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Aramirè Compagnia Di music Salentina
Mazzate Pesanti (Edizioni Aramirè)
$17.99
The ensemble Aramirè performs classic songs and tunes of the traditional Griko Salentine repertory and new compositions that use the traditional music to express concerns about modern life in Salento. This is a powerful group that merges the old and new in an impressive style.
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Musicians:
Roberto Raheli: voice, harmonica, accordion, mouth organ, guitar, violin
Raffele Passiante: guitar, tambourine and voice
Stefania Marciano: voice, tambourine
Roberto Corciulo: mouth organ
Mauro Toma: guitar, voice
Samuele Tommasi: tambourine
Read more from the CD notes including a cultural and historical essay about Salento and Salentine music, lyrics and translations and much more about the ensemble.
See other archival and contemporary recordings on the Aramirè label
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There is clearly something special going on down there. Salento's Aramirè is another classic example of 'you can't know where you're going without knowing where you come from'. Leader Roberto Raheli has collected and edited some exemplary traditional recordings on their own label (their Canto d'Amore set from 2000 was bound with a 180-page bilingual booklet!), and is also no mean songsmith in the tradition. They're all strong vocalists - Raheli and female singer Stefania Morciano in particular - and though their instrumental side is a slightly more conventional blend (compared to Nistanimèra's) of mostly accordeon, guitar, violin, harmonica and tamburello, they gear up to produce some driving taranta pizzica.
The thrust of Aramirè seems to be to keep music firmly in the local tradition - again including that of the Griko speaking minority - whilst addressing contemporary subjects. Thus the title track, Mazzate Pesanti (Heavy Blows), and Scusati Signori (Excuse Us, Gentlemen) talk about how the local tarante music has been diluted and tarted up as a tourist attraction, yet the tourism is corrupting and polluting the area - harsh words for local politicians. Their adaptation of an earlier song by Salvatore Caldarazzo, O Pillo Pillo Pi, protests about politics on a global scale, moving to the plight of emigrants everywhere, and finishing with a scathing "With these televisions you no longer understand a thing/rubbish programmes stupify the people/and so to end I must tell you/I have travelled the world and something I have understood/I have travelled the world and I have seen the bad and the good/Silvio Berlusconi remains the worst of all." But they can do love songs too: the soaring E Dimmi Dimmi is just gorgeous. - Ian Anderson, fRoots
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Tracks:
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