Sephardic music featuring guitar, oud, and voice. Think of the Spanish classical guitar music you’ve heard, add lots of pitch-bending Moorish influence, and give it all a gypsyish twist. Male vocals are strong, smooth and flexible, and can be extravagantly emotional while remaining technically well-controlled. The lyrics tend to deal with the beauty of the singer’s beloved, the enormity of his passion, and the deleterious effect it is having on him. Spanish speakers will (mostly) understand most songs—is there anyone at the station who can recognize Ladino? Catchy melodies, intricate guitar and oud, and swoon-worthy vocals—what more could you want? All of the tracks are excellent; choose based on mood and tempo. I especially like 3 and 10.

1: Indian sound in the acoustic guitar: lots of pitch bending and strong plucking.
2: Quiet, meditative. Simple surging vocals. Spare flowing guitar.
3: Uptempo melody intersperses sunny patches with pathos. Tambourine and gyspyish guitar. A Romeo and Juliet-esque love song.
4: Strong plaintive vocals. Low flowing guitar. “You’ve already forgotten me.”
5: Moorish Spanish guitar. Strong flowing vocals.
6: Lots of pitch bending in vocals. Arabic feel. Intricate picked oud.
7: Shimmering oud and guitar. Arabic feel again. Ultra-plaintive.
8: Comparatively sunny and dance-like. Same major-minor switching as in track 3. Rhythmic synocapted guitar and oud. Playful. Long diminuendo at the end.
9: Ethereal atmospheric intro. Wandering melodramatic vocals with lots of pitch bending. Simple but fraught oud and guitar underneath.
10: Sounds a lot like track 3 (?), but darker. Rollicking, dance-like feel. “Abraham, beloved father, blessed father, light of Israel.”
11: Sweet simple guitar and oud melody. Plaintively bellowing vocals. “Passion is killing me.”
12: Rolicking. Very strongly rhythmic guitar chords. High pitchy sections with the oud. Lovely tempo and volume variations. Loud strong abrupt ending.
-Kathryn