I must have watched The Return three or four times now, several years apart, and each time I am left with a very strong impression. Set against the backdrop of the desolate wilderness of Northern Russia, The Return is an arresting film by first-time director Andrey Zvyagintsev. On its release, the film took most critics by surprise and […]
Amadou & Mariam: Wily Kataso
Amadou & Mariam have been playing music together since the early 1980s and Folila, released in April 2012, is the pair’s latest recording. Often referred to as “the blind couple from Mali”, Amadou & Mariam have a great knack for composing catchy songs in their inimitable Afro-pop style. While a lot of their music is […]
The Bad Plus: Everywhere you turn
The Bad Plus is often presented as an American jazz trio from Minneapolis. A more appropriate description would be that of three adventurous musicians playing instruments traditionally associated with jazz (drums, double bass and piano) but composing tunes following Rock structures, or de-constructing famous Pop anthems. Over the years, Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, Tears for […]
Air: Sonic Armada
Both Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007) and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011) have done a lot to reintroduce “cinemagician” Georges Meliès to an entirely new audience, especially to his ground breaking masterpiece Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon). The science-fiction short was originally released in 1902 both as a black-and-white and as a hand-coloured print. […]
Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaoich: Cailín na nUrla Donn
Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaoich is a traditional singer from the Corca Dhuibhne area of West Kerry (Ireland) and performs here a fine example of a macaronic song (with lyrics both in English and Gaelic). Whereas similar pieces or sean-nós songs are usually unaccompanied or sparsely arranged, this rendition of Cailín na nUrla Donn (the brown-haired woman) gets an almost […]
Rasha Rezk: Mreyte ya mreyte
“Mreyte ya mreyte” (Mirror oh my mirror) is another track from the Caramel soundtrack (see previous post). Performed by Syrian singer Rasha Rezk, beautifully orchestrated and arranged by Lebanese composer Khaled Mouzanar, it is the final song of the film as the credits roll: Mirror oh my mirror I will tell you my story Tell me […]
