Carina Alfie

Carina Alfie - Electric Fuzz - 2007 - Favored Nations

CARINA ALFIE can be seen as the female version of JOE SATRIANI or even STEVE VAI. This may be the (very) short introduction of this female guitar player from Argentina. Of course there is much more of a story to it, and it’s almost an insult to introduce this guitar princess to you this way. But it’s the only way to possibly get the spotlight on this well-talented lady, who presents her new nine tracker “Electric Fuzz” here. Carina already showed her skills in bands like LUNATICAS, ANGEL, ROUGE BAND, HEROINAS and PAYSANA. And with “Electric Fuzz” it’s time for another great guitar album (her sixth full-length solo album, to be exact). Although we are dealing with an instrumental album here, there is still a lot of variation in styles. Melodic rock, progressive parts, and a lot of shredding, too. In “Magical Place”, Carina dedicates another song to her biggest inspiration and good friend, Mr. STEVE VAI. I’m surprised to hear some male vocals in “Run From Love”. It definitely gives the music of Carina a different angle, as the vocal parts sound a bit like Jon Oliva (SAVATAGE and now JON OLIVA’S PAIN). A surprisingly strong twist after the six instrumental parts so far. I think, it’s also the most groovy and heavy song on this album. Carina’s band consists of Andy Casciato on keyboards, Dario Sexias on bass, Danik Thomas on bass and Linda McDonald on drums (ex-PHANTOM BLUE, THE IRON MAIDENS, THE LITTLE DOLLS, VALLEY DOLLS). And if this line up isn’t interesting enough, she has also two guest guitar players, helping her out during the last two songs. In “A New World”, we hear fusion master FRANK GAMBALE, and on CD closer “Lucky Dog”, you will hear Scott Henderson. The album was recorded at The Mothership studios of STEVE VAI. People, who like the work of STEVE VAI, JOE SATRIANI, but also PAUL GILBERT, MARTY FRIEDMAN and JENNIFER BATTEN, must check out this great new album by this Latina guitar wizard, whose star is rising very rapidly. For more information about this fast fingered Argentinian beauty, check out her website at: http://www.alfiecarina.com.ar. [9 points] (© Toine van Poorten) © http://www.metalmaidens.com/Cdreviews1h.htm

In the long standing tradition of instrumental shredders Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Paul Gilbert; who write songs without words and compensate with extremely intricate guitar melodies, come the hard edged rock/metal stylistic wonders of Argentina born virtuoso Carina Alfie. Though her work on “Electric Fuzz” bears the most resemblance to Satriani’s recent practice of tailoring simple and accessible rock ideas, her lead playing style clearly emulates the wild and seemingly asymmetrical fits of passion that her self-admitted inspiration Vai is known for. Essentially you get the best of both worlds here in that you get something that lacks Satriani’s predictable though beautiful melodies, as well as the quirky avant-garde compositions that Vai has been known to turn out sporadically, most of which are difficult to grab onto. The contents on here run through a variety of differing styles, all of which are held in common by Alfie’s unrelenting flurries of complex melodic passages and idiomatic shred sequences. You get some hard and heavy progressive metal to complement some Malmsteen neo-classical showmanship on the title track “Electric Fuzz”. People who are fans of Satriani’s melodic ballads over restful backdrops are sure to go for “Peaceful” and “Hadas”, both of which make frequent use of multiple leads for sparsely placed yet charming harmony passages. Even those who really love Steve Vai’s music for its outer space-like quality have a nice little progressive shred gem in “Magical Palace”, which is dedicated to the man himself no less. One might guess at the metal credentials of someone whose influences mostly stem from hard rock musicians, but rest assured that this album definitely has a metal edge to it. For instance, the only song on here that actually possesses words “Run From Love” is actually about as heavy as it gets for someone who likes progressive metal with a heavy helping of epic doom mixed in. In fact, combining Jeff Lenhart’s high end vocals with the slow paced and dark riffs on here could make this a dead ringer for something off of a Solitude Aeternus album, although the keyboards pull it a little bit in a Dream Theater direction in terms of atmosphere. The closing song “Lucky Dog” also has a couple of solid heavy metal riffs that definitely show some Sabbath influences, although they’re played a little bit faster, played in somewhat of a Zakk Wylde fashion and have about 3 times as many lead notes thrown over top. If you like fast guitars, you will definitely like this. Some say that there aren’t any women out there that can compete with the large population of men in the male dominated world of guitar shredding. Take one listen to this album and you will find yourself begging to differ. It might not be as dark as what Jeff Loomis just recently put out, and it might not be as ridiculously fast as Michael Angel Batio’s latest release, but this is a contender if I’ve ever heard one. Later submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on January 5th, 2009. - from “There's definitely an electricity to this”. - 89% by & © hells_unicorn, November 30th, 2008 © http://www.metalarchives.com/reviews/Carina_Alfie/Electric_Fuzz/179219/hells_unicorn

The very talented Argentinian guitarist, Carina Alfie has guested with Steve Vai, opened for him, and recorded several albums (including this one) at his Mothership studios in Los Angeles. This lady performs constantly in South America, but her music deserves a much bigger audience. On this album she expertly plays melodic rock and often complex heavy metal and progressive rock with plenty of great shredding. Frank Gambale and Scott Henderson play on one track each. Read more about Carina @ http://josemadeschenes.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/carina-alfie/ and listen to her “Transmission” album [All tracks @ 256 Kbps: File size = 93.1 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Guardian Angels 5:37
2 Hadas 6:24
3 Electric Fuzz 4:50
4 Peaceful 7:18
5 Magical Place (Dedicated to Steve Vai) 5:56
6 Little Angel 4:28
7 Run from Love 5:07
8 A New World 5:43
9 Lucky Dog 5:48

All tracks composed by Carina Alfie

MUSICIANS

Carina Alfie - Guitar
Frank Gambale - Guitar on "A New World"
Scott Henderson - Guitar on "Lucky Dog"
Dario Sexias, Danik Thomas - Bass
Andy Casciato - Keyboards
Linda McDonald, Joey Heredia - Drums
Jeff Lenhart - Vocals on “Run From Love”

ABOUT CARINA ALFIE

Carina Alfie, hailing from Argentina, may just be the hardest working female musician in South America or anywhere else. Working in recent years with notable South American acts Angel, Rogue Band, Heroinas, and Paysana among others (with Paysana she contributed two songs to the popular "The Best of Under" compilation CD in 1993). Carina Alfie knows all about determination and hard work. Releasing her first solo CD "Aislamiento" in 1996 to rave reviews in South American music press, she followed it up with two music videos, "Aislamiento" and "Vinka", which were aired on MuchMusic, ATC, and other regional and national video channels. Things were happening for Carina and she continued pushing forward and exploring new musical territory, inspired and driven by her deep affection for music and her ability to create music that affected listeners in profound and memorable ways. March 1997 brought an unexpected shove into the spotlight when, during guitar legend Steve Vai's tour of Argentina, the Grammy-Award winning musician met Carina at a press conference and invited her to perform onstage with his band that evening at the Gran Rex in Buenos Aires. She earned an ovation from the audience, and photos of the event soon appeared in many major guitar magazines. Her friendship with Steve Vai has continued to grow, and a song dedicated to Vai was included on her second CD, "Mundo Interior" (released in 2000). She has also performed in South America with Paul Gilbert. Her current project is Lunatycas, a brave instrumental rock outfit that's gaining attention from around the world. The year 2000 has indeed been a flurry of activity for young Carina, with guitar company Ibanez sponsoring a Carina Alfie guitar clinic tour throughout Argentina, and her disc "Mundo Interior" continues gaining attention and praise for its fluid melodicism, jaw-dropping guitar displays, and thoughtful arrangements. In September 2000, Carina returned to Los Angeles for three months of performances and time in Steve Vai's studio recording her new CD. (Later in 2000 during Vai's return tour of South America, Carina again joined him onstage in Chile and Argentina.) During her time in LA, Carina met drummer Linda McDonald of the all-girl rock band Phantom Blue, and together they recorded for the Jason Becker tribute CD, alongside artists including Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth), Paul Gilbert, Vinnie Moore, etc. She continues performing as much as possible and is rehearsing with Phantom Blue for an upcoming tour. Her third record, "Transmission", was recently recorded at Vai's Mothership studio in Hollywood, which Vai engineer Neil Citron at the helm and also providing keyboards on the disc. She's also recently been asked to do a guitar instruction video called "Rock Vital." Music press worldwide has been catching on quickly, including articles and features in Guitar Player Magazine, Metal Hammer, MadHouse, Guitarrista, Music Shop, Epopeya, El Corte, Power Music, Musiquero, and more. Also, she’s edited Cuerdas Vitales, her 3rd cd with special guest guitar players from Argentina, Walter Giardino (RATA BLANCA), Claudio Marciello (ALMAFUERTE), Ricardo Lew, Ariel Thin, and more… The album is on the Steve Vai’s record label: FAVORED NATIONS. In 2003, Carina won an international Contest competition and she got the prize of the Endorsement of EMERALD ACOUSTIC GUITARS. Also, Carina was touring in USA, performing at The Joint, The Gig, Paladinos, and more… On may of 2004 Carina made the edition of “TRANSMISSION” her 4th cd, also available on FAVORED NATIONS, with special guest: JENNIFER BATTEN, guitarist of M.Jackson and Jeff Beck, on the song “Awake”and LITO VITALE, a very known pianist in Argentina on the song “Ki” Also she performed with LEON GIECO, a very well known singer and composer in Argentina and in all the world. She was at several TV Shows in Argentina, performing her songs, one at the program of DALMA MARADONA (daughter of DIEGO MARADONA). In January of 2005 CARINA make a trip to USA,to perform at The NAMM (Anaheim) representing the acoustic guitars EMERALD, from Irleand. In march of 2005 CARINA was on tour through Spain giving some clinics for SINMARC camps, in Barcelona, she was playing in MADRID, LOGRONO AND BARCELONA. In April CARINA was on tour through PUERTO RICO and LOS ANGELES. Also, in May CARINA started her new album called “ELECTRIC FUZZ”, once again at THE MOTHERSHIP, STEVE VAI’S Studio in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The CD was recorded for JOEY HEREDIA, the very well known drummer. He’s recorded with guitarists like: SCOTT HENDERSON, FRANK GAMBALE,STEVE LUKATHER, etc. Also, LINDA McDONALD, very well known drummer of PHANTOM BLUES, Iron Maiden tribute, and more. ANDY CASCIATO .. keyboards,and DARIO SEIXAS on bass, Danik Thomas on bass. In June 2005, CARINA opened for the famous heavy band “RATA BLANCA, in OBRAS SANITARIAS, for more than 4000 people. CARINA has edited her 5th CD “INTUICION” only in Argentina. CARINA ALFIE got a Nomination as “BEST ALBUM FEMALE ARTIST ROCK”- Premio Gardel (Awards) 2006 - Carina Alfie Album: “INTUICION” info:http://www.premiosgardel.org.ar Carina Alfie continues to promote her projects by performing constantly in South America, where her faithful audience continues to grow and inspire her natural will and instinct to express her world through music. Also, working as a teacher and touring around the world giving clinics and shows. July-2006: CARINA is in Los Angeles finishing her new CD “ELECTRIC FUZZ” at THE MOTHERSHIP (STEVE VAI’S Studio) and performing in USA. FURTHER INFORMATION www.alfiecarina.com.ar www.vai.com (photo galleries, live in South America/97) www.favorednations.com e-mail:alfieguitar@yahoo.com.ar © 2003-2012 Myspace LLC. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. http://archive.is/FohLS