Al-Andalus Ensemble, Tarik & Julia Banzi
9th Annual Contemp. Classical Album Vox Pop Winner
Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!
Genre: Contemporary Classical
Al-Andalus Records
HOMEBASE/COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Morocco & USA
ALBUM NOMINATED: 21 Strings
ARTISTS ON THE TRACK “TAKTOKAH” : Tarik Banzi, Charlie Bisharat, Julia Banzi
WHERE WAS THIS ALBUM RECORDED? 21 Strings was recorded the day after Thanksgiving 2009 in Portland, Oregon.
WHERE IS YOUR MUSIC AVAILABLE? CD Baby, iTunes, etc.
WHICH GENRES BEST DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC? World Chamber Music, Contemporary Andalusian, Contemporary Classical, World Music, Fusion.
WHAT’S THE SONG “TAKTOKAH” ABOUT? It is rooted the Taktoka rhythm which is a staggered 9/8 ancient rhythm played in the villages of North Africa. It is a mixture the village and the virtuoso, the classical and the world, the traditional and the contemporary.
WHY DID YOU SELECT THIS ALBUM TO SUBMIT TO THE IMAs? It is from the new Al-Andalus Ensemble album, 21 Strings (oud, violin, guitar). Taktoka captures in some sense the angst of the 21 Strings album.
WHAT UNUSUAL INSTRUMENTS OR TECHNIQUES DID YOU USE ON THIS ALBUM? Instruments: Oud: an 11 stringed pear shaped instrument (parent to the Renaissance lute, guitar and mandolin) violin, flamenco guitar.
DID FANS HELP FUND THIS PROJECT? Fans help in all our music. If it were not for our loyal fans, we would not be here!
DESCRIBE YOUR AUDIENCE: People with sophisticated musical tastes of all different ages and cultural backgrounds.
WHAT MAKES YOUR FANS UNIQUE? They dare to be different.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO PLAY? Paris, Montreal, Rome, New York and Madrid.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE BANDS’ MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? The JPFolks “Peoples Grammy Award” for “Best World Music Song of 2009″ where the title track for our last album, Alchemy, was chosen from 560,000 songs from 163 countries from around the world.
WHAT’S IN THE WORKS FOR 2010? Recording a new CD, concerts in Europe, Middle East and the USA.
FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS… Always in motion.
WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS? To get our music to as many people as possible.
WHAT’S ON YOUR IPOD THAT WOULD SURPRISE YOUR FANS? The new tunes for our next album.
Comments
One Response to “Al-Andalus Ensemble, Tarik & Julia Banzi”Speak Your Mind
Tell us what you're thinking...and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
This music represents a very special place of music in the world, a representative culture of the combination of sources, like an ocean where different rivers come together. Andalusía has been one of my favorite places, its people touched and formed and moved by north african arabs, jews and christians throughout millenia. I did breifly travel through Morocco and felt almost at home – I´m mexican- after living 4 years in Northern Iberia. I just found the Banzi couple and the violin that complements this 21 strings. Gracias and best wishes to Oregon, another place that I love.