ZARA McFARLANE - Songs Of An Unknown Tongue
Brownswood Recordings - BWOOD0209
Zara McFarlane - vocals; Kwake Bass - percussion, drums, drum machine, synths, synth bass, guitar, bass guitar; Wu-Lu - percussion, synths, guitar, bass guitar; Camilo Tirado - percussion; Lyle Barton - Rhodes;
Biscuit - flute; Idris Rahman - tenor saxophone; Robin Hopcraft - trumpet
McFarlane returns for her third release on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood imprint with a powerful vision that chimes with the times. Out go the band of youthful UK jazz luminaries who provided the backing for her last album, and instead producers Kwake Bass and Wu-Lu create beds of ambient electronics, chattering percussion and deep bass to produce a contemporary urban but smooth-edged sound that’s very in keeping with the vibe Mr Peterson’s Radio 6 Music show. Zara’s superbly tuneful, warm-toned voice remains unchanged out in front of every mix, layered up into choirs on tunes like ‘Broken Water’ to provide harmonic depth, as does her ability to express depths of passion and commitment while maintaining her ineffably cool poise. What gives the album its extra resonance is the subject matter. McFarlane spent time researching Jamaican folklore as the basis for another project, a musical version of the famous Jamaican legend ‘The White Witch of Rose Hall’, and her investigations into the island’s historical and cultural legacy led her to reconnect powerfully with the array of rhythms associated with Jamaican folk rituals, and her own family’s engagement with these traditions. ‘Run For Your Life’ presents a stripped down electro version of folk drumming with McFarlanes’ voice soaring above in ghostly harmonies: the stunning introduction to ‘Saltwater’ is meltingly powerful and utterly beguiling at the same time, before breaking into a muted groove based on the Bruckin Party tradition: elsewhere there are echoes of Nyabinghi, Dinki Mini, Revival, and Kumina, all reinterpreted through digital studio tech to present a sound that’s very contemporary but feels rooted as well. The lyrics to ‘Native Nomad’ and ‘Black Treasure’ deal with issues of identity and belonging in the context of post-colonialism that are particularly timely. However the overall effect is more personal and intimate that didactic: the spacious, muted soundscapes and subtle programming create an atmospheric backdrop for McFarlane’s impassioned vocals that make this a powerful but also eminently listenable statement.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Brownswood Recordings - BWOOD0209
Zara McFarlane - vocals; Kwake Bass - percussion, drums, drum machine, synths, synth bass, guitar, bass guitar; Wu-Lu - percussion, synths, guitar, bass guitar; Camilo Tirado - percussion; Lyle Barton - Rhodes;
Biscuit - flute; Idris Rahman - tenor saxophone; Robin Hopcraft - trumpet
McFarlane returns for her third release on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood imprint with a powerful vision that chimes with the times. Out go the band of youthful UK jazz luminaries who provided the backing for her last album, and instead producers Kwake Bass and Wu-Lu create beds of ambient electronics, chattering percussion and deep bass to produce a contemporary urban but smooth-edged sound that’s very in keeping with the vibe Mr Peterson’s Radio 6 Music show. Zara’s superbly tuneful, warm-toned voice remains unchanged out in front of every mix, layered up into choirs on tunes like ‘Broken Water’ to provide harmonic depth, as does her ability to express depths of passion and commitment while maintaining her ineffably cool poise. What gives the album its extra resonance is the subject matter. McFarlane spent time researching Jamaican folklore as the basis for another project, a musical version of the famous Jamaican legend ‘The White Witch of Rose Hall’, and her investigations into the island’s historical and cultural legacy led her to reconnect powerfully with the array of rhythms associated with Jamaican folk rituals, and her own family’s engagement with these traditions. ‘Run For Your Life’ presents a stripped down electro version of folk drumming with McFarlanes’ voice soaring above in ghostly harmonies: the stunning introduction to ‘Saltwater’ is meltingly powerful and utterly beguiling at the same time, before breaking into a muted groove based on the Bruckin Party tradition: elsewhere there are echoes of Nyabinghi, Dinki Mini, Revival, and Kumina, all reinterpreted through digital studio tech to present a sound that’s very contemporary but feels rooted as well. The lyrics to ‘Native Nomad’ and ‘Black Treasure’ deal with issues of identity and belonging in the context of post-colonialism that are particularly timely. However the overall effect is more personal and intimate that didactic: the spacious, muted soundscapes and subtle programming create an atmospheric backdrop for McFarlane’s impassioned vocals that make this a powerful but also eminently listenable statement.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
