Nidi D'Arac

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Diane

Nidi D'Arac

Post by Diane »

At WOMAD last weekend I saw only a small part of Nidi D'Arac's performance, but that was enough to have me buy their excellent album, Taranta Container.

Guardian review by Robin Denselow, July 7:

Nidi D'Arac are southern Italy's answer to Oysterband and Transglobal Underground. Formed more than a decade ago by Alessandro Coppola, they set out to revive and update the traditional music of their region, tarantella, a style based around rapid-fire tambourine percussion and associated with a whirling folk dance that is said to cure victims of the bite of a local spider. Nidi D'Arac's slick, engaging treatment of the music involves sturdy acoustic passages in which Coppola's vocals are backed by his guitar work, violin and accordion, and then thunderous bursts of folk-rock, electronica and dub. Released in advance of the band's appearance at Womad and other festivals, this album features new recordings of some of their best-known songs, with inspired, rapid-fire violin work on Gocce, and an impressive mixture of acoustic to dub styles on Ronde Noe. But it's let down by the final five tracks, in which producers and DJs from across Europe remix the songs, with variable results; Amsterdam's StreamerPilot make them sound like a novelty dance outfit. I suspect they will sound far better playing live.
check them out:

http://www.myspace.com/nididarac


translation for first three tracks:

Ahi Tamburieddhu!

Oh, Tambourine!

My tamborine comes from Rome
Brought by a lady from Naples

Where did the tarantula sting me
Under the hem of my skirt

You danced as you have new shoes
As mine are old, I can not dance

You danced til your feet flew away
Fell down on your knees, both knees

You danced well, so near
the woman goes far away if the man
moves in too close

My tambourine comes from Rome
Brought by a lady from Naples

----

Ronde Noe

New Ronde

One evening I passed by but she was not there
The courtyard was full but seemed empty

I asked the people where she was
Yes, they saw her here with her eyes cast down

But another said she wasn't here
She went to the ball, she went to the ball

I went to the ball and found her dancing
in a flimsy red skirt

I danced with her two or three times
And kissed her savoury mouth

My friend said, "don't do that
who kisses that woman is imprisoned for life"

And so I'm in prison for life
My trousers tied up with string

Proud of my deeds I'm in prison for life
My trousers tied up with silk

-----

Goche

Drops

The first one flowed from the eyes
And another from the brow

The third from a cloud
The fourth from blood that burned

The fifth from the dew of a flower
The sixth from an ocean wave dying

The seventh and eighth are twins
In a night shooting tears of stars

The ninth was a drop of holy water
The tenth tarantula's venom
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