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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hypnotic and enchanting, 8 Feb 2004
Legend has it that on a recent trip to Barcelona to trace his family roots, Scott Herren - the brains behind Savath & Savalas and Hip-Hop critical darlings du jour Prefuse 73 - struck up a deep friendship with local musician Eva Puyuelo Muns, and that this album is the latest offering from this meeting of, it has to be said, diverse musical styles. Very few hip-hop beats and zero mixing here; this is closer in feel and spirit to the more experimental branches of the world music family tree. Here, world music means, literally, music that reflects more than one continent or popular movement through the ages. It does not mean rubbish pan-pipes.The album is lazy, conjuring up images of campfires and deserted beaches, of small towns with dustbowl roads and ramshackle red clay houses, of rocks and sand bleached white by the sun. Flamenco-style guitars burst in and out, soothing layers of pretty vocals dovetail over the languid percussion. Herren’s production, playful and knowing, allows the songs, based around guitar and piano, with guest appearances from concertinas, harmoniums, horns and harps, to rise and fall gently and to finish in their own time. It’s an incredibly relaxing listen, and if Warp Records haven’t yet thought about approaching the NHS to have this CD distributed as part of their Anger Management seminars, they probably should. Listening to the whole album will make you wonder why you need to rush out of work this lunchtime and run around town like you’ve only got 24 hours to live when, instead, you could just get a coffee, sit at the window and watch the world go by? Savath & Savalas. Es muy bueno et divertido!
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