Space Lullabies & Other Fantas

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Product Overview

• Format: Audio CD, Import, Jan. 30 2001

Dierdre Dubois-Haddab is an interesting singer, no matter
what she is singing. Sometimes she sings in English, sometimes French, and
sometimes you're not exactly sure what language she is singing in. Like the
Evoka's previous album, Space Lullabies and Other Fantasmagore is a jumble of
musical styles that works remarkably well. Featuring members from the U.S.,
Iran, and Algeria, Evoka has a strong Middle-Eastern influence set to an
electronic groove. Highlights include the funky dance track "How Sweet Mal"
and a rather odd cover of English group Pentangle's "Cruel Sister." Ekova's
unique multicultural sound may have you feeling a bit of culture shock at
first, but by the end of the album you find yourself right at home. You won't
know what language they're singing in, you'll just know that you don't want
them to stop. ~ Jon Azpiri, All Music Guide Amazon.ca Even given the trend of
cultural crossover in music, Ekova inhabit a world uniquely all their own.
Their second full release (following 1998's Heaven's Dust and 1999's remix
compilation Soft Breeze & Tsunami Breaks) furthers Ekova's commitment to a
pulsing, gently swaying mélange of exotic instrumentation and captivating
vocals. What emerges is a new sort of global pop music, blending past with
present, acoustic with electric; seldom have drones sounded so lively and a
subtle undercurrent of electronic programming so organic. Vocalist-cellist
Dierdre Dubois emotes from a deep well of her own digging, occasionally in
English, frequently in a language of her own invention, and in who knows what
other tongues? Iranian percussionist Arach Khalatbari and Algerian oud (Arabic
lute) and guitar player Mehdi Haddab provide a dense, infinitely flexible bed
for Dubois's incredible vocal flights of fancy. Ekova unquestionably evoke the
ghost of Dead Can Dance at times, especially on numbers like the upbeat "Siip
Siie," the a cappella "In the Garden," and "A Soul's Delight," which weds a
text by Rumi to a hypnotic drone with striking chanted vocals by both
Khalatbari and Dubois. But they are much more lively and suffused with a sly,
intelligent mischief than the occasionally somber D.C.D. "The Chase" is
incredibly fast without being frantic, an interstellar gypsy race from past to
present; "The Storm" is as mesmerizing as the sea itself; and "Cruel Sister,"
a traditional English ballad covered by folk-rock pioneers Pentangle, is a
modern epic that turns Ekova's rolling flow of sound into a wide-eyed torrent.
Ekova's music is wonderfully full of life and perfectly accessible, and Space
Lullabies should easily find a home with both armchair travelers of world beat
and those at the center of the international dance floor. --Carl Hanni