Pa’ki pa’ka

by Robert “Robi” Svärd

Dejame sentir la dulce maravilla que tienen tus labios
Dejame decirte morena mia cuanto te amo
Que quiero entregarte lo mas profundo de un sentimiento
Y que tu cuerpo vibre, que vibre con un “te quiero”

Every time I think I heard it all, Songlines proves me wrong. What could one possibly add to what Paco de Lucía has done to flamenco guitar? “Robi” Svärd shows that yes, one can add something else. And that “something else” is not being his “Nordic touch” or (enter here any other cliché pointing to Robi’s origin). At no point his could-have-been-frightening virtuosity stands in the way of his singable, danceable and, well, simply jolly good music. Not exactly what I call “easy listening” but for me the only difficulty was to choose the favourite song! Anyway, here are my top three (for now): Dulce maravilla, with simple but efficient harmonics-driven intro/bridge; bulerías El aire de mi corazón; and a very tasty title track. Enjoy!

Pa’ki pa’ka

1. Pa’ki pa’ka (rumba)
2. El aire de mi corazón (bulerías)
3. Dulce maravilla (alegrías)
4. La chispa (bulerías)
5. Caminando (tangos)
6. Barokería
7. Lágrimas secas (soleá por bulerías)
8. Habana a Suécia (guajiras)
9. Paseo de los tristes (granaina)

Robert “Robi” Svärd — guitars
Miguel “El Cheyenne” — percussion (1—8)
Nani Conde — bass (1, 2, 5)
Alfredo Tejada — vocals (2, 3, 5, 7)
Ahmad Al Khatib — oud/cello (2, 3)
Ann Sehlstedt “La Pantera” — dance (8)

All tracks composed by Robert Svärd except track 7 (public domain, arranged by Robert Svärd)
All lyrics by Alfredo Tejada
Produced by Robert Svärd
Recorded, mixed and mastered at FJR Estudios de grabación, Granada, May — July 2015 by Robert Svärd and Fernando Romero
Cover by Andreas Borg

Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

It was thanks to this book which I read in 1970s as 451 градус по Фаренгейту that I remembered, for the first time, any data in this absurd scale — only to learn, already after Bradbury’s death, that paper does not auto-ignite at this particular temperature. Gary Dexter goes as far as suggesting to replace the famous epigraph

‘Fahrenheit 451: The temperature at which book paper catches fire, and burns’

with

‘Fahrenheit 843: The approximate temperature at which rayon fiber untreated with N-methyl-dimethyl-phosphonopropionamide catches fire, and burns’.

Try telling that to Bradbury fans.

Doesn’t matter. When read in Russian, the book was as scary as it was fascinating. Reading it in English, I found it much less so. Could it be because we live in times when people do not read books anymore anyway? Not just the new generation, but especially the new generation, if my students are anything to go by — my, sometimes I sound awfully old. Bradbury’s future has arrived, and it doesn’t look good, but we are getting used to it.

La Sandunga

by Lila Downs

I discovered Lila Downs in 2004, thanks to Songlines. One of the first issues that I read featured Beginner’s Guide to Lila Downs. Back then, her discography was rather short. Three (of five available) albums were listed as “best”, the new one (Una Sangre) was to be reviewed in the following issue, and La Sandunga, by some reason, was referred to as “best avoided”. And so this snippet of information stayed with me. Now, after avoiding it all these years, I finally bought it, more for completeness’ sake rather than anything else. But what a discovery!

Recorded almost 20 years ago, La Sandunga, far from being just a taste of things to come, is a beautiful piece of work in its own right. Lila’s music is always a fusion, but this one is probably the least “fused” of all her albums. No cumbia, blues or klezmer here. My favourite songs are the two boleros by Álvaro Carrillo, Un poco más and Sabor a mí. The versions of La Llorona and Yunu Yucu Ninu are rather different from you can hear on her later albums. The bonus tracks on this CD are also worth listening to; even Bésame mucho — which you’d think must be, of all Mexican songs, best avoided indeed — sounds fresh. Please give it a listen. You won’t be disappointed.

Boxer 65

by Trace Elliot

And so I said goodbye to my trusty bass combo. I had the ad at both milanuncios and Vibbo (formerly and better known as segundamano.es, which is hardly surprising as “Vibbo” does not make any sense) for at least half a year. In the end, I sold it for a rather princely sum of €160 to a fellow musician here in Las Palmas. We tried the amp in his studio and he was very impressed with the sound quality as well as its pristine state.

Anyone should be. I myself didn’t believe that its nominal output is only 65 watts. I’d say it goes to eleven delivers at least 80 W. The build quality is equally impressive. Not to mention the famous and unbelievably comfy green carpet covering. I spent many a happy hour a-jammin’ while sittin’ on it in my “stairway to hell” period. But it really had to go. I was not using it since 2009 and, after travelling with us to Fuerteventura and then to Gran Canaria, good old Tracy was just gathering dust. Oh well. We had a fifteen-year ride, mate. I hope it will be put to a good use in the new hands.

Specifications

Output: 65 W rms / 8Ω Loudspeaker: Celestion 12" 8Ω Input impedance: >470 kΩ Sensitivity: 77 mV rms Weight: 17 kg Dimensions: 480×410×290 mm

The Day the Earth Stood Still

a film by Robert Wise

The message from a friendly alien is clear: We come in peace. Don’t get too cocky, or we’ll destroy your puny planet.

We spent a cosy Saturday evening watching this film brought to us, once again, by Timur. I honestly can’t say it’s a masterpiece, but at least I finally get the cultural references in Futurama. The movie’s almost total lack of humour made the experience even more hilarious.

Timur pointed out that on the DVD cover (which reproduces an original theatrical release poster), Gort holds quite a different woman. It matters not: nobody in this film ever pays attention to the woman. For example, Klaatu is shot and held by the army guys while Helen escapes unnoticed to deliver “one of the most famous commands in science fiction”, that is, Klaatu barada nikto. The phrase, in supposedly alien language, actually includes two Russian words: никто (nobody) and борода (beard), this latter is used here as a rhyming slang for никогда (never). Thus, apart from a direct message that Klaatu is no more, it contains a boast that nobody will ever (or, at least, until it’s too late) get its meaning. Duh. Another mystery cracked before lunchtime.

The Adventures of Unamuno

by Timur Kulikov

Timur drew several illustrations for his school project on Miguel de Unamuno.

1. Miguel de Unamuno was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright and philosopher...

   

   Unamuno multitasking

2. ...as well as professor and rector at the University of Salamanca.

   

   The University of Salamanca

3. Unamuno was born on 29 September 1864 in Bilbao.

   

   Unamuno was born in Calle Ronda, 16, Bilbao

4. When he was young, Unamuno was competing for a position of Basque language teacher in the Instituto de Bilbao against Sabino Arana and Resurrección María de Azkue; this latter has eventually won the contest.

   

   Unamuno competes for a position of teacher

5. In 1924 Unamuno was kicked out of the university and banished to Fuerteventura where he had nothing better to do than spend his days on the beach.

   

   Unamuno in exile

6. The day he returned to the University from his exile, Unamuno began his lecture by saying “Decíamos ayer...” (“As we were saying yesterday”) as if he had not been absent at all.

   

   Return to the University

7. In 1936 Unamuno had a public quarrel with the Nationalist general Millán Astray.

   

   Unamuno vs Millán Astray

Extraterrestre

a film by Nacho Vigalondo

Life is full of surprises. For example, you wake up don’t-remember-how-did-I-get-here after one-night stand only to discover that aliens are about to land. Or, you flick through the TV channels about midnight and pause on a film that begins with somebody waking up after one-night stand only to discover that aliens are about to land. It’s midweek and, for a change, I am almost ready to go to bed, but no, I get hooked. Good thing that Canaries are one hour behind the Peninsula, otherwise I would have missed it.

Never mind we never get to see the actual aliens — or do we? — this low-budget production puts Hollywood to shame. The movie is clever, funny and sometimes disturbing, in as much Spanish as Nordic way. Wikipedia says it was filmed in Cantabria, but it could have been anywhere really. The characters are a bit weird but very believable; the ending is delightfully ambiguous and wabi-sabey; and Michelle Jenner can do that thing with her eyes!

Now to catch on sleep...