Gold & Wax (Dig)

Gigi | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Palm Pictures (Audio
• ASIN: B0001K2L56
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,752 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #73 in Music > World Music > Africa > General AAS
  • #75 in Music > World Music > Africa > General

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Taking the world music scene by storm with her self-titled debut, Ethiopian singer Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw picks up right where she left off five years ago with Gold & Wax. Producer Bill Laswell is again behind the boards, and he's assembled another cosmopolitan cast of backing musicians, who range from Guns N' Roses guitarist Buckethead and Indian production team Midival Punditz to P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell and jazz trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer. Ever the master aural architect, Laswell finds a way fuse styles as well as the players' strong personalities into a seamless whole. Gigi herself soars siren-like over the top of ambient leaning tunes, or she digs in with her plaintive high-pitched voice on more rhythmically anchored pieces. Standouts include the English-language "Utopia," the rhythmically churning and horn-driven "Salam," and the anthemic "Gomelayeye." Not much of a departure from her debut, but there's no point in complaining about more of a very good thing. -- Tad Hendrickson

Product Description

Product Description The long-awaited follow-up to Gigi’s stellar debut has finally landed. On her second effort, Gold & Wax, Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw has again proven her ability to seamlessly work the songs of her Ethiopian ancestry into a contemporary vocal sound befitting the worlds of jazz, electronica and even dub-inspired African rhythms. Produced by Bill Laswell, Gold & Wax maintains an illustrious gleam; every instrument falls perfectly into place, centered on the singer’s near-angelic range.

The praise for Gigi was universal and unabashed. The Miami Herald rightfully called Gigi "Ethiopia’s gift to the world," while The NY Times described her sound as "full of unexpected angles and modal curves." Her vocals, according to XLR8R, "sounds sweeter than a cup of Ethiopian honey wine"; while the Village Voice agreed saying she has "not just a luxuriously rich voice but an unassumingly cosmopolitan presence." Gigi is an ambassador of ancient sound with modern sensibilities.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This cast wax technique leaves behind sculpted gold ;-), May 16, 2006

By 

Astrida Valigorsky (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gold & Wax (Dig) (Audio CD)

Ever since I bought Gigi's first album in 2001 I've been hoping and praying for some new material. Well, this is worth the wait, and at least three listens before I go to bed tonight. Others have said the album covered familiar territory-- and in that sense they're right. They've also said the territory is good, so why not?-- right too!

This album is different too, though. It seems almost more upbeat and optimistic than the earlier GIGI album, yet there is a variety of sentiment as well.

Of the familiar territory-- I think Acha probably sounds the most like something I've heard on other Gigi albums. However, that being said-- its still lovely-- the high notes bubble into your ears like a gentle spring rain.

Of the new territory-- Gomelaleye. Gomelaleye might also be the standout song here on the first listen-- its haunting in a good way-- a woven combination of Gigi's masterful layered unfolding lyric story that builds over a driving backbeat that is pierced with sweet strings and cymbals. I think its the most complex piece I've heard from her yet.

The producers have probably smartly included a song here that is in English. Utopia will probably satisfy those Gigi followers who have been inarticulately humming her tunes with something they can follow more precisely. It might also provide her with something that can turn up more easily on the radio in the United States. It kind of reminds me of "I Will Follow" on Baaba Maal's Nomad Soul album.

I think Nomad Soul got Baaba Maal a bigger market. Hopefully this album will do the same for Gigi, her talent deserves that recognition, and the world needs to be reminded that there exists something exquisitely more sophisticated than the warblings of the next winning contestant on American Idol.

Go treat your ears!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic Perfection, October 4, 2006

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gold & Wax (Dig) (Audio CD)

Gigi's music is an authentic experience where the ancient and modern mingle in an intriguing soul infusion of rich rhythms and alluring and at times ethereal vocals. Gold and Wax is at times hypnotic, at times deeply sensuous and always captivating in its sophistication.

Gigi's voice melts into "Gomelaleye" as it merges with an electronic world. By the end of the song, you are heady from the sweet perfection of the warm soothing textures and Gigi's ecstatic vocals. In "Ambasale" she sings with such a clarity of vision that seems to float above the surging depths of an ever changing complexity. You can hear a world of cultural influences in her music, all while her voice remains firmly rooted in her heritage.

You honestly don't need to understand one word of Amharic to be completely entranced by each melodic rendition, although the layers of meaning may be hidden within the beauty. I love "Salam" and the images my mind forms as I imagine her singing this song out in an African night blissfully lost in her own ecstatic wild and sweet ziraleet.

Gold and Wax is an intriguing title because it takes much more heat to melt gold to purity than to melt pure wax. Gigi knows when to use her vocal strengths and when to soften the heat. She can whisper over a candle without melting the wax or take an ancient idea into her heart and melt it like gold to form contemporary beauty in "Utopia." This comforting song is filled with hope and draws on the idea of unity.

What comes across is a purity of sound that is exquisite especially when Ustad Sultan Khan plays the sarangi in "Hulu-Dane" where you have to take a deep breath, it is that beautiful.

After listening to this album for seven or eight times, new sounds emerge as if from an everchanging African sunset and merge with your mind and soul in the most intriguing of ways. At first the obvious appears and then the mysterious hidden element evolves and awakens and you are left with a sense of wonder.

As the wax melts away with the heat of the gold, Gigi's voice becomes the goldsmith creating precious treasures. She reveals the poetry of the Ethiopian heart and effortlessly mingles her voice with the musical artistry of Abegasu Shiota, Bernie Worrell, Nils Petter Molvaer, Moges Habte, Assaye Zegeye, Bill Laswell (electronic percussion), Robert Musso (acoustic guitar), Karsh Kale (drums), Aiyb Dieng, MIDIval Punditz and Lili Haydn (violin). Gigi's Gold and Wax is rare in beauty and an album you will want in your collection if you love world music.

~The Rebecca Review
lived in Africa for 12 years

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gigi, August 23, 2006

By 

Amy "random music fan" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gold & Wax (Dig) (Audio CD)

Having not heard any other Gigi albums I can't compare to previous efforts but I can certainly say that this one is good.

I have no idea what she is singing but she has a good voice and the songs have nice beats behind them and are very catchy however hard to sing along with for obvious reasons