Here are the first published reviews of Fantazia’s latest CD Mul Sheshe (World Village 450001), released in the UK and Eire on October 3 2005, from the the September/October issue of Songlines www.songlines.co.uk, and the October issue of fRoots (fRoots 268) www.frootsmag.com.

“ “How lucky we are, and in London in particular, to have so many world class musicians from different cultures in our midst,” to quote from our esteemed Editor’s box (see fr266/267). And as if proof was needed to corroborate his sentiments regarding the home-grown product, Fantazia, with the emphasis on the ’zia’ and based in the northern climes of Hackney, have just released their second album Mul Sheshe - The Turbaned One.”

“There’s been a considerable gap since their self-produced debut, the instrumental The Lost Place - since 2000 to be precise - and from the six-piece band that recorded that first album, they have expanded into a bi-cultural nine-piece mix of musicians from both the UK and the London-based Algerian diaspora, all with impressive, versatile, wide-ranging musical pedigrees and collaborations as credentials. Add the very welcome top layer of dark chocolatey vocals from Mourad Simba, who joined the band in 2002, and you end up with the rich satisfying texture of their current sound.”

“The first and title track, the acoustic opening bars sounding evocatively like the call to prayer, rapidly evolves into rocking, hand-clapping form, setting the pace and mood for ebullient tracks such as ’Jawlina’, ’Khira’, ’Zmane’ and ’Sidi Mansour’ to follow suit. But the best, and unexpectedly sitting in the middle of the upbeat dance tracks, has to be the sublimely ceremonial, slow-paced and atmospheric ’Moussa’. ’Seen Enough’, a rap, and ’Fatouma’, the only instrumental track, with its smooth latino rhythm, sound a tad out of place, a tad Come Dancing (!) - this contrast with the rest of the album comes across as a bit contrived and doesn’t really add anything - for my money the extra time could have been added on to ’Moussa’.”

“Despite a somewhat mixed and melancholic description of the songs on the album as tales of loss, love, celebration, remembrance and displacement, Mul Sheshe is largely a joyous and uplifting listen as anyone who saw Fantazia’s July concert at the Purcell Room will tell you - it’s at times like that I wish I could do a bit of fancy hip work! Not surprisingly, with Mul sheshe’s North African parentage, it’s reminiscent of Khaled in parts and dare I say better then Khaled in parts? Yes, I dare!”
Yvonne Mitton review in fRoots 268, October 2005

“Finally, here’s the long-awaited follow-up to The Lost Place, Fantazia’s debut album. While the first one was an all-instrumental affair, all but one of the 11 tracks on Mul Sheshe are vocal-led. And it’s all the better for it: the sound is fuller, punchier and more assertive. There is also a stronger sense of vision and direction.”

Fantazia are a London-based outfit playing North African styles such as chaabi, chaoui, and Gnawa in a modern, funky jazz spirit. They are led by the oud player and multi-instrumentalist Yazid Fentazi. However, on this album the contribution of fellow Algerian Mourad Simba has been vital. This lyrical collaboration has given Fantazia a lively freshness and a youthful energy, which animates the theme of growing up in one culture and living in another.”

Mul Sheshe is full of strong, colourful tunes and powerful arrangements in which the raw, traditional sound of Algeria meets the modern West, as in the drum’n’bass-driven ’Khira’. Standout tracks include ’Zmane’, with its typical chaabi melody from the Algiers casbah and its urgent and impassioned vocal break, and also ’Seen Enough’, which reflects upon life with disappointment but stoicism. It features a disillusioned rapper who, despite everything, is determined to ’keep [his] head up’, testament to the pride and dignity that is so much a part of Algerian identity. This is Fantazia with a strong voice and a new direction.”
Tatiana Rucinska review in Songlines, September/October 2005 ****

Here are some reviews of Fantazia’s debut CD The Lost Place (Mimouna Records RB 5741), released in 2000. This CD received extensive airplay in the UK (Charlie Gillett, Gerry Lyseight, BBC Radio 3 Late Junction etc.) and in Europe.
First some quotes taken from reviews. Below, the reviews in full.

Quotes

“Their music is soaked in many influences, intelligently combined and lovingly integrated into a quick witted and masterfully arranged sound.”
“The listener is regaled with a quilt of tasty musical colours and plenty of virtuosity”
Andy Morgan - Songlines.

“Fentazi’s compositions have breadth and atmosphere, and his oud soloing, which recalls the drive and dynamism of world oud star Anouar Brahem, is often stunning.”
John Fordham - The Guardian.

“Addictive, snaky melodies and high speed solos aplenty . . . definitely worth exploring . . . they blow up a storm.”
Jamie Renton - fRoots. (Track included on the Froots Compilation CD Summer 2000)

“An endlessly satisfying musical melange. Adrian Gibson followed up by booking the band into the Jazz Café a couple of weeks later, where they got the entire audience dancing, a rare achievement in got-to-be-seen-to-be-cool London. The name is pronounced ‘Fanta-zier’.”
Charlie Gillett - BBC London Live.

“An exuberant exploration of jazz and North African music.”
Max Reinhardt - Straight No Chaser.

“Strong tunes, ever developing arrangements and compelling playing .. . .
an unexpected pleasure.”
Peter Bacon - Birmingham Post.

“Fascinating collage of jazz and North African sounds.”
Peter Martin - Jazz UK.

Reviews

“Afro-Oriental contemporary Algerian music with a strong jazz input from the UK-based Fantazia. Leader Yazid Fentazi plays the congas as well as the oud, there's a sax and violin in the line-up, and electric bass. Soprano saxophonist Rachel Bartlett catches the simmering heat of the melodies in her own solos, and has a Ben Webster breathiness on the ballad Fatouma. The rhythm section is excellent, and passages of percussion and hand-clapping exchanges are as compelling as hearing the full ensemble. Yazid Fentazi's compositions have breadth and atmosphere, and his oud soloing, which recalls the drive and dynamism of world-jazz oud star Anouar Brahem, is often stunning. When jazz and musics of strict formal procedures cross paths, the jazz can sometimes struggle to abide by the regulations without discomfort, and that occasionally happens here. But it's a fine local crossover band, with a very original sound.”
John Fordham review in The Guardian, January 28th 2000

“Fusion of a more home-grown variety [than Echo Art, Porto Sonoro] can be found on The Lost Place, the debut of Hackney based 6-piece Fantazia, who play a blend of Algerian traditional music and jazz. Led bu oud wizard/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Yazid Fentazi and featuring former Orchestra Jazira and Happy End saxperson Rachel Bartlett, this all-instrumental CD features addictive, snaky melodies and high speed solos aplenty. I particularly liked ‘Gnawi Nights’, the CD’s manic closing track. But even on a slower tune such as ‘Fatouma’ the group display a pleasing gutsiness. Definitely worth exploring, and live, where they’re apparently augmented by a North African dancer, I bet they blow up a storm. Find c/o Rachel Bartlett, 21a Navarino Road, London E8 1AD. Tel: 020 7254 2829. E-mail: kd1466@cwcom.net. Distributed by Discovery.”
Jamie Renton review in fROOTS, April 2000

“It’s got to be true that some music grows on you and that’s where I am with Fantazia. The Lost Place is an exuberant exploration of jazz and North African music, propelled by the oud, percussion and bass team of leader and composer Yazid Fentazi, Karim Dellali, Sean Randle and Hamid Bouri. Soaring above them is Frank Biddulph’s wild fiddle and the lyricism of Rachel Bartlett’s horns and flute. Yue-Meng Chan’s keyboards bridge the two units. I’m hooked by the Andalous jazz track ‘Spring to Autumn’ and the passionate ‘Gnawi Nights’, but the tunes on which the fusion scales tip towards jazz and away from North Africa just don’t quite take me to the Lost Place, though they might well carry me off at a live session. Fantazia is potentially a great band, watch them grow.”
Max Reinhardt review in Straight No Chaser, Spring 2000

“No less adventurous than either of the foregoing [Nguyên Lê, Tyrone Brown] in its range of instrumentation is The Lost Place (Mimouna Records RB5741), by Fantazia, a septet (plus - for live appearances - a dancer) led by oud player Yazid Fentazi. The plangent sounds of the oud have been heard in jazz before, of course, most famously from virtuosi such as Rabih Abou-Khalil and Anouar Brahem, but Fantazia, by concentrating on the sheer vibrancy and infectious rhythmic qualities of the instrument’s music, have carved out a wholly individual niche for themselves. Fentazi’s scurrying, vigorous solos are neatly complemented by the luxuriously pure-toned saxophones, tenor and soprano, of Rachel Bartlett and the pleasantly strident violin of Frank Biddulph, but it is the supple yet propulsive rhythm-section work centred on Hamid Bouri’s electric bass that infuses the whole project with the pep and drive that have endeared the band to folk-roots and jazz listeners alike.”
Chris Parker review in The Tablet, March 2000

“FANTAZIA The Lost Place (Mimouna Records): More culture clashes with satisfying results. Fantazia are based in London and feed upon the North African traditions, mixing them with some jazzy London funk along with West African, Flamenco and even Indian influences. The result is music that is strongly acoustic, light on its feet and open to dancing improvisations and infectious rhythms. At the heart of the band is composer and oud-player Yazid Fentazi and he weaves his complex lines in with violinist Frank Biddulph and saxophonist Rachel Bartlett against a bass and percussion backdrop. Strong tunes, ever-developing arrangements and compelling playing from Fentazi make this an unexpected pleasure. Obtainable from Fantazia c/o Rachel Bartlett, 21a Navarino Road, London E8 1AD. ***”
Peter Bacon review in The Birmingham Post

“Fascinating Collage of jazz and North African sounds, with Yazid Fentazi and Karim Dellali evoking the perfect atmosphere with the oud, djembe, derbouka, karkabous and other delightfully exotic instruments. Others involved in this distinctive fusion are Rachel Bartlett (saxes), Frank Biddulph (violin), Hamid Bouri (bass) and Sean Randle (percussion).”
Pete Martin review in Jazz UK

“Fantazia. Yazid Fentazi (he of the light-fingered oud) pens all the tunes, fellow London-based Algerians Hamid Bouri and Karim Dellali taking care of electric bass and North African percussion. These three have mucho experience in rai music, but that’s not their particular agenda here. Rachel Bartlett (sax), Sean Randle (drums), Frank Biddulph (violin) and Yue Meng Chan (piano) ensure the band’s multicultural status, blending the Maghreb shake with jazz bubbles. Debut disc The Lost Place shows off a complex danceability, definitely worth catching.”
Martin Longley preview in What’s On (Birmingham)