Review of Danza de Andalucia by Asgeir&Mo, 2011

Italian Translation

Put the CD on your player or headphones on your MP3 player ... close your eyes ...  are you in Spain? Are we in Seville? Or in Granada? Under the walls of the Alhambra?

Now get the cd and let's see who are the musicians. They are a duo Asgeir & Mo, violin and guitar, not exactly Spanish names, am I right? In fact they are from Stavanger, a city and a municipality located in the Norwegian country of Rogaland. That's right: Norway.

I asked to Google Map the distance between Stavanger and Seville: 3,508 kilometers. I'm not an expert about flamenco, but if you would have asked methe origin of the musicians on this album the last place on earth that I would have thought would have been without a doubt Norway. Excellent skill? Perfect example of cultural crossover? Fatal consequence of the globalization of culture?

Probably all these three things together, surely  Asgeir Aarøen and Bjarte Mo are very serious, they are not  trying to be another Gypsy Kings's fake, but are looking for their own personal style. Musically they are excellent professionals, as are the others who accompany them in this project: Gabriel Chicaiza  and Eddie Andresen on percussion, double bass Magnus Rod Haugland, Schold Aina is a gospel singer. As "special guest" the dancer Noelia Sabarea.

A really good album, simple, enjoyable and without any easy winks to the audience. 3,508 kilometers from the cold northern Norway to the warm Mediterranean Andalusia? Hearing them play do not seem quite so many.