SIMON THACKER'S RITMATA - Tàradh
Slap The Moon Records STMRCD05
Simon Thacker (classical guitar); Paul Harrison (piano); Andrew Robb (double bass); Stu Brown (drums); Ángeles Toledano (cantaora on 'Muero Yo De Amor')
Scottish guitarist, Simon Thacker, is now becoming renowned for his cross-genre, multi-cultural musical journeying. His often groundbreaking music reaches out in a way that is at once inviting yet challenging, immensely satisfying yet puzzling and leaving a barrage of questions unanswered. What is beyond doubt, however, is Thacker's ability to bring together music of diverse origins and to meld them into unique compositions performed by remarkable ensembles that transcend all preconceptions, delivering music that is truly universal and most important accessible to those willing to listen with open ears and minds. Following on from the stunning double album, Trikala, from his Svara-Kanti ensemble, Simon Thacker takes us on a new adventure with Ritmata featuring three of his Homeland's leading improvisers.
A term from Gaelic witchcraft, Tàradh describes premonitory sound caused by an absent person's shadow in the place of their imagination, and Thacker relates this phenomenon to the way that music will suddenly appear to him. The music may reveal itself as a physical means through the act of playing guitar, or materialise in his imagination and thus guiding him and the music. As is his wont, the guitarist refuses to be shackled and the music produced covers a broad spectrum encompassing Native American and Sephardic music, flamenco, Indian music as well as from Moroccan traditions. In travelling across the continents the intrepid travellers make many stops and detours, taking on board their role as guides and never losing touch with their audience.
In capturing music as broad in spectrum as presented here, Thacker's arrangements are crucial. At times used as signposts along the way, this allows room for solos to emerge fleetingly within the overall concept of each composition, and at other times the strict adherence to the written passages allows the music to flow in a manner that seem strangely new and exciting yet also comfortingly familiar. It is the juxtaposition of the new with the familiar that allows the inquiring listener to enter the sound world that is Ritmata, and once there fully assimilate the intricacy, immediacy and sheer musicality of their creations.
Throughout their is much to enjoy, and it with repeated listening that the complex melodies reveal more detail and the way in which all four musicians work together is heard to be all the more remarkable. the young cantaoras (flamenco singer), Ángeles Toledano is heard on just one stunning tune, 'Muero Yo De Amor'. Rescued from obscurity from a old recording from 1907, Thacker's reimagined version here could possibly be the start of another collaboration for a future project, but here with Toledano's delightful vocal commands its own rightful place within this imaginative set.
Each new hearing will reveal new delights, but it is fitting that prior to the albums release that the guitarist's composition 'Quadriga in 5' has been nominated for the prestigious The Ivors Composer Awards. The centrepiece to the album it is proceeded by 'Consus' a solo guitar piece that serves as a perfect introduction to the album's finale, with 'Quadriga in 5' a majestic piece of music that seems to sum up everything that has gone before, and indicate the road that may lie ahead.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Slap The Moon Records STMRCD05
Simon Thacker (classical guitar); Paul Harrison (piano); Andrew Robb (double bass); Stu Brown (drums); Ángeles Toledano (cantaora on 'Muero Yo De Amor')
Scottish guitarist, Simon Thacker, is now becoming renowned for his cross-genre, multi-cultural musical journeying. His often groundbreaking music reaches out in a way that is at once inviting yet challenging, immensely satisfying yet puzzling and leaving a barrage of questions unanswered. What is beyond doubt, however, is Thacker's ability to bring together music of diverse origins and to meld them into unique compositions performed by remarkable ensembles that transcend all preconceptions, delivering music that is truly universal and most important accessible to those willing to listen with open ears and minds. Following on from the stunning double album, Trikala, from his Svara-Kanti ensemble, Simon Thacker takes us on a new adventure with Ritmata featuring three of his Homeland's leading improvisers.
A term from Gaelic witchcraft, Tàradh describes premonitory sound caused by an absent person's shadow in the place of their imagination, and Thacker relates this phenomenon to the way that music will suddenly appear to him. The music may reveal itself as a physical means through the act of playing guitar, or materialise in his imagination and thus guiding him and the music. As is his wont, the guitarist refuses to be shackled and the music produced covers a broad spectrum encompassing Native American and Sephardic music, flamenco, Indian music as well as from Moroccan traditions. In travelling across the continents the intrepid travellers make many stops and detours, taking on board their role as guides and never losing touch with their audience.
In capturing music as broad in spectrum as presented here, Thacker's arrangements are crucial. At times used as signposts along the way, this allows room for solos to emerge fleetingly within the overall concept of each composition, and at other times the strict adherence to the written passages allows the music to flow in a manner that seem strangely new and exciting yet also comfortingly familiar. It is the juxtaposition of the new with the familiar that allows the inquiring listener to enter the sound world that is Ritmata, and once there fully assimilate the intricacy, immediacy and sheer musicality of their creations.
Throughout their is much to enjoy, and it with repeated listening that the complex melodies reveal more detail and the way in which all four musicians work together is heard to be all the more remarkable. the young cantaoras (flamenco singer), Ángeles Toledano is heard on just one stunning tune, 'Muero Yo De Amor'. Rescued from obscurity from a old recording from 1907, Thacker's reimagined version here could possibly be the start of another collaboration for a future project, but here with Toledano's delightful vocal commands its own rightful place within this imaginative set.
Each new hearing will reveal new delights, but it is fitting that prior to the albums release that the guitarist's composition 'Quadriga in 5' has been nominated for the prestigious The Ivors Composer Awards. The centrepiece to the album it is proceeded by 'Consus' a solo guitar piece that serves as a perfect introduction to the album's finale, with 'Quadriga in 5' a majestic piece of music that seems to sum up everything that has gone before, and indicate the road that may lie ahead.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
