From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V6 #181 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Monday, June 26 2000 Volume 06 : Number 181 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Saint Etienne, "Sound of Water". Music Review [Craig Gidney Subject: Saint Etienne, "Sound of Water". Music Review On the surface this reminds me of the best of the Carpenters, and those dreamy soundtracks from `70s After School specials. It's very placid, with Sarah Cracknell's very white vocals reminiscent of Karen's voice in spirit if not in sound. Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs' songs are classic AM fare, simple, uncomplicated and bright. Period flute solos and harpsichords creep into the mix. However, underneath the retro-trappings and lemony rhythms, there's something more substantial at work. Modern technology, in the form of burbles and burps, percolates and creates concentric circles in the pond of memory. The lyrics are tableaux, snapshots of life from that seemingly idyllic time. Both "Downey, CA" and "How We Used to Live," exemplify this, examining middle-class life in brief character sketches against frothy lounge backdrops. Both "Heart Failed (In the Back of a Taxi)" and "Boy is Crying" hint at but never dip completely into slightly more complicated situations. Cracknell's flat reading of this material makes her more a narrator than a participant. "Sound of Water" is a song-cycle about memory, how we filter the past and what lies below the bright surfaces. It's framed by two very Air-like, lovely instrumentals. - --Craig http://www.saint.etienne.net __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 13:51:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Craig Gidney Subject: Rajna, "Ishati" & "Yahali." Music Reviews. In many religions, the spirit possesses the truly devout. This manifests itself by the possessed speaking in tongues, and dancing around wildly. It is very scary to witness, especially if the religion is not our own: who can forget documentary film images about Santeria when a practitioner becomes possessed by one of the deities? The same thrilling experience occurs when we watch Sufis twirl around endlessly, or store-front church services when a sedate woman, dressed in her Sunday best, suddenly swoons and crashes to the floor, touched by the Lord. It's evidence of an otherworldly presence, beyond explanation, full of a passion that rarely tolerated in modern times. Rajna is a French band that captures the passion of the possessed, the spark of divine inspiration. In both releases Fabrice Lefebvre and Gerard Chambellant play traditional Tibetan and Indian instruments such as the santoor, the yang t'chin, gongs and bells in a way that resembles ritualized devotional music, rather than actual songs. This is often discreetly embellished by synthesizer passages, and galvanic rhythmic patterns. Jeanne Lefebvre's marvelously operatic vocals sound like she's channeling the voices of spirits. You feel as if you are witnessing some clandestine, ancient ritual. Rajna explore the dividing line between the beautiful and terrifying aspects of religion. - --Craig http://www.middlepillar.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V6 #181 **************************