Helen Rivero & Ian Blake - Luminous

Price in Australian dollars $30.00: / Unit Click on the Cart button to buy this CD now. VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Paypal accepted. Postage charges are calculated by the shopping cart.

Helen Rivero & Ian Blake Luminous (HR2005) A selection of lullabies and night music from around the world could be a big yawn, but this selection is packed with interesting arrangements, junkyard percussion and found sounds, all linked by Rivero's expressive vocals and Blake's multi-instrumental ability. If anything, it's almost too eclectic in one dose, but it is equally fascinating and charming. fRoots Mag 2006

review from Sing Out! by Mark D. Moss:

Rivero is a singer who is nothing if not unique. She uses her voice as a supple musical instrument, effortlessly darting from the lyric to vocalese and sound effects, painting a striking, often haunting, series of minipaintings from each of the cultures represented here. Blake is an instrumental master, providing a broad range of sensitively played arrangements for these pieces with an arsenal of woodwinds, keyboards and strings. Peter Kennard (percussion) and Julian Thompson (cello) fill out the ensemble.

The excellent production (Blake and Rivero) is pure and clean, very reminiscent of Blake's production work on Andrew Cronshaw's award winning release Ochre from last year. It is a joy just to listen to the sound of this recording, with each vocal and instrument cleanly presented with a "whole" sound ... open and clear.

The material seems to be a mixture of traditional and composed music from, literally, all over the world. It's both a tribute to the artistry of the duo that the material works together and that each piece stands up independently of the whole. I wish there was more background about the material provided. In the end, though, this is music that stands on its own. I don't want to mistakenly make it seem like this is any kind of folkloric work, but if you're open to a cool, jazzy take on tradition from true musical masters, this is a beautiful recording well worth the effort to find. - Mark D. Moss Sing Out! Winter 2006

MP3 samples:

This is a page from the Indie-CDs.com catalogue.If you do not see a site menu on this page click here to visit our home page and browse our extensive selection of top quality independent music (opens a new browser window).