Wild Serenade by DuOud
Tracks:
- Yarimo
- Racailles
- Zanzibar
- Interluth
- Chase
- Ne Yalan Soyleyeyim
- For Nediem
- Racine D'énnéade
- Berlin Paris
- Le Retour D'Ulysse*
- Midnight for dancing with friends in your living room
Review:
Drum n Bass lines melded with a comprehensive look at world music (mainly Arabic beats and the Oud) presented in a fashion that comes off as belonging, as much in World Beat Asia as out of it.
The Oud is a string instrument, sounding like a low toned guitar that works in perfect synergy with the other instruments around it. With that instrument in hand, DuOud's members have created a sound that might seem trite and gimmicky at times. Complete with drum lines on an unending loop (they even speed up the tempo of one of the songs to keep the novelty up) and Oud melodies seeming to sit on top of these drum lines rather than in them.
However, the presence of immense effort during the entire course of the album creates tracks that belong with each other as much as they do apart. Tracks like Number 5 are just plain brilliant. With electric guitars seamlessly blended in with an Oud melody and a drum n bass line causing one to dance right in their seat. On the other end slow beats work with a charm that simplifies and relaxes the listener to no avail. For example: Track 6, unlike most of the rest of the album, whittles down from everything to just the Oud playing, although it.s still at a tempo similar with the rest of the tracks. This track like others on the album gives one, with closed eyes, an impression of riding along on camel back in the Saharan desert without a care in the world (damn now that, although true, is a hackneyed statement).
Overall, a very buy worthy album. For us Americans though you have to wait till February 11th or look on the foreign websites and get it with all the import taxes added - I would suggest: Don.t wait - Go for it. (Although the amazon.co.uk website for some reason seems to think it has only four tracks on while, the one I have has eleven. Go Figure.)
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