In the Labyrinth Menin "Max Frei writes about Harumbu - City of the Dead," built of sun-white stone, enclosed in a shiny transparent sphere. Its inhabitants are doomed to a terrible meal - always roam about the streets of their bright beautiful city and suffer from emotional pain. I tried to submit music sounding in the palaces of those immortal dead. Melodies forever lost love: bitter, painful and passionate. Similar to the funeral tango, chanson for burial. Nothing like to hear if I did not have. On the other hand had to hear today, the new album Canadian singer Lhasa de Sela - The Living Road.

Its very name seemed invented sly Fry. Tibet and the Dalai Lama here completely innocent. The girl was born in the U.S., and Lhasa called her father a professor. Later, their family moved to Canada, French-speaking province of Quebec. Family for the girl were once three languages: English (spoken mother-American), Spanish (inherited from dad-Mexican) and French. Yes, and grew up Lhasa in three traditions.

Her songs are an incredible mix of Spanish ballads, chanson and tango. They heard and Parisian accordion, and the Mexican guitar and mariachi trumpet. Singing girl started early, at thirteen years. Her idols are Billie Holiday, Chavela Vargas, Tom Waits, and even Maria Callas. Strange, I confess, company.

In the work of many mystics Lhasa (she grew up on Mexican folk tales, scary and exciting stories about corpses and ghosts). Their debut album, La Llorona was devoted Weepers (ghostly virgin grieving about her lover), the name of the second - The Living Road - also symbolic. Life - a magic road which runs every lives. What awaits us in the end of the road?

A singer often compared to Frida Kahlo. Call it a musical incarnation. Lhasa, as well as Frida, is not afraid of death, draws its not dead and faded, but intentionally bright, loud colors. For her there is no taboo subjects, and subjects songs reminiscent of Nick Cave's Murder Ballads.

Surprisingly, both still quite young performer could compose a line worthy of a mature woman. So many of them bitter, fatigue and frustration:

I am the black point that wanders
În the outskirts of luck
(La Confesion)

I put my most pure thoughts up for sale
I want to forget this whole idea of «truth»
I'll keep as my guides only pleasure and guilt
(La frontera)

Singer echoed music. Going Places guitar and solar copper. Their Majeure sound only underscores the tragedy of those words. Major in music is not only fun, but scary. Remember the famous march from Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony?

It should listen to the voice of the singer, what happened to him the amazing metamorphosis. What we hear Cesaria Evora, then - Bjork, then - Suzanne Vega. And this is not imitation, Lhasa's voice talking spirits.

Songs of Lhasa - a real joy for the humanities and music lover. Try to read them under the "One Hundred years of Solitude" Gabriel Garcia Marquez. You simply "failed" in the book.

Album The Living Road was nominated in Canada for the best title of the disc. How can I understand the Canadian music critics. Play the music hard, painful, have to do over a special effort. But you will be rewarded twice, because it is thanks to the creativity of Lhasa, you can look at the special magical reality which told us Marquez and Castaneda.

Well, take the risk?