Christopher Conder penned this review.
Finding a hidden treasure on a compilation CD is one of the small pleasures of record collecting. Thus it was when I discovered Mor Karbasi singing “Rosa,” tucked in between Linda Thompson and Tarika Bé (good neighbours if you can get them) on the latest fRoots compilation. I knew little about her, but when the chance to see her showcase concert at the South Bank Centre’s Purcell Room came up, it wasn’t one to turn down.
A bit of background research later, and I can tell you that Mor Karbasi is a 21-year old woman of Israeli background but now a London resident. Her choice of material is inspired by her Middle Eastern Jewish heritage, and she sings in the ancient and threatened Ladino language, as well as Spanish and Hebrew. Her key songwriting partners include her mother Shoshana and partner Joe Taylor of Blackbud. Her debut album The Beauty and the Sea is available on the Mintaka label.
The performance started with Taylor and a flamenco guitarist setting the tone before Karbasi emerged through the curtains looking stunning in a long dress. I know beauty is no way to judge a musician, but with Karbasi’s long dark hair and graceful, sensuous movement to the music it would be unrepresentative not to mention it. She set the tone from the beginning with an intensely passionate song. The highly competant, fiery full band featured percussion, double bass, violin and sometimes piano. To the unfamiliar, Karbasi’s style was an intriguing mix — it has much in common with flamenco, with hints of Arabicism. The obvious comparison is fellow ladino singer Yasmin Levy.
The incredible thing was how complete and professional the show was, considering Karbasi’s age and relative inexperience (she is promoting her debut album and was largely unheard of six months ago). This type of music needs to be taken seriously and it was, both in her moving spoken word introductions and in the strength and consideration put into the arrangements and performances. “Rosa” came in early and was just as good as on record, and a sad song about the life of her grandmother stuck in my mind particularly. Of course none of this would matter so much if Karbasi wasn’t in possession of an absolutely gorgeous, fluid voice that overflows with passion, drama and an overwhelming sadness. For the encore, the band gathered in a semi-circle and played completely acoustically, which must have been a dissappointment for those sat at the back, but for those of us nearer the front it was a charming end to the concert.
(London, England (April 29, 2008)
