Hemavaz

Seriously cool music from Turkey. Soaring vocals, a mix of traditional and contemporary instruments (all extremely well-played), catchy rhythms with much emphasis on percussion. Unfortunately the notes are in Turkish so there’s not much info. It’s very dramatic, with many layers of sounds that work together well and varying tempos/melodies that keep things interesting. One star for each track – this is great stuff.

1. Energetic, uptempo w/great percussion & vocals.
2. Dramatic male chorus and lots of percussion.
3. Mid-tempo w/emotional male vocalist & good use of band.
4. Dramatic a capella intro, then a lively dance.
5. Upbeat w/ a fun vocal interplay and great orchestration.
6. Slower and dramatic w/cool female vocals.
7. Mid-tempo dance, fem.vox, mix of bellydance/klezmer sound
8. Episodic, dramatic vox, varying tempos, like a mini-opera.
9. Slow & spare, chants w/minimal orch. More lively after 3:30.
10. Mid/up-tempo w/a contemporary folk dance-ish feel.
11. Almost new-agey instrumental, then kind of dark vocals.
12. Rounds of chants, then a lively dance, great energy.
6/2003