Start playing guitar How to choose a guitar for beginners?
Alt Reviews

Jazzy world music: Pamplona Group and Jose Lobo release new singles

Jazzy world music: Pamplona Group and Jose Lobo release new singles

Pamplona Grup – Otto Ries

Oh, the joys of globalization and thorough musical education. Back in olden times, down in the Balkans, the only instruments Serbians were legally able to own were brass and drums. The reason for that was that the party-starting instruments could also double as military equipment, announcing citizens of incoming fighting. That’s at least the story I’ve been told, and whether accurate or not I feel I can tell it, haven’t spent so much time in the Balkans, among this style of folk music. 

Now, Pamplona Grup are from Switzerland, a country that lately is importing not just football players, but, seemingly, music as well. There’s also a school of thought about Swiss-made art encapsulated by a certain famous quote by Orson Welles in The Third Man. It bears mentioning that the single “Otto Ries” is less interested in until-dawn post-wedding parties, but rather in the polyrhythms associated with Balkan dances, and the, overall, zaniness, of this style. 

Truth be told, having been exposed to this kind of music for so long, I no longer hear it as odd. The ears belonging to the members of Pamplona Grup are still innocent to these stylings, one assumes. They take a post-rock approach to the writing of this piece. The song veers into a subtle jazz direction with an almost funeral march undertone to it. And, as expected, by the end of the song, we are thrust into full gipsy-jazz territory. 

Yep, it’s a well-written piece. Wait until the Westerners learn about the stuff that usually accompanies the kind of music they are wholeheartedly embracing. Their wigs will flip!


Jose Lobo – Poder Decir Adios

There’s a beautiful and understated presence about Jose Lobo that makes me think of Os Mutantes. Just like the iconic trio, Lobo’s music, most likely, aims towards acceptance in the classical sense. However, it’s the quirks that make both of them highly enjoyable. 

Poder Decir Adios with a small sound of an acoustic guitar playing Bossanova rhythms while assisted by tender vocals. This melancholic anthem to love lost then moves into Latin-jazz territory. 

This is a nice song. The Venezuela-born songwriter effortlessly and earnestly creates a sound that many Western hipsters would waste countless hours in order to pass off as folk music in local coffee houses. Jose Lobo, however, is the real deal. 

About author

Eduard Banulescu is a writer, blogger, and musician. As a content writer, Eduard has contributed to numerous websites and publications, including FootballCoin, Play2Earn, BeIN Crypto, Business2Community, NapoliSerieA, Extra Time Talk, Nitrogen Sports, Bavarian FootballWorks, etc. He has written a book about Nirvana, hosts a music podcasts, and writes weekly content about some of the best, new and old, alternative musicians. Eduard also runs and acts as editor-in-chief of the alternative rock music website www.alt77.com. Mr. Banulescu is also a musician, having played and recorded in various bands and as a solo artist.
Related posts
7.8
Alt Reviews

SONIC BOMB and Mapache Reviewed

8.0
Alt Reviews

The Shattered Mind Machine and Jim Lomonaco Reviewed

Album ReviewsAlt Reviews

Bilardo - “Tarpaulin” Review

8.0
Alt Reviews

Chac Xol and Who Killed James Reviewed

Be part of the Alt77 community

Leave a Reply