MASTERFUL ALBUM BY SINGER-SONGWRITER ANA PATAN, A TREAT FOR INQUISITIVE MINDS
Ana Patan is a German musician of Romanian origin, and she came to my attention via Bardo Records, the label of Jonas Hellborg whose The Concert of Europe I have reviewed this week. The review of Spice, Gold, and Tales Untold by my good friend, Thomas Tszirmay at Prog Rogue, provides for a very interesting backstory for Ana, especially escape from the tyranny in Romania, and you can see this at https://www.facebook.com/progrogue - simply scroll down to the review.
The album was recorded in 2021, and the CD is now being released in June 2023. You can get it in UK & Europe at https://www.propermusicgroup.com/ in the USA at http://www.cityhallrecords.com/ and in Scandinavia at http://www.soundpollutiondistribution.se/ You can see the digital version on Ana’s Bandcamp page at https://anapatan.bandcamp.com/album/spice-gold-and-tales-untold
There is a hugely talented array of guest artists on this album. Firstly, the bass guitar genius Hellborg himself, playing on most tracks and providing Patan with no small amount of inspiration, Devin Townsend, that experimental metal mastermind, and Jonathan Herrera, with drums by The Flower Kings Zoltan Csörsz, and Jamal Evans on percussion, so a wide range of musical influences and styles there. That was enough to whet my appetite, and I believe will do so for you as well.
The album was performed as in a live setting, with the artist wanting the record to sound natural, raw, and dynamic as if in the same room as us listeners. Patan is responsible for writing all songs which took a decade to gestate, and of a hundred tracks written, twenty were recorded, with a final ten making it onto the album. A musical version of quality control and pruning for sure, so let’s consider the end result.
The first observation I must make is recognition for the voice of Patan. It is sultry and enticing, very strongly pulling you in. It has those qualities I hear in artists such as Elkie Brooks and Joan Armatrading, voices you would go along to listen to sitting in a smoky bar, single malt in hand, cigar in the other, basking in the intimate talent. Combine this with some incredible guitar work, and we have a very talented musician here.
Undeciphered kicks proceedings off. Lyrically, the song references the album title. There is a definite attitude here, talking of not caring less, a slender goddess, with a majesty ruling over the nation. The opening guitar work is delicate combined with a deeply melodious bassline. Having listened to this song many times now, it provides for the same impact, that of a piece infused with a sensuous lilt. Listen to the wonderful guitar solo midway through and that distinctly sexy bass. I have embedded the track below. Listening will automatically prompt the neurones in your lovely bonce to want to explore further, I guarantee.
General Conspiracy follows and I love the lyrics in this, which tell the tale of a woman in lust or love but try as she might to get to her date on time and in the manner planned, there is a general conspiracy getting in her way, the fates conspiring against her. The funky bass grooves and the accompanying percussion overlaid by the guitar chords of Patan create a delightful pastiche. It was this track which brought Brooks to mind, incidentally, a true blues voice infused with jazzy goodness. The fuzz guitar solo just over two minutes in is excellent. Fun, a track which takes you to a happy place, even if the subject’s intentions remain unsated.
Trivialize Love is a love song, and an interesting take on that eternal need for humankind to express their passion and appreciation of a loved one by placing it in the “trivial” setting of a pop song, which to my mind is an extremely clever commentary on not just the subject of the love but poking a bit of fun at the pop genre itself. It is a longer track just short of five minutes long, and instantly, you want to take those bass grooves and lock them in your room for the rest of your natural. Patan provides for some gorgeous and natural chords on her guitar, with the voice lost in a sea of love. This piece of music will be an extremely strong contender for my “track of 2023” when it comes to the year close. The way the song gradually rises and falls in intensity is desperately clever and you lose yourself in this world. It is embedded below. By the way, the closing passage features sparser guitar work which is very reminiscent of the pastoral side of Anthony Phillips and is achingly beautiful.
The Human is incredibly powerful lyrically and musically. It slams this gorgeous planet’s worst enemy, us, the selfish, greedy, violent creature which desperately needs to grow up and stop all the hate and destruction. This track is modern folk music at its best, because the issues she talks about have never been so important or relevant to the lived lives of us around the world. The drums are particularly strong on this track, leading the intricate guitar and bass.
Pure and Plain strikes me as being quite an intimately personal lyric, perhaps discussing how well Patan feels and lives, but only after coming through some deeply difficult times, so being at peace with oneself. It is the longest track on the album, at over five minutes. Delicate guitar and bass introduce themselves and they tell the musical story of moving along the pavement with the wind blowing through her hair. You can visualise her dancing as she moves to these chords. This is a track which achieves that very difficult trick of appearing to be one of the most utter simplicity but is, in reality, a very cleverly constructed piece of music and, perhaps more than most, achieves that “in the living room” effect for the listener.
Soerele Meu is Romanian for My Son, and this piece was written a few years ago. I have embedded the video below. The song is upbeat, a joy to listen to, and full of hope, which is exemplified perfectly by that voice.
21st Century Citizen is the type of music this website exists for, an intelligent commentary on the modern condition, with the pressures our corporate consumerist and permanently online society places on the poor victim of its attentions and, of course, money, with the ludicrous demands which are placed on young people especially to conform with the norms dictated to them by algorithms. In keeping with its subject matter, the music itself can only be described as a dystopian well. Those blues infused guitar chords underlaid by a pulsing bassline set the scene perfectly. Modern punk rock sensibilities infused with the blues. By god, this is so good. It is embedded below.
Hot Hot is another passion infused love song discussing why she feels so hot over the dessert and next to the fireplace, but it has nothing to do with either, it is her feelings for the date. Four and a half minutes of passionate and sexy jazz, sit back and appreciate that smoky voice and that throbbing bass guitar. The guitar solo three minutes in oozes love, feeling coming out of every note and pore of the player.
The penultimate track is How Could We Live Before, a paeon to simpler times and the ludicrous thought that modern humans have that we are somehow vastly superior and more sophisticated than our forebears, a nonsense as any student of history and philosophy will know. Musically, the track is a jazzy playful delight, the notes executed in a playful manner alongside the lyrics poking fun at ourselves. Did da Vinci need any CPU speed? Nope, but I tell you what, it really would be a miracle of Artificial Intelligence if a super machine could not only replicate his work, but also the incredibly painful curvatures he suffered in his back because of his devotion. I love the final minute vocal running commentary, Patan talking to you as if only a couple of feet away with some wonderful guitar licks and rhythm section grooves.
The album closes with Colors on Hormones, this describing the intensity of life, colours, and sounds in the city of Hong Kong. It strikes me as being a candidate for a single release. It is accessible and personal.
Any reader of this review who appreciates a masterful singer-songwriter, consummate musician, accompanied by a grand set of musical friends will find a huge amount to enjoy here. This is an album which ultimately makes me smile and feel good when I hear it, and, mind, also about our future as a race, because as long as we can express ourselves in this manner, there will always be hope.
Very highly recommended.
