 Ariana Delawari’s new release, “The Lion of Panjshir,” (named after the great Afghan revolutionary leader Ahmed Shah Massoud) has an amazing story behind it. I wasn't familiar with the story when I initially listened to this release as I always like to judge the music on its own merits before learning anything about an unfamiliar artist. I’ll do the same here and share my thoughts on the music first, but you can read on to learn the back-story.
The album is a near 50/50 mix of Western and Middle Eastern sound, which is as cool as you think. Ariana Delawari was born in America (though her parents moved to California from Afghanistan 20 days before her birth) and she and her team of musicians are accomplished in both Afghan and Western music and play instruments from both traditions.
The first track, ‘San Francisco,’ has a Country Blues feel complete with twanging guitar and vamping percussion. I thought perhaps this album was going to be Alt-Country in the mold of Neko Case, The next track, ‘Her Legacy,’ reminded me more of Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), with heavy reverb applied to dreamy vocals, clean-strummed guitar, and laid back percussion.
It is in the third track, ‘Be Gone Taliban,’ that we begin to hear the Middle Eastern flavor that dominates most of this album as we get a little tabla, wailing vocals, hard strummed guitar, and some minor chord violins. You also start to get an idea of who Ariana Delawari is. This is an angry song denouncing Taliban rule in Afghanistan. It has an anthemic quality and is exceptionally moving.
The entire release bounces around, sometimes dropping completely. The authentic traditional Afghan songs like ‘Laily Jan,’ sometimes giving us fully Western compositions like the aforementioned ‘San Francisco,’ and occasionally blending the two styles to great effect as the evocative ‘Singwind’ demonstrates.
In “The Lion of Panjshir,” Ariana Delawari not only blends musical traditions, she experiments within them as well. Occasionally, it doesn’t work. In songs like 'Don’t Fight the Love' and 'Suspend Me,' it sounded like Delawari was having trouble hitting certain notes. Of course, she is probably hitting exactly the notes she is shooting for, but her chosen melody strikes my ear strangely. Either way, the effect was sometimes jarring and atonal. Mostly, however, songs display technical precision and emotional honesty with ambient soundscapes behind them.
Overall, the album is lush with texture, deep with meaning, and beautifully played. And that brings us to the extraordinary circumstances in which this album was created. With an insurgent Taliban threatening to regain control of the Afghan capital of Kabul, Ariana Delawari rushed back to her parent’s home to record there one more time before musical suppression laws were possibly re-issued. Many musicians there have already hidden or dismantled their traditional instruments to avoid persecution. Machine gun toting guards stood outside the Delawari family home while portions of the album were recorded (some additional recording was done in Los Angeles).
“The Lion of Panjshir” contains several protest songs that are delivered with deliberate hardness and abandon. But beyond the explicit content of the songs, the anger and tension surrounding the possible rise of the Taliban permeates the music itself. The blending of Eastern and Western sounds feels like a prayer that Afghanistan can move freely into the future, rather than be shackled to the past. Finally, the location and the way in which it was created make this release its own statement. I can comfortably recommend this album for its beauty, its innovation, and its importance.
Last edited by altsounds : October 28, 2009 at 11:15 PM.
Reason: Picture
|
| | | | Overall Rating | | 7 | | Vocals / Lyrics | | 7 | | Musicianship | | 8 | | Production | | 8 | | Creativity | | 9 | | Lastability | | 7 | | Reviewers Tilt | | 7 |
76% | |
| |
| 
Elysia - Lion Of Judas
| Reviews 
![CD Review - Ariana Delawari - The Lion of Panjshir [Album]](http://hangout.altsounds.com/images/icons/cd.gif "CD Review - Ariana Delawari - The Lion of Panjshir [Album]"){kind=icon}
Ariana Delawari - The Lion of Panjshir [Album]
![Ariana Delawari - The Lion of Panjshir [Album]](http://hangout.altsounds.com/geek/gars/images/9/2/1/9/ariana_delawari_lion_of_panjshir.jpg "Ariana Delawari - The Lion of Panjshir [Album]")
![Ariana Delawari - The Lion of Panjshir [Album] - Reply With Quote](http://www.altsounds.com/i/quote.png "Ariana Delawari - The Lion of Panjshir [Album] - Reply With Quote"){kind=small}
![Default - Re: Ariana Delawari - The Lion of Panjshir [Album]](http://www.altsounds.com/i/posticon.gif "Default - Re: Ariana Delawari - The Lion of Panjshir [Album]")
Re: Ariana Delawari - The Lion of Panjshir [Album]
