Thank goodness for electricity! Exotic Extremes is an instrumenal Balkan music album by Portland, Oregon's electric guitarist Kevin Ferguson. Actually Ferguson is from Beaverton, and the album officially includes dance tunes from various parts of the Ottoman Empire. A majority of the tunes are from the weird Ottoman-metered countries of Bulgaria and Macedonia. But you can also hear a few tracks from Egypt, Serbia/Romania, and Israel. They are all traditional.
It's now possible for musicians in the Balkans to play whatever they please, not just gaidas. On the other hand, this is the first Balkan album I've heard that concertedly showcases electric guitar! Fortunately, Ferguson is up to the dizzying wedding band speed standard and, although the notes have been cleaned up to greater or lesser extent in the baths of prog rock, he's captured the soul of the music. "I've tried to match the corresponding ornamentation, tone, phrasing, rhythmic accents, grace notes, and other nuances as much as possible," he explains in the liner notes. You can't exactly match a gaida with the broader chimey sound of electric strings, but with the gap you can make a tune sound interesting and exciting.
Fusion between the soul of Balkan music and searing guitar has a lot of heat potential, as Balkans Without Borders owners well know. My own favorites of this album are in a little trio at the end of the 16 tracks. "Teshkoto," a Macedonian dance in 4/4 and 7/8 time bridges the gap between Balkan music and metal exotica. It is analagous to Timo Tolkki having the presence to play Finnish folk tunes. On this and the last track, "Shaddy Ya Denny" (a measured 4/4), the tempo is slow enough for Ferguson to shade and ornament the notes in a powerful manner. In the middle, "Debka Druz" (a 4/4 from Israel) just seems to have a pleasant, funky tune.
Tunes from Macedonia ("Revisko Oro" in 11/16) and Bulgaria ("Triti Puti" in 2/4) can be played with mind buzzing speed, the rhythm clatter of the band's bass (Chris Goldthorpe) and drums steeping the tunes in modern local color. The Serbian/Romanian "Kukunjesce Kolo" (2/4) could back an exotic chase scene in a silent film. The Egyptian "Gazaira" (4/4), played on acoustic guitar and hand drums, is much more conservative, much more similar to a conventional Middle Eastern performance. They're all different in their own way.
Exotic Extremes is a lot of fun and an interesting foray into the Alterno-Balkan world.
