ALBUM
Today's addition is a new Israeli album, a truly amazing piece of
music one would probably never expect to come out of our country:
Kutiman - "Kutiman"
1st album by young Israeli composer / multi-instrumentalist Ophir
Kutiel a.k.a. Kutiman. Although the young generation of Israeli
musicians active in the 21st Century already proved time and again
that they are capable of producing some amazing music in the
Electronic, Rock, Prog and Jazz genres (as witnessed on the numerous
CDs found on my site), most of them are deeply influenced by the
European classical music tradition and American Rock and Jazz. What
the local scene lacks (or rather lacked until this album) almost
completely is music, which boasts groove, such as Funk, Soul or Afro-
beat. Therefore this album comes as such a delightful surprise,
filling the missing gap completely. This Jewish boychik has enough
groove to shake the entire country's butt and a soul as black as the
heart of Africa. Of course it all didn't come from thin air - Ophir
did a lot of listening to the right kind of music, which can be traced
(but only as influences, not as imitations) in his music: Sly & The
Family Stone ("There's A Riot Goin' On"), Herbie Hancock's late 1970's
Funk explorations, late Miles Davis ("Tutu"), African Master musician
Fela Kuti (obvious name reference here) and a lot of Ambient, Lounge
and Psychedelic music. All these influences come together, and Ophir's
individual approach glues them into a new and fascinating amalgam.
This music although far from trivial or simplistic, hits you right in
the place where your soul happens to be located and engulfs you
completely, making your body to sway in the process. Although Ophir
plays most of the instruments on the album, which BTW is also
brilliantly produced, he invited some local musicians and vocalists to
take part. These include members of the local Funk band Funk'n'stein
and the local diva Karolina. Whatever your musical preferences, this
music just can't leave you cold, and if it does (God forbid) then you
probably have no soul at all. Absolutely great fun!
https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102374
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