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Stephan has the talent and technical ability to give the title concept beautiful form. The music is a passionate travelogue of musical styles and influences from various cultures with a strong African influence on most of the vocals. Baer does a wonderful job of fusing diverse elements into a style that is at once eclectic and yet unified by a sense of passion and playfullness. There are many mood changes both within and between the compositions. Good examples of this phenomena are "Sacred River" and "Nemo's Island". The vocals by Christine Azumah, Monique Berry, and Jim McGrath are superb. McGrath's intuitive percussion mauntains the tribal atmosphere throughout the discs ten tracks. This is a well thought out collection of compositions based on mood, sensibility, form, and melodic structure, with a rich canvas of ethnic timbres. The overall effect is a spellbinding music, often evocative of Ladysmith, and other great African vocal ensembles. It will appeal to a surprising variety of tastes. information: email: talkingdrum@earthlink.net Review by Ben Kettlewell |
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Stephan Baer
