Ulali

artist: Ulali
track: My People, My Land

www.goyo.net/musicaluni/u-mpml.mp3

artist notes
Earth. Blood. Roots. Tribe. Strength. Ulali is a “First Nations” woman a capella trio — Pura Fé, Soni and Jennifer — who sing music in the many styles and languages of their ancestors in the western hemisphere. They do not call themselves “Native American” because their blood and people were here long before this land was called “the Americas”. Visit www.ulali.com for more information.

track notes
What strikes first is their rhythmic punctuation (subtle “pulses” within the harmonies), clearly articulated while avoiding absolute precision (examples at 0:29, 1:44, 2:21). The resolutions back to unison (where the voices converge back to a single note) are the calms before the blasts (example at 1:08). Then the chromatic shifts begin (where notes “slide” up and down, examples at 0:37, 1:12); these are re-stated further in the song, rising into the vocal stratosphere — unbelievable! And we must not overlook the “drop offs” — listen to the ends of notes throughout the track, right before the breaths, where the notes fall — they hit me right in the gut (examples at 1:15-1:30, 1:55-2:10). Enjoy.