COMPOSERS: Various
LABELS: World Music Network
WORKS: Unwired: Europe
PERFORMER: Various artists
CATALOGUE NO: RGNET 1101 CD
Revivals of acoustic performance across the continent are the theme of UNWIRED: EUROPE. From Ireland, Scotland and England the guitar-backed sound extends into Portuguese fado, Greek rembetika, gypsy music and flamenco, and the forces expand into brass and several choruses.
Unity within diversity is the message, though the traditions remain as distinctive as ever and the main unifying factor is high-class singing and playing. Unwiredness, it turns out, is relative: bassists don’t have to conform, and several other contributors from Russia, Norway and Finland clearly forgot to pull the plug out.