Title: Terry Riley's in C Mali
Artiste: Africa Express
Genre: World music?
Track 1 (Love) Um, there's only one: it's all one composition apparently. I guess the best way to approach this is like a suite or concerto, as it seems to drift from section to section with a kind of languid, almost lazy fluidity. It's certainly relaxing, and I can see why Frownland said it would be the perfect antidote to Merzbow, or words to that effect. Short of putting on a classical album, or soft ambient, this is about as opposite to that as I can get. Very enjoyable. There's a violin or cello part starts in the twentieth minute and it sort of ups the ante, making the piece a little more intense, though that's countered by a soft picked guitar (or is it harp?) and then some lovely flute and piano as the strings fade out, softening it right back down.
Oh, now we get a vocal. This is nice. Just spoken, possibly poetry, but very welcome. Minute twenty-five and here come the congas and it all kicks up a little more, a joyous celebration with I think horns and a lot of really good rhythm. Strings are back in the thirty-fourth minute, attended this time by a nice gentle acoustic guitar with some sort of pipe or ethnic instrument going a bit wild in the background. Nice juxtapositioning. Now a low chanted vocal, like a prayer maybe, as we head into the last few minutes.
End result: Very relaxing, very refreshing; just what I needed after Merzbow. Like coming out of a dark tunnel you've been walking through for hours to see the sun, green grass and hear the birds singing. Fuel for the soul.
So, Love or Hate? Love, without question
Chances of a full review: 3/10 (Only because it's one track and I feel it would be hard to do it justice)