Efrén López and Christos Barbas – Atlas
Seyir Muzik – 28 May 2021
Efrén López and Christos Barbas have worked together on a variety of musical projects for nearly twenty years but this is their first album as an acoustic duet and, as such, it is overdue and very welcome. Christos plays the Ney (an end-blown flute) and the Lavta (Turkish Lute). Efrén also plays the Lavta and a variety of instruments derivative of the lute including the Oud, Tanpura, and others. The album consists mostly of original compositions from both musicians with some pieces rooted in the music of various Middle Eastern traditions. Efrénis renowned for using the studio as a tool to add colour and tone without trying to sound too overpowering, but for ‘Atlas’ he wanted to get a “…naked, simple sound…” closer to the duet concerts he and Christos play to such great acclaim. They have definitely achieved their goal here. To my surprise, I found that the name that popped into my mind was that of Miles Davis who reportedly said “…music is not about the notes you play but about the notes you don’t play…” for one characteristic of this music is the feeling of space you experience as you listen. Compositions from both these musicians seem to revel in leaving room to improvise and depart from the strictures of musical form and tradition when appropriate.
The album opens with ‘The Sea’, a free and open melody that appears to have no clear rhythm unless it be the rhythm of the sea itself. Listen for a while and you begin to detect a pattern of the ocean that is clearly too vast to be expressed by counting beats in a bar. Christos is known for his love of unusual tunings and playing techniques for his instruments and this track is something of a marker for what is to come in that respect. The melody is taken by the Ney whereas the accompaniment is provided by two Ouds, one Turkish and one Iraqui, tuned “…in such a way that the open strings of both together would create chords and scales…”, so from this alone you can gather that you are in for some adventurous music. ‘Hoquetus’ is a piece composed for two Lavtas. Inspired by a mediaeval form of music with the same name this pieces requires that the melody be shared between the two instruments which never play together. Adventurous indeed. I was mesmerised. I listened to this track several times to try and distinguish the two instruments with little success. The track is mixed so as to leave no clues. An absorbing experience. ‘Kürdi Peşrev’ is a 17th-century Greek tune that features stunning improvisational interplay between the Ney and the Rabab (an Afghan lute which is, unusually, fretted and which uses sympathetic strings to create a sound with an eerie natural reverb that is somewhat reminiscent of the Indian Sitar). If this all sounds intense then listen to ‘Perasma’, another tune featuring the Rabab and Ney in the lively 6/8 time which is seemingly very popular in Iraqui music. It is a relatively complex melodic theme played in unison at speed with virtuosic ability that will amaze.
This album is thoroughly enjoyable on many levels. If you are missing your travel to sunny climes this music will take you out of yourself for a while. On a deeper level, this music is complex and will invite investigation and exploration for the curious listener whatever the level of knowledge of the music of the Middle East. If you are a player of string or wind instruments it will leave you spellbound.
Atlas is out now. Available via Bandcamp: https://efrenlopez.bandcamp.com/album/atlas-full-9-track-album
http://www.christosbarbas.com/ | https://www.efrenlopez.net/