Early this month, Tamar Ilana and Ventanas released their latest album, Azadi through LulaWorld Records. The act’s fourth album, it is composed of a dozen total songs which span a total run time of 54 minutes. The record is another interesting addition to this year’s field of new World Music offerings. That is due in part to its featured musical arrangements, which will be examined shortly. The lyrical themes that accompany the album’s musical content make for their own share of interest and will be examined a little later. The sequencing of the overall content puts the finishing touch to the whole of the record and will be examined later, too. Each item noted is key in its own way to the whole of Azadi. All things considered they make Azadi an interesting late-year addition to this year’s field of new World Music records.
Azadi, the latest full-length studio offering from Tamar Ilana and Ventanas, is a presentation that World Music aficionados will find worth hearing at least once. Its interest comes in part through its features musical arrangements. From one song to the next, the arrangements featured in the songs are of interest because of the way in which they blend Middle Eastern (and even Mediterranean) and Hispanic influences for whole works that are unique. One of the most notable of the arrangements is presented early in the form of ‘Mas Que a Mi Vida.’ Roughly translated, the title means ‘More Than My Life.’ Taking that title into consideration, its happy mood is a positive pairing with the song’s equally light message of romance, which will be discussed later. The subtle bass solo, the joyful vocals, and the clear flamenco style guitar line work collectively with the castanets and other Afro-Latin percussion (and what sounds like a cajon drum) for a whole that is so fun. Listeners can almost see the female vocals here, her hands clenched against her chest as she happily declares her love for that unnamed other person. It makes for a great addition to the album.
Another notable musical addition to the album comes a little later in the record in the form of ‘Noches Noches.’ According to the album’s liner notes, the song is a traditional Bosnian Sephardic composition. The composition here stands out because as with so much Sephardic Jewish music, the Middle Eastern and Western European influence of the people’s culture is on full display. The Middle Eastern influence is on display through the distinct vocal styling and the string instrumentation. At the same time the fact that it is sung in Spanish is another key part of Sephardic music, especially considering the vocals are so key to the music, too. Knowing all of this, this traditional composition makes for its own unique appeal.
It is not the last of the notable additions to the album, either. ‘Eivissa,’ which comes even later in the album’s run, is yet another notable entry in this latest offering from Vantanas and Tamar Ilana. That is because it is so much unlike so many other compositions featured throughout the album. Listeners can hear clear Western hip-hop and jazz influences alongside more Afro-Latin-tinged leaning right alongside a more Middle Eastern presentation. The whole makes this celebratory song about romance and partying such a unique infectious work that is sure to become a favorite among listeners. When it is considered alongside the other arrangements examined here and that whole alongside the rest of the record’s entries, the whole therein makes the musical presentation of Azadi reason enough for audiences to take in the album at least once.
As much as the musical arrangements do to make Azadi worth hearing, they are collectively just one part of what makes the album worth hearing. The lyrical themes that accompany said content makes for some interest, too. For the most part, the album’s lyrical content centers on the all too familiar topic of romance and relationships. Though thankfully, there are some derivations from that topic, such as in the album’s title track. As the information in the album’s booklet points out, this song “Originally debuted with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra” and was “inspired by the freedom for women movement in Iran.” It opens with the uplifting line, “Sun breaks through the darkened and cloudy skies/Shining bright on open and peaceful eyes/Moving free with liberty/Moving free/Azadi.” That opening stanza could easily be considered metaphorical language. The sun breaking through the darkened skies in metaphor for hope and “light” breaking through the oppression of the Iranian regime. ‘Eivissa’ is another break from that norm as it centers (as previously noted) on romance and the joy of celebrating with friends.
‘Ecos de Norte,’ which immediately follows, is another break from the norm here. According to the album’s liner notes, the song is connected to the culture of the Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban people. More specifically, it centers on their Goddess of the sea, Iemanja. The lyrical celebration of the goddess and its musical counterpart make for a good starting point for research into this topic.
‘The Boat was Empty,’ which closes out the album, is also one more change to the standard this time out. As is pointed out in the booklet, the song, lyrically, takes its cue from Shakespearian tragedies for its social commentary about how we base our identities on social media. It is a familiar topic across the musical universe and delivered in a unique fashion here. When it is considered alongside the other themes examined here and that whole alongside the rest of the album’s more commonplace discussions of love and romance, the whole makes the album’s lyrical content more reason to take in the album at least once.
While the overall content featured in Azadi clearly goes a long way toward making it worth hearing at least once, it is collectively only part of what makes the record worth hearing. The content’s overall sequencing plays into its presentation, too. From beginning to end, the nearly hour-long record reveals arrangements whose styles and sounds changes dramatically from one to the next. Even the moods change from one to the next, making for even more engagement and entertainment. The songs’ lyrical themes are less varied. As noted, the topics of love and romance seem to dominate, but are more common, especially in the album’s first half. Things change more notably in the album’s second half. That certainly could have changed. That aside, the sequencing still does do well at least in the way of its musical content. To that end, the sequencing still proves mostly successful in its own right, too and keeping that in mind along with the impact of the overall content, the whole therein gives audiences more reason to hear this album if only once.
Azadi, the latest studio offering from Tamar Ilada and Ventanas, is an interesting addition to this year’s field of new World Music albums. The album’s interest comes in part from its musical arrangements, which blend Spanish, Middle Eastern and European influences for a whole presentation that audiences are sure to enjoy. The lyrical themes presented throughout the album are less varied, leaning more heavily toward romance and relationships. There are some other topics covered here, but they only inhabit the album’s second half and are fewer than the more prominent theme. The sequencing of that collective content shows some thought went into the album’s presentation and the result was mostly positive, too. Keeping in mind the result of the album’s sequencing and the overall content, the whole makes Azadi a World Music offering worth hearing at least once and an interesting addition to this year’s field of new World Music albums.
Azadi is available now through LulaWorld Records. More information on the album is available at:
Website: https://tamarilana.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/tamarilanapage
Website: https://ventanasmusic.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ventanasmusic
