Customer Reviews

Tierra de Nadie

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, yes, it IS a bagpipe. Though from listening to it most probably wouldn't know it. Jose Angel Hevia is such a gifted musician that he takes bagpipe playing to a new high. No visions of the emerald highlands here! :-)

It is hard to put this music into a category. Though Hevia is from the Asturian region of Spain, which has Celtic roots, the music is VERY different. You hear very clearly the Celtic influences in this CD. But upon closer examination, you also hear touches of Middle Eastern, a little Indian as well as European gypsy rhythms. And, of course, Hevia lives in Spain and you hear that too! In a lot of ways this is the ultimate FUSION album.

There are two tracks I suggest you listen to: "Busindre Reel," and "El Garrotin." If you like those two songs, than you will love this CD. It is representative of what the CD is all about and the rich fusion of so many types of styles into one fabric known as Hevia! As a perveyor of World Music I highly suggest this CD!

I stumbled blind across this one, having heard nothing about it but being interested in pipes, celtic music in general, and hearing more Spanish oriented traditional music. The only other performers I had heard from Asturia were Llan de Cubel, who are quite good. The piping here is as skillful as it is in that more traditional band, but the approach to the production is more modern. It reminds me of Martyn Bennet--especially his debut CD, which did a decent job of melding the pipes with modern keyboard and percussion sounds.

Hevia plays Asturian pipes and an electric pipe of his own design. Somehow his electronic pipe sometimes sound Spanish and other times does a decent impression of uillean pipes! Several tracks also feature low whistle, and Hevia's playing has an expressive quality I haven't heard since Davy Spillane. There's also some vocals in Spanish by guests, but in small parts and used as sound to nice effect. I was real impressed with this release, and have been listening to it a lot since picking it up. It's a well-rounded, very listenable CD.

when you first listen to this incredible cd,you "taste" the essence of celtic music.Celtic sounds from Asturias have never been heard as good as this,with the exception of groups like LLAN DE CUBEL,or FELPEYU.The difference is the way HEVIA mixes traditional excerpts from Asturian music culture, and contemporary music.I highly recommend this high-quality cd to everyone who feels the powerful influence of Celtic music.

I ran into this CD by a mistake. I was serching for a rock band but mispelled. So, i ran into Hevia, sampled some of his songs and said "this guy jams" what the heck i bought the CD. OH MY LANTA! this guy is better than i thought, this has got to be one of the best CD's i have ever bought in my life! Please buy this CD it is the most incredible music your ears will ever hear! THIS SPANIERD GUY "HEVIA" IS AMAZING!

I still remember the first time I heard of José Ángel Hevia Velasco, it was actually during a concert on TV when I was in Poland on vacation a few years ago. I was never into exclusive bagpipe music before but it might have been love at first sight and sound, I not only found Hevia to be very attractive but his music squeezed my soul. He's actually playing electronic MIDI bagpipes which he helped invent. I still remember the first time I saw him on TV, my dad was actually taping that concert because loves world music and he was saying how cool the music is I thought, who cares about the music the guy is hot, but after mere minutes I too was drawn into the music, enough to get the CD and give it a spin or two once in a while.

My favorite -Burnside wheel is a magical piece, best savored loud with wind blowing thought the listener's hair, a really cool and magical track and probably his most famous one. This is perfect for fans of fun new stuff and Celtic music, Hevia even played music in the Lord of the Rings movies so its part movie sounds, part fantasy and then some folk. There are flues and hot desert sounds some produced by ancient instruments and other by electronic equipment fusing old and new into a new sound. Any guy who can make bagpipes look cool is A+ in my book.


- Kasia S.

I stumbled across "Tierra de Nadie" on a listening station in a local music store, and particularly enjoyed "Busindre Reel". The other tracks also looked quite promising.

It wasn't until I got home and listened through the whole CD, however, that I discovered a most interesting feature: Track 12. True, it's not on the program listing, but if you advance Track 11 to time index 4:39, you will find it. It starts out with a female chorus similar to "El Ramu". Then comes a driving "rock" beat and the most incredibly melancholy music. It has at the same time the feeling of modernity and of immense antiquity. I listened to it enraptured -- then listened to it again. This, in my opinion, is the best part of the whole CD. Why it isn't officially listed or named is beyond me.

Another fascinating aspect of the CD is the language. At first glance, I thought it was Spanish. It is not. True, many linguists consider Asturian to be a Spanish dialect, but there are some noteworthy differences, both in the sound and in the way the language is written (see the program notes for an example).

All in all, "Tierra de Nadie" is well worth the money, and has already given me hours of enjoyment.

Jose Angel Hevia, a native of Asturias (Spain), managed to mix in this album the spirit that Afro Celt Sound System (now Afrocelts) carries in their albums, with a New Age twist. Conveying the local musical traditions of his region, at the center of all songs lies his multitone electronic (Asturian) bagpipe, surrounded by musical instruments from other latitudes: Scottish bagpipes, Arab lutes, Celtic Bodhrans and more contemporary tambourines, guitars, bass guitars, pianos, programmed loops, shakers and drums. All of them are combined in a seamless way that makes you feel as if for centuries they belonged together. In "Tierra de Nadie" (No-man's Land), they contribute (as Hevia himself says) to enrich "the cultural diversity of Mankind..."

If you enjoy this album, make sure to also get yourself a copy of the soundtrack to "The Sea Inside", by Alejandro Amenabar. Though not focused on Asturian traditional music, it has some beautiful songs inspired by the people and landscapes of neighboring Galicia.

Este cd nos lleva a las alturas. Para los que creian que gaitas solo habia en Escocia esto puede ser una revelación. Hevia logra un mix impecable entre sus raices celtiberas y otras influencias valiosas.

If Mike Oldfield was a youthful spaniard and tubular bells were substituted for bagpipes, what you then have is Hevia. This is NOT "new age" but folk with a modern interpretation that gets your toes tapping. For those who prefer a more traditional sound, try his earlier release. MUY CALIENTE!

This is a stunning CD, that I encourage everyone who has (or thinks he might have) an interest in pipe music to buy. Hevia's technical prowess, and his seamless merger of the traditional and the modern, is impressive. No adult that I have played this recording for has failed to be moved by it. As an added bonus, my five month-old son finds the music mesmerizing!