Pop : Mouth Music: Afro-Pop Goes to Scotland

My, how Brigadoon has changed. At least the sounds created by the group Mouth Music Friday at the open-air Santa Monica College Amphitheatre were a good deal different from anything Gene Kelly encountered in that mythical mountain village.

The group actually hails from modern Edinburgh, but it seems to exist in its own time and place. Call the style Highland hip-hop, or maybe Afro-Gaelic: Traditional Scottish singing and fiddling are set in Afro-pop rhythms with electronic keyboard colorings. On the recent “Mouth Music” debut album, group founder Martin Swan created a rich setting for American singer Talitha Mackenzie’s multilayered lilt.

Unfortunately, in this concert (with Mackenzie replaced by two women singers and Swan joined by a keyboardist, bassist and percussionist), the music was a bit thin and airy. The group, which is relatively inexperienced as a live act, never quite matched the dynamic, polyrhythmic textures of the album. Still, the potential of Mouth Music’s concept is tantalizing: a world-conscious folk-rock for the ‘90s that has plenty of time to come together before Brigadoon materializes once more.

An appropriate contrast was provided by opening group Quetzalcoatl, a Los Angeles-based trio that plays traditional music of the highlands (and lowlands) of Mexico and Central and South America. The group is impressive in its skill and spirit, but takes a relatively straight and conservative approach.