"Exotica" An album of exotic world guitar music, featuring the Spanish guitar and a host of latin and eastern percussion instruments, this music has passion, grace and fire in equal measures.
Los Calabacines is a lively, up-tempo Latin number, named after my favourite vegetables - Courgettes! It takes the famous Gypsy Kings style Rumba rhythm and adds Latin percussion and funky bass lines along with an infectious melody and some exotic musical meanderings.
Exotica is one of my favourite songs, with a memorable verse and chorus, along with an exotic, serene and fiery improvisation section and delicate hints of Eastern promise. Phil's tasteful fretless bass nicely underpins this song.
Zafirah is the greek word for 'successful' which I hope this track will be. It has a distinctive Arabic feel and a lively tempo. This piece of music took a while to master due to its use of fast harmony runs, the timing for which had to be 100% on the money - no room for anything being even a millisecond out. The middle eastern percussion from Stickz on this number (including the solo in the middle) really takes this into the realms of energetic Bellydancing music.
Siesta, as the name would suggest, has a very chilled-out feel to it, combining the sombre tones of the Cello with an uplifting Latin chorus and a Flamenco segue in the middle (influenced by the Fandangos Flamenco toque). Chris Magrath's Latin Piano and Chris Sampson's Cello really add some depth to this piece of music.
Valldemossa is named after a very picturesque Spanish town in Mallorca, which I have visited on a few occasions. I'd love to live there - but I suspect as Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones have a place there that it's a tad pricey. This number captures the laid-back spirit of Spain on a hot summer afternoon.
Havana, as you'd expect, has a Latin flavour. It's one of those hot, hazy, laid-back tropical afternoon pieces. I was especially impressed with Chris Magrath's Latin piano contribution on this one - he did it one take, having heard the music only once!
Imigligos is a Greek wine I once indulged in. This is a light-hearted dancey, 'Zorba' inspired number, great for dancing to or smashing plates to. Dave's eastern percussion skills have given this an infectious groove, as has Guy's funky bass line.
Written by a friend of mine, Spanish guitarist Jon Boyes, this track from his debut CD captivated me when I first heard it. I wanted to cover it, yet do something a little different with it. So although sticking to the same melody, this version evolves into a very soundtrack-esque 'Lawrence of Arabia' style orchestration, climaxing in a fabulous viola solo from Hamilton. The rhythm section incorporating Billy on bass and more vibrant middle-eastern percussion from Stickz make this a powerful and diverse addition to the album.
This is a solo guitar piece that I often play live, to great response. I love its mysterious eastern feel and the fact that one guitar plays the bassline and melody at the same time.
Equilibrium started off as a nice chord sequence, then evolved into the chilled-out, uplifting composition that it is today. The addition of Billy's virtuoso bassline and Steffi's hypnotic flute really make this piece something special.
