Posted at 7:00 am.
Voices of the North with strings and piano, Le vent du nord
Here the title says it all: On this album, the guys from the group Le vent du nord simply sing melodies that were recorded over the last 20 years, but rearranged for piano and string quartet. The connection between classical and traditional music succeeds here with a breathtaking and convincing naturalness. On the piano, Philippe Prud'homme gets the point across, even if he flirts with a more modern approach, the strings are poignant and subtly reference centuries of Western music. Beautiful.
Neo-trad
Voices of the Wind with Strings and Piano
The North Wind
The Northern Company
Memento Mori, Depeche Mode
Based on the song “Ghosts Again,” “Memento Mori” is Depeche Mode’s best album since “Playing the Angel” or “Songs of Faith & Devotion.” Reduced to a duo, the pioneering electronic music group has released a dark album haunted by death but with delicate and powerful arrangements that sometimes evoke the past (Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk). Martin Gore, the main musical architect of Depeche Mode, found new inspiration on this record, which deals with the dark side of the heart and existence with gripping melodies.
Electric
Remember death
Depeche Mode
Columbia/Sony
Seven Psalms, Paul Simon
PHOTO EVAN AGOSTINI, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE
Paul Simon in New York, 2018, during his farewell tour
Simon & Garfunkel has been with me my entire life. Paul Simon, less so, even though I know the milestones of his solo career. None of this really prepares us for the beauty of Seven Psalms, a long folk poem in which the venerable American songwriter ponders his purpose and questions the limits of his faith. On the one hand there are these recurring, melodically rich themes, then this touching guitar playing and the overall economical arrangements. The greatness of the album lies in its intimacy and openness. The finale in a duet with his partner Eddie Brickell is tear-inducingly beautiful.
People
Seven Psalms
Paul Simon
Owl Records/Sony
London Ko, Fatoumata Diawara
PHOTO FROM FATOUMATA DIAWARA'S FACEBOOK PAGE
Fatoumata Diawara on stage
We shouldn't take Fatoumata Diawara at face value when she says her music is blues. “London Ko”, like the Malian singer's other records, neither sounds as if it came from Mississippi nor as if it followed the great Ali Farka Touré. She begins by talking about a state of mind that telepathizes here with Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) to create an album full of collaborations (Yemi Alade, M, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, etc.) full of groove, often upbeat funk and more pop than that , what Fatoumata Diawara is used to us in the past. Her blue is actually a very warm color.
African pop
London Co
Fatoumata Diawara
Montuno Productions / Wagram
In the second, Karkwa
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Karkwa gave four concerts at MTelus in November and December.
Not long ago, in early December, Karkwa proved on stage all the good things we had already expected from Dan's lasecond, his first album in ages. His best since… ever. Completely free from his previous influences, in perfect mastery of his universe, with a mastery that we have always felt in these five musicians but that has never been expressed so clearly and without fuss, Karkwa creates a rock with roots that it creates sounds new. At the same time, we feel that the group no longer feels committed to making rock… This return of Karkwa is not meant to last. If “In the Second” is the final point of his story, it will be its climax.
rock
In this second
Karkwa
Simone Records
My other five songs from 2023
White Horse, Chris Stapleton
Both Sides Now (Live in Newport 2022), Joni Mitchell
Shake It Off (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift
Nitepuatautat by Maten (with Black Bear)
Dance the night away, Dua Lipa