MALABARISIAS REVIEWS MALABARISIAS REVIEWS
Malabarisias weaves bridges between the ancient and the modern, the distant and the local, the past and the present, between memories and dreams. Quimantu's is a music born out of folklore, but it is not a folklore that is frozen in some mythical bygone age. Steeped in the traditions of diverse regions, the members of Quimantu (from Chile, Venezuela and England) together create vibrant and haunting tapestries of sound which are proof that, in an ever-smaller 'globalised' world, cultures flow in many directions.
The rich instrumentation of Malabarisias ranges from the bluesy saxophone and clarinet to the clarity of the classical violin and 'cello, from the beauty of the charango and quena of the Andes to the rhythmical berimbau of Afro-Brazil. The songs are almost all compositions of founding member Mauricio Venegas; they combine traditional rhythms with original melodies and lyrics of such depth they could stand alone as poems in their own right. In songs such as 'Quiénes/Who?', Quimantú express the sorrow of departure, exile and separation from one's native land ('Whose fault is it? For coldness and absence/For bitter moons, for my lost dreams'), while other songs such as 'Sudamérica/South America' are imbued with optimism that 'Slowly the continent awakes/From a long night of chains'. Malabarisias also contains striking arrangements of traditional songs; Quimantú's version of 'Wraggle Taggle Gypsies' breathes new life into an old favourite and leads the listener to appreciate afresh a song which the band makes their own, imbuing it with an eastern flavour and a Spanish chorus.
Malabarisias is at once original and traditional, innovative and ancient in its flavours and textures. In the fourth track, 'La Ñusta', Venegas sings of the colourful people who celebrate the Festival of Tirana in Chile, where 'they bring their songs/Their faith and their truthfulness'. Quimantú, in their astonishingly beautiful music, bring us their songs, faith and truthfulness. In a world where politicians seek to manufacture fear of the 'other' and divide peoples of different faiths and nationalities, the music of Quimantú, combining the local with the distant and the past with the present, reminds us that there is far more that unites us on this planet.
Hazel Marsh, Lecturer in Contemporary Latin American Studies, University of East Anglia