in review / By Bryan Osper

The Beltane Sessions

AkaBella

(Dec. 17, 2009)  The human voice is a most spiritual and mysterious force. The first instrument of expression in the history of our species has always been the means of our deepest forms of communication; be it with each other, between a human and the Earth, or through a song which is sung as a message to the gods.

On a musical level, the power of a beautifully realized harmony and the strength that lies in the manipulation of our most natural and unique instrument is undeniable. Always moving, it is at times overwhelming.

GALLERY >

The five ladies of AkaBella are experienced in the exploitation of this truth: that the human voice just might be the most powerful instrument on the planet; as is evidenced in the recordings presented on their debut EP, The Beltane Sessions.

The album was recorded over a two-night span at the Arcata Playhouse in late April of 2009 (hence the reference to the “Beltane,” an ancient Gaelic festival observed at the beginning of May). The girls performed the same songs both nights to a hushed (though enraptured) audience, with slight variances, and later chose the best renditions for inclusion.  The result is a musical joyride through the ages; a cross-cultural journey of spiritual and literal expression presented through the purity of five female voices in harmony.

Evidenced within is each of the girls’ personal connections with various traditional and contemporary songs from many different cultures, many of them sacred, but a few of them playful, somber, even lustful. There is a type of spirituality evident in this music that unfortunately seems to be lost in most contemporary popular music. All comparisons to traditional a capella spiritual singing aside, the girls’ respect for the sacred essence within the context of these songs is clear.

The AkaBella girls are very serious about their music and they have all had individual experiences in studying music for different lengths of time, through different focuses and with different degrees of intensity.

Verena Reece, for instance, has probably had the most experience studying certain types of traditional African music, including traditional Zimbabwean and West African music, and is therefore a crucial element to the presentation of tracks such as “Monono/Bukatiende,” “Yemaya” and “Wolambo.”

“Wolambo” is an homage to the keepers of the musical flame of ancient West African musical traditions known as djalis, one of whom has a close connection to much of the West African music that has been played in this town over the last 10 years.

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