CD Review: Zedashe's 'Our Earth And Water'

Zedashe
Our Earth And Water
Living Roots Music

Georgia (the country) is well-known for it's polyphonic vocal traditions. Zedashe continues the country's past with lively vocal tunes with some containing instruments. The twenty-six tunes represent a wide-breadth of music with accompanying panduri, chonguri, doli, diplipito, chiboni, garmoni, lute, bagpipe, clay drum, hand drum, and accordion. There are both male and vocal singers. The back of the CD case contains the track list with a few words about each song's origin, translation, and owner's rights. There are no in-depth liner notes and the song titles are in both Cyrillic and Roman Georgian. Some of the light instrumental accompaniment is indicative of other Central Asian and Caucasus music. Still, anyone interested in folk music from the region will love the instrumental accompaniment, as well the intriguing and somewhat meditative vocal style. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Voices of Georgia

Iveroni
Heroic and Love Songs of Georgia
Beauty Saloon Music

Most listeners familiar with the music of Georgia readily recognize the characteristic polyphonic singing ensembles of the region. Positioned near the Caspian Sea, Georgia is a country of musical influences from neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan. Though, Georgia's musical position in the region may not be as popular with Westerners. Thankfully, Nathaniel Berndt of Beauty Saloon Music, brings to life the music of Iveroni. Typical vocal ensembles from this region do not include instrumentation. However, Iveroni is the exception. On a few tracks, they incorporate a handful of string (lute-like) instruments, including the bass panduri, panduri, salamuri, and changuri. Iveroni's melodic and powerful vocal performances are haunting and mesmerizing. Perfect for world music fans of vocal music and chant. More information can be found at Beauty Saloon Music. ~ Matthew Forss