"World Music" recommendations, anyone?

[antiant]

i'm late i know...i've been lazy with posting...

Originally Posted by carlosgp

I have to recommend Mercedes Peón - Ajrú. It was one of the best albums of the 2003 according to fRoots. A very good album of traditional Galician music with a primal, avant-garde sound and influences from other musics. Galicia is in northern Spain and has strong celtic roots. A treat for those who think spanish music is only flamenco.

going off the whole Galicia/Spanish style of music here's another one to add:

Luar Na Lubre http://www.luarnalubre.com/



Biography:
Reinterpreting songs from centuries-old songbooks, Luar Na Lubre has brought the musical traditions of Galicia, a Celtic region in northwestern Spain, to the international stage since 1986. The recipients of the Ideal award as Best Galician Folk Group awarded by the region's leading newspapers, -El Ideal Gallego, the band continues to reinvent the music of their homeland. Formed in 1986 in the small city of A Coruna, Luar Na Lubre has made its greatest impact in collaboration with British musician and composer Mike Oldfield, who they met in 1992. In addition to covering piper and bandleader Bietto Romero's song "O Son Do Ar," Oldfield invited vocalist Rosa Cedron to make a guest appearance at his Tubular Bells III concert in London and the band to join him on a world tour. The increased exposure enabled the group to earn their first gold disc with their 1997 album, Plenilunio. - Chraig Harris, All Music Guide

Discography:
Saudade (2005)
Hai un paraiso (2004)
Espiral (2002)
XV Aniversario (2001)
Cabo do Mundo (1999)
Plenilunio (1997)
Ara Solis (1993)
Beira Atlántica (1990)
O Son do Ar (1988)

i have their most recent album "Saudade" it's not really my cup of tea, but it may be for others, thus the reason for sharing



on to the next:

Chambao http://www.chambao.es/




Biography:
Chambao appeared almost by surprise. In the midst of all sorts of fusion, the band from Málaga developed the one that could have appeared most daring: the flamenco sounds and palos (forms) alongside electronic music. Almost from nothing, Chambao created a new musical style that was very unique, flamenco chill. And time has proved them right. After several years’ activity, while others have fallen behind and the number of recordings of flamenco chill sessions has been constantly growing, Chambao is one of the few bands that have been able to achieve a fusion that is harmonic.

Chambao, whose name is taken from the tents that are improvised by people on beaches to shelter themselves from the sun and breeze, started off as a trio: La Mari, Edi and Dani. Together, the three of them took part in the double CD by various artists that was released by Sony under the title "Flamenco Chill" (2002). The record, to which Chambao contributed eight songs, sold 90,000 copies and led the record label to release subsequent instalments, this time without Chambao.

In 2003 the band’s first record on their own, "Endorfinas en la mente", appeared. It was released in more than twenty countries, sold over 80,000 copies and received the Premio Ondas (Ondas Award) for the Best Musical Creation. With "Pokito a poko" (2005), Dani left the band, but La Mari and El Edi continued to create the enveloping atmospheres that were so well received

Discography:
"Flamenco Chill" (2002) - a double CD by various artists that was released by Sony.
"Endorfinas en la mente" (2003) - Endorphins in the Mind, the band's first record on their own. It sold over 80,000 copies in 20 countries and received the Premio Ondas music award.
"Pokito A Poko" (2005) - Little by Little; original member Dani contributed to eight of the songs on this album before leaving the band. The album is believed to have sold approximately 90,000 copies.

i have their recent album Pokito A Poko and it is a very good album, i love it



i've got more music to add, i shall return

[lastfreename]

very nice things here...

[ken36]

Syrtaki 2:58 Anni-Frid Lyngstad FRIDA Ensam World 974 kbps 20.8 MB 3/23/07 5:11 AM Apple Lossless audio file

[lastfreename]

paolo nutini

[FalconP]

Two recent acquisitions, both with a Spanish connection:

Manu Chao and the Radio Bemba Sound System



I've meant to check out Chao for some time. Chao is a Frenchman who, after years of wandering in South America, is now based in Spain. His music is such a cocktail of Latin styles, pop influences, and multilingual samples that it can only be described as generic Latin pop. Fortunately Chao has a ear for good tunes and good vibes, hence his music is a cut above much of Latin pop.

This is a live recording, presumably taken from many performances (no indication in the notes). If this CD is typical of his concerts, he'd have been booked till 2020 AD -- The mood is exuberant and infectious. The songs are short -- 28 songs in just over 64 minutes -- and Chao and co waste no time hitting you right on with ferocious, relentless rhythm. The biggest gripe about this set is that the editing job is badly done: one song often jumping unbidden to the next. Considering that there are some 15 unused minutes on the disc, why couldn't they include more from each song and let the songs segue naturally?

Mordiendo el Duende (Biting the Goblin) by Mártires del Compás



This is flamenco of the streets, as opposed to the concert hall or the ballroom. Gritty emotionality is the order of the day, not suave virtuosity or sensual romance. The voice lead singer reminds one of the Gypsy Kings, but his songs are not always happy -- he touches upon topics like spouse abuse and toxic waste. Musically it is rootsy flamenco, albeit with a touch of Rumba, Tango and Reggae, and an electric bass is used. Remember to check out the hidden track -- nearly 10 minutes of house party!

[antiant]

manu chao is great, he also produces a lot of other people, one notably is Amadou & Mariam, he also has a very interesting background if you read up on it...anyways, i'll be back probably today with some more recommedations

[antiant]

Maryam Mursal - The Journey




biography:
Maryam Mursal (born January 1, 1950) is a famous musician from Somalia. She is a composer and vocalist.

Mursal grew up in a Muslim family with four daughters. As a teenager, she broke tradition and began singing professionally in Mogadishu. She performed in nightclubs and her brand of music, featuring a mix of blues, soul African and Arabic influences, and known as "Somali jazz", became popular across the country. She performed solo and with Waaberi a 300-member music and dance troupe associated with the Somali National Theatre. After criticizing the government, she was banned from singing for two years, and made her living driving a taxi.

During the civil war in her homeland, she and her five children moved to Djibouti where she found asylum in the Danish embassy. It was this odyssey that provided the germ of her solo recording The Journey, with guitars, sequencers and back-up vocals from Peter Gabriel.

Mursal is in exile, now residing in Denmark. She has toured Europe with Waaberi and appeared with Nina Simone. Her work has been produced by Peter Gabriel's Real World record label. - wikipedia

discography:
New Dawn
The Journey

the journey is a great album, i'd definitely recommend it, i have not listened to the "new dawn" yet though, however

heh i'm so behind, i've got loads more coming up!

[FalconP]

I have both The Journey and New Dawn (where Mursal teams up with her band Waaberi), and I'd rate New Dawn higher because it is less "studio" and more down to earth.

Somalia is a Muslim country, and its musical culture has much in common with the middle east. Also related is the music of Mauritania , and this CD, featuring the wonderful voice of Dimi Mint Abba, is a good introduction.

[antiant]

on to the moroccan side of the world and marakech, maghreb/rai/arab/algiers sounds:

Amira Saqati - Destination Halal




Amira Saqati's third album follows the path explored by numerous releases on the Barbarity label, blending traditional Moroccan melodies, singing, and instrumentation with modern pulsing electronic beats and sonic overlays aplenty. Though singer and multi-instrumentalist Youssef el Mejjad and programmer/samplers/arranger/producer/mixer Pat Jabbar are the main forces behind the act, they get lots of help from about a dozen other players, singers, and rappers. It's a dizzying swirl, both taken as a whole and within many of the individual tracks. Sad North African winding melodies may often be at the forefront (and are never far away from the core), but there are so many separate components employed and sampled that it would take several paragraphs to list them all. They include bee-buzzing traditional string instruments, haunting female backup vocals, occasional singing in French, electronic dance-rap, hard rock guitar, reggae-influenced vocals, dub-influenced effects, flutes, oud, and uneasily trance-like waves of electronic sound. If this kind of stuff isn't a main dish of yours, it might be just too rich a helping all at once, particularly on a disc that goes on for a good 68 minutes. If you do like it, it's certainly diverse and unpredictable in its shift of moods, and more effective as a segueing soundscape than for the quality of its individual cuts. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

listen here: http://www.isound.com/amira_saqati

Azzddine with Bill Laswell - Massafat



listen here:
http://www.isound.com/azzddine/friends

Magrebika with Bill Laswell - Neftakhir



Argan - South Moroccan Motor Berber


this album wasn't my cup of tea at all, but again i share because others may like what i do not...it was very hard to listen to through out, perhaps it will be one of those albums i'll have to keep trying

Rachid Taha - Diwan 2



Rachid Taha (born 1958 in Oran, Algeria) is a French-Algerian musician. His music is influenced by many different styles such as raï, techno, rock and punk. Based in Paris, France where he began his solo career after his beginnings as the leader of the French rock band "Carte de Séjour", he usually sings in Arabic. Taha moved from Algeria to Alsace and then Vosges, France, where his father had already emigrated, in 1970. In 1981, while living in Lyon, France, Taha met Mohammed and Moktar Amini. The two of them, Rachid, Djamel Dif and Eric Vaquer would later form the band Carte de séjour ("residence permit") and record their first maxi single Carte de Séjour in 1983. Their first LP Rhoromanie, came out in 1984. Their second and last LP entitled Deux et Demi was released in 1986 and included their famous and ironic cover of Douce France, originally sung by Charles Trenet. The band dissolved in 1989.

Politically-engaged, he has always stood up to defend democracy, tolerance and altruism against racism, fundamentalism and discrimination. His breakthrough album as a solo artist was Diwan, featuring remakes of songs for the Maghgrebi and Arab traditions. It was his album Tékitoi, Produced by Steve Hillage and released in 2004, also brought him great acclaim and recognition from other Rock musicians. In 2005 he has performed with Robert Plant, Patti Smith and Brian Eno. - Wikipedia

discography:
1983 Carte de Séjour (with Carte de Séjour)
1984 Rhoromanie (with Carte de Séjour)
1986 Deux et demi (« Douce France ») (with Carte de Séjour)
1991 Barbès
1993 Rachid Taha
1995 Olé Olé
1997 Carte Blanche
1998 Diwân
1999 1,2,3 Soleils - live album with Khaled and Faudel
2000 Made in Medina
2001 Rachid Taha Live - live album
2004 Tékitoi
2006 Diwan 2

Souad Massi - Deb



Souad Massi (Arabic: سعاد مسي) (born August 23, 1972), is an Algerian singer, songwriter and guitarist. She began her career performing in the Algerian political rock band Atakor, before leaving the country following a series of death threats. In 1999, Massi performed at the Femmes d'Algerie concert in Paris, which led to a recording contract with Island Records.

Massi's music, which prominently features the acoustic guitar, displays Western musical style influences such as rock, country or the Portuguese fado, rather than traditional Algerian or Raï musical styles performed by most Algerian musicians. Massi sings in Arabic, French, and occasionally English, often employing multiple languages in the same song. - wikipedia

discography:
2001: Raoui
2003: Deb
2006: Mesk Elil

Hamid Baroudi



Let us have a closer look at this strange man and musician. Hamid Baroudi grew up with music in his home country, Algeria, and aged 13, he made his stage debut. Music is far more than just entertainment in Algeria. Music can be hope against oppression, shared solidarity, spirituality, medicine, trance.

Music also accompanied Baroudi to France, but after a prolonged stay, he moved on and finally settled in Germany to study art in Kassel, home of the Dokumenta Fair. Next came six exciting years as the lead vocalist of the band Dissidenten, an important calling point in his musical career.

Following the worldwide tours and four joint albums, Hamid Baroudi left "Die Dissidenten", with whom he was a pathfinder of global pop, to pursue his solo career. He worked on City*No*Mad for two years. A pop album. Full stop. A political album. Another important point. Grooves lie at the heart of City*No*Mad, the Maghreb's rhythms amalgamated with Anglo-American rock.

Since then this "political animal" has been showered with awards. On the one hand he collected further praise and prizes for his music. Three tours for Peter Gabriel's Womad Festival Organisation took him to England, Spain and Japan, he won cultural grants in his chosen home of Kassel, and conquered the top of the European World Music Charts in August 1994. On the other hand, Baroudi also found time to perform in Bonn with Herbert Grönemeyer and Wolf Maahn in front of an audience of 200,000 at the festival against the Gulf War.
Baroudi has not only taken on the role as musical ambassador for North Africa, but also between the different religions. His performances and commitment as a modern and future-oriented thinking Muslim, is precisely the opposite of the past-fixated Fundamentalists. - from his website

[micesol@yahoo.co]

Enya