The Madeira - Tribal Fires CD Now Available (Surf / Exotica)

After eight years of adventures through the Saharan deserts, with “Tribal Fires” the Madeira have gone Sub-Saharan, into the dark and mysterious depths of central African jungles. It’s a journey that finds the band exploring new sounds with a highly diverse album, ranging from the most aggressive to the most melodic songs (including a tribute to The Shadows) the band has ever done – and everything in between. There are 13 songs in total, of which two are covers: an original arrangement of Ernesto Lecuona’s “Jungle Drums,” and the Atlantics’ “Giant”.

Tracks: Tribal Fury - Cities of Gold - Twilight - Fire Sacrifice - The Expedition - Witch Doctor - Jungle Drums - Arcadian Voyage - Mar Vista - Giant - Pre-Ritual - The Ritual - Zanzibar

The Madeira - Tribal Fires CD - DCCD46 - $12.75 (Order From Double Crown - http://www.ccnow.com/cgi-local/cart.cgi?doublecrown_DCCD46_http://www.doublecrownrecords.com/products-page/)

Must have!!!

I played a few of these tracks at the Last Tikiyaki show,
and even while the band was setting up,
and people and the band seemed to be really impressed.

There is some stuff on here that IS Tiki/Surf Crossover(period)
and of course there is some very Heavy Tribal stuff too.

But it's all quality,
These guys will be playing at the SurfGuitar101 convention in So. Cal.
the weekend before Tiki Oasis.

Hopefully Jonpaul will post his excellent song by song review below.

Jeff(btd)

I was hoping that Jonpaul would post his song by song review here.
But I think he has left Tiki Central and is on the Surf Forum all the time now.
:wink:

so here it is.

Review of The Madeira "Tribal Fires" CD
by Jonpaul Balak.

OK, I can't keep my mouth shut any longer!!! Now that it's official and CDs are on their way, here goes....

This album is a remarkable accomplishment on so many levels!!! One of the first things that really makes an impact is the cohesiveness of the album's theme. From the song titles to the artwork (another incredible Ferenc Dobronyi design) to the primal energy--it is abundantly clear that a tremendous amount of care and attention to detail went into the songs and their unifying concept. The entire album really flows like the soundtrack to some kind of adventure epic.

Tribal Fury

Smack! The intensity hits you right in the face from the very first second! Truly like a "headbanging" dream for the fans of the heavy stuff, the main lower-register descending riff pummels you into submission and spits you out into a tension-creating higher register chordal passage that explodes into a whirlwind of a blistering "exotic" solo that truly only Ivan could deliver.

Cities of Gold

Optimistic and hopeful, yet with just the right amount of added tension, as though you don't know what's lurking around the next corner. Beautiful acoustic rhythym guitar and memorable, gentle melodies.

Twilight

Ahhhhh...now we're given a chance to reflect and appreciate the beauty of it all. Perhaps viewing the jungle at twilight, thinking of those loved ones back at home, looking nostalgically at a wallet photo by campfire. Gorgeously Shadows-inspired in all the best ways. Effective and not overused strings. Triumphant. The sun sets. Gotta get a good night's sleep for tomorrow, because we may end up witnessing a...

Fire Sacrifice

OK, tension begins to increase as the tribal toms kick you into a foreign world of wonder and intrigue, as though you're witnessing something you shouldn't from behind the protection of dense foliage. I know I'm injecting my own non-musical interpretation here, (isn't that one of the greatest things about instrumental music?), but I swear you can hear the exact moment in the song when the actual sacrifice takes place!!!

The Expedition
First light...rolling toms, acoustic rhythm and dripping palm-muting move brush along the trail as strange beasts scamper across the leafy horizon. Where are we going, where are we headed? What's next? Light and humidity glisten against the vibrant colors of the green foliage as the trails winds upwards and deep into the hills. Wonder and glory. Good times, natural beauty. Until we arrive at a hidden area where, through the trees we can see a....

Witch Doctor

Uh-oh. Something isn't right here. Throbbing bass invites us into a powerful, exotic and dark world of hummingbird-like double picking and accents, while an ever-so-subtle shaker sounds in the background, reminding us that the doctor is still working his magic, which involves...

Jungle Drums
Ahhhh...content, happy, mellow. Tribal drums, big, acoustic rhythm, claves, a sublimely toneful lead line--Ernesto Leucona's classic, famously interpreted on Martin's Denny's Afro-Desia given a brilliant new lease on life. A definite instant Surf-Exotica classic! Like floating down a beautiful, majestic river.

Arcadian Voyage
Tribal toms and double-picking pumping confidence into the belief that the voyage is worth it, that the adventure will end successfully. The trials and tribulations of taking such an adventure. What's that around that bend, is that an ocean view?...

Mar Vista

Beautifully acoustic, in the exotic/flamenco/romantic vein we've come to expect and adore from The Madeira. Wonderfully subtle yet effective use of hand drums.

Giant
Galloping drive, spacey echo for days--one of those tunes where Patrick's strumming hand seems like it's impossible to go that fast! Big, anthemic, dramatic!

Pre-Ritual
Speaking of drama, this time a different, quiet kind. Dark, foreboding, deep, ominous. Awesome instrumentation--Acoustic rhythm, Bass VI, Shaker/scraper, bell, drippy palm-muting, more tribal toms. Intense feeling of leading up to something...

Ritual
Heavy, tense, building, growing, ascending to an apex, rising up from the fires. Like you know it all must eventually come to end, and you don't necessarily know if it's a good or a bad thing, just that it has to happen. Triumphant.

Zanzibar
Soft, lilting, mellow--resolution. The voyage is over, we've survived. We've loved, we've lost, we had adventures, but now it's back home. It was a good ride, but now it will only exist in our memories. Wonderful use of tremolo and echo. Breathe a sigh of relief and reminisce about the beauty of it all.

Ivan, Dane, Patrick, Todd....thanks for the adventure! A true masterpiece!
—
Jonpaul

here is a review of a TC lurker, that asked me to post for them.

My English is too limited really, to describe the awesomeness of this album.

It is very moving, an emotional roller coaster. Ends almost too soon, but leaves just the right impact. Very mature musicianship, you can tell the band has been around, yet innovative and exciting, bold may I say.
Just genius.
Will take a lot of listens to digest it, this is serious work.

Ivan (lead) plays so many notes :) but all of them are the right ones :) . He reached the point where chops, style and expressiveness are all united to convey the message, the intent is very present.
It's musically packed, not a boring moment, so many melodic and rhythmic ideas in such a short time (yet catchy and enjoyable from 1st listen).
Really really moving and passionate too, makes you wanna dance and cry and howl and start fires (and surf?).

This top Surf instro act reaches new heights.
The rest of the band of course, do their part magnificently, as well as the (again) bold and punchy production. It hits you in the gut, love it.
Love the Baritone, the jungle drums, the theme, the way it evolves.
It really translates as a voyage through the jungle, an expedition to unknown mysterious tribes. Who needs lyrics?! It ignites your imagination in such a way, that feels like being in an adventure movie.

All the songs are amazing by their own, each conveying a "scene", with it's own atmosphere and instrumentation, done with great care for detail and emotional impact. Some cheery and optimistic, some downright scary. Leading to the climax -
Those Chunka dripping bars in "The Ritual" that just hit the skull, what a sound! After those piercing, emotional solos, this private passage each listener has gone through, all unite to an intense, steady hypnotic trance of high energy Reverb. Like, "what you feel doesn't matter now boy, you've done your personal passage, it's RITUAL time now".

After listening to this album, one needs at least 1 hour of complete silence, It's a sensory overload... you gotta meditate a bit...

This album deserves to sell a lot and hopefully reach new crowds,
as it is the best rock music in the world at the moment.

Dread

I picked this up on iTunes today and have already played through it twice. I'm really enjoying it. I'm new to the surf genre but I can tell already I'll be playing this one a lot this summer.

Thanks for the tip!

Kevin

Hey Kevin,

welcome to the surf world,
glad yer diggin the Madeira.
If you want any more ideas for good surf stuff,
shoot me an email.

or come to the SG101 convention, or any of the surf museum shows this summer.

Jeff(btd)

On 2012-04-06 23:15, bigtikidude wrote:
Hey Kevin,

welcome to the surf world,
glad yer diggin the Madeira.
If you want any more ideas for good surf stuff,
shoot me an email.

or come to the SG101 convention, or any of the surf museum shows this summer.

Jeff(btd)

Cool, thanks Jeff. I'll keep an eye out for shows this summer (outside of Mojave Oasis and Tiki Caliente; we're already booked for those).

Just downloaded off I Tunes, hit the gym, and got on a lame elliptical trainer to burn off the booze from Viva Las Vegas. The first track, Tribal Fury is so kick-ass i found myself moving so fast that the elliptical started to smoke and broke! Well not really, but what a great song and the whole album rules! Between this and Brave New Surf ive got plenty of great new songs to keep my ears happy for awhile.
~Brad

It makes me happy to see posts like this of tiki people getting the
"sometimes" surf tiki crossover.

Jeff(btd)

Reminder that the Madeira are coming to So. Cal.
for the SG101 convention,Sat.Aug 11th
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=42592&forum=17&57

and will also hit Nor. Cal. at Forbidden Island on Thurs. Aug. 9th

and
San Diego on Fri. Aug. 10th