Strunz & Farah are an unusual acoustic guitar duo. One hails from Iran (Ardeshir Farah) while the other is from Costa Rica (Jorge Strunz). But when they combine their forces of music you will end up with one of the widest smiles ever.
I had the honor of watching the duo live last evening at NCPA (Tata theater), Mumbai. They started off quite slowly and didn't really grab a whole lot of attention. They sounded like just another acoustic duo. But 10 minutes into the show and DAMN they blew me away. Be it some brilliant counter-melodies, beautifully crafted harmonies or complex chord structures Strunz & Farah gave me a superb musical high. They played a 90 minute set that comprised songs such as Bola, Jamilah, Pasitos and many more. Their musical style had influences of Ethno jazz, Afro, Flamenco, Latin jazz and many others. The beauty of it all was the amalgamation of so many styles and influences. Their guitar shredding would probably leave the likes of John Petrucci and Paul Gilbert in tears. Unlike most other artists their complex structures of chord embellishments and voicings (and not to mention the solos) Strunz & Farah made their compositions look and sound simplistically serene.
They were accompanied by a Texan flautist, an Iranian percussionist and a Cuban bassist (I only happen to remember the flautist's name - Rob Hardt). All three of them were exceptionally brilliant. The bass solos and the percussion solos were a class apart. Rob Hardt, on the the hand, was supreme beyond imagination. His harmonies along with Strunz & Farah and his improvisations really took the the whole show into another parallel dimension.
All in all the show was wonderful. Strunz & Farah have definitely left me (and most probably even the rest) exotically intoxicated (and I mean that in a good way).
P.S: You can definitely belly dance to a lot of their songs.
Here's a Youtube link of theirs:
Enjoy the music! And do leave your valuable comments.
I had the honor of watching the duo live last evening at NCPA (Tata theater), Mumbai. They started off quite slowly and didn't really grab a whole lot of attention. They sounded like just another acoustic duo. But 10 minutes into the show and DAMN they blew me away. Be it some brilliant counter-melodies, beautifully crafted harmonies or complex chord structures Strunz & Farah gave me a superb musical high. They played a 90 minute set that comprised songs such as Bola, Jamilah, Pasitos and many more. Their musical style had influences of Ethno jazz, Afro, Flamenco, Latin jazz and many others. The beauty of it all was the amalgamation of so many styles and influences. Their guitar shredding would probably leave the likes of John Petrucci and Paul Gilbert in tears. Unlike most other artists their complex structures of chord embellishments and voicings (and not to mention the solos) Strunz & Farah made their compositions look and sound simplistically serene.
They were accompanied by a Texan flautist, an Iranian percussionist and a Cuban bassist (I only happen to remember the flautist's name - Rob Hardt). All three of them were exceptionally brilliant. The bass solos and the percussion solos were a class apart. Rob Hardt, on the the hand, was supreme beyond imagination. His harmonies along with Strunz & Farah and his improvisations really took the the whole show into another parallel dimension.
All in all the show was wonderful. Strunz & Farah have definitely left me (and most probably even the rest) exotically intoxicated (and I mean that in a good way).
P.S: You can definitely belly dance to a lot of their songs.
Here's a Youtube link of theirs:
Enjoy the music! And do leave your valuable comments.
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