Gai Saber

The ensemble Gai Saber attempts to combine the spirit, music and culture of the Occitan region of north Italy with the sounds and techniques of contemporary electronica. Their earlier album, Electro Ch'oc struggled to get the blend right, but this new release is a major improvement. The electronic instrumentation is far more sophisticated and the band has become increasingly adept at integrating the contrasting extremes of folk and electronica. There are few traditional works represented, but the majority of the material is original and examines the place of Occitan culture in the modern world, with songs such as Occitania Que T'en Vas (My Vanishing Occitana) - a bold statement of Occitan pride and Garda Aquesta Tèrra, a song about ecology set to a lively bourreè rhythm. The band seems to see the mass media as one of the culprits of diminishing regional identity. L'me Que Beica La Television rages against the manipulation of TV, whereas Musica Libra criticises the homogenised output of radio and bemoans the lack of coverage for regional music and culture. Source:http://www.gaisaber.it/ Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.