Tariq by Andrés Belmonte

Tariq brings together Andres Belmonte's latest musical expressions, inspired from his trips around the Mediterranean. From Egyptian, Arabic and Ottoman Music to his inner Valencian roots mixed with his Jazz knowledge. He has filtered all this singularity art expression by his own feelings and perceptions, where each "maqam" or mode has its own colour, and each rhythm its suggestive walk.

"My journey starts in Valencia, arrives to Cairo while passing through Istanbul and finally rests in Valencia.During this journey El Henna and Hobbi arise, both composed by a colossus from the Egyptian Golden age in the 20th century, Mohamed Abdel Wahab. Both compositions are originally interpreted by the classical arab orquestra and its transformation to this quartet format has been a tremendous challenge. Hobbi, for instance, is a composition I came across thanks to Hazem Shaheen, an Egyptian I met in Crete and whose music instantly captivated me. He is the autor of Rehla, a theme we got to play together in Cairo and which I introduce with a taqsim (improvisation over a "maqam" or mode) in the Arab nei. In the composition Tariq I attempt to transmit the joy experienced throughout this Mediterranean journey, all with a gnawa festive rythm. In Abu el Arabi, a fictitious character from Egyptian legend I discovered in a documentary, I present my vision of how humor is experienced in Egypt.However, Terra is a theme written expressly to listen to the subtle beauty of the ud. The composition is based in a type of maqam "kurdi" that appears in traditional Valencian music in a very similar way as it appears in Turkish music.Cairo is my humble homage to this magnificent city. It includes melodies from my master Mohamed Fouda, the maqam "bayati" (Um Kulzum's favourite), the saudi "khaliji" rythm I encountered in that casino... Besides, Lahen Tayyah is a samai from Al-Andalus introduced to me by Efrén López, a kind of 10/8 ballad from Turkish and Arab music. In it, my only accomplishment is to allow the rythm and melody's beauty and simplicity speak for themselves.As regards for Zar, this is a theme based in an exorcism ritual done by Nubian women in Egypt, which is played with flute and percussion.Finally, to put an end to the disc, I decided to interpret a 'Cant de Batre' in the traditional Valencian, or Turkish, or Arab way…who knows..."

Andrés Belmonte

andresbelmonte.com
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