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| Audio - Exotica |
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| Exotica | Passionata |
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"There's some great playing and songwriting on the album. I also found the mixing, guitar sound, and orchestrations to be really good." - Johannes Linstead - Award winning and chart topping Canadian Guitarist.
"This CD features lively, vibrant and energetic playing"....
"an enjoyable pastiche"
- Review in January 2010 issue of Acoustic Magazine (the UK's first magazine dedicated to acoustic guitars classical & spanish and other acoustic stringed fretted musical instruments.) |
Listen to all the tracks here:
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"Exotica" is by far my most ambitious project to date. After the release of Passionata, my musical horizons and influences were significantly broadened by the likes of Strunz & Farah, Jesse Cook, Johannes Linstead and Al Marconi. I heard new levels of compositional and guitar playing skills in the Nuevo Flamenco genre.
Influenced by these masters of the genre, I set about making an album that would push the boundaries both compositionally and technically. Exotica draws on my love of Spanish guitar, Flamenco, Neuvo Flamenco, Latin and Eastern music, and features pieces of music that illustrate these influnces.
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Another way in which Exotica breaks new ground is in the collaborative nature in which it evolved over time. The internet has made communication all over the world so much easier in recent years, and as I put early demo versions of some of the music from Exotica up for review on Garageband, I found myself contacted by a host of extremely talented musicans from around the world, wishing to collaborate with me.
By use of email, ftp, and broadband, it has been possible to record an album with some amazing people, some of whom I've not even met in person! Through Emails, demos and Skype chats, new parts have evolved and new directions have emerged for some of the songs.
Without these musicians, Exotica would not be the album it is today - so I must thank Stickz, Billy, Guy, Elad, Hamilton, Chris, Steffi, Dave, Phil, Chris and Viktor for their invaluable musical contributions to this project.
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| 01 | Los Calabacines |
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Los Calabacines is a lively, up-tempo Latin number, named after my favourite vegetables - Courgettes! It takes the famous Gypsy Kings style Rumba rhythm and adds Latin percussion and funky bass lines along with an infectious melody and some exotic musical meanderings. |
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| 02 | Exotica |
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Exotica is one of my favourite songs, with a memorable verse and chorus, along with an exotic, serene and fiery improvisation section and delicate hints of Eastern promise. Phil's tasteful fretless bass nicely underpins this song. |
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| 03 | Zafirah |
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Zafirah is the greek word for 'successful' which I hope this track will be. It has a distinctive Arabic feel and a lively tempo. This piece of music took a while to master due to its use of fast harmony runs, the timing for which had to be 100% on the money - no room for anything being even a millisecond out. The middle eastern percussion from Stickz on this number (including the solo in the middle) really takes this into the realms of energetic Bellydancing music. |
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| 04 | Siesta |
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Siesta, as the name would suggest, has a very chilled-out feel to it, combining the sombre tones of the Cello with an uplifting Latin chorus and a Flamenco segue in the middle (influenced by the Fandangos Flamenco toque). Chris Magrath's Latin Piano and Chris Sampson's Cello really add some depth to this piece of music. |
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| 05 | Valldemossa |
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Valldemossa is named after a very picturesque Spanish town in Mallorca, which I have visited on a few occasions. I'd love to live there - but I suspect as Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones have a place there that it's a tad pricey. This number captures the laid-back spirit of Spain on a hot summer afternoon. |
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| 06 | Havana |
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Havana, as you'd expect, has a Latin flavour. It's one of those hot, hazy, laid-back tropical afternoon pieces. I was especially impressed with Chris Magrath's Latin piano contribution on this one - he did it one take, having heard the music only once! |
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| 07 | Imigligos |
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Imigligos is a Greek wine I once indulged in. This is a light-hearted dancey, 'Zorba' inspired number, great for dancing to or smashing plates to. Dave's eastern percussion skills have given this an infectious groove, as has Guy's funky bass line. |
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| 08 | Muezzin |
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Written by a friend of mine, Spanish guitarist Jon Boyes, this track from his debut CD captivated me when I first heard it. I wanted to cover it, yet do something a little different with it. So although sticking to the same melody, this version evolves into a very soundtrack-esque 'Lawrence of Arabia' style orchestration, climaxing in a fabulous viola solo from Hamilton. The rhythm section incorporating Billy on bass and more vibrant middle-eastern percussion from Stickz make this a powerful and diverse addition to the album. |
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| 09 | Zambra Mora |
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This is a solo guitar piece that I often play live, to great response. I love its mysterious eastern feel and the fact that one guitar plays the bassline and melody at the same time. |
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| 10 | Equilibrium |
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Equilibrium started off as a nice chord sequence, then evolved into the chilled-out, uplifting composition that it is today. The addition of Billy's virtuoso bassline and Steffi's hypnotic flute really make this piece something special. |
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