Soundshades

This is an intriguing album with moments of genuine excitement, beauty and ingenuity. Soundshades is the first recording from Yaron Levy, an Israeli composer and oud (lute) player with a gloriously sumptuous tone and the musical bravery to extend an improvisation beyond the obvious. He offers his fellow musicians – playing violin, cello, kanun (zither), woodwind and percussion – equal space to shine. Levy’s style is rooted in the traditions of the Near East, with noticeable influences from medieval Europe and elements of contemporary studio technology – which could be considered either very effective or just puzzling. The title-track is a prime example of this: one of the most successful uses of oud-looping you’ll hear is overburdened by a reverb-soaked ‘atmospheric’ opening and rogue voice samples, similarly, the aching, slow-burn crescendo of ‘Wellsprings’ climaxes with alarmingly histrionic vocals. However, these slips of judgement cannot detract from some excellent performances: Levy’s percussive oud is perfectly balanced by the dark sonority of Eyal Seya’s Turkish clarinet and Mahran Moreb delivers an edgy kanun solo over the mesmeric ostinato of ‘Kol Kohvey Boker’, which lends a real sense of excitement and risk. The weary cliché ‘repays repeated listening’ really is true of Soundshades. Not least of all because then you’ll know when to reach for the fast-forward button.