Luminous: Helen Rivero & Ian Blake

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'They've treated the material in a way that is totally refreshing. The music is confident, engaging and has a wonderful element of surprise. It's a fine new CD from these two talented musicians.'

That's Paul Petran of ABC Radio National's Music Deli, talking about Luminous, by two of Australia's most inventive musicians working in the world music area: Helen Rivero is a captivating performer known for her singing of Spanish and Sephardic material, and on Luminous she stretches out with her cast of characters, improvising with voiceplay and revelling in the texture of a dozen languages.

Producer and composer Ian Blake brings multi-instrumental talent and sound design to the project: you'll hear the cittern, lyre, bass clarinet, paraceltic harp, mbira, bass recorder, soprano sax and bass harmonica plus evocative soundscapes.

You can get Luminous now at iTunes

Here's a review by Mark D. Moss in 'Sing Out!'

Helen Rivero is a singer and composer born in Sydney, Australia, to Spanish immigrants who has focused her work on jazz, cabaret and folk songs from around the world. Ian Blake is a British transplant multi-instrumentalist who has worked with English country dance group Pyewackett, Eric Bogle, and British world music chameleon Andrew Cronshaw. For this stunningly recorded collection, these two artists bring all those influences and styles to a mix of lullabies from around the world, including pieces in Zulu, Yiddish, French, Russian, Creole, Italian, Micmac and many more (17 pieces in all).

Rivero is a singer who is nothing if not unique. She uses her voice as a supple musical instrument, effortlessly darting from the lyric to vocalese and sound effects, painting a striking, often haunting, series of minipaintings from each of the cultures represented here. Blake is an instrumental master, providing a broad range of sensitively played arrangements for these pieces with an arsenal of woodwinds, keyboards and strings. Peter Kennard (percussion) and Julian Thompson (cello) fill out the ensemble.

The excellent production is pure and clean, very reminiscent of Blake's production work on Andrew Cronshaw's award winning release Ochre from last year. It is a joy just to listen to the sound of this recording, with each vocal and instrument cleanly presented with a "whole" sound ... open and clear.

The material seems to be a mixture of traditional and composed music from, literally, all over the world. It's both a tribute to the artistry of the duo that the material works together and that each piece stands up independently of the whole. I wish there was more background about the material provided. In the end, though, this is music that stands on its own. I don't want to mistakenly make it seem like this is any kind of folkloric work, but if you're open to a cool, jazzy take on tradition from true musical masters, this is a beautiful recording well worth the effort to find.

And here's Jaslyn Hall in the Australian magazine 'Limelight'

'The centrepiece of this album is Helen Rivero's voice. Her vocal control is amazing and, coupled with a rich tone and strong interpretative power, it makes Luminous compelling listening. Ian Blake complements her voice with an instrumental soundscape filled with equally complex textures and delicate solos. Like most original work, Luminous is a challenge to describe but very easy to listen to. The CD is a collection of 17 lullabies from around the world, and Rivero and Blake have done extensive research with songs sung in Zulu, Italian, Welsh, Yiddish, Greek and Icelandic to name a few.

But this description only tells half the story. Each lullaby is given a quirky, original arrangement using word play, vocal acrobatics, woodwinds, percussion, keyboard and strings to create songs that sometimes shimmer as in dreams or quiver on the threshold of excitement. Much of Luminous is exceptionally enjoyable and the duo must be great to see live in concert.

This is music with a triple purpose. First, it's a celebration of this Australian duo's musical friendship. Second, it draws the listener to the wealth of music from around the world. Finally, it forces you to look outside your preconceived notions of music genres - not a bad thing for musicians and listeners alike. Luminous allows us considerable breathing space to dream for a bright and peaceful future.'

Luminous is available from CD Baby and indie-cds.com

Visit www.ianblake.net and www.helenrivero.com to listen to more tracks and find out about our latest projects. ..

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Members:

Ian Blake: bass clarinet, soprano sax, recorders, cittern, guitar, bass, paraceltic harp, mbira, lyre, melodica, bass harmonica, piano, organ and computeral meddling.

Peter Kennard: percussion, gu-cheng. And he plays a nifty bit of guitar when we venture forth for concerts.

Julian Thompson: cello

Paul Koerbin: yayla tanbur

members of the Canberran wildlife community: backing vocals

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