The Soundtrack of my Travels (part two)

Songs that bring back memories of my travels

Part Two

Bucharest, Romania Mourning Palace by Dimmu Borgir

I didn’t exactly expect Norwegian death metal music to feature in the soundtrack to my travels but when I reminded myself that one of the main reasons for travel is to open up to unfamiliar things I soon realised that it would have to take its proper place. If, like my partner’s Romanian friends, you have a strong preference for this particular musical expression then ‘Private Hell’, a bar in Bucharest old centre, is the place to go. I admit that my own experience there was brief but nevertheless the bottle-juggling bartender and the eye-watering background music left an enduring memory that deserves recognition. Reading more recently that this genre provides the chosen musical background to the Turkish author Elif Shafak’s writing output has only fueled my interest.

My other Bucharest musical memory arose as a result of being in the city at the time of the annual free Jazz Festival. A free festival while travelling is always an unexpected addition and this one, in the plaţa by the neo-classical Atheneum theatre, was a memorable musical bonus. Headlining were saxophonist Bill Evans and his band the Spy Killers and their set (part of which appears on YouTube) was made even more memorable by the fierce downpour that erupted during the encore.

Kochi, Kerala, India ‘Sivadarshana’ by E Gayathri

Considering that we spent a couple of months in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, on reflection I’m surprised that there are almost no musical memories from the trip (though happily plenty of photographic ones). However the sole musical moment was a powerful one with a profound experience that confirmed for me the spiritually uplifting power that music can have. The Kerala Kathakali Centre in Kochi presented regular weekly concerts of Indian classical music and I consider myself blessed to have attended on the evening that I did when two accomplished musicians played veena and tabla. This is one of those occasions where I didn’t note down details of the performers or the pieces that they played but the raga that I’ve chosen for this playlist takes me back to that evening in the small Kochi theater where the authenticity of the setting and the devotional quality of the playing had a rejuvenating effect on my mood and a lasting impact on my memory.

*Kochi. Beach clean as spiritual service*

Edinburgh Lady Grinning Soul by Camille O’Sullivan

In 2010 I knew very little about comedy and alternative theatre, but I knew enough to realise that a visit to the Edinburgh fringe in August would be an illuminating experience (the first insight was that the program of events bore more physical resemblance to an Argos catalogue than to any festival program I’d ever seen!) In those days (as now) I didn’t have time or money to spare and liked to get good variety from my trips so to maximise things I based myself in Glasgow (where I got my first ever taste of big city street photography on Argyle Street) and took a trip on the internationally renowned railway; the scenic West Coast Line to Fort William and Malaig.

Back in Edinburgh I plumped for one gig among the many; choosing to see Camille O’Sullivan’s highly regarded ‘Chameleon’ show, inspired to hear her dark interpretations of songs by Radiohead, Bowie, Brel and Waites.

Transylvania, Romania The Way You Look Tonight by Rocky Gresset

Sibiu in summer was festival central; just before I arrived a major pop/rock festival had taken place. This was followed during my visit by a Transylvanian version of Oktoberfest (the area has a strong historical connection with Saxony) and Guitarfest, a celebration of all things guitar involving young peoples collaborations and performances. I did venture into the Oktoberfest marquee with the camera…..and the food, drink and ‘umpah’ music had an authentic ‘Munich beer-fest’ feel, though for me to be honest the appeal was as a short term novelty rather than an exciting discovery.

The Guitarfest was on a much smaller scale and more to my taste; I always enjoy collaborative youth performances where the young people make their friends and relatives proud by showing off their developing skills. (Thursday night on the main stage at Womad UK is exactly this, with the Womad foundation funding international artists to work in local schools; the resultant work providing a proud and emotional opening to the festival).

Neither of these events provided my enduring musical memory of Sibiu though. During my time in Romania I developed a habit of stopping for a cold, deliciously tasty beer at lunchtimes (Romania has a couple of excellent, traditional, non-pasturised bottled beers) and one of my favourite venues of the whole trip was the ‘Pardon’ café/bistro on the old city wall adjacent to the performing arts theatre. Whenever I walked past the bar was playing ‘gypsy jazz’ swing music, creating an enticing, laid back atmosphere around the outdoor tables and this became my go-to spot for refreshment and good (English speaking) service. The Shazam app helped me to came away with several promising tracks to look out for in the future and I’ve chosen one by the French jazz guitarist Rocky Gresset for this playlist, (having not been put off by the familiar song title and the artist’s unpromising name!).

Lisbon Fado Portuguêse by Amália Rodrigues

Well obviously if you feel saudade for Lisbon you’re very likely to feel a connection to fado music too, and this melancholic Portuguese style will surely feature indelibly in your memories. I myself came to Lisbon only recently and fell in love with the city at first visit, giving me a new perspective on the fado that I had previously heard by the internationally renowned ‘queen of fado’ Amália Rodrigues and experienced at Womad through the contemporary fadista Mariza.

The fado clubs of Alfama clearly cater mainly to the crowds of tourists that wander through the district but our visit happened during a brief lull in the Covid pandemic and consequently the city was much quieter than usual. Fortunately our evening at Esquina de Alfama Casa de Fados restaurant was far from quiet because the enormous communal table was occupied by a large group of local people, all there to celebrate the birthday of their frail but spirited elderly female colleague. It transpired that many of the guests were themselves fabulous fado singers and, to the surprise and delight of those of us who were not part of their group, each in turn performed for the party. (We felt very honored to be offered cake by the ‘birthday girl’ at the end of the evening).

*Esquina de Alfama Casa de Fados, Alfama*

I think the restaurant’s resident fado singers substantially changed their repertoire for the celebrations that evening as the normally melancholic music gave way to several duets where dramatic exchanges between performers resulted in uproarious laughter among all the guests…..and a fabulous and memorable time was had by all. One of the resident artists, Ricardo Mesquita, was captured performing nearby in this YouTube video recorded in the same week.

Porto Cumbia Sombre el Mar by Quantic and Flowering Inferno

Porto is Portugal’s second city, with its own unique charms and character quite distinct from that of Lisbon. The tourist heart is the old town stretch of riverbank between Praςa da Ribeira and the iconic bridge, Ponte Louis 1. Here every night performers and buskers entertain the crowds of diners and strolling tourists. Circus skills, fabulously acrobatic street dance and fine musicianship all on display. An energetic rendition of the Cranberries ‘Zombie‘ (a song that I actively dislike) could easily have been the Porto moment that stuck but fortunately the enduring musical memory of the trip comes not from the old city but from the neighboring seaside suburb of Foz do Douro. A sea-front music cafe that in the evening would transform into the source of thudding electronic beats was in the afternoon a laid back haven for a cold beer enjoyed with chilled musical accompaniment. When the dj played a long time favorite, Cumbia Sombre el Mar, all seemed right with the world.