World music is one of those musical terms that is somewhat nebulous yet very useful and convenient. An umbrella term that has been applied to a wide variety of ethnic forms, world music could be anyone from
the Chieftains to
Ravi Shankar to the late
Astor Piazzolla. In some cases, an artist might have different ethnic influences without sticking to any particular genre -- and
Nana Simopoulos is that type of artist. On
After the Moon, the singer/instrumentalist brings Greek/Mediterranean, Indian, and Middle Eastern influences to the table. She plays the bouzouki without being a traditional Greek artist, and she plays the sitar without being a traditional Indian artist. So for the sake of convenience, it makes sense to describe this multicultural CD as world music or world fusion. Favoring a hauntingly tranquil approach,
Simopoulos finds the parallels between different types of modal music -- she realizes that Greek, Indian, and Middle Eastern/Arabic music are all part of the modal family, and she has no problem combining them and bringing her different influences together. Of course, there are purist hardliners who would object to the way she uses traditional acoustic instruments in non-traditional ways. In Greece, some might object to hearing the bouzouki outside of a rembetika setting, and in the northern part of India, some would argue that the sitar should be reserved for traditional Indian music -- that it has no place in either Indian pop or the type of world fusion that
Simopoulos gets into on
After the Moon. But thankfully, she doesn't allow purists to keep her from doing something expansive and risk-taking. Like other
Simopoulos CDs,
After the Moon is a good example of how interesting things can be when one turns to different cultures for inspiration. ~ Alex Henderson