Mazapegul
Piccolo Canto Nomade
17.99
|
| Mazapegul is a surprising, perplexing and thoroughly exhilarating band from Italy with a BIG sound; horns (heavy on the baritone/trombone bottom end), screechy electric guitars, a rock solid rhythm section and a crew of growling singers. They add various bagpipe-y sounds (cornmuse, bombarde, etc), stringy touches like balalaika and viola, trashy homemade percussion, drums from here and there around the Mediterranean, and mostly a whole lot of attitude. There are clear links to Italian folk music, sideways glances at African and Arabic themes, but they are hardly the focus. Mazapegul grabs reggae, salsa, jazz, spaghetti western sound track themes and what might be called "art school music" (i.e., Talking Heads) and toss it around like a musical rag doll, limbs twisting and eyes bulging as each song takes you by the neck and squeezes. This is an album of contrasts. Moments of dark, dangerous beauty are countered by hot, danceable tunes; the funereal is layered with the lively. While comparisons to everything from Les Negresses Vertes to Spike Jones spring to mind, there's really little to compare this band to. They are shrewd, articulate and inventive. Loads of fun, too! - CF, RootsWorld, 1998 |
Mazapegul comes from Mazapegolo, an elfin spirit which features in legends of the central-Italian region of Romagna.
Mazapegul the band was formed in 1994 by drum-player Mirko Mariani (who has worked alongside jazz musicians such as Jimmy Villotti, Enrico Rava and Vinicio Capossela) and the bass-player Valerio Corzani (with four years of musical experiences behind him, In Europe and the Middle East, as a member of Mau Mau). Then came along the singer Daniele Di Domenico, guitarist Massimiliano Anadori, pianist Nico Menci (expert jazz-man), trumpet player Christian Rossi and saxophonist Michele Vignali.
The basic idea was to make use of folk traditions (from Italy, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Africa, Middle Europe), and make their own special sound using non-traditional arrangements. Using material almost exclusively in Italian (an Italian full of slang and words of English, French and Spanish origin) and in dialect (the hybrid dialect of Romagna), the group has come up with a repertoire which features a wild melodisation, of folk music with rock rhythms and structures and a touch of reggae, noise and modern crossover sounds.
Mazapegul is made up of seven musicians who all come from different backgrounds and who use mostly acoustic instruments without giving up the energy of a sound which in the end seems, electric. They have a unique mix of sounds: vocals, piano, bag-pipe, bauzuki, balalaika bass, viola, guitar, a special drum set (using cans and metal pipes); theirs is crossover music with an original and highly energetic slant.
Credit card orders are placed on a secure server.
|
Please note!
Most CDs have been
imported from Europe or Asia.
They are not all
shrink-wrapped, and I am not
going to con you by wrapping them
here just to make you think they
have been sterilized in America.
We guarantee that the CDs and the
contents are all brand new and in
perfect condition. Whenever I
can, I use recycled shipping
materials. They may not look as
pretty on the outside, but they save
money and keep the trash dumps a
little bit emptier.
|