Euro Groove, the latest in the series from iconic world music label Putumayo, is a laid back album that fuses contemporary lounge with a collection of diverse musical styles from Europe. The result is an exciting fusion that manages to deliver a collection of tracks that have a consistency that works well as an album, though the different musical roots of the assembled groups means that each track retains a refreshing individuality.
‘Check In’, from Italy’s Fiamma Fumana is a delightful, light hearted quirk of music that fuses traditional Italian folk music with contemporary pop and electronica, while !DelaDap’s eastern European ‘La Shin’ is a sultry bossa-nova informed by a ‘gypsy twist on jazz’.
There’s some surprises too – with the inclusion of some familiar groups, including Chumbawamba (of all time anthem to binge drinking, ‘Tubthumping’ fame) delivering the surprisingly mellow ‘Jacobs Ladder’. Aurally reminiscent of a funked up Good King Wenceslas, the track criticizes Winston Churchill for allowing 1500 working class sailors to drown rather than risk notifying the German army of the impending rescue of the Norwegian Royal family.
If you’ve got a glass of fine wine in hand as you cook up an impromptu dinner for loved ones during these balmy autumn nights – Euro Groove is your perfect soundtrack.
