Reviews -
June 10, 2012
|
Rosa Negra
Fado ladino
No data available; 2007
After the international success of Mariza, it was inevitable that
attempts to promote other fado performers to the mass market would
follow. Rosa Negra try hard to be commercial by mixing the traditional
music of Portugal with, well, a bit of everything.
The aim, they say, is to mix this gently mournful style with "south Europe and Mediterranean music influences, Arab moods, feelings and ways, and North African rhythms".
And that's what they do, using piano, trumpet and percussion and strings. (There's even an "oriental dancer" when they perform live.) The singer, Carmo, is impressive enough, though lacking Mariza's spontaneity and emotional power, but she is badly let down by the uninspired and at times fussy arrangements and tedious swirling strings. She should find another band.
|
