The album The Arch is the swan song of the French-Algerian multi-instrumentalist, producer and sound artist Hector Zazou, who died in 2008. Together with producer Dimiter Panev he started the project The Arch, which grew into one of the largest projects in world music with no fewer than fifty guest musicians from four continents. As a basis, Zazou took the music of Eva Quartet, four soloists from
… the world famous Bulgarian women's choir Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares. Guest musicians in various studios were given the freedom to improvise on the hypnotic polyphonic vocals, supplemented with subtle and delicate electronic effects. Guests include Laurie Anderson, Bill Frisell, Robert Fripp, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Djivan Gasparyan, Carlos Nuñez and the groups Diva Reka, Bollywood Orchestra and Sofia String Quartet. The result is a fascinating cross-cultural mix of singing, dreamy sound fields and lyrical improvisation solos. Zazou was able to bridge the gap between traditional music and contemporary innovation and connected various musical traditions with each other in a multi-layered harmonious way. (SvdP)more