The Motet - Breathe CD

The first release by The Motet, "Breathe", is an eclectic set of musical styles ranging from the folkloric traditions of West Africa and Cuba to New Orleans funk, freeform improvisation, and even some chicken-pickin' rockabilly. This album features the masterful guitar work of Ross Martin and the soulful vocals of Lara Maykovich. "Breathe", recorded for the most part in live settings, maintains a deep flow to the energy and groove throughout the record. Ii's a perfect example of the phrase "listen and play". And, of course, breathe.


Track List:

1- Belly
2- What's Mine is George's
3- Osain
4- Obatala
5- Sunu
6- Scram
7- Ulysses' Falcon
8- Nachez
9- Jiti
10- Hiatus
11- Freedom Jazz Dance
12- Yogi's Day Out

Review of "Breathe" courtesy of mrlee.com:

Just when you think you've got The Motet figured out, the next track on -Breathe- proves you wrong. "Belly," a sexy, sorta funky hip-bop number opens the album. "What's Mine Is George's," picks up the tempo but otherwise remains true to form. At least until a scratchy spoken word, ala Miles Davis, pipes up. From there things go willy nilly. "Osain," with its exotic, African sounding lead vocal and semi-chanted chorus, is an ambient, percussion sailboat drifting gently to a soft, rhythmic breeze. So is "Obatalia." "Sunju," is a poppish world beat tune. Cool cat, smooth jazz reappears with a whiskey-on-the-rocks-attitude in "Scram." So does existential, spoken word. "Ulysses' Falcon" is a playful, dreamy dance between the electric guitar and B-3 organ, with all sorts of -artsy-, weird sampled voices and audio textures floating through the soundscape. Playful turns goofy on "Freedom Jazz Dance," with an ironic mix of serious, Jaco-style bass gurgling, cowbell poppin', electric piano fusion, and a comic 'aww huhh, aww huhh,' voice loop. "Nachez," has an uptempo, bohemian vibe built around a Latin beat and slick jazz guitar chops. Passion rings out in, "Jiti," with a forceful Afro beat and swirling lead vocal, chorus interplay. And then from out of nowhere, -Breathe- ends with "Yogi's Day Out," a, shuffling, open road blues surprise that somehow works. Whew...