Search - Pacifika :: Asuncion (Dig)

A new twist on latin music.

Elizabeth Savino | Mesa, AZ USA | 08/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pacifika has a wonderful, fresh new sound that seems to be a blend of latin music with "American" pop and jazz. I first heard a cut from this album on the Starbucks XM Radio station. The Asuncion CD was a great find!"

Hands Down

C. Montejo | Delaware | 06/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hands down my favorite NPR find. Probably the best of 2008 purchases for me. Depth, emotional, flow and feeling all wrapped up into one beautiful album."

A Real Fine Album.

Gary Peterson | San Diego, California USA | 02/04/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought "Asuncion" by Pacifika on the strength of a very laudatory review. I believe it was in the Wall Street Journal, if my memory serves me. Well, I can understand the praise. It's a low key, soft and mellow album that presents quite enjoyable music with a strong Latin influence. Personally, I prefer more intense, edgy and beat-dominated music, not soft, sweet and airy lullabies. However, after saying this, let me indicate that this is a first-rate album, if this is your type of music.



Pacifika is a trio (two men and a woman) operating out of Vancouver, BC, but presenting music with a very strong Latin influence. Go figure. Pacifika is a small musical ensemble presenting guitars, bass, drums, percussion, xylophone, violin and cello together with vocals. The vocals are by Sylvana Kane and are almost entirely in Spanish. The arrangements are soft and mellow and in exquisite taste. It's excellent music, albeit outside the range of what I generally listen to. Kane has a soft, weak voice, but is utterly charming and she makes for very pleasant listening. All of the songs are excellent, in my opinion, but none particularly stand out. The possible exception is "Libertad," which is sung in English. Perhaps that's the reason I like it best. This is a real fine album and has received a lot of understandable critical acclaim. I'm somewhat surprised it hasn't received wider play. Perhaps having the vocals is Spanish might be a possible hindrence, although the spanish vocals don't interfere with the enjoyment of the music to any high degree.



Gary Peterson"