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Review:
La Marea (The Tide) is an album of agelessly beautiful and heartfelt music. Featuring ten original songs sung in Spanish and set to rhythms ranging from Cuban son to Venezuelan vals, merengue and gaita, The album boasts fascinating instrumentation including the Colombian harp, the French horn and the four-string cuatro. This unlikely mix creates a strikingly unique and intimate record. Topferova's songs are musical paintings, the lyrics filled with carefully etched images and landscapes, the melodies colored with distinctly defined moods and textures. While you can hear that Topferova's influences come mainly from the Cuban songbook, musica llanera ("music of the plains" tradition in Colombia and Venezuela), and bossa nova, her compositions also reflect a touch of her background in classical music and the folklore of her native Czechoslovakia. Topferova's voice is a rich contralto, sweet, nostalgic and full of poetic expression. Her talent also shines here as an arranger and producer. For this album, she brought together nine wonderful musicians, each a member of either her touring trio or quintet. Performers include the stunning Edmar Castañeda on harp, bassist Pedro Giraudo, French horn player Chris Komer, accordionist/pianist Angus Martin, violinist Jenny Scheinman, flutist Yulia Musayelyan, percussionists Neil Ochoa, Urbano Sanchez and drummer Chris Eddleton. La Marea is a new panorama of sound drawn by one of the most intriguing young singer/songwriters today, an artist who is continually inspired by one of the most vibrant musical cities on the planet: New York City, her home.
— CalabashMusic.com
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