ghedalia tazartes: check point charlie

Born in Paris in 1947, Ghédalia Tazartés started singing when he was twelve years old, creating his own language. He began a professional career in dance, theatre, and cinema while still giving some occasional concerts and publishing a few albums, each one of them an acclaimed masterpiece. Recorded in 1989 and originally released by Aaya in 1990, Check Point Charlie is the first work by Tazartés conceived for the compact disc format and its different time boundaries. The result is a 60 minute long collection of layered field recordings combined into a polyphonic ceremony filled by his typical multi-tracked vocals, between a gibberish scream and the muezzin's call to prayer. A unique record that -- after almost 25 years -- is finally enjoyable with the depth of sound that only a vinyl release can give.

Ghédalia Tazartès: Traces de coups (excerpt) by Holidays Records