On their debut album, Robert Halim Friedman and Vakila Marjo ter Veld, who perform under the name
Wingin It, play what might be called "folk reggae"; the dominant instrument is Friedman's acoustic guitar, and more often than not the songs are set to a reggae beat, over which the two usually harmonize. The reggae connection is strengthened by the couple's devotion to Bob Marley, two of whose compositions, "Natural Mystic" and "Redemption Song," earn covers. (They are also fans of
Kate Wolf, whose "Brother Warrior" and "Give Yourself to Love" are included.) And their devotion to Marley is not merely musical. They have some fidelity to his spiritual leanings, which they mix up with their Sufi faith, so that both "Jah" and "Allah" (along with "God") get name-checked frequently. Their songs combine romantic and spiritual love as twin themes, such that sometimes it isn't clear whether they are declaring their love for each other or for the Almighty, not that it seems to matter, since it's all "one love," anyway. This mood of sweetness and light gives way on occasion, notably on the songs "Oh Listen Within," "Playing with Fire," and "Light Into Darkness," to critical messages to the less-enlightened of the world, whom Friedman and ter Veld feel must get with the program. The Internet and television, as well as "the downtown suits" and -- Marley's term -- "the downpressors" are named as villains, and
Wingin It warns that their ways must change: "Stop commercializing your soul./Let go your desire to control./Wake up now and you'll arrive/In the sacred web of life." But much more space is given over to those who have arrived already in the sacred web of life, particularly Friedman and ter Veld, who are happy to share their love of each other and of God with the world in music. ~ William Ruhlmann