Owner: SoundRoots Global Culture URL:www.soundroots.org Join Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:16:53 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: World music and culture blog, featuring CD and show reviews, mp3 postings, monthly Top 10 charts, and more. Live Locally, Groove Globally. Site statistics:Click here
Monday's mp3: Who's Afraid of Oud? 2007-10-01 11:54:00 Marcel Khalife doesn't go out of his way to be controversial. No Fela-style taunting of governments or Manu Chao-esque protest songs. Indeed, the composer and oud player's profile is so low he isn't even mentioned in the 1999 Rough Guide to World Music or the 2000 MusicHound World, although he's been composing music since 1974 and releasing albums under his own name since the mid 1990s. Khalife has a particular fascination with Arabic poetry, composing music for the words of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, among others.But just being Palestinian seems to have drawn a swirl of controversy to Khalife. Earlier this year a San Diego show had to be moved when the Salvation Army refused to allow a scheduled concert at its Joan B. Kroc Theatre.Khalife has faced resistance before -- his music was banned in Tunesia and Bharain...Arabic countries that apparently objected to his messages promoting peace and freedom of expression. But the San Diego objections sound like base ignorance; the S Read more:Monday
South of the Border Funk (CD Review) 2007-10-01 00:22:00 Various Artists: The Rough Guide to Latin Funk (World Music Network)buy CD/hear samplesSomeone more famous than I once asked, "what is soul?" A rhetorical question, yes, and not unlike the Rolex: if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it. Or don't already have it."Funk" may be a similar universal term whose definition depends more on attitude than instrumentation. It's more art than science. James Brown spread funk from America to Africa. So what are the roots of funk in Latin America? No se. But this is a great collection of music from artists as diverse as Cuban Santeria singer Bobi Cespedes, NYC-based Afrobeat orchestra Antibalas, and Chilean hip hopper DJ Bitman.California seems a particular funk hotbed, with Ozomatli contributing "La Gallina" (video) and Los Mocosos rocking through "Vete/El Largo Adios." Other artists include Jose Conde y Ola Fresca, Joe Bataan, Quantic, X Alfonso, Los Amigos Invisibles, The Spam Allstars, Baku, Nortec Collective, Up, and Bustle & Ou Read more:South
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Brazilian Playground (CD Review) 2007-09-28 10:47:00 Various Artists: Putumayo Kids Presents Brazilian
Playground (Putumayo)buy CD/hear samplesThe latest installment in Putumayo's Playground series explores the music of Brazil. It starts with the soft voice of Gui Tavares singing "Pancada," about his falling-apart but still well-loved car. World music lovers will recognize the tune of "Tum Tum Tum," popularized by Jackson do Pandeiro and interpreted here by Roberta Sa. Other songs concern such kid-friendly topics as coconuts, budding romance, dancing, happiness, trains, even a samba done by animals. There's even a song by the Brazilian Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil.Focused as it is on samba, bossa nova, and forro the compilation is friendly, smooth, and accessible, though it lacks any exploration of the percussive side of Brazilian music that also entrances kids.tags: worldmusic, putumayo, brazil, brazilian, samba, forro, bossa nova, cd review
Monday's mp3: Never Mind the Mambo 2007-09-24 19:41:00 Mambo No. 5 may get all the press, but don't dismiss Tango No. 9 too quickly. The Bay Area quartet has just released their third CD, entitled Here Live No Fish.They're billed as "cutting edge tango," but not in the way of Gotan Project and the like. No electronics here, just sharp edged pieces played on traditional instruments (well, mostly. Is trombone a traditional tango instrument?).The band is:Catharine Clune - violinIsabel Douglass - accordion & bandoneonGreg Stephens - tromboneJoshua Raoul Brody - pianoBest of all, this album marks a convergence with one of my favorite singer-songwriter crazies, Jonathan Richman. His sappy sincerity comes through beautifully on the 1954 song "Amor de Mis Amores," the only track on the album with vocals.The album is a pleasing mix of covers (including Piazzolla's "Libertango" with trombone lead) and original songs, and reaches a satisfyingly dramatic conclusion with the 1916 tune "La Cumparsita." You can hear more from the album on the Tang Read more:Monday
Xenophilia 2007-09-21 00:34:00 Had the great good fortune to be asked to guest-host for one of KAOS's new "world music" shows this morning, and had a great time doing it. So great, that I'm sharing the playlist with you. I'll be back with some new CD reviews shortly, but in the meantime, check out this fabulous noise! (One definition of Xenophilia, by the way, is "the love of new, unusual, or strange things" -- very much in line with my musical tastes!)Xenophilia Playlist, 20 September 2007 -- KAOS-fmhour 1Mickey Hart & Zakir Hussain - Baba - Global Drum Project Mercan Dede - Samana - Breath Shantel - Sota - Disko Partizani Kobo Town - Higher than Mercy - Independence Umahlathini Nabo - Ohude Manikiniki - The Indestructible Beat of Soweto Konono No. 1 - Nsimba & Nzuzi - Live at Couleur Café R-H - Lemon Grass - BlackAsia Vol. 1 Naqqara & Salsabil - Tartisma - Oriental Percussion, Rhythms &am
Monday's mp3: Singing the Mountain to Mohamed 2007-09-18 18:57:00 I have a confession...it's not Monday
. Just popped back into town from a few days in the mountains, and I missed my regular posting day. So just close your eyes, imagine that it is yesterday, and imagine that you're dancing in Morocco.I recently pulled out Houssaine Kili's 2001 album Mountain
to Mohamed, which I hadn't listened to for quite a while. I remember, though, that it was a breath of fresh air from North Africa when it arrived on my desk shortly after Hassan Hakmoun's bland, wandering The Gift. Not officially released in the US (though well worth finding if you can!), this CD features powerful songs of love and faith, along with uniquely Moroccan versions of Rai and Berber musical styles. Some is melodic, some percussive, as the explosive "Fanan / The Artist" [sample] and the hip hop-flavored "Ayour / The Moon". It even includes a cover of Neil Young's "Cowgirl in the Sand."The title track is fairly representative of this strong album: driving rhythms, powerful vocals, Read more:Singing
Waayaha Cusub: Somalis Raise Their Voices 2007-09-14 09:43:00 Somalia isn't a particularly pleasant place right now, and people are desperate to leave. The UNHCR today reported on 56 people who have died trying to cross from Somalia to Yemen in the past 10 days, while another group attempting to leave by boat were beaten and doused with acid before being cast adrift at sea.Which helps explain why Mohammed Abdi Jamal snuck across the Somali border with Kenya a few weeks ago, as detailed in a story in today's Christian Science Monitor. But Jamal wasn't just fleeing from something...he was headed to a new life, inspired by sounds he'd heard from a musical group comprised mostly of young Somali refugees living in Nairobi. Now he's singing and rapping with the group Waayaha Cusub ("New Era") about some serious social issues including AIDS, freedom of speech, and women's rights. Their song "Freedom" denounces the decision of the Somali Islamic Courts Union to ban music and impose a strict dress code forwomen. Islamists, in turn, have made no secr Read more:Voices
World Music Top 10 - September 2007 2007-09-12 11:56:00 SoundRoots / Spin The GlobeTop 10 WorldMusic
Albums - September
20071. Gipsy.cz: Romano Hip Hop2. Kobo Town: Independence3. Zap Mama: Supermoon4. Balval: Blizzard Boheme5. Fanfare Ciocarlia: Queens and Kings6. Sonia & Disappear Fear: Tango7. Konono No. 1: Live at Couleur Cafe8. Don't Be a Stranger: One9. Bongo Love: Afrocoustics10. Oliver Mtukudzi: Tsimba Itsokaglobal newsbitsGot a couple of blogs you might want to check out, if you haven't discovered them on your own already. Analog Africa started in August, and promises to bring news, images, and sound of vintage African music. Do you know about the psychedelic organ of Charles Rodriguez? Then hie thee forth to visit Analog Africa!Another August startup is End(-)Of(-)World Music. Author maemaipleng says "I've started this blog to discuss and share an array of often-neglected facets of non-western music that fall between the cracks... Styles that don't fit neatly into mainstream constructions of "world music", and that are oc
Monday's mp3: Happy Birthday Ethiopia! 2007-09-10 23:36:00 Ethiopia: mystical land of Rastafari roots, the origins of humans, and -- this Wednesday at midnight -- a party of epic proportions kicking off the nation's third millennium.Yes, Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations on the planet. Its borders have varied, most recently with the independence of Eritrea. But the fact remains that it's been around a long, long time.In ancient times it remained centred around Aksum, an imperial capital located in the northern part of the modern state, about 100 miles (160 kilometres) from the Red Sea coast. The present territory was consolidated during the 19th and 20th centuries as European powers encroached into Ethiopia's historical domain. Ethiopia became prominent in modern world affairs first in 1896, when it defeated colonial Italy in the Battle of Adwa, and again in 1935–36, when it was invaded and occupied by fascist Italy. Liberation during World War II by the Allied powers set the stage for Ethiopia to play a more prominent role in world a Read more:Monday
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Monday's mp3: Labor Exchange Day 2007-09-04 00:03:00 It's Labor Day here in the USA. Perversely, that means nobody works. Except, of course, for people who work in stores, 'cause the sales must go on.Okay, it's actually not so perverse. The day got its start as a union-sponsored day off for workers, and became an official national holiday in 1894.Despite the name, Taiwan's Labor Exchange
Band (交工樂隊) appears to have less to do with labor issues and more with environmentalism, in the form of support for anti-dam activists. But it's the music of victory, and their work is a significant victory for those who work for quality of life over development in the name of "progress."Vocalist and composer, Lin Shenghsiang is from Meinung, a village in the mountainous county of Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan. While living in Taipei he heard about some older residents from the village who had come to the capital, Taipei, to protest the building of a dam that would have destroyed their livelihood in agriculture and their property. The old peopl Read more:Monday
BlogDay 2007 2007-08-31 10:57:00 The best reason to travel is not to discover new places; it is to discover what you would become after being affected by your destination. Pick your destinations wisely.That quote from a blogger named Juan seems particularly pertinent for today, a day when the virtual connections between people, places, and cultures are celebrated. Yes, it's the third annual BlogDay, a day to celebrate discovery and networking in the blogosphere. The idea is simple: "every blogger will post a recommendation of 5 new blogs. This way, all blog readers will find themselves leaping around and discovering new, previously unknown blogs."So here are five new ones for you to explore.1. Global Culture: a blog on migration, globalization and their impact on global cultureAuthor Juan looks at interconnectedness, quality of life, travel, and other impacts and results of globalization. Sometimes the intellectual language gets a little thick, but always interesting ideas.2. Saharan Vibe: The darkest thing about Afr
33 Seconds of Sound, episode 1 2007-08-30 16:00:00 Introducing 33 Seconds
of Sound
: an occasional series of field recordings[mp3] episode 1SoundRoots brings you the sounds of the world in the form of recorded music. But there's more to audio culture than music. 30 Seconds of Sound is an intriguing series of field recordings documenting some of the sounds that surround me in my culture. I'm currently recording with a minidisk, and the sounds you hear are trimmed to 33 seconds with a 1-second fade in and fade out, but otherwise unedited.Can you identify this sound? To find out what it is and where it comes from, read the comments.tags: 33sec, 33 seconds of sound, field recording
Monday's mp3: From Zimfest With Love 2007-08-27 10:47:00 It's over, and I dragged myself out of bed this morning with my ears still full of the sounds of mbira and marimba and hosho and drums. Zimfest 2007 is history.The final evening's performance included Hokoyo Youth Marimba ensemble; the mbira-backed rapping of Fafi a.k.a. 3% ; more marimba by Nyamuziwa; Erica Azim & friends on mbira; the high-energy sounds of Bongo Love; and mbira masters Cosmas Magaya and Beauler Dyoko closing out the evening.It's hard to pick a favorite of all the stellar performers at the festival, but I think SoundRoots readers will particularly enjoy the sounds of Bongo Love, a quartet of musicians from Zimbabwe who have made a big splash touring and teaching here in the Pacific Northwest this summer. The group members are John Mambira (lead vocals and drums), Themba Mawoko (marimba), Mpho "Shoes" Mambira (baritone marimba), and Trymore "Guchi" Jumbo (mbira).Bongo Love makes a huge and energetic sound live -- just the thing to bring a weary crowd back to the Read more:Monday
Images of Zimfest 2007-08-24 20:58:00 No time for a real post now -- I'm between Zimfest and a Togolese benefit dinner. More on both of those later. For now, here are a few early images from the first day of Zimfest.more of my Zimfest (and other) images at: flickr.com/photos/earball/tags: zimfest, worldmusic, zimbabwe, olympia, hosho, marimba, festival
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Zimfest 101: Zim to the Future 2007-08-23 23:35:00 For the last couple of days, we've hit traditional Zimbabwean music in the form of marimba and mbira. Today, a look at new directions these traditions are headed.I mentioned a few forward-looking groups yesterday. Here are two more contemporary artists building on Shona tradition.Pachi Pamwe is two Americans -- Eric Miller on mbira and Matt Gordon on guitar -- who add English lyrics to traditional melodies, and also compose original tunes in a similar style. I honestly don't know much more about them -- their home-burned CD arrived in my mailbox with a hand-written label and precious little info. They will be at Zimfest this weekend, so I'll try to catch up with them there. You can download some of their music on their myspace (check out "Gambia"), where you can also learn that their name is Shona for "together again."[mp3] Pachi Pamwe: Tema MusasaOur second tune today is decidedly more, um, hip. As in hip hop. Zimbabwe Legit was formed by brothers doomE Right and Akim. They've had Read more:Future
Zimfest 101: Mbira 2007-08-22 10:46:00 On the surface, the mbira seems a simple instrument: just a handful of metal keys affixed to a piece of wood. But the mbira's importance in Shona culture (and beyond) is huge. It's been around as a fixture in Shona sacred and court functions for more than a thousand years. (mbira duo sample)Like marimba, the mbira has a number of musical analogues and aliases: thumb piano, ikembe, kalimba, likembe. And within Shona musical circles, the mbira comes in different forms, including Mbira Dzavadzimu and Mbira Nyunga Nyunga (originally from Mozambique). You'll frequently see the instrument nestled within a calabash gourd. For more about the instrument and its history check out Wikipedia.Some great traditional-style mbira players to check out include Garikayi Tirikoti, Stella Chiweshe, and Ephat Mujuru. Artists using mbira in more contemporary music include Chris Berry & Panjea, Yeshe, Guy Mendilow, Menwar, and Michael Spiro & Michael Williams' delightful combination of mbira with Cuba
Zimfest 101: Marimba 2007-08-21 18:54:00 Zimfest 2007, the Zimbabwean Music Festival, is just around the corner, and the excitement in town is getting tangible. So SoundRoots will focus on a few aspects of Zimbabwean music and culture this week to get you in the mood.I'm no Zimbabwe expert; I've never visited that country (and probably won't until the political and economic situation has stabilized a bit). So take everything here with a grain of salt and feel free to dispute, praise, or elaborate by leaving comments.Two particular instruments seem to define Zimbabwean music. Tomorrow we'll talk about the mbira. Today, the more secular instrument marimba takes center stage.The marimba has cousins throughout the world: xylaphone, vibraphone, the West African balafon, even the Basque txalaparta. All consist of solid keys (slats of wood or metal) that are struck to create sound. The marimba traditional had gourds placed under each key as resonators; today it's more common to see metal or PVC pipes used as resonators.Its orig
Monday's mp3: Romano Hip Hop in the House 2007-08-20 11:36:00 CD REVIEWGipsy.cz: Romano
Hip Hop(Indies Records)Buy CD : watch Romano Hip Hop videoI'm not trying to be cool with the lingo -- the above headline directly from a lyric in "Welcome to Prague." Rapper Radoslav Banga, aka Gipsy, spouts such lines with ease in English as well as other languages (Czech? Roma?) in his journey taking modern Roma music to a new level. His ensemble Gipsy.cz blends traditional music and instruments with pumped-up beats and rapid-fire rapping (and frequent exclamations of "Opa!" which apparently isn't just for Greeks...).The album opens with "Tajsa," a song that will appeal to fans of Ojos de Brujo with its rap-meets-flamenco vibe. The tracks "Multin" and "Tecka" are are FCC-unfriendly (is it inevitable that profanities are the first foreign words one learns?), though both are strong tracks that deserve listening. And at the end of the album is a crazy a capella hidden track. But I'll let you listen to one of my current favorites:[mp3] Gipsy.cz: Bengoro Han Read more:Monday
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Dr. Bajan's Sovietabilly 2007-08-19 21:02:00 Stumbled across this one, and I'm so glad I did. Dr. Bajan, his website says,comes from Leningrad, where the electric guitar and rock music once represented the only way he could distance himself from the [hyperbolic?] facade that was Soviet existence at the time. Even back then it was already clear that he had a soft spot for fast solos. After a while, the guitar wasn’t subversive enough for him and he turned – back to his roots – to the bajan, the accordion. A totally new perspective on his own musical tradition opened up for him. Up until then, the revolutionary anthems and Soviet pop hits of his musical environment provoked more eye-rolling than anything else, but now, exploring the roots of his musical heritage more deeply, he uncovered its connections to klezmer, jazz and folk music. Dr. Bajan drew on all of these influences – plus a hefty dose of rock’n roll – to create a totally original, contemporary new form: sovietabilly, music that conveys an intimate view of
Guantanamera, Si -- Guantanamo, No 2007-08-17 09:52:00 Today you have yet another chance to do good while grooving globally.The Hip Hop Hoodios have released a four-song (or five, depending on where you get it) EP. The title song "Viva la Guantanamera" is an all-star collaboration with wildog of Ozomatli, the Klezmatics, Kemo The Blaxican (of Latin hip-hop pioneers Delinquent Habits), and Walter Miranda (Beastie Boys, Plastilina Mosh)."When we made the song, I liked the idea of taking that tropical, bucolic image of this prototypical, idyllic Cuban woman, and use that to some extent as a metaphor for the purity of habeas corpus," Hoodio core member Abe Velez told PRI's The World in a recent Global Hit feature. (18% of all profits will be donated to Amnesty International and will gotowards efforts to close the prisons at Guantanamo Bay and toencourage the full restoration of Habeas Corpus.) You'll hear the legal questions in the hard-hitting rap, though the song retains that familiar classic melody as well.[mp3] Hip Hop Hoodios: Viva La
World Music Top 10 - August 2007 2007-08-16 17:23:00 SoundRoots / Spin The GlobeTop 10 WorldMusic
Albums - August
2007 1. Balval: Blizzard Boheme2. Fanfare Ciocarlia: Queens and Kings3. Gaudi + Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Dub Qawwali4. Zap Mama: Supermoon5. Nawal: Aman6. Don't Be a Stranger: One7. Dobet Gnahore: Na Afriki 8. Suphala: Blueprint 9. Jose Conde & Ola Fresca: Revolucion10. March Fourth Marching Band: March Fourth Marching BandHave I mentioned the small print recently? This monthly chart is assembled with the use of hard data in the form of spins on KAOS-fm, along with radio listener and SoundRoots reader response, plus my own fickle tastes. It is far from scientific, but it is highly accurate and always reflects some of the best current global music.The #1 album this month is one of my favorite Gypsy-music releases of late...and with the current popularity of Gypsy music, that's saying something. You can hear several song samples from their album on an earlier post.One o
Put Me in the Zoo 2007-08-14 18:04:00 Ah, the zoo. Fascinating children and adults alike with displays of exotic, dangerous, elusive, and rare animals. How many of us are ever going to see a baboon in the wild, after all?Zoo
s have changed a lot in recent decades, with critters moving from concrete bunkers and iron-barred cages to more realistic and natural settings amid trees, rocks, and flowing water. As a child, I read the book "Put Me in the Zoo," and wondered why Spot the independent, mischievous leopard would want to be in a zoo. Now, with wild habitat shrinking and zoos improving, it kind of makes sense.Still, zoos still face controversy, as two recent stories point out. In Seattle, the Woodland Park Zoo faces objections to the guides used in its Masai Journey exhibit. Because, well, they're actual Masai. It's a little hard to understand the complaints, however, since the four men from Kenya and Tanzania have been hired not to act out tribal stereotypes dressed in primitive garb, but to explain Masai life and cultu
Monday's mp3: Obama! Obama! 2007-08-13 11:37:00 Don't let that headline give you the wrong idea. While I'm excited about the idea of a more diverse group of potential presidential candidates, I'm not thrilled that the election season now runs something like two or three years. And I'm not ready to issue an endorsement. Besides, the discussion of electoral politics is something of a stretch for SoundRoots, given our focus on global music and culture, so let's approach this musically.The post title is also part of the refrain of a campaign song put out by Amigos de Obama
. It's more innovative politically than musically, but still a fun sing-a-long.[mp3] Amigos de Obama: Obama ReggaetonBut wait...there's more. Kenyan-American group Extra Golden -- a real group, not a political action committee -- includes on their sophomore album a song called, well, you know. The group includes two benga musicians from Kenya (Opiyo Bilongo and Onyango Wuod Omari) and two indie-rockers from Washington DC (Alex Minoff and Ian Eagleson).This tribu Read more:Monday
Te Vaka's new Olatia (CD Review) 2007-08-11 15:24:00 CD REVIEWTe Vaka: Olatia(Spirit of Play)buy CD Polynesian culture has a musical champion in Opetaia Foa'i, leader of the New Zealand based Te Vaka. He dedicates this new collection to those Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Samoan leaders fighting for island sovereignty and cultural preservation. Musically, it's what we've come to expect from the group: songs about indigenous culture backed by melodic vocals, haka-fueled chants, and log-drum percussion.The 13 tracks include the percussion-heavy "Lua Afe" (sample), written to inspire the famous All Blacks rugby team to victory; "Mataliki / Little Stars" (sample), a tribute to the first recognized Maori pre-school; and the multi-lingual Greenpeace-commissioned environmental plea "Our Ocean" (sample). A solid addition for anyone who loves Polynesian/Maori music.tags: worldmusic, te vaka, new zealand, maori, polynesian, Opetaia Foa'i
Monday's mp3: Jazz from the Virgin Forest 2007-08-06 17:54:00 The best African jazz I know of comes from South Africa and Cameroon. But Benin-born Lionel Loueke is making me take a second listen to other nations. Loueke's newest album, VirginForest
, is just out on ObliqSound, and it's a tasty blend of African rhythms and melodies with contemporary jazz.While the new album features guest artists including Herbie Hancock, Cyro Baptista, Gregoire Maret, Gretchen Parlato, and two Benin percussion troupes, it's got an overall similar vibe to this track from his 2004 album with Massimo Biolacati (bass) and Ferenc Nemeth (drums).[mp3] Lionel Loueke Trio: Akwefrom the album GilfemaLoueke's trio performs Aug. 7 and 8 at Jazz Alley in Seattle. Find his complete tour schedule on his website at www.lionelloueke.comtags: Lionel Loueke, worldmusic, africa, jazz, gilfema, benin
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Mariza, tonight 2007-10-11 22:23:00 Hey y'all -Just a quick heads up for those of you who may be staying up late tonight... Fado singer Mariza will be on the Late Show with David Letterman. I may be asleep, getting my radio beauty sleep, but feel free to leave comments about how it went.I'll have a pile of new CD reviews and music in coming days, just you wait.Also, please consider supporting radio show Spin The Globe on KAOS-fm -- the show that partners with SoundRoots to bring you news and music and top 10 lists. Pledge at whatever level you can ($60 gets you a CD and some other goodies as a thank-you) online at www.kaosradio.org, or by calling 360-867-5267. Be sure to mention that you're supporting Spin The Globe.Thanks!
Monday's mp3: Offside in Iran 2007-10-08 23:01:00 I was all set to bathe you in certain wonderful sounds today. But then I went to the movies. Thanks to my buddy RadioActive Gavin, I finally had a chance to see the Iranian movie Offside. Following the story of several young soccer fans trying to attend a World Cup qualifying match against Bahrain, it shows them being detained because they are female. And females don't attend such events, not if the duty-bound Army soldiers have anything to do with it.I know there are some good arguments to be made for differences between genders, but we'll leave that for later. The point is, you should see the movie. It's thought provoking. It's human. And seeing it inspired me to change today's musical selection. You'll get the other one later; today we're going with an uppity Persian woman, 'cause that's the kind of person on my mind right now.Sussan Deyhim was born in Tehran, and celebrates her heritage on an album collecting classic Persian melodies composed around the poetry of Rumi, Saa Read more:Monday
World Music Top 10 - October 2007 2007-10-07 23:00:00 SoundRoots / Spin The GlobeTop 10 WorldMusic
Albums - October
20071. various artists: Rough Guide to Latin Funkfantastic compilation featuring the likes of Ozomatli, Antibalas, & Los Mocosos.2. Habib Koite & Bamada: Afrikinewest offering from the popular Malian singer-guitarist.3. Gipsy.cz: Romano Hip Hopgreat blend of Roma roots with modern hip hop sounds by Gipsy and his talented crew -- very highly recommended. 4. Mickey Hart & Zakir Hussain: Global Drum ProjectAs you might expect, a rhythmic adventure through and through from two great global percussionists (and friends) including a tribute to Babatunde Olatunji. 5. Kobo Town: IndependenceNonstop energy and good vibes from this world-reggae outfit based in Toronto but with roots in the islands. Highly recommended. 6. Extra Golden: Hera Ma Nono"Barak Obama's favorite Kenyan-American band" -- or so I'm told. The candidate helped secure visas for the Kenyan members of the group, who pair with two DC-based rock musician
Remembering Lamine Konté 2007-10-05 09:14:00 We are saddened to learn of the passing of Lamine Konté. Born in Senegal's southern Casamance region, Konté was well known on the world/African music circuit, recording and touring from his base in Paris. He played kora and guitar as well as being a powerful vocalist.In addition to his own CDs (Tinque Rinque Sidou, La Kora du Senegal, Griot Legend) he appeared on albums including Stevie Wonder's Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants. It was Stevie Wonder who sponsored Konté's first trip to the US in 1979, during which Konte taught Wonder to sing in Bambara. “Griots could be compared to needles that stitch together the different social tissues, and tighten the links between the families," Konté once said. "Through them, we wake people from their torpor by reminding them of the great deeds of their families.”Konté died at his home in Paris 28 September.Konté will be remembered as one of the first artists to put a modern spin on the kora. He also goes down in music histor Read more:Remembering
When Sufis Retire... 2007-10-04 12:59:00 Turkish-born ney player and DJ Arkin Allen, more widely known as Mercan Dede, recently announced his retirement from the music business. I understand.I understand because I realize that even with the magic a musician can experience being on stage sharing music with an enthusiastic audience, there's a side of the music business that's a grind: promoting, selling, marketing, networking, traveling. I don't know Dede's specific reasons, but life as a musician isn't all roses and royalty checks.My last albums were Fire, Water and Wind. People were expecting Earth. But when I started it did not feel right. It did not belong to my heart. ... I used to say whenever I started a concert and feel excitement like the first day, I'll keep on doing it. I do still have that energy, but I've been doing this a long time and I think it's important to stop and look at what we did. It's rare for a musician who's sold hundreds of thousands of albums to bow out so abruptly. Heck, it's rare for a
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