Very often an artist’s debut recording is safe, easy listening. Christine Vaindirlis’ Dance Mama (excuse the missing exclamation mark) is anything but safe, easy listening – in fact, this debut project from the brilliant young artist is complex, challenging, meaty music designed to move your body, speak to your spirit, and engage your mind. Currently residing in Brooklyn, New York, Christine’s ten-song album reflects her South African roots but also incorporates a sophisticated command of urban American sounds.
In a musical landscape that exists somewhere between World Music, jazz, South African folk, pop and funk, you have Dance Mama. The very personal album starts off with “Indaba (Home)” inviting us to “a place where the music never sleeps – where there’s dancing and singing, and jamming ’till morning,” and dance you will, to tight, funky jams like the explosive “Call to Freedom,” “No More Drama,” the delightfully Afro-zydeco “Down by the River,” and, of course, the title-track.
Aside from the occasional penny whistle, accordion, talking drums, and unique percussion, the very impressive core band consists of guitar, drums, bass, and keyboards (listen for some stunning piano work by a young lady named Hiromi!) backed up by a sizzling-hot horn section that will delight fans of Tower of Power or Seawind.
Christine’s fine voice is featured on each track. Possessing a wide and flexible range, she handles lead and background vocals equally well, sounding joyful, powerful, sassy, or sensitive according to what each song calls for.
The infectious songs are structurally complex without being pretentious or over-indulgent. With tracks ranging from four minutes to over nine minutes in length, Christine gives you the best that she and her stunning group of musicians have to offer. It’s not unusual for songs – like “Fighting or Surviving,” for example – to take a surprising turn and get into some hard-core acid-jazz jams. Compositions venture seamlessly in and out of major and minor keys in support of the strong lyrics and melody lines, a technique heard to good effect on “Hear the Call to Freedom.” Of course, Vaindirlis has a softer, more introspective side as well, and shows that side on tracks like the jazzy ballad, “Making it Home, Someday,” which closes the project.
Lyrically, Christine’s soul is on display between the lines. There’s an obvious homage to her homeland throughout the CD, but this artist, after all, is now a New Yorker and shows us a feistier persona on songs like “No More Drama” and the show-stopping mega-jam, “Tell Me.” Trust me – once she tells you you’ll know you’ve been told…. Permeating everything, though, is a spirituality and acknowledgment of God that tempers even that strong track (“and how’s your soul? Don’t you know that you will reap back…”).
Vaindirlis pulls out all of the creative stops as producer, writer, arranger, and vocalist on this ambitious work – even to the point of creating the artwork for the beautifully packaged CD. Fans of Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mombazo, and Basia should look into this album, but fans of soul, r&b, and horn-fronted funk bands should enjoy it equally as well. The truth is, Christine Vaindirlis’ Dance Mama just isn’t easy to label.
And that’s exactly what I, for one, have been looking for.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Review - The Phantom Toolbooth - 4/15/2010
Dance Mama!
Artist: Christine Vaindirlis
URL: Http://www.christianevaindirlis.com
Label: Ubuntu World Music
10 tracks / 61:41
Christine Vaindirlis' wonderful debut release is one of those unexpected pleasures – a refreshing detour from the stream of sound-alike bands and drama-queen solo 'artists' that litter the musical landscape these days. Dance Mama (I hope that Christine will forgive me for leaving off the title's exclamation point in deference to this review making better grammatical sense) is a uniquely personal celebration of both the artist's physical homeland and her emotional journey from one culture to another. Never self-indulgent but self-aware enough to allow us to get a peek inside her soul, Vaindirlis also shares her observations about life from Johannesburg to Brooklyn – and this young lady has a lot to say.
Dance Mama combines elements of traditional South African music with a strong dose of jazz, funk, rock and soul. There's a sense of celebration that runs through the album starting with the opening track, “Indaba (Home),” where she sings, “A new day dawns in a brand-new world,...a place where the music never sleeps – where there's dancing and singing, And jamming 'till morning.” This is not to say that Dance Mama is a World Music party mix – far from it. Vaindirlis' music is far too complex, the jams too dense and intense, and her lyrics too deep and thought-provoking to simply call this a dance album, or feel-good music – Dance Mama encompasses much more than that.
Musically, you'll find traces of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Seawind, Basia, Miriam Makeba and others in Vaindirlis' eclectic blend of zydeco, Marabi, world-folk and jazz. Very much in control of every aspect of the project, Christine's imprint is on everything from the writing, arranging, production, and even the package artwork! The horn charts are Tower of Power crisp, the percussion and drum work always hot, the bass pumping and bubbling, the guitar alternately chunky and fiery, and the keyboard work stunning. Tying this all together are Vaindirlis' strong vocals – both lead and back-up – which soar, whoop, and whisper, where needed.
The songs are intricately structured, often shifting tone and tempo once or twice before they're through. “Call to Freedom,” for example, explodes into a tight, powerful jazz/funk groove with a hot horn section backing up the lyrics, “I could tell there was something going on / I know you knew it too... a little fear inside / Hear the call! Hear the call to freedom, hear the call.” The song surprisingly segues to a more hopeful tone at the end where the music dramatically shifts from a minor to a major key, making 'the call to freedom' more hopeful than fearful.
The Seawind-like “Fighting or Surviving” features a wonderful descending horn riff that leads to a stunning monster jam featuring some of the most impressive piano work I've heard in years (a young woman named Hiromi – watch out for her!) followed by some fiery acid-jazz guitar licks.
“Should I Make You Pay” follows with some cool, low-key jazzy playing and subtle, mature vocal stylings from Vaindirlis.
“Tell Me” is perhaps the album's show-stopper, and the first of two back-to-back relationship songs where Christine proves that she's not a lady to mess with. Funky, sassy and powerful, she could intimidate Janet Jackson singing these lyrics: “I don't know why you have to be so nasty / Tell me – what's up with that?,” or “ I'm not your mother, your father, your sister, your brother / and just 'cause you've got money, you think you can abuse me – No!” Once again, there's an impressive acid-jazz middle section powerful enough to scare any sane man into good behavior! The song finishes with a slow, almost-ominous coda: voice and bowed-bass only, intoning, “Don't you know / When the time comes you will reap what you sow? Does it cost you now to be kind? And how's your soul? Don't you know that now? You will reap back....”
The strong woman theme continues on five minutes of hot, funky soul that would make James Brown envious - “No More Drama.” This turns out to be the storm before the calm, said 'calm' being the Basia-like closing ballad, “Making it home Someday,” which brings us full-circle back to the main theme of the project.
Is it time to branch out and widen your musical palate? Dance Mama just might be what you need to experience a little bit of South African spice - by way of Brooklyn, NY.
Bert Saraco
http://www.myspace.com/expressimage
http://expressimagephoto.tripod.com
4 ½ TOCKS
Sunday, April 11, 2010
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