The Sephardics - Sephardic Dialogues [Umland Records]

Put out on the circuit via Essen's ever active Umland Records label on December 1st, 2k25 is "Sephardic Dialogues" a triple CD album set by The Sephardics quartet in cooperation with artists like the Marseille-based band outfit Biensüre, Oren Ambarchi and percussionist Ramesh Shotham as well as NYC-composer Elliott Sharp for one of the albums CDs respectively. Collaborating with Biensüre on the first album the interpretation of Sephardic songs turns out to be a rather hot and dancefloor focused, percussion driven affair with a surprisingly uplifting twist at the end of the opening piece "Nananina" whilst cuts like "After" rely on seductive Downbeat rhythms and a TripHop-esque vibe as well as the expressive voice of Hakan Toprak whereas "Dicho" seems to go down a more minimalist and thrillingly enchanted sonic route. In conjunction with Oren Ambarchi and Ramesh Shotham The Sephardics are following a rather solemn and melancholia-driven approach in pieces like "A Donde" which perfectly reflects Oren Ambarchi's oftentimes minimalist and stripped down experimentalism, at time even bordering echoes of Post-PostRock for those who know whilst "M-O-R" weighs in fascinatingly off-kilter violins, tongue-in-cheek sweeps and dense, perfectly executed Improv sequences which seem to be rather at home in Contemporary Classical x Modern Composition than in a context of religious tradition whilst "Rosa" even features rather Indietronica- x Electronica-leaning crossover sequences reminiscent of past works of producers like Pluramon on labels like Mille Plateaux. Finally we see composer Elliott Sharp leading The Sephardics into a realm of complex Jazz arrangements and rather seductive groove sequences with "Migrant" whilst further exploring the depth of complex, yet subdued Avantgarde Jazz and longing, sustained non-vocalisms and what seem to be heavy electric guitar solos blown over from afar with "Splash", followed by the yearning string melancholia of "Drift", the deeply spiritual Jazz minimalisms of "Current" and, in contrast, the tender, soft and all embracing vocal storytelling of "Cien Drahmas" just to name a few. Quite a fascinating album which surely transcends the sephardic realm for many a reason. Go check.

Album artwork on Instagram!