DOUGLAS FIELD relishes the hard-boiled language, satire and humour of the third and last of the Harlem trilogy
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Album reviews with Ben Lunn: November 22, 2021
New releases from iyatra Quartet, Various Artists (Between Music and Ritual) and Yannick Nezet-Seguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra
STEPHANIE BROWN draws attention to the hidden labour of the female embroiderers, and how a 19th century replica made no such error
MIK SABIERS revels in a band that ploughs an idiosyncratic furrow of expletive laden, guitar-driven alt rock
ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Synthetic Sincerity, Our Hero, Balthazar, Heartstopper Forever, and A Year In London
The bard invites readers to a gig, raps for Clacton, and lays out the Burnham-Hurzeler conundrum
RON JACOBS recommends an important book that enhances the oppositional theories put forth by Fanon and, in doing so, remakes psychology itself
iyatra Quartet
Break the Dawn
Self-produced
★★★
MADE UP of musicians playing clarinet(s), violin, cello and a small militia of percussion, the iyatra Quartet have self-released new album Break the Dawn, which blends curious knick-knacks of British history with more distant influences, including Arabic love songs and Indian ragas.
Traditionally, this album would fall into the “world music” bracket, but this term is slightly redundant, so it would almost be better described as “classical” music, since traditions such as ragas are as old (if not older) than most European musical institutions. The material is handled with care, but one still feels that it is treated with a certain distance.
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