Detour in 1998 broke it wide open for us. Aurelio Martinez was the youngest performer on there and the charismatic Palacio was most likely to bring it to the world stage. The present grouping was formed out of the tour that Palacio had assembled to achieve this. But Aurelio has not been in the shadow of Palacio, he is a very gifted guitarist and percussionist from a musical family that imbued him with the Garifuna musical traditions from his infancy. In addition we get guest vocals from the unmistakable Youssou N'Dour and a couple of other very talented West Africans: Balla Sidibé and Rudi Gomis of legendary Orchestra Baobab. N'Dour took Aurelio under his wing, and brought him to Dakar as well as having him open for him on tour. So Aurelio got to explore the African roots of his music first hand, and in addition get Etoile de Dakar to back him on one track on this album. The title cut has a wonderfully sinuous backbeat: I defy you not to move and groove to this. The album was recorded in a matter of weeks in a makeshift studio on the beach in Honduras. Ivan Duran the producer wanted to capture the old sound of the place where bands in the 60s played mambos, calypsos and ska -- everything but Garifuna music, in fact. But then the producer spent two years finessing the sound in post-production with overdubs. This does not detract from the spontaneity and beauty of the songs themselves. Aurelio is a natural and this is a wonderful album. (One drawback I have to mention is the package which is a long floppy sleeve, so the disc fell out and got lost!) 12/12/11 >> go there
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