- Cloud Valley Music website -
- Andrew Cronshaw website -
- Andrew Cronshaw MySpace -

- Back to Reviews Introduction page -

Written in fRoots issue 302/303, 2008


FELPEYU
Canteros
Tierra TDCD 006 (2008)

Felpeyu, formed in 1991, gigged very extensively and became one of Asturies’s best-known roots bands internationally. The package of their 2003 CD Ya! had an on-the-road theme, with the cover photos taken from their tour-van. In 2006 they were travelling between gigs in northern Spain when their vehicle came off the road and overturned. Two members, singer and bassist Carlos Redondo and singer and bouzouki player Ígor Medio, were killed.
      The remaining five members, most of whom were seriously injured, have picked themselves up and continued with the band, joined by lead singer and bassist Dudu Puente and guitarist and bouzouki player Moises Suárez. This new CD is a triumph, full of memorable traditional songs, tunes and trad tunes with new lyrics, all of them with interesting backgrounds and words, well translated into English in the booklet. One song and its note refer obliquely and sensitively to their feelings but there’s no wallowing; their energy goes into making the music, and the album has an uplifting freshness that reaches out to the listener.
      The sound is driven by a rhythm section of bouzouki, guitar, bass and bodhran. In some Galician and Asturian bands’ albums this sort of pan-Celtic strum, or sometimes over-emphasised plonky bass playing, has obscured the distinctiveness of the traditional music (as has some uninspired self-composition), but that phase seems to be passing and certainly Canteros shows Felpeyu getting the balance just right. The material is strong, Puente’s singing is relaxedly direct, likeable and well integrated with and supported by the instrumentation – in addition to the rhythm section there’s accordion, fiddle and Asturian gaitas or flute – and three of the band deliver well-harmonising backing vocals. No guest artists; what you hear is what you get, and it’s exemplary. Long may they gig.
      www.felpeyu.com, www.myspace.com/felpeyu


© 2008 Andrew Cronshaw
 

You're welcome to quote from reviews on this site, but please credit the writer and fRoots.

Links:
fRoots - The feature and review-packed UK-based monthly world roots music magazine in which these reviews were published, and by whose permission they're reproduced here.

It's not practical to give, and keep up to date, current contact details and sales sources for all the artists and labels in these reviews, but try Googling for them, and where possible buy direct from the artists.
CDRoots.com in the USA, run by Cliff Furnald, is a reliable and independent online retail source, with reviews, of many of the CDs in these reviews; it's connected to his excellent online magazine Rootsworld.com 

For more reviews click on the regions below

NORDIC        BALTIC        IBERIA (& islands)   

CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE, & CAUCASUS   

OTHER EUROPEAN        AMERICAS        OTHER, AND WORLD IN GENERAL

- Back to Reviews Introduction page -