Substrat

Guillem Ballaz is a musician and musical historian who has set out to explore and revitalise the Catalan folk songs that were once backed by the square tambourine. That may sound like an admirable, though somewhat obscure and academic project, but the resulting album is an intriguing blend of traditional influences, contemporary influences and surprises, with the ancient lullabies and dance tunes now matched against anything from jazz trumpet to the joiks of the Norwegian Sámi singer Mari Boine. Ballaz dominates the set with his cool, easy-going voice driven on by the throbbing beat of the tambourine – which he constructed himself – backed by guitar, Catalan folk violin and double bass, and passages of unexpected production work. So a laid-back, gently percussive ballad like ‘Masroig’ is matched against ‘Saint Jaume Del Correró’, where Ballaz’ deep, half-spoken vocals make him sound like Barcelona's answer to Leonard Cohen, or the pained and edgy ‘Aurtxo Txikia’, which includes fine trumpet work from Andrea Motis. Mari Boine's compelling vocals are saved for the penultimate track, ‘Estais’. She has long been a campaigner on climate change, warning of the fragility of the Arctic, and here the ancient Catalan tradition is re-worked to warn that such dangers also extend to the Mediterranean. Worth checking out.