The Four Quarters [Import]

1. First Quarter

2. Second Quarter

3. Third Quarter

4. Fourth Quarter

The Four Quarters,Vladislav Delay,Huume Germany,Dance Music,Electronic,Experimental Dub,Experimental Techno,Finland,Pop

M'Bem di Fora
Average customer rating:

Este cd è maravilhoso!

4 stars because I am sure Lura/Toy Vieira will be even better next time

Another artistic album

Accomplished.

Embodies a pure love of country life, despite its hardships.

M'Bem di Fora
Lura
Manufacturer: Four Quarters Ent
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Cape Verde | Africa | International | Styles | Music
General | International | Styles | Music
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Di Korpu Ku Alma

Balancê

Djin Djin

CéU

Mi Sueño

ASIN: B000N60H3Q
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Tracks:

Bida Mariadu
Ponciana
Romaria
No Bem Fala
As-Agua
Es Anu Raboitas Ka Di Fiansa
M'Bem Di Fora
Mari D'Ascenson
Galanton
Pensa Dret
Festa Di Nha Kumpadri
Choro
Fitico Di Funana

Amazon.com

Fans of Cesaria Evora have been kept in short commons for some years by a relative dearth of new material and emerging talent. But Lura, who was born in Portugal of Cape Verdean parents, is clearly a contender for latter's throne. The beautiful young singer describes herself as a country girl and as such, is more interested in rural styles like the funana, bataku and the European, colonial-based mazurka than in the more urban morna, a barroom blues associated with the elder diva. Her songs, many of them self-composed, deal with small-town realities like a mother's advice to her son in hard times, an unplanned pregnancy, uninhibited holiday celebrations and other tales that might well be discussed on a neighbor's door-step. This is not to say that she is a narrow-minded provincial or hide-bound traditionalist; her arrangements are paragons of acoustic elegance, owing as much to R&B, Argentinean tango, post-Tropicalia Brazilian pop and French chanson as hometown firesides. Her voice, a clear mezzo-soprano-to-alto, ranges from girlish to smoky but as her material tends toward upbeat rhythms, it is her sun-drenched, precisely calibrated melodic sense and crackerjack phrasing that anchors each tune. The title track, a frenetic hip-swinger sung as a duet with Zeco di Nha Reinalda, could make a stone dance. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews:

Este cd è maravilhoso!.......2007-07-22

O quarto, o sonido è perfeito, as cançoes sao muito lindas mesmo, Ela descobriu a muito tempo as suas origem, ou seja as sua raizes, eu gosto muito deste cd mas acho que di korpu... e um bocadinho melhor, mas acqui pode ouvir cançoes maravilhosas mesmo!

4 stars because I am sure Lura/Toy Vieira will be even better next time.......2007-07-02

I really believe this record is an extraordinary achievement in Cape verdean music. If Lura's first major label international release, "With heart and soul", reflected her roots in the new Batuku style under the influence of the now legendary Orlando Pantera (she covered 4 Pantera songs on that record), here she spreads her wings further, in true Krioulu style, assimilating what she finds best in a broad variety of styles, both indigenous to the islands and from abroad. The result is spectacular, and much broader and deeper than her previous work. Her voice is getting much better with age (for an interesting view of how her voice has improved over the years, check out her vocals on Bonga's record, Mulemba Xangola). And as Lura is surrounding herself with a very talented and diverse set of musicians whose work on this record is very good. Most notably, Lura's keyboardist, Toy Vieira, really comes into his own as a songwriter on this record. He clearly has a great talent for songwriting and the Toy Vieira/Lura collaboration promises to be a very fruitful one. This record establishes Lura as the most interesting and innovative artist recording in Krioulu today. I look forward to giving 5 stars to her next release because it will undoubtedly be even better.

Another artistic album.......2007-05-15

I was lucky enough to see Lura live here in Washington, D.C. a couple of years ago and became an instant fan.

This album was well worth the wait and I'm happy to see that she's getting support from her record company.

Accomplished........2007-04-24

Big-voiced, big-afro'd, seductive Cape Verdean Lura began her career as backing singer for Cesaria Evora - the islands' great diva.

But while the 29-year-old Lura's 2005 debut "Di Korpu ku Alma" seemed to establish her as Evora's natural successor, a number of younger pretenders have since emerged, notably Sara Tavares and Mayra Andrade. Both are barely into their twenties and pushing a similarly tasteful, if slightly anodyne variant on Evora's classic, sultry Cape Verde sound.

Lura's principal counter-weapon is her voice, its dark, distinctively African timbre preventing her music from descending into mere prettiness.

Yet while the slower numbers on this accomplished second album have a stately languor almost worthy of Evora herself, the smoothness of the sound doesn't suit the more up-tempo pieces.
Their relentless brightness leaves listeners longing for a more earthy production.

Embodies a pure love of country life, despite its hardships........2007-04-14

Portuguese singer Lura presents M'bem Di Fora ("I Come From The Country"), her second North American music CD album, which draws heavily upon her love of her countryside home, and the unique musical traditions of the Cape Verde islands. Cape Verde is a semi-arid island string of ten islands hundreds of miles from mainland Africa; each island has its own distinct rhythms, and all of them formed inspiration for Lura's lively music anthology. From the hope of people waiting for rain to return, to the ambience of midsummer celebration, to the song about a daughter who fell in love with a poor islander rather than fulfill her mother's dream of marrying a rich foreigner, the songs of M'bem Di Fora embodies a pure love of country life, despite its hardships.

Average customer rating:

An Electric Shock!
Terrific stuff
Tcheka Emerging

Nu Monda
Tcheka
Manufacturer: Four Quarters Ent
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Africa | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music
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Miss Perfumado
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ASIN: B000OCZC0W
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Tracks:

Agony
I Want To Kiss You
Is This Friendship
I'm Old
Kre Ka Nha
Rude
Rozadi Rezadu
Pico's Road
Talulu
Satan
Let's Plow
Mixture

Customer Reviews:

An Electric Shock!.......2007-07-06

A true exponent of Cape Verde music and culture, Tcheka aka is a talent that brings a fresh approach to his work. In his American label debut (Four Quarters Entertainment) "Nu Monda" is as invigorating as it is enlightening. Tcheka's forceful voice along with his sense of style ensconces the listener into a world of colour and texture that only his native island can offer. This album will take you on a journey that will leave you wanting more with every play. The album is thoughtfully sequenced and flows freely from track to track. Job well done.Again not a project I have had the pleasure to work on but a must have for my own library.

Terrific stuff.......2007-06-27

My first exposure to the music of Cape Verde. This is delightful, charming music; memorable songs, great singing, good arrangements, good sound.

Tcheka Emerging .......2007-06-18

I purchased the imported version of "Nu Monda" awhile ago and was instantly taken with Tcheka, as a matter of fact, I couldn't put the cd away. I listened to "Nu Monda" faithfully every night,it gave me a warm, spiritual,and reflective feeling. Tcheka (aka Manual Lopes Andrade) is one of many young emerging Cape Verdean artists leading the charge,with a new blend of traditional and contemporary songs. It is always a challenge to write about music with lyrics in languages that are not understood, but despite this limitation of mine, I can say with great conviction that the voice and music of Tcheka is universally inspirational. I have tried to think about other artists who sound similar, but I have come up short, comparisons will do no justice for this legend in the making. Tcheka cries out his words with his amazing range; he is an outstanding guitarist and composer who creates a beautiful aura with pleasant rhythms mixed in. The standout track for me on this well produced cd, is Pico's Road (Strada Pico), followed by Rozadi Rezadou, and Let's Plow (Nu Monda). If you are interested in Cape Verdean music and culture and want to experience a refreshing sound, Tcheka is your guide.

Average customer rating:

In Regards to David R. Smedley's Review...
An Excellent Example of Masekela in Concert

Live at the Market Theatre (2CD SET)
Hugh Masekela
Manufacturer: Four Quarters Ent
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

South Africa | Africa | International | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music
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Still Grazing

ASIN: B000R9YE56
Release Date: 2007-07-17

Tracks:

Ibala Lam
The Boy's Doin' It
Ashiko
Ha Le Se
Stimela
Lady
Grazing In the Grass
Mandela

Tracks:

Thuma Mina
Up Township
Happy Mama
District Six
Market Place
Khauleza
Thanayi

Customer Reviews:

In Regards to David R. Smedley's Review..........2007-07-24

Yes the DVD will be released also through Four Quarters Entertainment but I have no street date at this time. The DVD is currently being mastered.

Ivan J. Goldberg

An Excellent Example of Masekela in Concert.......2007-07-21

Hugh Masekela has done live recordings before -- from a "staged" live recording with Herb Alpert in the late 1970s to various true live concerts in the United Kingdom and southern Africa.

This recording, released July 2007, is different in that it features the great South African flugelhorn and cornet player, in concert in Johannesburg at the reknowned Market Theater, in celebration of its 30th anniversary. The strength of the recording comes from the fact that is a complete representation of Masekela in concert, with complete, extended tracks, rather than tracks that have been edited (as was the case with his last live recording, Hope, from the mid-1990s, and which was a splicing of live recordings).

The strongest tracks are "The Boy's Doin' It" and "Ashiko", but the offering of "Stimela (Coal Train)" is as moving as ever, for its subject matter describing the conscription of young men and boys to work in the gold and mineral mines of "southeran Africa and surrounding metropoli...fifteen hours a day for almost....noooo....payyyy". His voice is still potent but carries more of a gravelly tone, but is backed substantively by John Selolwane, who scats in some tunes very reminiscently of George Benson. The rendition of "Mandela (also known as "Bring Him Back Home") edits the original lyrics, as Masekela has been doing for years in the wake of the troubles of Winnie Mandela post Nelson Mandela's release from prison. Still, with its happy and joyous tone, in the wake of history now, the song was prescient when released on the terrific Tomorrow album, but has since taken on the tone of joyous affirmation for the still growing democracy in South Africa. "Thuma Mina" is a track known as "Send Me" on the "Time" recording, and is a great track emphasizing the desire to have community with the downtrodden and dispossessed.

Most of the recording comes form his recent studio recordings, Revival, Time, the excellent Sixty,and Black to the Future.

In summer 2007, Masekela began a tour of the United States and Canada featuring nost of the band members from the "Uptownship" recording, such as Tony Cedras, John Selolwane, Francis Fuster, and notably, Morris Goldberg on saxophone and pennywhistle. Selolwane and Fuster play on this recording. In New York City, in a concert to celebrate the release of the new recording, the performance generally mirrored this recording.

The liner notes indicate that the recording was broascast by SABC, which makes one wonder if it might be conoverted to a DVD for sale. There aren't a lot of iterations of Masekela performing on film, except for the Hugh Masekela - Homecoming Concert, the feature on him in the excellent documentary film Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, and his participation in the groundbreaking (but somewhat controversial at the time) Graceland recording by Paul Simon and the tour to support that.

This is a clearly better live recording than Live at the BBC, especially for sound purposes (although "Soweto Blues", on the BBC recording, is worth the price of the cd itself). This recording is a better recording than "Hope" because of the complete, extended tracks.

This is a fine recording if you want to hear Hugh Masekela, a musician of commitment and passion for his country and for human rights, in a complete concert venue, particularly in a South African venue with such a venerable history.

Average customer rating:

Wanderlust
Kiran Ahluwalia
Manufacturer: Four Quarters Ent
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

India | India & Pakistan | International | Styles | Music

General | India & Pakistan | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000PAAIDE
Release Date: 2007-06-25

Tracks:

Jo Dil
Merey Mathay
Teray Darsan
Haal-e-Dil
Yakeenan
Soch Ka
Tumba
Aks
Jaag Na Jaag
Haath Apne

Average customer rating:

More minimal goodness from Delay

The Four Quarters
Vladislav Delay
Manufacturer: Huume Germany
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000AOVKZU
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Tracks:

First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Customer Reviews:

More minimal goodness from Delay.......2005-11-26

Although it's been some time since I actually reviewed a release by Vladislav Delay (you'd have to go clear back to his Entain release), I've kept an ear on his output over the course of the past couple years. In large part, he's continued his work in long-form electronic excursions that take bits of everything from minimal ambient to dub and work them into cool, tense worlds of sound that could easily be the soundtrack for a futuristic realm where everyone wears form-fitting clothes completely lacking in color and germs are a thing of the past.

It's not to say that his releases are sterile, because they're far from it, but they definitely run clean and often lean, focusing in on the micro as well as the journey at hand. In the past year, he's been even more prolific than usual, teaming up with AGF (aka Antye Greie) on this year's Explode with Greie and Craig Armstrong on the forthcoming release as The Dolls, and with this newest full-length release under his own name.

The Four Quarters contains many of the aforementioned qualities of the work of Delay, and fans of his previous work will eat it up and find some new pleasing wrinkles as well. With four tracks that run a total of just over an hour (averaging almost exactly fifteen minutes apiece), the disc takes its time in getting places and although it has a very similar feel throughout, manages just enough twists to keep interesting. In fact, the opening track "The First Quarter," drops dubby low end rumbles and microsamples of everything from breakbeat to hip-hop in order to propel the track through a hazy landscape of skittery bursts and tonal washes.

In large part, that's how the action continues on the release, with "The Second Quarter" again laying down pretty drones of sound and sparse interjections of beat programming that feel like they're falling apart while being played through the empty halls of an old building. "The Third Quarter" seems to take a slightly more aggressive path, as rhythmic structures again struggle to find form out of shadowy darkness before it settles in and moves along with a subtle beat that steadily gains power before being obliterated again. "The Fourth Quarter" mainly picks up where the previous tracks left off, dropping delayed (pun intended perhaps), dub-style melodica sounds while unleashing swirls of beats that only coalesce into something even slightly solid once in awhile.

So it goes with The Four Quarters, which is largely an ambient release broken up with completely fractured rhythms and micro-elements that serve mainly as sporadic placeholders. In general, it seems that Delay has rounded off some of the more clinical corners of his previous releases, leaving a slightly more human element that doesn't ever really jell like some of his minimal electronic musician contemporaries, but still makes for an interesting journey. To some it will sound pretty unfocused, but to me it captures the feel of modern life pretty well, with a combination of odd calm and blatant distractions.

(from almost cool music reviews)