CD Review: Txutxukan's 'Surf The River Lee'

Txutxukan
Surf The River Lee
Wild Boar Music

Hailing from France, Txutxukan (pron: tchoo-tchoo-ken) is a Balkan/Gypsy group named after the Basque phrase for "puttering about" or "doing odd jobs". However, Txutxukan shows no signs of puttering out or about on their latest release, Surf The River Lee. The group is comprised of Dylan Gully on clarinet, sax, kaval, and recorder; Bruno Hollemaert on guitar, bouzouki, accordion, and banjo; Eric Belot on upright bass and electric bass; Joachim Mouflin on percussion, drum kit, and bouzouki; and Joseph Detailleur on accordion. Special guest musician, Stella Rodrigues, plays the gamelan on "El Din." There are a few vocals for added effects. However, the majority of the album is largely instrumental. The instruments come together to form a Klezmer, Gypsy, and Balkan result that is edgy, dance-laden, and always moving. There is a bit of jazz, classical, and avant-garde influences, but nothing is too overt. The sauntering melodies, uppity percussion, and catchy rhythms are breezy, addictive, and richly-textured. Discover Txutxukan today! ~ Matthew Forss 

CD Review: Bidaia's 'Agur Shiva'

Bidaia

Agur Shiva

Self-Release

The Basque regions of Spain and France are relatively underrepresented in today's global music family. Thankfully, Bidaia, which means "voyage", is out to change all that. The group is essentially Caroline Phillips and Mixel Ducau with a few additional musicians. Mixel is from the Basque region, while Caroline is a US-based singer/songwriter of Persian and Greek origin. Both musicians lend vocals on a few tracks, while others are completely instrumental. Caroline plays the ahotsa, zarrabetea, and hurdy gurdy. Mixel plays the ahotsa, guitar, albokak, bamboo clarinet, and hornpipes. The hurdy gurdy is a nice accompaniment that adds a little Scandinavian charisma to the French and Spanish-tinged songs. Almost half of the songs are purely instrumental. The vocal songs are sung in the Basque language. The driving folk rhythms are a bit Scottish, Irish, and Andalusian in tone without any direct comparisons to the aforementioned genres. Nevertheless, Agur Shiva is a lively album with folksy rhythms, traditional instrumentation, and a plethora of Basque charm to go around. ~ Matthew Forss