Liebert showcases world music influences, ambience
Candles burned, giant lava lamps undulated and barefoot men played exotic instruments. It definitely wasn't the opium trip that John Travolta took in Pulp Fiction .
Ottmar Liebert's music, both live and on his new, appropriately titled CD, Opium , transports listeners on a much mellower trip. It's a psychedelic journey worth taking.
"To me, the title suggests a drug that seduces you into a whole different world," Liebert said. "We tried to create our own little universe from a lot of different sources. We don't feel like we belong to any culture exclusively. With Opium , we're creating a little world and seducing people into it."
Houston fans let themselves be seduced into the guitar virtuoso's universe at a sold-out show at Rockefeller's last Monday night. For two hours, Liebert and his band, Luna Negra, filled the air with sensuous sounds.
The instrumental songs ranged from ambient, mellow and introspective trips to more upbeat, wide-eyed and brighter pieces. Liebert performed music from Opium as well as pieces from the seven earlier CDs from his prolific career.
The musicians played as if fully transported themselves. They never spoke to the audience. Liebert often closed his eyes and let a dreamy smile cross his lips, remaining only barely on this side of Nirvana (a state of bliss which has nothing to do with Kurt Cobain). Losing himself in his music produced some beautiful results.
Liebert plays both acoustic and electric guitar. The '96 touring band includes Jon Gagan (bass), Ron Wagner (percussion) and Carl Coletti (drums). It combines ancient and futuristic elements. Coletti plays a hi-tech Roland MIDI kit -- basically pads, without a drum in sight -- while Wagner plays tablas and dumbek , Arab percussion instruments.
The group also freely mixes musical genres. In this Dave Matthews era of musical globalism, Liebert's hybrid is less of a novelty than it was a few years ago. But Liebert's multi-culturalism isn't packaged and marketed, it's the genuine article. He plays as if one genre couldn't contain so much talent.
"I'm trying to grow in every direction at the same time," Liebert said. Ambitious, but it seems to be working.
Pigeonholing Liebert and Luna Negra unfairly denies the wealth of rhythms that go into their music. Although Liebert has reached No. 1 on Billboard 's New Age charts, his music is filled with much more vitality than most new age music.
Considering that Liebert hails from Santa Fe (a Mecca for this sort of sound) and at times plays a flamenco guitar, it's hard to deny the Latin elements in his music. Salsa and flamenco are definitely there.
So are influences from the other side of the globe. Liebert began studying classical guitar in Germany at age 11. He continued his education by journeying through Russia and Asia. He then played in Boston and settled in "the laid-back artistic ambiance" of Santa Fe. Opium in particular introduces elements from the Orient, Arabia and good old American rock 'n' roll.
Some tracks blend instrumental performances with vocals by Magali Amadei, Ashkan Sahihi, Bok Yun Chon, Lobsang Samten and Olga Kammerer. Other moments combine the music with ambient sounds recorded in such far-flung locales as Milan, Singapore and Hawaii during Luna Negra's 1994 touring year.
Although the live show didn't include the recording's exotic vocals and sampled sounds, it evoked the same sense of psychedelic globalism. Listeners were transported far from Rockefel- ler's. It was definitely a trip worth taking.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the April 12, 1996 issue.
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