Music is flexible. It can transform itself through different ways, one of them being through the interactions of different cultures which enriches the musical possibilities that one may explore. Today’s featured debut single, “El Poder Del Cant” by Periscopi Invertit, is just an example of this. Blending Catalan folk melodies and rumba with North African rhythms and jazz, they offer a sound that serves as a celebration of each culture’s musical contributions.
“El Poder del Cant” features a varied lineup of musicians hailing from distinct cultures. Periscopi Invertit includes Mireia Carbonell at the bass and arrangement, Laura Guarch at the vocals, Karim Dellali at the percussions, Zac Gvirtzman at the keyboards, Nicola Rizzo at the Flute, Yaz Fentazi at the oud and drums and Daniel Louis at the steel drums. The track is an original arrangement of a traditional Catalan folk song of the same name, which Carbonell first heard sang by a choir. Inspired, she decided to write a new arrangement and giving it a twist:
In this track I’m actually mixing music different styles. The melody and lyrics belong to a Catalan folk song (El Poder del Cant) written a few centuries ago by an anonymous writer. To create the accompaniment I took as a reference the Catalan rumba (Gato Perez, Peret) songwriters, but instead of using the flamenco palmas that you can easily hear in most Catalan rumba songs, I added the Algerian players Yaz Fentazi on oud and Karim Dellali on the darbuka. Last minute, a friend who plays Steel pan offered himself to record some of the accompaniment for this song. I thought that it would be an interesting addition. – Mireia Carbonell, arranger from Periscopi Invertit
“El Poder del Cant” is rumba and jazz at the same time. It captures the story and charm from the original folk song and gives it extra freedom from jazz. The syncopated rhythm of rumba, the solos and interventions from each instrument from latin jazz. But it leads itself away from both genres by introducing elements that give it even more variety. The percusions, for example give it a North African flavour that enrich the music. The result is a sweet track sounds like nothing we have ever heard before.
While “El Poder del Cant” has its roots in folk songs, Periscopi Invertit blends styles and rhythms to bring to us something new that also pays respect to the original. It is a celebration of what music may achieve. Being their debut single, we are left expecting what else they may offer in the future.
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It also helps to stream and share her music; you can obviously find it in the following Playlists: Fresh Singles, Chill – Folk – Acoustic, 12 New Songs This Week, Contemporary Jazz, and Debut Bands (Off The Radar).
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This coverage was created via Musosoup #Sustainablecurator