Al Andaluz Project - Deus Et Diabolus

The realization of that special idea is the history of the encounter of two music formations. Michael Popp, musical director of the group Estampie, well-known in the medieval music-scene for their innovation and quality, has never ceased to criticize publicly insubstantial academical parading of supposedly authentic performance or medieval ballyhoo and commerce. After one Estampie concert a visitor presented Michael with a recording and said: This will probably find favour in your critical ears... It was a record of the band L'Ham de Foc from Valencia (Spain) who have put a name on the map of world music with their typical mixture of mediterranean, oriental and medieval music. With a smaller by-project focussing on sephardic music, Amán Amán, the band was to guest just a few weeks later in Munich, Estampie's homebase. Enthusiastic about the record, Michael Popp took the chance and proposed a mutual project to the Spanish musicians. It didn't take long to find out that they were birds of a feather, like-minded in musical as well as in human views, and the project made quick progress during several visits to Valencia and Munich.