Electric Gypsyland 2 by Various Artists
reviewed by: Sean
The liner notes of Electric Gypsyland 2 offer this analogy: “an imaginary, stylized vision of old-time village life, a bit like a Chagall painting revisited by a minimalist.” That pretty much sums it up, but for those not majoring in art history, imagine traditional Balkan Gypsy music filtered and processed with modern electronic touches, chopped up and sampled beyond recognition, and that begins to get at what Electric Gypsyland 2 is after. The trend of modern vs. traditional is a pretty familiar one, but what prevents this double-disc album from falling into the trap of so many other re-imaginings is that the beats aren’t overlaid so much as they are integrated into the music, all by contemporary musicians ranging from Animal Collective to Susheela Raman. And the fact that Balkan gypsy music carries an energy that seems to lend itself naturally to electronic flourishes doesn’t hurt, either.
(if you want to hear some of the original, un-remixed tracks, check out the second disc)
play: Med/High