Yoni Vidal Vaz

As a spaniard, Yoni Vidal has the perfect cultural and historical foundation that when coupled with his love for and personal experience of the "Far East" and all the ports between legitimise his right to attempt to capture the adventures of the Spice Road in music. In understanding the compositions within the album one should expect to find sounds of exotic instruments that support rhythms of both excitement and romance. Though the genesis of the music in historical, songs such as the "funky" Orchard lights celebrate modern cosmopolitan cities such as Singapore. The exquisite Mezquita celebrates Vidal's own village and his performance of one particular piece of "traditional" music (The Boat Song) reflects the cultures of both Indonesia and mainland China.

As a project "Spice Road" presented an unusual challenge.With an overarching influence of a Spanish feel, it was necessary to somehow capture the essence and authenticity of musical origins orf the "Spice countries" without turning the creative process into a mechanical, soulless triumph of
technology. This danger was averted by the gifted Yoni Vidal who by virtue of his skill, intelligence and total openness to other musicians and composers captured the truth of many flavours of sound in a result that is nothing less than wonderful music.