Call of the Desert
By
Samer Fanek
Written by
Steve Sheppard
There can be nothing better to broaden the mind than travel,
a global perspective enhances the world view of a person, and should make them
more understanding of the ways and traditions of societies that reside on this
planet. That aforementioned statement is an explanation of some of the musical
vibrations I have found within this album, as I come from the so called west,
but now live in a Middle Eastern country, but life here in Cyprus is a mix of
multiple cultures that I personally adore.
That colourful statement also enhances my view of this quite
stunningly brilliant album from the artist, the journey through it starts with Call of the Desert - Part I, as our
sojourn with Samer Fanek begins.
This is one of the most cinematic arrangements I have heard from the artist, a
full flowing mix of melodies and moods as we make our way across the hot sands until
the next caravansary is reached.
Fanek is indeed an expressive and passionate pianist, but now
surrounding himself with a multitude of instrumentation that touches the very
soul of this region, a sublime moment of genius indeed. Listen to and enjoy the
refrains of Nighttime Celebrations,
and particularly enjoy the percussive addition, where a rhythmic pastiche of sublime
class can be found, until there is nothing more left to do, other than to
dance.
A more reflective piece can be found on the mood-filled and
emotive composition entitled Where Did
the Time Go. Time as it passes, leaves not a mark upon the hour glass of
the day; it slips through the fingers and into the oblivion of an endless
night. Here Fanek seeks to explore a slightly darker room with a view, the
darkness is the well of memories, the view is what lies ahead; a powerful performance
on piano can be found here, one that I found very profound and deeply
emotional.
Into The Sun, when we reach this track we are
minded that our location is one of the hottest on the planet, and this piece is
certainly played with a fiery passion by the artist; a percussive power base
can also be found here, one that when mixed with the added instrumentation,
particularly the strings, almost gifts us a little Middle Eastern rock to
enjoy.
The Old Arabic Shop is a wonderfully happy piece, one
that reminds me of when we go to our local markets and enjoy the energy, the
fun, the banter and excitement of the moment, when we meet old friends, share a
coffee and have a chat. This is a perfect description of what I think the
artist is trying to portray in his music here, and if so, he has captured this
timeless moment of social interactive magic beautifully.
As we step with one tentative foot into the second half of
the album, we come across an offering that contains a certain level of tension
and expectation built into the weave of the arrangement, on Dramatic Encounters, the added middle
eastern instrumentation here works wonders to build on that mood, and it seems
as if the pace is building all the while, one which will of course will lead up
to a spectacular conclusion.
Samer Fanek could have written this one for us
in Cyprus, it is entitled Mediterranean Moments and trust me our
day is full of them, this one suits my location perfectly, as it mixes both
western and eastern cultures through its arrangement craft-fully, this full
flowing rhythmic and addictive offering has a sublime sense of movement, laced
with a textured tapestry of a deliciously smooth back drop of sound to utterly
enjoy.
The deeper waters of this release are full of picturesque
moments of music, a good example is Pleading
to You, a sumptuous piano leads the way into a deeply emotive composition,
the intensity here is sublime and the power of the moment through its
wonderfully layered and interlaced global narratives, are simply a sight to behold
musically.
We find our penultimate doorway creaking open to reveal the
track Desert Rush, an apt name
indeed as the tonal vibrations are amazingly powerful and commanding, the
multi-instrumental nature and almost symphonic gestures here, manifest a piece
with the capability of pleasing all that will listen to it, and enticing those
into its realm who are testing the water into this genre, this is a breath
taking cinematic opus that does nothing more that please with each and every
note played.
We return to the beginning for our last offering as we
reprise Call of the Desert - Part II,
a more tempered composition can be found to lead us out of the album, but one
that leaves us with many memories of our journey along the way.
Call of the Desert by Samer Fanek is without doubt the best work of the artist thus far, it has it all, the artist has embraced his roots, combined his motifs of east and west, and come up with what is without doubt his best work with ease. Call of the Desert by Samer Fanek, is an emotional roller coaster of a multi-cultural delight, one can almost smell the roasted nuts and taste the Falafel; here is an album that will take you to a place that you will never want to leave, a wonderfully inspiring album indeed.
You can purchase the album here:
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