When you see an album from a Latin artist on the Six Degrees label, you can usually expect to hear a swinging, funky, electro-tinged fusion of traditional Latin and forward-leaning dance music influences -- but not this time. The solo debut of Peruvian-Canadian singer
Silvana Kane (better known as vocalist for the global pop ensemble
Pacifika) finds her working in an almost entirely acoustic format, her soft and breathy voice accompanied by various combinations of trumpet, guitar, thumb piano, bass, and banjo. All of the songs range from slow to midtempo, and all fall as gently on the ear as warm summer rain. The program draws on influences from Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, but what has really inspired
Kane are the sounds of Afro-Peruvian music, which has become increasingly popular (and socially acceptable) in Peru since the mid-20th century. The program includes songs from the repertoires of her musical heroes
Chabuca Granda ("Cardo o Ceniza"),
Mercedes Sosa ("Todo Cambia"), and
Violeta Parra ("La Jardinera"), as well as from the Chilean folk tradition, but somehow they all end up sounding like
Silvana Kane songs -- partly because of the unique arrangements, but mostly because her love for them is so palpable.