Flames of Love is the 25th studio offering from nuevo flamenco guitarist Armik.
The Iranian-born Armenian guitarist has, since 1994, woven his considerable jazz and classical chops into an instantly recognizable style and sound.
On this 12-tune set, Armik, ever the experimenter, explores Latin jazz inside his flamenco grooves on cuts such as "Fronteras," "Pasajes," and "Reaching for the Stars." While "Broken Dreams" is more overtly on the jazz tip, it also folds bossa into his flamenco to excellent effect.
Two more highlights include "Toledo Solo" and "Geralda," where he performs entirely solo without the benefit of extant rhythms or backing sounds.
"Passion and Grace" is another solo guitar piece, musically perhaps the most traditional of the lot on this recording.
That said, it is augmented ever so slightly by ambient, textured reverb, but that hardly detracts.
The friendly "Café Roma" weaves flamenco inside Gypsy swing, Italian street music, and Latin rhythms.
For fans, Flames of Love will be a welcome addition to the shelf; for Armik novices this is an adventurous place to start.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flames of LoveArmik | Armik | Play | 04:35 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | AuroraArmik | Armik | Play | 04:32 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Broken DreamsArmik | Armik | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | FronterasArmik | Armik | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | PasajesArmik | Armik | Play | 04:47 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Toledo SoloArmik | Armik | Play | 05:43 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Café RomaArmik | Armik | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Passion and GraceArmik | Armik | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Ojos TristesArmik | Armik | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | GeraldaArmik | Armik | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Reaching for the StarsArmik | Armik | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | CascadaArmik | Armik | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 55 mins | 126 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Armik | Arranger, Composer, Guitar, Mixing, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 2 | Corey Ayon | Graphic Design |
| 3 | Annette Dashchi | Engineer, Mixing |
| 4 | Paula Edelstein | Liner Notes |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |