" La Musgaña take world music back to the Central Spain of the Middle Ages. It's raw, funky stuff, played on a variety of bagpipes, wood flutes, fiddles, guitar, accordion and hurdy-gurdy." The Boston Phoenix, Jan 18, 2007
"Radical new interpretations of traditional music…sounding nearly ancient, yet never archaic" Global Rhythm Magazine
La Musgaña returns to America after an eight year hiatus and with their first CD in a decade, Temas Profanos (Mad River Records).
Based in Madrid, La Musgaña (pronounced La Moos-gahn-yah) plays the sinuous, syncopated music of Central Spain where Moroccans and Celts, Europeans and Africans have all left their mark. The tunes on their new CD Temas Profanos ("themes profane" – i.e. secular) come from both daily life and life-changing events: courting songs and wedding dances, village celebrations and lullabies, harvest songs and even a prayer for rain.
"A real thrill of discovery," says Sing Out Magazine. "You can hear not only Spain, but much of the Mediterranean and North Africa in the melodies and especially the rhythms, that percolate beautifully."
Celebrating twenty years together, La Musgaña (meaning "the water rat") features original members Jamie Muñoz, wooden flutes, clarinets, accordion, bagpipe & soprano sax; Carlos Beceiro, cittern, acoustic guitar, bouzouki, bass, hurdy-gurdy; along with two younger musicians: Jorge Arribas on accordion and Diego Galáz on violin.
"La Musgaña's take on the folk music of central Spain is as old as the troubadors and as young as the electric guitar…fruited with exquisite melodies, freighted with melancholy and frenzied with irresistible rhythms." Kevin Convey, The Boston Herald
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