Albaluna – Ennead (West Wave Production, 2024)
Albaluna is one of my favorite Portuguese bands. Their unconventional fusion of Iberian folk, world music and a powerful rock section draws you in immediately. Their latest album Ennead continues their captivating explorations of music from various traditions across the globe.
Although Mediterranean music continues to be present, their fusion of progressive rock and world music transcends multiple borders. Precisely, the band’s music travels all the way to the Middle East, Anatolia, historical Persia, and Central and Southern Asia, following the path of the ancient Silk Road.
In terms of musical instruments, the band skillfully uses a wide range of instruments from various traditions ranging from Europe to the Silk Road, sometimes intertwined in an out-of-the-ordinary way. In reality, Albaluna’s sound is characterized by the use of fiery hurdy-gurdy, fiddles, guitar, lutes, global percussion and a rock style rhythm section with electric bass and drums.
Musicians: Ruben Monteiro on vocals, hurdy-gurdy, bağlama, guitar; Raquel Monteiro on vocals, violin, medieval vielle; Dinis Coelho on jembe, darbuka, dahola, bendir, riq; Christian Marr’s on vocals, bass, bouzouki; Carla Costa on tin whistle, bagpipes, ney; and Tiago Santos on drums.
Buy Ennead.
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Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.