This past Friday, award-winning flautist Lara Wong and guitarist Melon Jimenez released their brand-new album, Confluencias: New Flamenco Routes. The 8-song record, which runs just under 40 minutes (38 minutes to be exact), is a surprisingly enjoyable offering both for those familiar with the pair and its work and for more casual audiences of flamenco. That is because over the course of its nearly 40-minute run time the pair present to audiences a side of flamenco that proves what everyone likely knows about the genre is not in fact all there is to flamenco. The duo does this through performances of seven original compositions and one that take listeners from Spain to Africa to the Middle East, showing flamenco is not just one style of music. One of the songs that most well exhibits the engagement and entertainment the duo brings through its work comes early in the record in the form of ‘Kalima.’ This song will be discussed shortly. The album’s title track, which serves as its midpoint, is another way in which Jimenez and Wong take their sounds and make something truly unique and interesting. It will be discussed a little later. ‘Un Nuevo Amanecer,’ which translates roughly into ‘A New Sunrise,’ is yet another example of how the pair blends its talents and influences to make this record stand out. It will also be discussed later. Each of the noted tracks works with the rest of the album to make the presentation in whole a strong addition to this year’s field of new World Music offerings that so many audiences are certain to enjoy.
Confluencias: New Flamenco Routes (roughly translated meaning Confluences) is a welcome addition to this year’s field of new World Music offerings. It shows that while this year is quickly ticking by, there is still much great music out there for audiences to enjoy. This is especially evident in one of the most notable of the album’s songs, ‘Kalima.’ It should be noted here that this song is the only composition on this record not written by Jimenez and Wong but no note is made as to who composed the arrangement. According to the album’s liner notes, ‘Kalima’ is “a hot, dry wind that carries sand particles from the Sahara Desert across parts of southern Europe.” In listening to the clear Middle Eastern style arrangement that Jimenez and Wong utilize here, and the subtle progression, audiences can close their eyes and see those hot, arid winds blowing across that dry landscape, eastward toward Europe. Justas interesting is that Wong’s performance delivers an almost mournful mood that does surprisingly well on its own to illustrate the bleak Sahara. The pair’s collective work paints such a vivid musical picture that is certain to immerse listeners even more into the song, making for plenty of appreciation for the song and the album.
‘Kalima’ is just one of the songs featured in this record that serves to show how the collective work of Wong and Jimenez makes Confluencias: New Flamenco Routes so surprisingly engaging and entertaining. As the record progresses, its midpoint and title track shows just as much what makes this record worth hearing. As a starting point here, a confluence is defined by Merriam Webster as “a coming or flowing together, meeting, or gathering at one point” as well as “the flowing together of two or more streams.” While stream here may reflect water movement, it can just as easily refer to multiple streams of thought. The coming together here is not only of the influences of Wong and Jimenez but also of Western influence, what with the underlying keyboard line and steady bass drum beat serving as the song’s foundation. That steady beat brings to mind the blacksmith noted in the album’s liner notes, taking his hammer to steel, while Jimenez and Wong share the stories that the blacksmith would share as he worked. The whole is another truly unique composition that brings its own immersion to the whole, adding even more to the album’s appeal.
The appeal ensured by ‘Confluencias’ and by ‘Kalima’ is just part of what audiences will find appealing from this new World Music offering. As the album continues its progression yet another song builds on that appeal even more. That song in question is ‘Un Nuevo Amanacer.’ Translated, the title becomes ‘A New Sunrise.’ According to the album’s liner notes, this arrangement is influenced by what is known as the raga Bhairav, a Hindustani musical work. In doing research on this, it is revealed that the Bhairav is meant to resonate a serious mood that encourages “introversion” and a “devotional attitude” among those who take part in the work. Wong and Jimenez successfully echo that sense through their performances, which are complimented through the use of what sounds like a tabla. Even if a person were to not know the basis of this song, the mood that the overall arrangement presents is in fact very contemplative and serious, thus accomplishing the goal of the Bhairav. To that end, when this song is considered alongside the other compositions examined here and that trio with the album’s remaining entries, the whole therein proves flamenco is in fact far more than what most people may think as it takes the genre deep on new routes.
Confluencias: New Flamenco Routes, the new World Music offering from Lara Wong and Melon Jimenez, is an interesting work that any World Music fan is sure to appreciate. That is proven time and again throughout the body of this nearly 40-minute record. All three of the songs examined here make that clear. From one song to the next, the pair’s work shows that there is far more to flamenco than most people think about the genre. The blending of that style with Wong’s own leanings throughout makes the album in whole a unique and welcome addition to this year’s field of new World Music offerings because it truly does take flamenco down new routes, and successfully so.
Confluencias: New Flamenco Routes is available now. More information on the album is available at https://larawong.com/melonlara.
