FREQUENCY by Naked Rhythm
Released May 2006
Reviewed by Johonna Gamble
So at Rakkasah East 2006 I walked by Mher of Peko Records and Hollywood Music, and asked what was new that he’d like to have reviewed. He handed me this lovely little gem by Naked Rythms, titled Frequency. I glanced down after the monetary exchange, and there it was…the review by Sting on a sticker. I’ve since lost the sticker since it was on the plastic wrap on the outside, but it still lingered in the back of my brain as I popped this CD in for a first listen. ‘Sting liked this album’ it implied, to which my rebellious side promptly said, “Do you like everything Sting likes? No!” Followed by a meek, “it can’t be all bad, if he put his name on the recommendation”, which turned out to be 100% true.
To give you an idea of where I was doing this review, imagine a rented mini-van traveling back and forth to the Newark, New Jersey airport picking up and dropping off various friends for the festival followed by the weeklong traveling trip that included Hershey, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. packed not only with our boys, but also a couple of friends from Portland, OR and their son before returning home in the heart of Southwest Virginia. This CD had plenty of play time!
And you know what, I didn’t get sick of it or stop listening to it when I got home. It has a great mix of music. I have to admit to not getting into track 2 because, well, while I find the whole rap on a Middle Eastern rhythms intriguing I just couldn’t click with the lyrics. Track 4 had me practicing precision hips with my finger cymbal drills and tracks 1 and 7 are great for a quick warm-up or cool down with its many phrases and phases, not even counting to the wonderful vocals on track 7 by Caitanya Reggin. I easily got moving to the rest of the tracks with skirt dances, flamenco stylings, and tribal fusion coming to mind as the album progresses. I found it so versatile I took it to play for my yoga classes. Just the right amount of time and mix to get the movement flows going.
Made up of Avi Sills who spent time with The Red Elvises and Alex Spurkel who worked with Electric Sky Church, Naked Rhythm has collaborated on several tracks that you might find familiar from other albums from Caravan Records. With lots of danceable tracks and really nice, full sounds, I look forward with anticipation to their next album.
Available at Hollywood Records, PEKO International.
