Ala Nar, Ala Nar
Abuel Paz Records, Eugene, OR.
Reviewed by: Johonna Gamble
When Zaina handed me this album and asked me to review it, I was thrilled. Mostly because I’d had a chance to visit with Astryd deMichele, who does the zills for this album, at Rakkasah East this past year, but also because it has a couple of musicians whom I have seen working out of Eugene. Musicians I have enjoyed dancing with/to and listening to live. As I worked through this album I was surprised at the choice of songs and sounds that make this a good staple of Middle Eastern songs while being a homegrown album.
As with any album, there is always love and care put into getting the music ready, recording, mixing, etc.. There is lots of money too. Anybody who tells you otherwise either hasn’t done it, or is unaware of the expenses for lawyers (registering your band name, making sure the contracts are fair…stuff like that), membership fees to ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, or that studio time and practice time costs. And this is all before the publicity machine even starts rolling in order to promote an album, so anyone who decides to put out an independent record has a bit of cash and a whole lot of dedication invested.
This album has all the earmarks of having time dedicated to it. It also has some of the issues that face new artists putting out their first record without the corporate man looking over their shoulder. Things like sound levels, song pacing, album pacing and consistency through an album….and if you doubt me, I encourage you to read some of the stories about bands who spent years in the studio getting it ‘just right’ before releasing an album that sold millions of copies and the horror stories they are more than happy to share about the producer/mixer telling them for the umpteenth time, “That was great….Now could you do it one more time?” The list is long.
I know what I just wrote seems pretty harsh, when in fact I find this album to be a great first step out with an independent record label. These are some very talented musicians and performers, who obviously love Middle Eastern music and have put lots of hard work, time and effort into a pretty decent freshman album. I enjoyed the selection of songs and found many of their arrangements engaging. I found many of the pieces on this album are good tracks to practice dancing to and look forward to hearing about their worldwide success as they expand out from Oregon and its environs.
1. Cretan Syrtos
2. Tapancaman Sapini
3. Hicaz Oyun Havasi
4. Na'Asa
5. El Samer
6. Hani
7. Samai
8. Ayas Yollarinda
9. Hamama
10. Travelling
11. Zeina
12. Kalenin Bayir Duzu
13. Karsilama
14. Sulukule
Lyric translations are provided on the CD jacket for the Turkish vocal pieces!