Urban Turban & Shamim: Paradis

The rather irreverent Swedish contemporary ensemble, teaming up with the Sufi singer, Shamim Naghedi are propelled from their romp around 1960s and 1970s Sweden into a peripatetic orbit around that traverses the musical topography of the country sides of Iran, India and the rest of the mysterious world. All the while, Shamim, together with Swedes Bobby Ringström, Pelle Bolander, Mukriyan Abubakr, Jörgen Adolfsson, Ulla Wrethagan, Anna Hammarsten, Mikael Svanevik and Peter Bryngelsson, making friends with folk as far removed as Swedish country girls are from Bollywood heroes along the way. It’s a journey anyone who falls prey to the allure of the beguiling variety of music from paths unknown will want to take.

Travelling thus through Paradis with Shamim and Urban Turban, one can’t help falling prey to the charms of her sense of freedom as she turns the world of music onto its head with a brand new style of Babelesque pop. All this, while the elegance of Anna Hammarsten’s playing becomes part of the natural landscape that mixes beauty and danger with the sounds of Mukriyan Abubakr’s and Pelle Bolander’s violins and Bobby Ringström’s double bass, and Mikael Svanevik’s darbouka with Ulla Wrethagan’s cello and Peter Bryngelsson’s slide guitar.

Of course the brilliance of Shamim’s many travelling companions makes for a magical spin on what were once famous Swedish popular tunes; only now, they have been spun into something wholly new and beckoning harmonically and rhythmically. It’s a spellbinding disc with Shamim’s high and lonesome voice ululating as if in the stratosphere, while the elemental instrumentation eggs her on. Whether evocative of freezing nights or long rainy days, each track – from the folk blues of “Flottarkärlek” to the roistering “Främling” and beyond – on Paradis takes us into some beautiful new place with trusted and inspiring friends as Urban Turban puts a brand new spin on some familiar old music.

Track list – 1: Sånt är livet; 2: Är det konstigt att man längtar bort nån gång; 3: Han måste gå; 4: Gråt inga tårar; 5: Flottarkärlek; 6: Du är den ende; 7: Jag ger dig min morgon; 8: Bygga upp ett berg; 9: Min älskling du är som en ros; 10: Främling; 11: Jag vill ha en egen måne; 12: Det börjar verka kärlek banne mig

Personnel – Shamim Naghedi: lead vocals; Bobby Ringström: electric doublebass; Pelle Bolander: violin; Mukriyan Abubakr: violin; Jörgen Adolfsson: saxophones and contrabass clarinet; Ulla Wrethagan: vocal arrangements, cello, mandolin, vocals and handclaps; Anna Hammarsten: accordion, vocals and handclaps; Mikael Svanevik: string arrangements, percussion, darbouka, ghatam, harmonium, autoharp and Shruti-box; Peter Bryngelsson: compositions, arrangements, production, slide guitar, ud mandolin, cümbüs, dobro, Hindustani slide guitar and rubber bass

Released – 2017
Label – Caprice Records
Runtime – 43:04