It’s a hot day; the sun is streaming through the office window; the cat is lounging on the wall outside doing a passable impression of those clocks in Dali’s Persistence of Memory, and I have a crisp white on the go. (Don’t drink and write, kids!) Now, thanks to Spanish Castles, I have the perfect soundtrack to this lovely afternoon.
If ever you wanted to hear the quintessential sound of the Western Mediterranean, this is it. Sombra Del Sol contains four instrumental tracks woven from the most dexterous classical Spanish guitar and simple, yet evocative, beats. In its heady designs, you can hear everything from Latin finesse to Arabesque spice, folk traditions to forward-thinking sonics, antiquated artistry to infectious groove… in short, Baroque ‘n’ roll! (Sorry, cheap joke.)
If the opening title track evokes the fleeting movements of flamenco dancers and the serene sunset going down behind them, “Mi Amor” is the most contagious and groovesome sonic love letter you could ever hope to hear, its tones echoing both adulation and energy.
“Knight of Seville” is both considered and complex, running at a more poised pace but beguiling in the way the flurry of notes are drawn from the strings, and “Canyon Rider/Victorioso” rounds things up with a hypnotic spiral of rhythms and the iconic sound of clicking castanets.
And the most remarkable thing about this remarkable EP, although sonically you couldn’t hope to encounter music more reminiscent of Spain, Iberia, and the lands that border this region, Kirk Edward Nilsen II, the man behind the Spanish Castles name, calls Charleston, South Carolina home. But that just reminds you what a small and interconnected world we live in.
