- country:Mexico
- style(s):Latin, Sephardic
- label:Fugazi Records
- artist posted by:Moonstruck Music Promotion
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Jaramar is a Mexican singer who discovered early music some 20 years ago. Since then she has found in this music the ideal medium for expressing herself. Her work is composed of elements from the past and from the present. She uses musical forms that evolved many centuries aga and in this project are looking for present-day ears more familiair with a different type of sound. It is a way of reaching out to old languages to find a link with the present. It is a search in which she is attempting to unite, among other things, contemporary technology with the purity of tradition.
Jaramar's performances are sensuous and expressive, where teh musica is as important as the manner of interpretation. She makes use not only of the different nuances of her voice but also uses the expressiveness of her whole body and occassionally also visual and dance elements that attempt to widen her possibilities of expression.
Jaramar's repertoire is made up of songs where we can find the mystical and the sensuous, the sacred and the profane, the regional and the universal.
Jaramar has chosen for some of her projects the music created in Spain when Moorisch, Jewish and Christian cultures lived in the same territory, thus producing works of a great musical wealth.
From that, she elaborates a musical fusion using the elements of ancient and ethnic traditions and from the roots of Mexican Mestizo music, but with a contemporary sound and colour and a very personal touch.
BAND LINE UP
Jaramar, voz (voice)
Nathalie Braux, clarinete, sax alto (clarinet, alto sax)
Miguel Angel Gutiérrez, guitarras acústica, electroacústica y sintetizada (acoustic, electroacoustic and sinthezised guitars)
Héctor Aguilar, percusiones (percussions)
Carlos Avilez, bajo fretless electroacústico (fretless electroacoustic bass)
SELECTED REVIEWS:
“Jaramar’s voice is a spell that flows quietly toward the turbulent waters of the spirit…” (Xavier Velasco, UnoMas Uno)
“A sublime sound symbiosis. Postmodern, but of an unrestrained beauty.” (Epoca)
“Like those confabulatori nocturni who created “The Thousand and One Nights”, Jaramar Soto is a reminder that poetry and song walk always hand in hand and, above all things, are eternal.” (Cesar Moheno, Circulo Mixup)
“Jaramar, gifted with an extremely expressive voice is, when she sings, a living reminiscence.” (David Cortés, La Jornada Semanal)
“From Jaramar springs the pulse of that universe where the new is generated, structures are broken and other ways of naming things are born...Every song is a wounding arrow, a poetry that is neither touched nor felt but that penetrates and vibrates deeply.” (Silvia Eugenia Castillero, Siglo 21)
“Could you possibly resist the singing of Jaramar and the musicality of her companions?...No one would dare to break the harmony achieved by these musicians, immersed in their songs that mix Moorish, Jewish and Christian roots:” (Xavier Quirarte, El Nacional)
“In record, but above all in concert, Jaramar is truly moving. She has opted for a singing practice that seems an unusual choice nowadays: to give one’s voice to a feeling, a passion, an emotion...”
(Arturo García Hernández, La Jornada)
“Jaramar is the sea goddess of the Huichol indians. Her voice emerges: mermaid’s song that caresses and soothes the senses.” (Patricia Camacho, La Jornada)
“...through Jaramar and her musicians, the art of the medieval Sephardic song crosses the centuries and becomes timeless. With the tips of her fingers, Jaramar draws imaginary figures in the air, while her words build possible stories in the world of dreams...” (Xavier Quirarte, El Nacional)
“Jaramar’s marvellous and sweet voice takes us to a magical atmosphere where time has stopped.” (Cine Premiere)
“If making a darkly beautiful, seductive and disturbing music were not enough, Jaramar distinguishes herself by a strange inclination to dig into the deepest folds of consciousness.” (Héctor Siever, UnoMasUno)
“Jaramar’s virtuosity and exceptional voice take us before the magical presence of the past...”(Jorge Dávila, El Comercio of Cuenca, Ecuador)
“Listening to Lenguas is a unique experience; daring, perhaps, for untrained ears, but moving from the first chord to the last. Moving as few things are.” (David Dorantes,Ciento Uno)
“Like a mysterious alloy and full of enchantment and beauty, the voice of Jaramar has become one of the most unique elements of Mexican music.” (Tentaciones)
Records
"Entre la Pena y el Gozo", (1993, Opción Sónica)
"Fingir que Duermo", (1995, Opción Sónica)
"Si Yo Nunca Muriera", (1996, Opción Sónica)
“Lenguas ”, (1998, Opción Sónica)
“A Flor de Tierra” (2000, Opción Sónica)
“Nadie creerá el incendio”, (2002, Opción Sónica)
“Travesía 1992-2002”, ä compilation, (2003, Fugazi Records)
“Duerme por la noche oscura”, (to be released summer 2004, Fondo de Cultura Económica)
