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  | ETTORE CASTAGNA ~ EREMIA
ALFA MUSIC 251 (Barcode: 8032050022024) ~ ITALY ~ World Music & Folklore
Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022
This is a stunning album by Italian singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Ettore CastagnaFind albums by this artist recorded with some twenty of his friends from many different countries, who add vocals and play a plethora of traditional and contemporary instruments, creating an entire universe of music. The album presents eleven original songs by Castagna.
Born in Calabria, Castagna shows on this album strong Mediterranean musical influences, both vocally and even more so instrumentally. The multitude of instruments, which can be heard on this album, reveal a spectrum of Cultures, which encompasses African shores, the entire Middle East and of course Italian traditions, several languages like Greek, Arabic and local Calabrian dialect, and of course the thousands of years of history of the cradle of Civilization, which flows in the veins of the People, who live in our region.
The Folkloristic aura clearly dominates the album, although it includes many layers of more modern musical genres, including Pop, Rock and the wonderful Italian balladry, which simply cannot remain hidden for long. The songs are very melodic, but the arrangements take the listen on a magic carpet ride over the Mediterranean, as far as Persia in the East, returning always to the heel of the Italian boot, one way or another.
This is definitely a very intense journey, especially for listeners less familiar with the intricacies of the many rhythms and sounds of the vast Middle Eastern Culture, which might seem a bit outlandish at first encounter. But this is a fantastic exposure to the riches, which although out there for all to discover, are not encountered by most European listeners in their everyday contact with music.
Overall, this is a bold, highly absorbing and unusual musical adventure, combining music from European and non-European Cultures in a coherent amalgam and beautifully put together, which goes way beyond just a collection of songs. Castagna manages to create a powerful, highly Artistic and superbly aesthetic homage to Mediterranean Culture from his own Italian perspective, one of the most successful I have ever encountered. Hats off!
| | Updated: 11/02/2023Posted: 11/02/2023 | CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend |
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