Farmers Market - Surfin' USSR (2008)

[myhomeismycastle]

[size=11pt]Farmers Market - Surfin USSR[/size]
[size=9pt]GENRE........ Surf-klezmer?[/size]

LABEL........  IPECAC RECORDINGS
RELEASEDATE..  Apr-25-2008

      01 Surfin Ussr                                        04:49
      02 Surfin Ussr Part 2 (Top Marx From The Serf Board!)  02:46
      03 Lodtschitze Mini Maritza (Ferry Cross The Mersey)    05:07
      04 Anyone Who Remembers Vladiwoodstock Wasnt There!    04:37
      05 Dissident Harmony Sisters Camel Call                01:39
      06 To Hell And Baku                                    03:59
      07 Traktor Tracks Across The Tundra                    01:15
      08 From Prussia With Love                              04:09
      09 Red Square Dance                                    07:49
      10 The Dismantling Of The Soviet Onion Made Us Cry      03:22
      11 Kalashnikov Wedding                                  02:51
      12 Steroid Train Trip                                  02:21
      13 Meanwhile Back At The Agricultural Workers          04:59
          Collective
      14 Ladyboys Night At The Cultural Relativism Saloon    02:06
      15 One Day, Son, All I Own Will Still Belong To The    06:12
          State
      16 Yagoda                                              02:36

60:37 min

Formed in 1991, Farmers Market is a Norwegian quintet that specializes in Balkan-jazz fusion. Led by multi-instrumentalist Stian Carstensen (accordion, guitar, banjo, kaval), the group has sporadically functioned over the last seventeen years, releasing just three albums (one live) before Surfin’ USSR. The band has worked with a spate of guest musicians, including American composer/saxophonist Michael Brecker and clarinetist Filip Simeonov from Taraf de Haidouks.
Surfin’ USSR begins with a grimy surf riff that is met with fluttering horns, high-pitched guitar chords, and a feverish Balkan sound. A quick bridge merges the Balkan sound with tablas, and the guitar plays the famous 007 chords over the rejoined brass.
The album’s third track then breaks the established style. The string-filled tune is cinematic, and merges reverberated Hawaiian slide guitar solos with tablas. A touch of bluegrass appears in the following song after a funky wah pedal. Traditional world vocals are scattered about the album; low-register chants roll underneath heavy guitar work on the disc’s sixth song.
The stylistic mash is typical of Farmers Market. Its second album, Musikk Fra Hybridene, fused elements like bluegrass, metal, classical, and commercial music with jazz, rock, and Balkan tunes. Surfin’ USSR draws fewer parallels to Mr. Bungle, Naked City, or Estradasphere, but remains as prolific in synthesis and as talent infused as its peers.

amazon review

This is surf music fused with Gypsy music. Conceptually the CD is a masterpiece. The idea of fusing Surf music and Gypsy/Bulgarian wedding music is just brilliant. While it might sound a bit out there, there are quite a few similarities between the both styles, most notable is that both genres feature runs of single note solos at breakneck speeds. The leader of the group, Stian Carstensen is an accordion player from Norway. The other two featured soloists are Nils Olav Johansen on guitars and Bulgarian reedist Trifon Trifonov. The highlights of the album are the many occasions where the 3 soloists trade off on blazing fast rifs. To round out the CD there is a touch of humor and a touch of a few other genres. The album titles and themes are a spoof on the main concept of Surf music and Eastern Europe/USSR during the cold war. In addition to the surf and gypsy music there are also a few touches of eccentric Asian music and blue grass (w/ banjo playing) throw in. A few or the tracks feature vocals that are actually quite good, but most of the album is w/o vocals. Here is the lineup.

Stian Carstensen - accordian
Nils-Olav Johansen - guitars, vocals, & banjo?
Jarle Vespestad - drums
Trifon Trifonov - saxophone & clarinet?
Fin Guttormsen - bass

Farmers Market: www.farmers-market.net
Ipecac Recordings: www.ipecac.com
http://www.myspace.com/farmersmarkettheband

Groesstenteils instrumental ist auch diese neue Ipecac Veroeffentlichung. Akkordeon, Surf, Klezmer, Hula, Folk, Arabian, Pop und ein bisschen Jazz werden hier zu einem erstaunlich homogenen Sound zusammengefuegt. Alles Mid-tempo und mit dem Understatement gespielt, als waere diese Mischung das selbstverstaendlichste Radio-geduedel der Welt.
Eine wunderschoene musikalische Entdeckungsreise, aber ich habs gern etwas aggressiver und bissiger, deswegen geb ich nur schlappe 7/10