Les Fleurs du Levant

In the 60s, a curious release on the Smithsonian Folkways label featured the well-known Korean folk song, ‘Arirang’ played on Japanese and Chinese instruments: the first time such a pan-Asian fusion had been heard. Camkytiwa attempt something similar. They are a quartet of Asian women, at least three of whom live in France: Vietnamese vocalist Huong Thanh, Korean geomungo (zither) player E’Joung-Ju, Yan Li on Chinese erhu (fiddle) and Fumie Hihara on Japanese koto (zither) and shamisen (lute). The ensemble is supported by an array of resonant percussion.

Unlike some questionable exports that have recently emerged from East Asia, this album has considerable integrity: there’s no crass fusion here. It is unified largely by the Vietnamese vocals, and 12 of the 14 tracks are based on Vietnamese songs. The album is at its most successful when the vocals work in counterpoint with the erhu on ‘Ngoi Tura Man Thuyen’ or are underpinned by geomungo harmonies, as on ‘Ly Cay Khe’. Purists will be happy, in that each individual instrument is played just as it would be in its native tradition. And yes, ‘Arirang’ features, in a form that curiously juxtaposes the pentatonic Korean geomungo with a diatonic Japanese koto, and some slightly awkward-sounding pitching arises when the erhu tries to join in. This, however, can readily be overlooked in what is otherwise a surprisingly good listen.