Primal Magic

by Jonathan WidranOttmar Liebert seemed to have the 1990 flamenco guitar market cornered, but a great promotional push helped L.A. club vets into the limelight with this tasty and contagious collection of jungle-fusion gems. What makes S&F work so well is the rapport their guitars have. Like Acoustic Alchemy with more ethnic elements, their nylon string flamenco stylings blend in a breezy yet melodic manner, accented with just the right amount of Rippington-esque percussion (by Long John Oliva and Luis Perez Ixoneztli) and touches of Charlie Bisharat's violin on smoothies like "Twilight at the Zuq" and "Anochecer." Heightening the excitement is the world music element -- Strunz is from Costa Rica, Farah is from Iran, and their guest musicians hail from such eclectic lands as Colombia, Mexico, Cameroon, Cuba, and the U.S. This potpourri of influences makes Strunz & Farah's sound one of the freshest in world music, even if the similar tempos of several of the tunes makes them hard to tell apart at times. Primal Magic creates this and much, much more. It's a fun, involving listen, something to add to your "something unique" drawer.