|
Much to purist's chagin, the innovative use of computer has made headway with an unlikely partner: The Flamenco guitar. Through the radical implementation of software, the basic sound of nylon strings becomes something different, as alluded to in the title and, besides changing timbre, are made to undergo previously unheard changes in tuning, tempo and cadence. This brings about an entire reinventory of styling, although in this instance the change was not so much accepted as it was sought after. It brings Flamenco guitar into a new dimension because those who were experimenting with it were not expecting derivative results. Amazingly, sometimes the left (chordal, note playing) hand is taken out altogether to allow the listener aural access to the strumming and more rhythmic right hand alone. At ther times, virtuoso guitarist Alfredo Lagos is left unhampered to improvise Flamenco themes, again something out-of-the-ordinary for the genre. Still at other times, radical plug-ins applied to the files make Lago seem like an orchestra unto himself, liquifying the classical guitar into purely blasphemous states. Subtly, some notes are replaced with corresponding notes from other instruments or dropped or lifted by many octaves. This disk is one of the greatest experiments in modern music; a stunning confluence of technology and acoustic passion, where the results surely came as a surprise, even to its creators.
|