This thread needs more input, not less. Just post (I guess somewhat brief) reviews/descriptions.
yeah i agree...i hope this thread just grows and grows, it's a 'rare' genre sometimes and to find people who actually have an interest too is hard, but 5 pages with a lot of good info, keep it coming, there's always new things to be exposed to
Time to bump this thread with a top recommendation. Tri Yann is a long-standing Celtic folk-rock group from France, who plays music with a fun-loving enthuaism. In Marines, they doused off much of their rockish style and record a collection of sea chanties and other ocean-themed songs. The material puts their male-voice harmonies to the fore, while the musical arrangement keeps things fresh and interesting. I especially like the French rendition of "The Water is Wide", Divent a dour, which pays homage to the song's Scottish origin. Wonderful, wonderful: five stars.
Taking the world music scene by storm with her self-titled debut, Ethiopian singer Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw picks up right where she left off five years ago with Gold & Wax. Producer Bill Laswell is again behind the boards, and he's assembled another cosmopolitan cast of backing musicians, who range from Guns N' Roses guitarist Buckethead and Indian production team Midival Punditz to P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell and jazz trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer. Ever the master aural architect, Laswell finds a way fuse styles as well as the players' strong personalities into a seamless whole. Gigi herself soars siren-like over the top of ambient leaning tunes, or she digs in with her plaintive high-pitched voice on more rhythmically anchored pieces. Standouts include the English-language "Utopia," the rhythmically churning and horn-driven "Salam," and the anthemic "Gomelayeye." Not much of a departure from her debut, but there's no point in complaining about more of a very good thing. -- Tad Hendrickson
Product Description
Product Description The long-awaited follow-up to Gigi’s stellar debut has finally landed. On her second effort, Gold & Wax, Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw has again proven her ability to seamlessly work the songs of her Ethiopian ancestry into a contemporary vocal sound befitting the worlds of jazz, electronica and even dub-inspired African rhythms. Produced by Bill Laswell, Gold & Wax maintains an illustrious gleam; every instrument falls perfectly into place, centered on the singer’s near-angelic range.
The praise for Gigi was universal and unabashed. The Miami Herald rightfully called Gigi "Ethiopia’s gift to the world," while The NY Times described her sound as "full of unexpected angles and modal curves." Her vocals, according to XLR8R, "sounds sweeter than a cup of Ethiopian honey wine"; while the Village Voice agreed saying she has "not just a luxuriously rich voice but an unassumingly cosmopolitan presence." Gigi is an ambassador of ancient sound with modern sensibilities. another review:Gigi - Gold & Wax
Azam Ali - Elysium for the Brave
(apparently the release date says july 25, 2006, but it looks like they released it earlier as i picked it up today, so i'm not sure when they officially released this album)
inside the cd cover:
The process of making music for me is like an intangible philosophy - a philosophy which emphasizes the intuitive. It is only in this non-conceptual way that i am able to remain vulnerable, honest, and willing to evolve. It is in this way that the boundaries set by my corporeal existence are challenged.
My biggest fear creatively has always been that i would grow complacent with my art. Meaning that i would find a formula that worked and keep creating a different version of the same thing. My need to take risks may not always produce the desired result, but nevertheless it enables me to remain open to possibilities of growh i may otherwise overlook. i am greateful to all of you who have supported my need to expand artistically and blur the peripheries set by my past works.
Elysium for the Brave is an expression of the part of me which has lived in the Western world for over two decades, and so encompasses all aspects of my cultural influences. The title holds manifold meanings. Since the songs are either about war, or endeavoring to ocvercome personal and spiritual afflictions, i could not help but draw the parallel that in all internal and external struggles there is a promise of a heaven, or personal liberation if we are brave enough to be willing to fail.
Music has been my greatest teacher, and a home for my vagrant soul. it has also taught me about honesty and provided me in glimpses with that sense of unimpeded clarity wherein all things are absolute.
Azam Ali - Elysium for the Brave
Azam Ali's new solo album entitled Elysium for the Brave is set for release on July 25, 2006 on Six Degrees Records.
The incredible voice of Niyaz and Vas branches out with what is being described as her most ambitious solo release to date. The album entitled Elysium for the Brave weaves Ali's many influences into a haunting tapestry of atmospheric rock, electronic and global sounds. Singing predominantly in English for the first time, the songs are based on lyrics written by Azam herself and reveal a poetic lyricism heard only in glimpses in her previous works.
Helping to seamlessly bring all of these diverse sounds together is a talented cast of musicians which includes King Crimson's rhythm section of Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto, Persian classical violinist Kiavash Nourai, Loga Ramin Torkian and Carmen Rizzo, Azam's collaborators in Niyaz, and noted film composers Tyler Bates and Jeff Rona, the latter of whom is known for his collaborations with Dead Can Dance.
heh this thread will always get bumped and continue as long as i'm around
Mali's Amadou & Mariam sing in three African languages and French but more importantly are fluent in a musical language that often transcends ordinary speech. Polyrhythmic percussion, complex vocal harmonies, and fluid guitar, violin, and horn lines -- as well as the occasional harmonica -- are combined to create earthy songs that are more given the breath of life than performed. Each of the album's 15 songs beats with its own human, living pulse. "A Radio Mogo" hints at Caribbean reggae, while "Mon Amour, Ma Cherie" allows Amadou to stretch out a bit on guitar, over a rolling, throbbing beat. While not as blues-oriented as the more internationally known Malian guitarists, Ali Farka Toure and Boubacar Traore, Amadou plays guitar in an accomplished, heartfelt style that's accessible in any language. In Sou Ni Tile, Amadou & Mariam and their band have created mature, intelligent pop music that's accessible exactly because the musicians have chosen not to trade exuberance or passion for their maturity and intelligence.
I never paid attention to Indian music before this. You get Asha Bhosle, the Kronos Quartet, and Rahul Dev Burman in one shot.
ALBUM: 4.5
The Kronos Quartet has been confounding purists and expectations with their commissions and collaborations for years, but this one has to be among their most adventurous yet. For You've Stolen My Heart, they collaborated with Asha Bhosle, one of India's best-loved singers, to pay tribute to R.D. Burman, India's most renowned film composer. Burman was both brilliant and prolific, and had a knack for incorporating nearly any and every style of music into his works.
Not only that, but he was a sonic technician/alchemist who invented or discovered, then incorporated, all manner of sound and tape effects into the songs as well. The band looked to Burman's originals for the arrangements rather than commissioning new ones, but in order to do this correctly the core quartet was going to need some help. So in addition to Asha Bhosle on vocals for much of the program, previous collaborators Wu Man and Zakir Hussain figure prominently into the sound.
In addition, besides their customary stringed instruments, the members of Kronos add farfisa, synthesizers, accordion, electric bass, percussion, theremin, and more! With all this going on, multi-tracking is obviously a necessity, but beyond the different instruments there are places where the strings got "massive overdubs" to achieve a lush string section, and others where experiments with bowing technique and microphone placement add odd tonal qualities.
Add to that Wu Man's pipa and electric sitar(!), and this is clearly not your average classical recording. Despite his penchant for experimentation and musical cannibalism, Burman's compositions are no novelty. His songs are deeply melodic and beautiful, and some are so catchy you may find yourself singing along. Asha Bhosle still has a great voice; it's hard to believe she was 70 at the time of these sessions.
And what can you say about the Kronos Quartet? After more than 30 years, they continue to push the boundaries and continue to put out exciting records. You've Stolen My Heart: Songs from R.D. Burman's Bollywood is an absolute triumph.
In the past few years the Kronos Quartet has been making one "World Music" album after another, and most of these have received good reviews, to my amazment. The album Nuveo (which purports to be a cross-section of Mexican musical culture), for example, is often hailed as "a daring foray", "experimental" and "richly textured", but I find it half-baked and confusing. The only good thing on the said album is Sensemaya by Silvestre Revueltas, which is a bona-fide classical work by a modern composer. This said, I'll look out for a cheap copy of You've Stolen My Heart.
For a classicist's adventure into World Music, I find the Silk Road project by Yo-yo Ma more musically satisfying.
In my opinion, Yo-Yo Ma and Kronos Quartet are definitely polar opposites. Kronos being on the Avante-Garde side of the spectrum. With that said, I agree with you on "Nuevo".
For those with yourmusic accounts. You can get "You've Stolen My Heart: Songs" for $6.00.
technobarbie: that isn't the latest of Amadou & Mariam is it? Isn't there latest Dimanche A Bamako? Also speaking of uzbekistan, ever heard of sevara nezarkhan?
technobarbie: that isn't the latest of Amadou & Mariam is it? Isn't there latest Dimanche A Bamako? Also speaking of uzbekistan, ever heard of sevara nezarkhan?
I don't have the latest. The one I listed was their second album released in the late 90's I believe. Unfortunately I haven't heard of Sevara Nezarkhan yet.
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