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steveburnhamuk

Malka Spigel – Rosh Ballata (1993)


Malka Spiegel is a former member os Israeli / Belgian band Minimal Compact, and is married to Wire's Colin Newman, who has co-writing credits on this album. Obviously, it was the Wire connection which tempted me to snap this up from EBay.


This has had more of a spin than new ones usually get - I've had a lot of work on, and kept meaning to write this review, and have played it several times while working.


First impressions weren't too positive, but it's certainly grown on me. Most of it is a decidedly 1980/1990s electronic beat, with gentle vocals (mostly in Hebrew) and the overall musical sound isn't too different to Newman's solo work of the time. Rosh Ballata kicks off, a smooth, ethereal ballad, followed by Lisgor Sipor Yahshan, much more poppy but with something of a 1980s Wire feel. And that seems to be the theme throughout, a mixture of pop, electronica and ambient, held together by Spigel's gentle vocals. Kishufim starts off reminiscent of Robert Wyatt's work at the time, with some nice acoustic guitar, and warm vocals, but there's a change of pace with a blistering guitar riff opening Rotsa Ladat Od, and I'm still looking for and hearing Wire influence. There's a middle section of a couple of more ordinary songs in Besof Hayom and Ain Le'an Lalechet, but things burst back into life with the Eastern disco beat of Tethnic.

Mehamer and Yesitny are back to the ordinary, bookending the sinister Yoshvim Al Hamaake, whose persuasive bassline makes it a good listen. But the final two songs are brighter and make for final uplift. Hacol Zaram Beyachad is a bouncy little number, while Don't Ask Why closes the album with a dance beat, where Spigel is joined on vocals by Newman for a big finish. Sure there are two remixes of earlier tracks on this CD reissue, but they don't really add anything.


Of course the Wire connection meant I gave this album more attention than I might otherwise have done, but as a Newman/Spigel production, it's worth it's place alongside other side projects.



4* - a surprisingly enjoyable album, which repaid repeated listening

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