UTOM: Summoning the Spirit, Music in the T’Boli Heartland (Hannibal 10402; 66:56) is a beautiful album, recorded in the proverbial “field” of the T’Boli people, from the Philippine Island of Mandanao. The 20 tracks here paint an unexpectedly moving portrait of a non-western, non-industrial musical tradition in sync with the flow of nature, including the indigenous contributions of cicadas and birds, horses, and the wind.
Spontaneous expression on instruments including simple lutes, bamboo zither, flute, fiddle, mouth harp and voices engage us in a music far from the info age thrum.
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