Tremor Fantasma (Golemite, 2012)
De Leon brings a pop twist to the increasing Sephardic music scene. Don’t expect the passionate contemporary rootsy sounds of Mor Karbasi or Yasmin Levy, but rather a collection of songs with retro pop sensibility, with electric guitars, banjo, pop, mariachi trumpets, spaghetti western-style influences and occasionally reggae beats.
Tremor Fantasma is the group’s third album. For this project, DeLeon invited the international community of Sephardic folk music fans to put together a playlist of songs to could be reinterpreted by the band. The folk songs came from Spain, Greece and Turkey, and arrived to Mexico City, where Saks currently lives.
“Sephardic music has a small but enthusiastic fanbase all around the world,” says band leader, Dan Saks,” and I thought it would be great to involve our fans, and fans of the music in general, in this album.”
The album title comes from Saks’ exposure to an earthquake. “Shortly after I began working on this album, Mexico City was hit with a series of earthquakes — and then the local volcano Popocatépetl started acting up,” clarifies Saks. “I was experiencing phantom quakes in the studio and vivid volcanic dreams throughout the recording process. Being tuned into the instability of the very earth we walk on comes through to me when I listen to these recordings. This is our most organic and alive-sounding record yet.”
Tremor Fantasma is an album that may appeal to pop music fans.
Buy Tremor Fantasma MP3s
Buy CD from ilovedeleon.com
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.
