ENCANTO, by Ila Cantor

ENCANTO

by Ila Cantor

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Brandt Peterson I love it for the way it brings jazz sensibilities and languages into spaces of folk music so artfully that genre lines never intrude. It's built on an aesthetic focus rather than a relationship to genre, and stays interesting throughout, Perfect ensemble for this vision. Favorite track: Crescent.

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Comes in a 4-panel digipak with artwork by Kelsey Boncato and design by Allie Washkin.

Includes unlimited streaming of ENCANTO via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	Opening: Part I 04:56	buy track
2.	Opening: Part II 04:19 video	buy track
3.	Crescent 09:09 video	buy track
4.	Yeshowah 04:47	buy track
5.	Intuition 03:14	buy track
6.	Epic of Play: Part I 03:04	buy track
7.	Epic of Play: Part II 01:56	buy track
8.	Epic of Play: Part III 05:28 video	buy track
9.	As Above 04:53 video	buy track
10.	Intuition (Instrumental) 06:36	buy track
11.	Relinquish Meaning 05:30	buy track
12.	Under & Back Of 03:01	buy track

about

Slow & Steady Records announces the release of Bay Area-based guitarist, singer-songwriter Ila Cantor’s fifth album, ENCANTO. Meaning “enchantment,” or “wonderment” in Spanish, ENCANTO is inspired by the charango, a South American stringed instrument historically used for prayer and expressions of gratitude and healing. “Playing it is like exploring a labyrinth of wonders,” says Cantor, whose fascination with the charango was immediate, from its unconventional tuning – which opened new, unconventional compositional doors for Cantor – to its uses in sound healing and “hypnotherapy,” which resonated with Cantor’s practices in yoga, meditation and spirituality.

Cantor soon wondered how the charango – an instrument not widely played, or even known in the United States – would sound and function in her own musical world of chamber-jazz. ENCANTO is a seamless bridge between the simple and sacred song tradition of the charango in Latin America, and the complex, and meticulously composed tradition of chamber music in the West. Helping Cantor realize this musical melding is a cast of some of the West Coast’s best instrumentalists and improvisers: Ben Goldberg on clarinet; Rob Reich on accordion; Todd Sickafoose on bass; Scott Amendola on drums; and Cantor leading the way on charango and voice.

“After learning a few basic charango techniques, I found myself in trances repeating patterns that were so endlessly interesting to me that sometimes, I wouldn’t stop for hours on the same idea,” related Cantor. Out of these trances emerged the compositions herein, which Cantor calls “music that can be listened to without understanding it, yet sophisticated enough to be stimulating to a curious mind.” The track listing flows as organically as the songs – from “Opening, Pt. II,” (simple patterns Cantor often warmed up with), to the more exploratory and complex compositions such as “Yeshowah” and “Epic of Play,” before concluding with softer and simpler picking patterns as in “As Above.” From beginning to end, ENCANTO is a complete listening experience. Through her own efforts to find peace and healing through music, Cantor has gifted the listener the same.

credits

released September 27, 2019

Ila Cantor: charango, acoustic guitar, voice, composition
Ben Goldberg: clarinet
Rob Reich: accordion, glockenspiel
Todd Sickafoose: upright bass
Scott Amendola: drums, percussion
Lauren Arrow: background vocals (Yeshowah)
Phil Lewis: guitar (Crescent, Opening: Part II)

Recorded March 2018 at Fantasy Studios Berkeley, CA and Maginus Media Novato, CA
Mixed at Fantasy Studios Berkeley, CA
Engineered by Adam Munoz, Phil Lewis
Mixed by Adam Munoz, Phil Lewis, Ila Cantor
Mastered by Michael Romanowski at Coast Mastering Berkeley, CA
Produced by Phil Lewis for The Maginus Project*
Executive Producer: Phil Lewis

license

about

Ila Cantor Ashland, Oregon

In chronological order:

art
Karate
The Doors
jazz guitar
study, play
tour, compose
repeat
"Mother Nebula"
grants
listen, play
repeat
compose, study
film scores
educate
"Creature"
songwriting, lyrics
meditation
repeat
"Highlights Of The Grey"
dance
embodiment
repeat
electronic music
love revolution
The Songs
The path
repeat
A e i o u a
TAOM
Love
Kung Fu
Dark night
GEM
Mother
continue... ... more

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